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Author: npage

Published on

DATE: 
January 29, 2024

TO:
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Safety Specialists

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Matt Alvernaz, School Safety Coordinator

SUBJECT: 
Monthly Drill Preparation (SECURE)

Our monthly drill preparation will be held on February 5th at 3:00 PM with a second session at 3:30 PM. This month we will be covering SECURE. Each School Safety Specialist is expected to attend along with administrators assigned to oversee school safety. All other administrators are welcomed to attend as well. The meeting is also opened to any staff who may be interested.

After each monthly training all school staff should be trained by the administrator over school safety and the School Safety Specialist. After being trained each month, teachers should educate their students on each safety drill. Additionally, schools should communicate with their patrons regarding Standard Response Protocol(s) (SRP) and the drill being conducted each month. Videos, handouts, and other resources can be found at the link(s) below.

Information regarding the SECURE response protocol can be found in the Jordan School District Safety Manual on pages 8-11. We will discuss how to implement and execute the drill. This will be an opportunity to ask questions and share ideas amongst the schools.

We will be holding this meeting over ZOOM so please join using this link.

Published on

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Human Resources

Following the release of the 2025-26 FTE V2.0 enrollment projections, the HR Department will provide training for all principals who may need to complete a Reduction in Staff (RIS).

See the document below for all the details and the LINK to sign up for the training.

 

Published on

TO:
Elementary Administrators
Teachers in Grades 3-6
Instructional Coaches

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Michelle Lovell, Elementary Language Arts Consultant

RISE Writing Field Test Volunteers Needed!

With the changes to the literacy core this past year, it has been necessary for USBE to update the benchmark and RISE assessments, including RISE Writing. In order for the scoring engine to be trained, each new writing prompt requires 5,000 student responses. Teachers and students in Jordan District are invited to test the prompts and get a sneak peek into the benchmark that may be used in the future. If you choose to participate, the benchmark prompts will be available on the RISE portal from February 18-June 6, 2025. Here’s what you need to know:

  • All grades (3, 4, 5, 6) may participate.
  • Students can take one informative and one argumentative.
  • The window opens February 18 - June 6, 2025.
  • There will be no automatic scoring - responses will be used to train the scoring engine.
  • No grading of student essays will be required to participate.
  • Automatic scoring of benchmarks will resume in the 2025-2026 school year.
  • USBE needs 5,000 student responses per grade and per benchmark.
  • Writing benchmarks will not be offered next year if there are not enough student volunteers.

If you are interested, please complete the survey to participate in the Writing Benchmark Field Test.

 

Published on

TO:
Elementary Administrators, Teachers, Coaches

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Michelle Lovell, Elementary Language Arts Consultant

Join us for a special Wit & Wisdom workshop where we will be diving into Wit & Wisdom’s Multilingual Resources. Language and Culture services will be joining the literacy team for this special workshop that you will not want to miss! See the attached flyer for additional information.

LINK to Register

Published on

TO:
Elementary Principals

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Rebecca Smith, Consultant in Teaching & Learning

Please see the attached document for registration and other information for the Elementary Math Tournament, hosted at Daybreak Elementary. Registration is due Friday, February 28 and can be submitted via this Google Form. Please contact Rebecca Smith (88368) with any questions you may have.

 

Published on

TO:
Elementary Principals

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Rebecca Smith, Consultant in Teaching & Learning

ALPS testing will be conducted during the school day at local schools from February 3 - March 14. The GT office and/or the proctor for your site will contact you to schedule dates and times for your school. Please contact Rebecca Smith (88368) with any questions you may have. Thank you for accommodating the ALPS testing at your sites.

Published on

TO:
Elementary Principals
Elementary Assistant Principals

FROM:
Garett York, JAESP Committee
Kaleb Yates, JAESP Committee
Ann Pessetto, JAESP Committee
Megan Cox, JAESP Committee

JAESP is proud to announce our 2025 Award Winners to the following, and all-around amazing, elementary administrators!

