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The final session of the optional training for office and administrative staff of schools and District offices will be held Thursday, October 14, 2021, beginning at 8:00 a.m.  There is space available for an additional 50 attendees.  If you would like to participate, please send an email to Lisa LeStarge at lisa.lestarge@jordandistrict.org and let her know you would like to sign-up to attend.  Attendees will receive an email the day prior to the training with instructions for connecting to the Zoom meeting.  The agenda is attached.

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The elementary progress reports have been changed to reflect the move from trimesters to quarters. As you work to help your teachers prepare for parent teacher conferences, please use the information in the September 2nd edition of JAM and this Elementary Progress Report table.

The content of the progress report has not changed. Please encourage your teachers to refer to the progress report rubric in order to provide a score for each indicator, including “Reads grade level text.” Teachers can determine if a student is reading at grade level by evaluating each student’s performance on a variety of tasks, including, but not limited to, student reading materials in Journeys, benchmarks, other formative assessments, and Acadience.

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We have been so excited to visit schools and see the great work you are doing with the implementation of Really Great Reading (RGR) and 95% Walk to Read. We have heard many teachers express their appreciation for the skills and knowledge they are gaining in LETRS training. We are working to ensure that all teachers receive their compensation in a timely manner and we appreciate your patience in this process. The following is an update on the payment processes:

  • All teachers should have received compensation for attending the summer literacy launch training. 
  • We anticipated RGR compensation would be included in the September paycheck; however, we’ve heard from some teachers that it was not and we apologize. All RGR timesheets have been turned in and should be in the October paycheck at the latest.  
  • We are currently processing the timesheets for the extra day that was given to teachers for implementation purposes.  
  • Compensation for LETRS training will be provided after completion of each unit (includes online modules, bridge-to-practice, and in-person training). Teachers are asked to submit this form upon completion of a unit. Submitted forms will be processed at the end of each month to be paid the following month. Teachers completing unit 1 by the end of October will receive a $100 incentive.

Please feel free to reach out to T&L if you have questions or concerns:

Sara Henderson 801-567-8161  |  Michelle Lovell 801-567-8087  |  Mandy Thurman 801-567-8119  |  Ronna Hoffman 801-567-8242  |  Shelley Nordick 801-567-8122

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We invite parents who are newcomers (refugee, immigrant, or asylee) to our school district to attend one monthly parent orientation to get information on how they can best help their child in school. Different dates and Interpreters will be provided. Please fill out this RSVP form.

 

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Utah State Senate Bill 150 requires schools to assess students three times per school year (fall, winter, & spring) and inform first, second, and third grade parents/guardians of whether or not their child is reading on grade level. Please send the attached letters home with your students to inform parents of their student’s beginning of year Acadience results by October 31. You may copy the letters onto your school letterhead and send the letters home with students.

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Microsoft has recently updated their Microsoft Office software, and it’s time to move forward with Microsoft Office 2021! Office 2019 is no longer available to purchase, and we are now required to purchase the 2021 version of the program for new computers or any computers at your school running something older than Microsoft Office 2019.

Please use the following information to purchase Microsoft Office 2021 software licenses moving forward:

  • Part# 021-10696 Microsoft Office 2021 Standard lifetime license for PC, per device. $50.67/each
  • Part# 3YF-00731 Microsoft Office 2021 Standard lifetime license for Mac, per device. $50.67.each

There is no shipping as these are electronically delivered. The vendor is Insight Public Sector.

Please note that Information Systems has not had an opportunity to test out this software. There could be a few issues with the software once you have it loaded on your machines. Information Systems will do their best to troubleshoot any problems that may arise. If significant issues occur, they may have to move you back to Office 2019 for a time until the bugs can be worked out, and then have Office 2021 reinstalled. Please be aware of this possibility.

Please contact Tonya Hodges in Purchasing at tonya.hodges@jordandistrict.org or 801-567-8706 if you need assistance with these software licenses.

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DATE: October 7, 2021

TO: District Administrators

FROM: Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Scott Festin, Consultant, Planning & Enrollment
Caleb Olson, Consultant, Planning & Enrollment

SUBJECT: Fall Enrollment as of October 1, 2021

Attached to this memo is District enrollment as of October 1, 2021. This report is subject to revision based on the USBE final review, expected by mid-October.

