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Author: npage

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DATE:   
April 8, 2021

TO:    
Principals
Assistant Principals
Administrative Assistants
Secondary Attendance Secretaries
Secondary Registrars

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

SUBJECT:   
Processing Record Requests and Subpoenas

There has been an increase in recent months in the number of parent/guardian requests for records and in subpoenas for student records. Please follow the guidelines below when responding to these types of record requests (subpoenas regarding employees should be directed to Human Resources).

Per District Policy AS61 – Student Records and Transcripts, the principal is the custodian of student records at the school level. This means that record requests and subpoenas for student records directed to the school should be filled at the school. Planning & Enrollment will assist schools when subpoenas involve records housed at multiple locations.

Record requests must be from a parent, legal guardian, or the student. Requests must be made in writing. When the identity of the requestor cannot be confirmed locally, the request must be notarized. Once received, the school has 45 days to respond to the request. If the requestor is a non-custodial parent, a courtesy call to the custodial parent should be made. Additional guidelines can be found at http://planning.jordandistrict.org by searching for “Request to Access/Amend Records”.

An official subpoena will be sent by an attorney or court official and does not necessarily require a judge’s seal. Subpoenas must be answered within 10 business days of receipt. The individual whose records have been subpoenaed must be notified by the school and given a window of time in which to pursue (if desired) court action to prevent the disclosure of records. This notification should be logged and kept with a copy of the subpoena and the records requested.

When complying with subpoenas or record requests, only records that currently exist may be accessed. Records and reports may need to be generated and printed in Skyward but schools should never create new sources of data in response to a request. Schools should only provide the records requested and should not volunteer or create additional information.

Records requests and subpoenas should be answered in the manner they were received or in the manner requested. When sending files via email, records must be transmitted via MoveIt. Records sent via the mail must be sent as certified mail with a delivery receipt.

Planning & Enrollment staff are also always available to consult with school staff on filling record requests or subpoenas and can consult on questions schools may face when working with these types of documents.

Published on

DATE:  
April 8, 2021

TO: 
Principals
Assistant Principals
Administrative Assistants
Secondary Attendance Secretaries
Secondary Registrars

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

SUBJECT:
New Records Retention Schedule

A revision to the records retention schedule has been prepared and is now available from Planning & Enrollment. The new document includes information on record maintenance and state requirements for record destruction. Changes have been made to the retention requirements of certain types of documents to align with current retention requirements from the State Archive.

The new document is available at the Planning & Enrollment website (http://planning.jordandistrict.org) on the “School Resources” page of the “Resources/Forms” tab. It can also be accessed by searching “Records Retention” on the Planning & Enrollment website.

If school staff cannot find a specific record or report on the new retention schedule, they may contact Planning & Enrollment for direction and to have the report added to the schedule. As the list of reports may change, school staff should refer to the report electronically rather than printing a hard copy.

Published on

We are thrilled to announce that Junior Achievement of Utah will be hosting the JA Inspire Career Expo event this year on Tuesday, May 11th from 8am - 3pm!  

This virtual career fair is open to all 9th - 12th grade students in Utah. Students will have access to over 60 local business and higher education career exhibits, in addition to live panel discussion and webinars.

JA provides prep curriculum for this event which correlates with Utah CTE, FCAS and CCA courses. JA Inspire also includes webinars, panels discussions, and resources highlighting the importance of soft skills in the workplace, in connection with the Utah Portrait of a Graduate Competencies.

The event is free for students, and they can earn prizes for visiting booths, watching videos, and participating in panel discussions.

Please share the flyer below with teachers and students who would benefit from this experience.

Published on

District support staff are among the unsung heroes of the Jordan School District.

Each year Jordan schools and departments are invited to nominate one non-teaching/support staff employee for recognition. Through a designated committee, Jordan Education Foundation Board of Directors will select up to five individuals to be recognized as Outstanding Education Support Professional Employees. Each recipient will be given $1,000 and a commemorative award at the Board of Education meeting in May.

