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Kindergarten Night Out will be held on April 6 in the ASB auditorium from 4:15 to 5:15. We will be talking about writing! We will be giving ideas on how to prep for the KEEP test and other ideas to easily integrate writing throughout your day. Please sign up on JPLS. This is one that every kindergarten teacher will want to attend! Please share the attached flyer with all kindergarten teachers.

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DATE:   
Thursday, March 24, 2022

TO: 
Elementary School Administrators

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:  
EOY Acadience Testing Reminders

The end-of-year Acadience testing window opens on April 11th. With a six-day spring break and six additional days with no kindergarten students in buildings, the 2021-22 EOY window is one of the shortest testing windows on record. As we prepare for Acadience testing, there are a few friendly reminders that help the district testing teams be as efficient as possible while they are at your school testing students:

  • Avoid scheduling kindergarten and first grade classes back to back, when possible. They take longer because assessment assistants are administering both the reading and math measures.
  • Encourage your teachers to be flexible. They need to be prepared to come early or late to their allotted time.
  • Be sure to have an adult runner available who knows the school and can quickly have a teacher come to the testing area, distribute student cards, and help the testing run as efficiently as possible. If schools don’t have a runner available, a parent who knows where teacher classrooms are is a viable option. If there is no runner, one of our assessment assistants has to do it, which means she is testing less students.
  • We continue to need the assistance of instructional coaches as well as anyone else who has been trained to administer all of the Acadience Reading and Math measures on the days we are in your building. We have been unable to fill 10 district assessment assistant positions. Earlier this year, we sent department personnel to help with testing (though there are only eight of us). Testing in RISE, Utah Aspire Plus, DLM, Reading Inventory, and AAPPL for foreign language are all being administered at the same time as Acadience Reading and Math. Because of this, department personnel will not be as available to assist with Acadience testing during the EOY window.
  • We have left some time at the end of the testing window for assessment assistants to complete absent testing for any students at any of the 41 schools that were absent on the day(s) of testing. That said, there have been occasions in previous windows this year where there were 60-90 K-3 students absent on testing day(s). If there are that many absences in a school during the end-of-year window, the school will need to help test some of those absent students.

If you are interested in having your aides get trained to administer both Acadience Reading and Math tests, there are two Canvas courses available:

Please contact Ben Jameson or Shannon Johnson in Evaluation, Research & Accountability with any questions or concerns.

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DATE:  
Thursday, March 24, 2022

TO:   
Administrators of TSI Schools

FROM:   
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Michelle Love-Day, Consultant of Language & Culture Services

SUBJECT:  
TSI Workshop for School Administrators

As a requirement under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), USBE identified schools for Targeted School Improvement (TSI) in 2018 and 2019. A workshop has been designed to help administrators of TSI identified schools understand the calculations behind their school’s TSI designation as well as the timeline and criteria necessary to exit TSI. The vast majority of our TSI schools have second language learners and/or students with a disability that are struggling as a student group. This workshop will offer evidence-based strategies and ideas to help provide more robust supports to both student groups, thus allowing schools to exit TSI. Representatives from Special Education, Language & Culture Services, and Evaluation, Research & Accountability will be on hand to provide guidance and answer questions.

All school administrators of TSI schools are encouraged to attend one of the two sections offered on March 29th and April 6th. School administrators may register for either date on JPLS using course #101888.  Here is the information for each section:

Date Time JPLS Section # Location
Tuesday, March 29th 1:00 – 4:00 pm 117119 ASB Presentation Room
Wednesday, April 6th 8:30-11:30 am 117120

Please contact Ben Jameson in Evaluation, Research & Accountability, Kim Lloyd in Special Education or Michelle Love-Day in Language & Culture Services with questions about this workshop.

Published on

Are You Interested in
Getting Mathematics Software for Free?
Here is the perfect grant for you!
Apply as a school to meet your specific needs.

It is EASY and QUICK to apply. It will only take about 15-20 minutes.
This grant does not fund the entire school to use a program but will fund about 70%-80%.
This grant lasts for ONE year! You are able to reapply each year for continued funding.
All the software is approved for privacy.
You need to commit to using the software 40 minutes a week to maximize the learning experience for students.

See the flyer below for the programs that I (Amy Kinder, K-12 Mathematics Consultant) recommend:

 

Published on

DATE:   
March 17, 2022

TO:  
All Administrators

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
McKinley Withers, Health and Wellness Consultant

SUBJECT:  
Prevention Planning Workshop

Our Health and Wellness team will be offering prevention planning workshops for school teams on the dates below. To sign up, please visit the Google Form to receive further communication about the workshops.