National Distinguished Principal - Jessica Stowe
National Distinguished Assistant Principal - Kirt Davis

Student Advocate Principal of the Year -Yajaira Martinez
Instructional Leader of the Year - Melissa Beck
Principal Mentor of the Year - Ronna Hoffman
Rookie of the Year - Baylee Lansford
Innovator of the Year - Amy Adams
Community Leader of the Year - Buddy Alger
School Improvement Leader of the Year - Keith Klein
Principal Supervisor of the Year- Becky Gerber

Congratulations! Members of the JAESP Committee were impressed by this year's nominees and want to thank each of them for their hard work, dedication, determination, empathy, and skill. Additionally, we would like to thank each person who took the time to submit nominations.

Published on

TO:
Elementary Principals
Elementary Assistant Principals

FROM:
Becky Gerber, Administrator of Schools
Odette Desmarais, Administrator of Schools
Garett York, JAESP Committee Member

Please submit concerns to be discussed by JAESP committee and cabinet by February 5, 2025. You may submit concerns or questions using the Google Form below OR you may send items to be discussed directly to Ann Pessetto at Westland, Megan Cox at Midas Creek, Kaleb Yates at Juniper Elementary, or Garett York at Southland.

Google Form Link

All items will be discussed anonymously as we work to provide clarification and solutions to concerns of elementary administrators.

Notes of the discussions will be published on a Google Doc titled "JAESP Committee Notes 2024-25" which will be shared with Elementary Administrators.

Published on

DATE: 
January 27, 2025

TO: 
District Administrative Assistants

FROM:   
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Daniel Ellis, Director of Accounting, Budgets and Audits

SUBJECT:  
Accounting Training

Accounting will be providing training for district level administrative assistants covering topics like journal entries, chart of account updates, reading reports, general finance job duties, etc. There will be two trainings so offices can plan for coverage. Trainings will be held on the following dates and times:

Tuesday February 25th from 1-3 pm in room 129 at the District Office

Wednesday February 26th from 1-3 pm in room PDC 101 at the ASB

Please bring any questions you have as we will also have time to cover questions. If you have questions regarding the training, please contact Dan Ellis at extension 88389. We look forward to seeing you there.

Thank you.

Published on

DATE:   
January 23, 2025

TO: 
Secondary Assistant Principals

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

SUBJECT:  
Spring 2025 Campus Monitor Training

Spring 2025 Campus Monitor Training will be held in two sessions on Tuesday, February 25, 2025. The morning session will be held in the ASB presentation room from 7:30 -9:00 am. The afternoon session will be held in the ASB presentation room from 1:30 -3:00 pm.

Please coordinate with your team on meeting attendance. All Campus Monitors are required to attend one session. Assistant Principals, interns, & administrators are welcome but not required to attend.

Published on

TO:
School Administrators

FROM:
Brad Sorensen, Administrator of Schools
Cody Curtis, Administrator of Schools
Odette Desmarais, Administrator of Schools
Meredith Doleac, Administrator of Schools
Becky Gerber, Administrator of Schools
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools

A beverage service will be provided at 7:30 a.m. in the auditorium hallway. Lunch will be provided.

LOCATION - PLEASE NOTE THAT WE WILL START WITH LEVEL MEETINGS AT 8:00 AM
Elementary/Sped - Auditorium
Middle/High - Presentation Room

Published on

TO:
Assistant Principals

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent

The February Assistant Principal meetings will be held on February 6 (8:00-11:00am) and February 11 (8:00-11:00am). All meetings will be held in-person at the JATC-S. All assistant principals and intern assistant principals are invited. A beverage service will be provided, beginning at 7:30 am at each of the meetings. As a reminder you only need to attend one of the sessions offered. Both sessions will provide the same information. Please CLICK HERE and it will take you to the Google Doc to sign up for which day you would like to attend. If you have any questions please call Nadine Page at 801-567-8182 (x88182).

Published on

TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Michelle Love-Day, Director of Language & Culture Services

We are looking for teachers in secondary math, health/PE, and computer science to create modified canvas courses for our Language Learners. Stipends available. The teacher must be ESL endorsed. Please see the flyer and info below for more details.