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School LAND Trust Items Due by October 1

Required school website postings
For detail see links to the Timeline and Requirements for School Websites. (Hard copy attached below)
Link to Timeline and Requirements for School Websites

Online Council Membership Form
From the LAND Trust State Office: Consistent with Utah Code and State Board rule, the Council Membership is due to be submitted on the website by October 1. To the extent possible, please complete that entry as soon as possible. The Principal Assurance statement is required but not by October 1. It is not working and is not saving data. Please let that go for a later entry. We expect that it could be submitted with the Final Report after the Winter Break.

Link to 2021 Fall School LAND Trust Timeline and Deadlines - previous JAM

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DATE:
September 30, 2021

TO:
All administrators

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

SUBJECT:
G Suite Content Monitoring (BARK) notification procedures

The G Suite content monitoring software (BARK) is now active. As the program begins roll-out and we get an idea of the implementation, you will begin receiving communications from Angie Rasmussen, the Student Safety and Wellness Specialist. Once an alert is received, an organized process will be followed and the attached document is an overview of how BARK alerts will be processed and communicated. Please review the attachment. Additional training and information will be provided as needed in coming weeks.

It will be critical that all administrators keep Angie Rasmussen’s contact information readily available (we would encourage you to keep her contact information in your cell phone contacts). Her contact information is:

Email:     angie.rasmussen@jordandistrict.org
Work Phone:     801-567-8197
Cell Phone:     801-859-5022

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we implement this critical safety and wellness measure. Please direct any questions directly to Angie.

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DATE:
Thursday, September 30, 2021

TO:  
Middle School Administrators
Elementary School Administrators

FROM:  
Shelley Nordick, Ph. D., Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:  
Research Project

The Research Review Committee has reviewed a research project in which your school has been asked to participate.

Project Title: State Cohort Evidence Exchange: Utah Math Technology
Applicant: Emily Barton, University of Virginia on behalf of the STEM Action Center

The project has been approved by the District Research Review Committee. The applicant has been directed to contact you to discuss the extent of the project and to obtain your permission to conduct the study at your school. Participation in the study is at your discretion. If you have questions or concerns relating to participation, please contact Ben Jameson at 801-567-8243.

The project will involve teachers in your building who teach math all or part of the day. They will be asked to take two surveys on the use of math technology in their instruction.

Thank you for your assistance.

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DATE: 
September 23, 2021

TO:  
Principals
Assistant Principals

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Sharon Jensen, Student Support Consultant

SUBJECT:  
Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) – Assessment and Response

A threat is a behavior or communication of intent to harm that may be spoken, written, gestured, or expressed in some other form, such as text messaging, email, or other digital means. Expressions of intent to harm is considered a threat regardless of whether it is communicated to the intended target or if the intended target is aware of the threat. When in doubt, treat all communication or behavior as a threat and conduct a threat assessment.

When conducting a threat assessment, the communication or behavior is assessed to determine the level of response and/or intervention required. A transient threat means that there is no sustained intent to harm (exclusionary practices would not typically be used) and a substantive threat means the intent is present (or not clear) and therefore requires action (that may include exclusionary practices).

Schools are encouraged to use CSTAG assessment and response protocols for any threatening behavior or communication that is serious enough to generate an office referral or enough concern that the student may intend to harm someone in the future. Threat assessments do not need to be conducted for minor incidents or situations that are immediately resolved.  All CSTAG assessment and response protocols/forms are documented and retained by the school according to the records retention schedule for student records and are administered according to FERPA.

The CSTAG Forms are available on the Student Support Services website at:

https://studentsupport.jordandistrict.org/cstag-forms/

All forms are for your use and Jordan District has the necessary permissions allowing you to adapt them to your needs (the word version is also available online at www.SchoolTA.com). Please note that the administration of the Mental Health Assessment requires prior written parent/legal guardian consent (AA441-Privacy Rights-Students and Family).

It is important to remember that threat assessment is not a crisis response. If there is an indication that violence is imminent (e.g., person has a firearm at school or is on the way to school to attach someone), a crisis response is appropriate. Take immediate action such as calling 911 and follow the school crisis response plan.

Additional CSTAG manuals ($50) and/or Level 1 trainings ($85) are available at school cost. Please contact Travis Hamblin (801.567.8439) in Student Services should you have any questions or want any additional CSTAG manuals or Level 1 trainings for your staff.

All questions regarding threatening communication and behavior should be directed to Sharon Jensen (801.567.8187) in Student Support Services.