All full-time Jordan School District Education Support Professional employees are eligible. Past winners of this award are not eligible for nomination. One nomination per department/school will be considered. Please make sure the Nominee's Department Head or Principal has approved this nomination. Nominations will be accepted until 11:59 pm, Monday, April 12, 2021

Thank you all for taking the time to honor our amazing Education Support Professionals!

PLEASE VISIT THE FRONT PAGE OF OUR WEBSITE:  WWW.JORDANEDUCATIONFOUNDATION.ORG for more information and to nominate an outstanding education support professional.

Published on

DATE: 
April 7, 2021

TO:
All Jordan School District Principals (with bus route students)

FROM:
Scott Thomas, Administrator of Auxiliary Services
Paul Bergera, Director of Transportation
Kathy Jones, Transportation Trainer/Risk Coordinator

SUBJECT:   
State Required Bus Evacuations and School Bus Safety 2020-2021

State required semi-annual school bus evacuations have been scheduled for this spring. This applies to those students that ride the bus daily to and from school.

The evacuations will be conducted during the week of:

Monday, April 19, 2021 through Friday, April 23, 2021

Your school’s regular bus drivers will perform this evacuation one day during the week as they drop your students off in the morning. This procedure takes place at your school and is located in your normal bus drop off/pick up zone. All professional school bus drivers that transport students are required to perform evacuation procedures in case of an emergency. Due to Covid-19, bus evacuation will be through the front door this year. Students will then, under the direction and supervision of the bus driver, evacuate and meet in a safe place approximately 100 feet away from the bus.

Your assistance is welcome but not mandatory to complete this required evacuation drill quickly, safely and effectively.

We appreciate all you do to help us safely transport your students.

Published on

DATE:  
April 5, 2021

TO:  
Applicable School Principals and Administrative Assistants (Financial and Membership)
All Area Administrators of Schools and Administrative Assistants
Caleb Olson, Planning and Enrollment
Steven Harwood, Support Services and Programming Manager

FROM:     
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Daniel Ellis, Director of Accounting and Audits
Jason Mott, Accountant/Internal Auditor

SUBJECT:   
External Audit Visits

Please see attached memo.

Published on

DATE: 
Thursday, April 8, 2021

TO: 
Elementary School Administrators

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

SUBJECT: 
KEEP Exit Remote Administration Materials

Elementary school administrators are asked to pass this information, along with the materials included with this memo, to their kindergarten teachers as soon as possible.

KEEP Exit administration for the 2020-21 school year is still required by the state.  The KEEP Exit window is scheduled during the end-of-year kindergarten testing days on the following dates:

  • Traditional: May 21-28, 2021
  • Year Round:
    A and B Tracks – May 14-20, 2021
    C and D Tracks – June 4-11, 2021

Data entry into the Data Gateway is due by Tuesday, June 15, 2021.  Those who are administering the KEEP Exit (including kindergarten teachers and classroom aides) should have been trained.  Test administrators can access training in one of two ways:

Testing of Virtual Kindergarten Students:
In an effort to accommodate students who are learning online, the state has released procedures and materials for administering the KEEP Exit virtually.  USBE is recommending that, when possible, schools administer the KEEP Exit in-person, which would mean that schools would need to request appointments from parents of virtual students to bring their kindergarten students into the school building to be tested.  If this is not possible, the following procedures should then be used:

  • The teacher should make an appointment with the parent for the KEEP Exit to be administered to the kindergarten student virtually via Zoom.
  • The parent will need to assist with technology and provide four blank sheets of paper, writing utensil, two sheets of lined paper (provided by the teacher), and 10 basic counters (small objects to count like cereal, pebbles, etc.). The parent should plan on being present for the duration of the test, but should be instructed to not provide answers to their child.
  • Two devices with video capabilities will be required at home – one for the student and one for the parent. The parent’s device will be used to show what the student is pointing to on the student’s screen or writing on the paper (see demo video link below).