This prevention planning workshop is an opportunity to communicate to your school community all of the great things that your school does to care for your students! The intended outcome of the workshop for attendees will be a completed, concise, clear prevention plan for their school that highlights their unique approach and follows District and State guidelines. If you would like to make alternate arrangements for prevention planning, please reach out to McKinley Withers (801-567-8245, mckinley.withers@jordandistrict.org)

  • March 31, 7:30-11:00, ASB Auditorium
  • March 31, 12:00-3:30, ASB Auditorium
  • April 4, 7:30-11:00, ASB Auditorium
  • April 4, 12:00-3:30, ASB Auditorium
  • April 8, VIRTUAL (time to be determined based on interest and availability)

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LOCKOUT, LOCKDOWN and Shelter-in-place are emergency responses often confused with one another. Jordan School District created clarifying videos on these responses to train students and staff, all under three minutes in duration, located at: Google Drive > Shared with me > Incident Command Training Videos. Click HERE

REMEMBER: Locks were invented to keep humans out of things. Associate “locks” with humans” and “LOCKOUT” and “LOCKDOWN” with a potentially violent person.  

LOCKOUT and LOCKDOWN are DENY strategies, as part of the AVOID DENY DEFEND response protocols for violence threats. DENY the threat access to you by creating a physical barrier between you and them.

LOCKOUT – external threat

  • Call 911 when SAFE TO DO SO
  • LOCK them OUT of the building, creating a barrier between you and the threat
  • Use the LOCKOUT Card on the dedicated card reader in the main office to quickly lock all exterior doors that are scheduled open at that moment
  • Students and staff on the school grounds should come in for safety
  • Staff card access badges will still work during a LOCKOUT
  • Students and staff remain inside
  • Do not let people exit, or enter until the LOCKOUT has ended
  • Consider bringing occupants of portables into the main building, if SAFE TO DO SO (For supervision, water, lunch, restrooms, medications, etc.)
  • Consider notifying Transportation in case buses are in route to the school
  • Post a sign on entrances stating the school is in LOCKOUT
  • Remain vigilant
  • Keep hallways and common areas clear of students and staff
  • If police enact the LOCKOUT, police end the LOCKOUT
  • Use the END LOCKOUT Card on the reader in the main office to revert to the door schedule at the time it is ended

LOCKDOWN – internal threat

  • Call 911 when SAFE TO DO SO
  • Get behind a closed, locked door of a classroom, office, conference room, etc., creating a barrier between you and the threat
  • LOCKS, LIGHTS, OUT OF SIGHT
  • Consider barricading the door with furniture, if you’re able to do so quickly and safely
  • Remain quiet, silence cell phones, make it seem like an unoccupied room to the intruder
  • The threat is already inside the building so there is no need to lock exterior doors
  • Consider being ready to DEFEND yourself if the intruder gains entrance into the room
  • Consider using text messaging to quietly inform the school Incident Command Team of your status
  • The police will open the door to clear the room, so there is no need for occupants to open the door

Shelter-in-place – chemical spill or severe weather outside (As defined by FEMA, not a response to violence)

  • Call 911 when SAFE TO DO SO
  • Remain indoors, seeking “shelter from the storm” or dangerous air outside
  • Turn off the electrical breakers to the air handlers to quickly restrict outside air from coming in if there has been a chemical spill/leak outside
  • Consider bringing occupants of portables into the main building, if SAFE TO DO SO (For supervision, water, lunch, restrooms, medications, etc.)
  • Consider moving occupants to a specific part of the building, or large gathering space for safety purposes
  • Take direction from police, fire, or the District accordingly

Use the Jordan School District Incident Command Manual when planning, conducting drills and preparing for emergencies. Please contact JSD Emergency Operations Manager Lance Everill with questions: 801-567-8623, lance.everill@jordandistrict.org

Published on

DATE:  
March 17, 2022

TO: 
All Administrators and Administrative Assistants

FROM:  
John Larsen, Business Administrator

SUBJECT:  
Employee Overnight Travel

As a reminder, when employees travel to conferences or other events and it is not related to:

  1. a) student group travel arrangements, or
  2. b) an administrative travel stipend arrangement,

the following policies are to be followed (see the Financial Manual for more details):