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DATE:   
September 30, 2021

TO:  
Building Principals
Administrative Assistants
Secondary Attendance Office Staff
Secondary Registrars

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Caleb Olson, Consultant, Planning & Enrollment

SUBJECT: 
Revision to Policy AS61 – Student Records and Transcripts

A revision to Policy AS61 - Student Records and Transcripts, was approved last night by the Board of Education. The text of the revision is attached to this memo. The change brings the policy into compliance with the requirements of FERPA and Utah law. Specifically, a non-custodial parent may now be added to Skyward as Family 2 and granted their own login and password to access grade information. Family 1 does not have the legal ability to consent to or approve this access. Schools must verify the identity of the individual requesting to be added as Family 2 and confirm their parental rights. This verification can be done through the student’s birth certificate and/or through court orders that confirm that the individual holds these rights.

Schools may elect to notify Family 1 when an individual with parental rights requests their access as Family 2 as a courtesy and to verify that there are not any updates to court orders that would prevent the access from being granted.

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Reminder:

Please complete the attached CPR/First Aid certification form and return it to the Nursing Services office (Nadine Page) by November 16, 2021.

Verify that at least three of the people listed will still be certified by the end of the 2021-22 school year. The certifications need to stay current for the entire school year.

Information regarding the CPR/First Aid certification process can be found here.

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DATE: 
October 1, 2021

TO: 
All Medicaid Time Study Participants
Physical Therapists, Physical Therapist Aides, Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapist Aides, School Psychologists, Elementary Counselors, Elementary School Social Workers, Audiologists, Speech and Language Pathologists and Assistants, RNs, LPNs, Augmentative/Assistive Communication Teams, and all Special Education Staff and Assistants Providing Direct Services

FROM:
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Kami Ridd, Coordinator - Health Services Department

SUBJECT: 
Procedures for the 1st Medicaid Random Moment Time Study of 2021-2022 School Year

MEDICAID RANDOM MOMENT TIME STUDY
Friday, October 1, 2021
and continue through the end of the day
Friday, December 31, 2021

You have been identified as a participant in the Medicaid Time Studies during the 21-22 school year.

This year, the State of Utah has transitioned to a new way of completing the time study. Instead of entering codes for activities that you are doing for a 5-day week, for 3 different times during the school year, we will be using a model called “Random Moment Time Study”.

This model will ask you what you are doing for a 15 minute “moment” in your work day. Our vendor will randomly select a participant from our district participant list and send out an email asking simple questions about what you were doing during the “moment” selected.

If you are randomly selected, you will receive an email notification 24 hours prior to your selected moment in time. The emails will come from utmac@pcgus.com.

The email notification will provide you with a link to access the on-line Random Moment Time Study form. The hyperlink to respond to the moment will be included in the email. Email notification will be sent 24 hours before the moment and again at the exact time of the moment.

Notifications for completion will continue to be sent at 24 hours, 48 hours, and again at 68 hours after the moment has passed. After the 3rd reminder notice you will only have 4 hours to complete the study. Failure to complete the time study within the 3-day timeframe eliminates our ability to include that portion in our time-study reimbursements.

The first-time study window is from October 1 through December 31, 2021. You may be chosen multiple times or not at all. You will receive a randomly generated time study email anytime during this window. Please check your email each work day during normal work hours. 

We are excited that this new method for required participation is available and more conscientious of your time and hope that it will ease the burden that has existed in the past. We so appreciate all your efforts to document these crucial services to students. Your efforts assist us in helping to secure beneficial funds for our students and programs. Thanks again for all you do.

Questions – please reach out to Kami or Ruth in the Health Service office:

Kami Ridd
801-567-8516
kami.ridd@jordandistrict.org

Ruth Hendriksen
801-567-8515
ruth.hendriksen@jordandistrict.org

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  1. The schedule for the first in-person LETRS session for administrators is here!! You can register through MIDAS (see LETRS Information web page if you have questions about your MIDAS account). Use #60389 to register for the course. Here is a link to the schedule: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oHGjzb46b4aD17XFTsJk3olP3PJfj-VGGq1nSUB_Ols/edit?usp=sharing
  2. Here is an update from USBE: Please make sure your teachers understand the following:

If a participant logged into MIDAS and only put the LETRS session in their cart, they have not checked out and therefore have not registered. Please remind teachers, coaches, and leaders that MIDAS is similar to the grocery store, and they must officially check out in order to be registered. If a participant is not registered in MIDAS, they won’t receive credit for completion/attendance, and therefore will not have proof of attending.