Included with this memo are the following materials (they may also be found online here):

  • KEEP Exit Remote Administration Guidelines – Kindergarten teachers should use this document as the script they read while administering the test.
  • KEEP Exit Remote Administration Materials – Kindergarten teachers should use this slide deck to display on their screen so the student can see it.
  • KEEP Exit Score Sheet – This is the same scoring sheet for the in-person KEEP Exit assessment. It is recommended that the teacher record scores on this sheet and then input the scores on the Data Gateway after testing has been completed.
  • KEEP Exit Test Administration Manual – This manual contains procedures for administering the entire assessment.

Kindergarten teachers administering the KEEP Exit online are strongly encouraged to watch the demo video here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/16sLQsNQjxmqcAKr9y4hoFObuZvT_36OT

If you have questions about the KEEP Exit, please contact the following people:

  • For Data Gateway or test administration questions: Ben Jameson, Evaluation, Research & Accountability: 801-567-8243 or jameson@jordandistrict.org
  • For remote test administration questions: Liz Williams, USBE Assessment & Accountability: 801-538-7542 or williams@schools.utah.gov

Published on

DATE:    
Thursday, April 8, 2021

TO:   
Elementary School Administrators
Elementary Administrative Assistants

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

SUBJECT:   
EOY 2021 Acadience Reading Testing – In-person and Virtual Students

Acadience Reading Benchmarks are once again required this year by the state – both students receiving their instruction in-person and online.  End-of-year benchmark testing will begin on April 15th and conclude on June 3rd.  This memo contains information on how the benchmark administration will be accomplished for both in-person and virtual students.

Students Receiving Instruction In-person:
Principals should have received an updated Monday-Thursday schedule of when district assessment assistants will be in schools to administer the state-mandated K-3 Acadience Reading Benchmarks.  For questions about scheduling, please contact Shannon Johnson at 801-567-8873 or shannon.johnson@jordandistrict.org.

There will be 7-8 district assessment assistants during your assigned testing time.  We also ask that the instructional coach, who was trained in September on Acadience Reading testing, assist with testing students as well.  If the testing team gets ahead of schedule during the day, we are happy to excuse coaches to go about their other duties.  To better be able to social distance between individual testing areas, we are requesting that schools use one of two room options:

  1. Schedule the media center.
  2. Schedule two classrooms that are close together. This allows classes to be easily funneled into both classrooms.  It also allows team leads to gather cards easily and assist with technology glitches quickly to minimize lost testing time.

If neither of these room options is possible, please contact Ben Jameson at 801-567-8243 to discuss other arrangements.

Each district tester is equipped with an 18x18 plexiglass shield along with their Chromebooks and student materials.  For this reason, student desks do not provide enough table space for everything.  We are requesting tables with chairs to accommodate our testers’ equipment.

For information on the cleaning and disinfecting procedures district testers will follow after each student, please see the document entitled Acadience Reading Testing Protocols and Procedures for COVID-19 that accompanies this memo.

Besides the changes listed above, our district assessment assistants will follow a similar routine for testing that they have followed in previous years.

Students Receiving Instruction Online:
We are required to administer the Acadience Reading Benchmarks to all students – including our students who have opted to learn online from home this year.  Parents of virtual students can choose to have their student tested in-person at their boundary school or virtually via Zoom.  Testing of virtual students will take place on Fridays at elementary schools throughout the testing window.  Evaluation, Research & Accountability will be sending a small team of 4-5 district assessment assistants to meet with and administer the benchmark assessments in-person to virtual students (principals have already been notified of their assigned Friday).  We are requesting that schools set aside a location for the assessment assistants to administer the benchmarks that will have access to larger table spaces to accommodate the plexiglass shield, Chromebooks and student materials.