  1. The travel request is to be submitted at least 45 days in advance using the Skyward task process called “Travel Request” so the Travel Buyer has sufficient time to make all arrangements in a cost-effective manner and so the traveler can verify information before the travel occurs. The Travel Buyer makes the airline, hotel, and shuttle arrangements. The Travel Buyer may pay for the conference registration as requested. However, suggestions may be made in the notes of the travel request.
  2. All costs associated with the travel are to be listed and preapproved.
  3. Any documentation regarding the reason for the travel is to be attached to the travel request (e.g. conference advertisement, schedule, itinerary, etc.).
  4. Regardless of how the travel is paid for, the travel must follow the same rules (e.g. grant / non-grant; department / school, etc.).
  5. First class, business class, or upgradeable fares should not be requested to be booked or paid for by the District.
  6. Lodging will be at the conference site or in a reasonably priced hotel within walking distance of the conference. A reasonably priced hotel is considered the average cost of hotels within the vicinity of the conference.
  7. Employees do not earn overtime or trade time for attending or traveling to a conference.
  8. Travel less than 50 miles from the employee’s normal work assignment should not include hotel costs or per diem costs.
  9. If an employee chooses to drive rather than fly to the conference, the employee will receive a mileage reimbursement equivalent to the lowest airfare available 21 days in advance or the regular mileage reimbursement, whichever is lower.
  10. Rental cars are to be used only when other forms of transportation are either not available or those forms of transportation are more costly than a standard rental car with the hotel parking fees. Rental cars cannot be prepaid by the Travel Buyer. The traveler will need to pay for car rentals and be reimbursed if not on a P-Card.
  11. Original receipts for airport parking fees, luggage fees, ground transportation (Uber, Lyft, cabs), or other costs must accompany the reimbursement request after the travel occurs. Any applicable per diem will be paid at the same time as these reimbursements. Costs not pre-approved for the travel are not reimbursed.
  12. P-Card use is acceptable only for the following items when pre-approved:
    1. Baggage fees
    2. WIFI if not offered with the hotel
    3. Transportation to/from the hotel/airport
    4. Airport parking
    5. Rental cars
    6. Conference registration
  13. For many personal reasons employees may want to pay for some additional travel costs that the District cannot pay for. For example, if the employee wishes to rent a car so they can tour the city, visit some sites, go out to eat at a distant establishment, etc. or if the employee wishes to extend the trip so they can see some sites, the employee should pay for these additional costs and report leave time as applicable.
  14. The State Auditor has prohibited government entities from booking or paying for non-employees’ travel even when there is a plan to reimburse the government entity.

Published on

Are you ready to be certified as an ESL teacher? Any JSD teacher can sign up while space is available. Please use this link to place your information by April 11th. ​​This endorsement program is open to K-12 contracted licensed personnel in Jordan School District. This does not include substitute teachers or paraprofessionals who are licensed. Principals, please do not sign up for your teachers.

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Really Great Reading Training Completion
Really Great Reading training links will begin to expire. These links are only active for one year. Please make sure all K-3 teachers have completed all modules for their grade level. 

Think Central for Literacy Phase Out
As a reminder from the JAM on October 28, the current platform for Think Central for literacy is being phased out by Houghton Mifflin.  As a result, this will be the last year that Think Central for literacy will be provided by T&L. This change will not affect Think Central for math. All Think Central accounts will remain in operation through the end of the 2021-22 school year. Schools can contact Houghton Mifflin directly for information regarding site based purchasing. 

EOY PLCs and Principal/Coach/Specialist Planning Meeting
Assigned literacy teacher specialists will be contacting principals to set up end of year PLC meetings. In addition, they have been asked to meet with principals and coaches to get feedback from this year and begin planning processes for next year. We have designed an EOY District Literacy Initiatives Checklist to help in this process and are asking them to review this with you at that meeting.

Published on

DATE:   
Thursday, March 17, 2022

TO:     
Elementary School Administrators

FROM:    
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:    
MOY Acadience Math Results

The MOY Acadience Math results are now available in Tableau viewer accounts. See the memo below.

Published on

DATE:   
Thursday, March 17, 2022

TO:   
All School Administrators

FROM:   
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:   
2021-22 USBE Educator Engagement Survey Results

The 2021-22 USBE Educator Engagement Survey window closed on Friday, March 11th. An analysis of the survey has been completed and is available in your Tableau accounts here.

Tableau users may also navigate to the dashboard through the Explore menu: Explore > Surveys > USBE Educator Engagement Survey > 2021-22 > 2021-22 Educator Engagement Survey Analysis

The survey presented question items and solicited comments from classroom teachers regarding mentoring, school leadership, collaboration, professional learning, career growth, and job satisfaction. While no school-level data are available, the survey does present a perspective of educator engagement and job satisfaction that could provide guidance to school leaders in terms of morale, teacher preparation, the efficacy of mentoring programs, and school leadership.

Please contact Ben Jameson in Evaluation, Research & Accountability with any questions.