Requirements

  • Endorsement in content area
  • ESL endorsed
  • Experience adding scaffolds to assignments for multilingual students
  • Experience & ease with Canvas

Responsibilities
Divide existing content into 4 quarters. Ensure all existing links work. Add scaffolds, strategies, and/or modifications, as needed, to existing (already created) Canvas assignments:

  • Pictures/visuals
  • Chunked assignments
  • Graphic organizers
  • Essential vocab. with pictures
  • Videos
  • Simplified text
  • Word banks
  • Sentence stems

Create/modify assessments for each quarter

  • Simplified questions & answers
  • Most questions should be multiple choice, T/F, drop down, or matching
  • Essay/short answer questions must include an answer key/rubric

Answer Keys for each assignment and assessment.

To Apply

  • Interested applicants please complete this Google Form (or scan QR code in the flyer) with a Google Drive link to one of your lessons with embedded ML scaffolds.
  • Pay will be based on your hourly rate, up to $325 per quarter credit for each course modified.
  • Teachers must keep record of all time spent on modifications on a timesheet

Direct questions or inquiries to letitia.vigil@jordandistrict.org

Published on

TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Michelle Love-Day, Director of Language & Culture Services

In this LCS newsletter, want to remind you of cultural celebrations happening this winter and have information on:
  • Lunar New Year is Jan. 29 - Lunar New Vear is a significant cultural event celebrated in countries such as China, Vietnam, Korea, and others. It marks the beginning of the lunar calendar and is characterized by various traditions, including family gatherings, feasts, fireworks, and the exchange of red envelopes for luck.
  • February is Black History Month - a time dedicated to honoring the achievements, contributions, and rich cultural heritage of African Americans throughout history. It's a powerful opportunity to engage students in meaningful discussions about history, identity, and social justice. Black History Month was first established in 1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson and later expanded to a month-long celebration. It serves as a reminder of the significant impact African Americans have had on shaping our nation and the ongoing journey towards equality and justice.
  • Ramadan is Approximately Feb. 28 to March 29 - Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. It lasts 29-30 days, depending on the sighting of the moon. Fasting from dawn until sunset is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. It involves abstaining from food, drink, and other physical needs. It is a time for spiritual growth, increased devotion, and worship.

Published on

DATE:  
January 23, 2025

TO:  
Elementary Principals
Elementary Administrative Assistants

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

SUBJECT:  
Guidelines to Establish Kindergarten Enrollment

It is the responsibility of each school to obtain a kindergarten roster for the upcoming school year. This roster helps facilitate kindergarten staffing and establish budgets for supplies and materials. Typically, efforts to establish kindergarten rosters begin now. Enrollments for kindergarten should be promptly entered into Skyward so that projections accurately reflect enrollments. Schools must not keep external lists or delay entering kindergarten enrollments.

The following steps should be used to establish a kindergarten roster:

  1. Send a flyer home with every student.
  2. Publicize in the school newsletter – communicate (several times) the importance of getting accurate kindergarten counts.
  3. Use all other resources available to you (ParentSquare, social media, etc.).
  4. NOTE: New Student Online Enrollment (NSOE) for the upcoming school year enrollment will not be available until after the Skyward pre-enroll. If applications were entered prior to pre-enrollment, they need to be inactive for the current year and active for next year. This can be done during the approval process in NSOE.
  5. Schedule kindergarten orientation as soon as possible. After pre-transfers begin in December, check your New Student Online Enrollment to see if there are any pending applications that need follow up.
  6. Hang banners announcing Kindergarten Registration being accepted for the following school year.
  7. Remember that the guardian of a kindergarten student has 30 days to provide a birth certificate and that these 30 days begin on the first day of school. Kindergarten applications received now can be activated for next year provided the guardian is notified of the birth certificate timetable and the school follows up in the fall.