Evaluation, Research & Accountability will schedule virtual students for a testing appointment through a Qualtrics survey form.  Schools will not need to schedule anything themselves.  If parents of virtual students or virtual teachers request the link to schedule a testing appointment, schools may provide the following link:
https://jordandistrict.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1ZZwVyBwPCsud4a

Please contact Ben Jameson with any questions or concerns.  We look forward to working with you on a smooth Acadience Reading test administration.

Published on

Every elementary and middle school in Jordan District has an opportunity to receive schoolwide access to Second Step on our District's Project AWARE Grant for the 2021-22 school year. Second Step's evidence-based K-8 curriculum includes weekly lessons, advisory activities, home links, reinforcement strategies, school-wide announcements, and more! The lessons are easy enough for any person to teach with minimal prep time and the digital platform makes this even easier. Second Step is now fully digital and any school that joins will be able to grant full access to the content to anyone in their school.

If you would like to take advantage of this opportunity at your school, please take 5 minutes to fill out this brief form that outlines our promise to you as you continue to find ways to support your student's social and emotional needs. If you have questions, reach out to McKinley Withers, mckinley.withers@jordandistrict.org, 801-448-1404.

Published on

With District and Health Department approval, beginning April 14th, 2021, JSD Nutrition Services will transition from our current meal service as follows:

  • Discontinue the use of hinged Styrofoam containers (except curbside/door-side meal service and ‘grab and go’ meals offered to virtual learners and students who are not able to eat in the school cafeteria.)
  • School cafeterias will return to a pre-COVID meal service utilizing serving lines.
  • Meals will return to an offer vs serve format, where students may choose or refuse some menu choices. Menu items that students choose/pick up themselves must be wrapped or in a portion cup with a lid.
  • Nutrition Workers will monitor students in serving areas, so students touch only the item(s) they are choosing.
  • Manual meal counting will continue for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year (No registers will be in use.)
  • Elementary schools will return to serving lunches on washable trays.
  • Secondary schools will return to serving meals on disposable plates, boats etc.
  • Cafeterias will maintain current district social distancing guidelines.

Published on

Volunteer reports need to be submitted to Insurance Services.

Workers' Compensation insurance costs are based on numbers submitted by schools.   It is important that this information be accurate and complete.

PTA figures must be separate from other volunteer hours.

Attached is a copy of the Volunteer Report for the period from December 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

Please complete this form and return it to Cheryl Matson, Director of Insurance Services, by April 30, 2021.

Published on

Principals:

Reminder: Two LAND Trust reports are due tomorrow, Friday, March 26, 2021.

2019-20 Final Report
2021-22 Upcoming LAND Trust Plan

Spring Break is next week. Please complete your reports by tomorrow so you can enjoy your time off! As a side note, I will also be off enjoying spring break next week. Please contact me, Nadine Page, at 801-567-8182 or nadine.page@jordandistrict.org, today or tomorrow if you have any questions regarding the completion of these two reports.

Here are previous JAM links to help you in preparing these reports:

JAM - Feb 11th
Recap of the principal meeting training as well as helpful documents.

JAM - Mar 11th
Information regarding the deadlines and how to prepare the reports. You each received an email on March 11th with important information pertinent to your individual school to help in preparing these reports.

Thanks for all of your help in getting these reports to the AOS and Board Members responsible for reviewing and approving the reports.

 

 

Published on

DATE:  
March 25, 2021

TO: 
Jordan District Administrators, Directors

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Administrators of Schools

SUBJECT: 
Time Schedule for the Last Day of School

Please review the entire memo carefully for your school dismissal time, and convey that information to your students and parents. Once again, we extend our appreciation to the administration and employees who work in the Transportation Department for assisting in the transportation adjustment required to accommodate these changes.

Public Law:
R277 Education, Administration
R277-419-2 Definitions
R277-419 Pupil Accounting
R277-419-4 Minimum School Days

“School day” means a minimum of two hours per day per session in Kindergarten and a minimum of four hours per day in grades one through twelve, subject to the requirements described in Section R277-419-4. All school day calculations shall exclude lunch periods and pass time between classes but may include recess periods that include organization or instruction from school staff.