Published on

DATE:    
March 17, 2022

TO: 
Principals
Assistant Principals

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services

SUBJECT: 
Thriving Schools: A Summit for Student Success

These past few years have both challenged us and taught us the importance of prioritizing empathy, relationships, and social-emotional learning to support students. Above all we know that a thriving school community starts with ongoing learning and reflection.

Thriving Schools: A Panorama Summit for Student Success originally aired on February 15th – but they have made it available to access until May 16th for FREE. The topics include:

  • What does it mean for schools to thrive?
  • MTSS and data-based decision-making.
  • School Counselors as leaders within a multi-tiered, multi-domain system of support.
  • Creating a shared understanding & partnering with families to supporting the social-emotional growth.

You may access the summit at the following link:

THRIVING SCHOOLS: A Panorama Summit of Student Success

Please feel free to share this resource with your counselors, psychologists, social workers, leadership teams and/or teachers as you see fit.

Published on

For teachers in grades K-3:  

Below is the information about Unit 2.
The last virtual session for Unit 2 will be held on May 25th.

Many of these sections for the months of March, April and May are either extremely low or have no enrollment whatsoever.
Please sign up for a Unit 2 virtual session ASAP because some of these sessions may be canceled by the state. Thank you for your attention in this matter.

Direct link for Unit 2, MIDAS course #60077

Month Dates
March 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31
April 1, 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 21, 22, 25
May 6, 12, 25

Administrator/Psychologist sessions

LETRS for Admin is a two-part training that can be completed anytime between now and September of 2023, your online work is not required to be completed prior to attending a training but is required to be completed before the project end date of September 2023. This all day training is from 8:30am to 3:30pm.  

LAST sessions for Unit 1 (60389) Dates: March 31, April 8, April 13, May 26th

Unit 2 (60446) Dates: June 6 & 15 July 8 & 20 August 5 & 16th. 

Check out this information on the T & L website: 

LETRS Administrator Information

LETRS for Admin Schedule

Questions? Contact  Bev Griffith at #88466 or beverly.griffith@jordandistrict.org

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Dear Principals:

It is time to order student Math Expressions workbooks for the 2022-2023 school year. Student consumables for K-5th grade were included in the 2019 math adoption. Each school site has already pre-paid for 5 years of these materials.  We are currently in year 3 and the orders placed will be for year 4 of the 5 year purchase. In order to be ready to start the 2022-2023 school year, Mtn. States has asked that we submit the refill orders now with expected delivery prior to the end of the year.  They have given us a firm deadline of March 31.  

An administrative assistant from the Teaching and Learning Department will reach out to you next week to confirm your refill orders and student numbers for each grade level. They will have the total number of books ordered for your school for 2021-2022 year and the expected enrollment for 2022-2023. We realize these numbers are projected numbers. Please account for growth, understanding that orders surpassing the initial order will still need to be paid for. If you had significant changes to your school population please work with your area administrator to determine how your school budget will reflect those changes.

6th Grade textbooks will not be purchased by the district, so 6th grade numbers are not necessary.  Teachers have access to PDFs and Word docs for all student materials in the Open Up Resources Program, including Spanish resources.  Additionally, there is a robust Canvas course, including MasteryConnect practice problems, Cool Downs, videos and slideshows for every lesson.  Many lessons also include Desmos, Geogebra, and Nearpod tasks that teachers can adapt and use as they like.  If your school would still like to order student workbooks for 6th grade, we can share the order information with your administrative assistant and your school can handle that order directly.

In order to facilitate this process, please work with your school administrative assistant to ensure that the numbers are ready to report.  When contacted, each school will need to provide:

  • The number of student workbooks needed for each grade K-5 (please account for expected growth). The refill orders will be submitted at the district level based on the numbers you provide and will be delivered to your school prior to the end of the year.
  • If new teacher orders for K-5 need to be placed, T&L will prepare a buy guide for you that will need to be submitted to purchasing at the school level. 

Thank you for your support as we work to have all materials in place for the beginning of the school year.

Sincerely,

Elementary Mathematics Specialists

Melissa Garber
melissa.garber@jordandistrict.org 801-567-8170

Orla Ryan Davis
orla.ryandavis@jordandistrict.org 801-567-8668

 

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Principals:

We have scheduled two separate training sessions on the operation of the school's security camera and software. The training will include the use of the software, saving of camera footage and the transferring of that footage to the appropriate device. We receive many requests for help in this area.

The training will be held on March 23, 2022.

Session 1: 9:00-10:00 am

Session 2: 1:00-2:00 pm

Both sessions will be held at the Auxiliary Service Building in the Presentation Room, enter at Entrance C. It is recommended that at least one administrator per building attend one of the sessions and if possible send one hall monitor to each session. No registration is needed for this training.