Please schedule your kindergarten orientation AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Optional Ideas:

  1. Make a block contact with every home using PTA support.
  2. Contact preschools in the attendance area of your school.
  3. Use a telephone tree operated by parent volunteers with a list of questions for consistency.
  4. Contact neighbors who can identify new move-ins.
  5. Contact community members who do not have children enrolled in school.
  6. Avoid forwarding kindergarten orientation letters to new addresses if a family has moved from your boundary area. Delete that name from your list.

Please be diligent in recruiting all the kindergarten students within your school boundary.

Published on

DATE:    
January 23, 2025

TO:  
All Administrators

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

SUBJECT:   
Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) and Bullying Action Plan (BAP)Training Dates

Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) and Bullying Action Plan (BAP) Training are required by State Law. Additional training dates have been made available and are described below.

CSTAG training consists of two (2) training levels and both levels must be completed by all administrators and threat assessment team members. The CSTAG Level 2 workshop is for all who have completed the Level 1 training (the six (6) hour web-based training from Navigate360). This workshop will build upon your knowledge of threat assessment by providing practical application and implementation of the CSTAG process in your school. CSTAG Level 3 is optional and offers practical applications of CSTAG.

**CSTAG Level 2**
Wednesday, February 26th, DO Room 129, (8am-10am) Register Here
Friday, May 2nd, DO Room 129, (1pm-3pm) Register Here

**CSTAG Level 3: Practical Use**
Wednesday, February 26th, DO Room 129, (1pm-3pm) Register Here
Friday, May 2nd, DO Room 129, (8am-10am) Register Here

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

As per State requirements outlined in H.B. 84, Jordan District has created a “Bullying Action Plan” to support a caring, proactive response to bullying incidents. Training on the Bullying Action Plan will occur through in-person, 2-hour sessions of each school-based administrator’s choosing. All school-based administrators are required to attend one training session. For those that were unable to attend we have created two additional dates.

Wednesday, February 12th, DO Room 129, (1:00pm-3:00pm) Register Here
Tuesday, February 25th, DO Room 129, (8:30am-10:30am) Register Here

Register for all sessions on Canvas (https://pd.jordandistrict.org/)

Should you have any questions please reach out to Angie Rasmussen at angie.rasmussen@jordandistrict.org

Published on

TO:
All District Office Departments and Special Programs

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning

The purpose of the Curriculum Advisory Committee is to provide transparency and understanding in reviewing current primary instructional materials and to provide feedback to the Board in anticipation of adopting new primary instructional materials. See DE501

The membership of this committee is determined by policy and includes parents, teachers, and administrators. The current committee is planning to meet in February 2025. 

This is a reminder to all departments that any curricular materials that may be considered for use districtwide as primary instructional materials (except as listed below) should be presented to the committee for initial review before an RFP or an adoption by the Jordan Board of Education. This includes software programs for assessment and instruction used districtwide by students, e.g. Star Reading; Reading Horizons, Canvas; Mastery Connect.  

Primary Instructional Materials are defined in policy as: learning materials that a local school board adopts and approves for use districtwide for student instruction and assessment. Primary instructional materials do not include learning materials used to teach specific electives, concurrent enrollment, advanced placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Dual Language Immersion (DLI), and technical education (CTE) courses.

Please contact Carolyn Gough if you have questions about curriculum adoption or if your department is contemplating an adoption within the 2025-2026 school year. 

 

Published on

DATE:   
January 21, 2025

TO:   
School Psychologists and School Psychology Interns

FROM:    
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Fulvia Franco, Program Specialist – Guidance

SUBJECT:
January School Psychologist Guidance Meeting

A meeting for school psychologists and school psychology interns has been scheduled for Friday, January 31, 2025, from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Auxiliary Services Building (7905 South Redwood Road). Liz Miller, Special Education Teacher Specialist, will provide us with a presentation that addresses Embrace procedures for case managers, especially since many school psychologists have students with Guidance Only services. We will also address 504 and have time for collaboration groups. Please come prepared to share ideas within your groups.

Part-time Staff: I would appreciate it if you could adjust your schedules in order to attend this meeting.

cc:
Principals