Cc:
Paul Bergera, Director of Transportation
Jana Cruz, Director of Nutrition Services
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services

Published on

Hope you were able to register for the Instructional Leadership Conference, “Teaching Begins with the Learner.” In the next week, participants will receive an email from “Summit Events” with a username, password, and information to access the conference sessions. You will have access to the sessions from April 3 - April 12.

Visit Session Summaries for a small collection of questions to guide your viewing.

Published on

Jordan School District has developed an instructional plan for literacy and has adopted curriculum to strengthen instruction in both Tier 1 and Tier 2 settings to support all students and address disrupted learning. Please join us to learn about the plan, the curriculum, and the suggested daily schedule to help you prepare for the coming year.  Two dates have been provided so every elementary school building principal and assistant principal can attend.  The dates are April 8th and 13th from 8:30-4:00 in the ASB Auditorium.

Register in JPLS. Search for Literacy Launch, or Course 101669

Published on

Next steps for planning summer school...

  • By March 26 -- Determine dates and times of summer school. Record on “Summer School Schedule” sheet in your school ESSER Worksheets document.
  • (Optional) By March 26, school administration -- Indicate the number of summer school curriculum packages needed. Record on “Summer School Schedule” sheet in your school ESSER Worksheets document.
  • School Folder Link

IMPORTANT NOTE: T&L needs this information to begin preliminary transportation planning and to order curriculum packages.

  • T&L will share start and end times with transportation for preliminary planning. Schools will be notified if scheduling adjustments need to be made.

Published on

DATE:  
Thursday, March 25, 2021

TO: 
All Principals

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

SUBJECT:  
2021 USBE School Climate Survey Response Rate Links

Principals are encouraged to use the following links to monitor the response rates for the student and adult USBE School Climate Surveys.

As a reminder, all students in grades K-12 should have time scheduled during the school day to take the school climate survey.

An email went out on Monday, March 22, 2021, inviting all school employees to take the climate survey for their school. Evaluation, Research & Accountability will send out emails reminding school employees to take the survey.

An email will be sent out soon inviting all parents to take the climate survey for each school at which they have a student enrolled. Principals will be notified when this email has been sent to parents. Once the initial parent invitation has been sent, principals are encouraged to post the link to the adult survey on their website and send out reminder Skylerts to parents to take the survey.

Response Rate Links:

Parent Survey Response Counts:
https://jordandistrict.az1.qualtrics.com/reports/public/am9yZGFuZGlzdHJpY3QtNjA1OGM1NzA5ZGQzODgwMDBmMGI1NjY2LVVSXzAzMXVIbmNFMUpyaGtZUg==

Teacher and Staff Survey Response Counts:
https://jordandistrict.az1.qualtrics.com/reports/public/am9yZGFuZGlzdHJpY3QtNjA1OGMzYjJjOWMyNjUwMDExOGM2ZTllLVVSXzAzMXVIbmNFMUpyaGtZUg==

Grades K-12 Student Survey Response Counts:
https://jordandistrict.az1.qualtrics.com/reports/public/am9yZGFuZGlzdHJpY3QtNjA1OGMwNTYzZDZkY2EwMDBmNTMyZjk3LVVSXzAzMXVIbmNFMUpyaGtZUg==

Grades 3-5 Student Survey Response Counts:
https://jordandistrict.az1.qualtrics.com/reports/public/am9yZGFuZGlzdHJpY3QtNjA1OGMwZmU3N2I4ODMwMDE3ZTQ2MTQ2LVVSXzAzMXVIbmNFMUpyaGtZUg==

Grades 6-12 Student Survey Response Counts:
https://jordandistrict.az1.qualtrics.com/reports/public/am9yZGFuZGlzdHJpY3QtNjA1OGJkMWJmYTdmOTEwMDEzMmU2MGEyLVVSXzAzMXVIbmNFMUpyaGtZUg==