The links to the session cannot be shared, again for the reasons stated above, plus the courses cannot go over 40 participants or people will get kicked out during the session. Participants need to be logged in on their own device in order to receive additional resources in the chat box, ask questions, participate in engagement activities and discussions, and be marked for attendance. People cannot be sitting beside someone to “attend”. If a participant needs support logging in/checking out in MIDAS, please contact 801-538-7807 or midas@schools.utah.gov.

Participants can only enroll in 1 session for each unit. If you have educators who have enrolled in multiple sessions, please have them unenroll in the sessions they won’t be attending so others who are waiting for a spot to open can register.

Please be sure the employment tab is updated in MIDAS so that your current district/charter is accurate. For support, you may need to contact the MIDAS helpline - 801-538-7807 or midas@schools.utah.gov.

Additional units and sessions will be added to MIDAS as quickly as the company can schedule national trainers.

3.  Please encourage your teachers (and yourselves) to visit the LETRS Information web page often, as that is the way we can           communicate and keep everyone updated with all things LETRS.

4.  Thank you for all you are doing!! Being an administrator can be overwhelming!! Thanks for hanging in there and supporting         your teachers in supporting Jordan District’s goals. Together, we ARE making a positive difference for the kids we serve!!

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Thank you all for your participation in Principal PLCs at the last principal meeting. Based on your responses from  the data, the sessions below have been scheduled for principals and instructional coaches. Please share this information with your coaches. All courses will be by ZOOM. Please visit the JELL Canvas course for additional information and for the meeting zoom links.

Thursday, October 7th
9:00 - 11:30 Southland, Rosamond, Monte Vista, Fox Hollow, Elk Meadows
12:30 - 3:00 Terra Linda, Jordan Hills, Westland, Oquirrh, West Jordan, CDC

Tuesday, October 12th
9:00 - 11:30 South Jordan, Westvale,  Falcon Ridge, Blackridge, Aspen, Silver Crest, Riverton, Rose Creek, Mountain Point, Midas Creek, Golden Fields, Majestic
12:30 - 3:00 Welby, Mountain Shadows, Jordan Ridge, Riverside, Oakcrest, Hayden Peak, Eastlake, Daybreak, Columbia, Bluffdale, Butterfield Canyon, Foothills, Copper Canyon

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DATE:   
September 29, 2021

TO:   
Building Principals
District Department Directors
Financial Secretaries
Administrative Assistants

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Kurt Prusse, Director, Purchasing
Caleb Olson, Consultant, Planning & Enrollment

SUBJECT: 
Student Data Privacy Resource Review Process

As explained in the September Principal and Assistant Principal meetings, Utah law (53E-9-301, 53E-9-303) requires local education agencies (LEAs) to create a publicly available metadata dictionary that contains a listing of:

  • All personally identifiable student data collected and shared by the LEA
  • A comprehensive list of all recipients with whom the LEA has shared personally identifiable student data, including the purpose for sharing the data, the justification for sharing the data (including if the sharing was required by federal law, state law, or local directive), and how the sharing is permitted under federal or state law.

This means that any third-party resource that receives personally identifiable student data from the District must be cataloged and, where necessary, reviewed for compliance with USBE data privacy expectations.

Rollout to Staff
Building principals are responsible to rollout the process to faculty and staff. The rollout consists of a six-minute video and a handout that were made available at Principal Meeting. Questions that the principal cannot answer may be forwarded by the principal to Caleb Olson in Planning & Enrollment. When the rollout has been completed, principals must indicate their school’s compliance on the reporting form.

Purchasing Changes
Prior to September Principal Meeting, Purchasing staff would hold school and department requisitions for resources that used personally identifiable student data and facilitated the process of gaining the necessary review and/or a student data privacy agreement. This review will now be handled through Planning & Enrollment, and until appropriate clearance is given by Planning & Enrollment to Purchasing, the requisition will not be processed.

A form has been created for school staff to submit a review request to Planning & Enrollment prior to entering a requisition in Skyward (please note that this form is different from the form teachers will use to request a review of classroom resources). This form should be completed by the individual or team that is requesting the purchase; administrative assistants may enter completed information as part of the requisition process but should not have responsibility for vetting the privacy practices of the requested resources. A fillable PDF form is available for individuals or teams to gather the necessary information so that another staff member can submit the form.

Teachers with specific questions about the process should be directed to your location’s digital coach. Administrators and administrative assistants with specific questions about the process may contact Caleb Olson (x88251).