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TO:
Administrators
Administrative Assistants

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

The following offices will receive a Pocketalk to assist when enrolling our Newcomer, Refugee, and Asylee students:

Elementary Main Offices
Middle School Counseling Centers
High School Attendance Offices

These devices are small, handheld instruments with over 80 languages to help in communication for registration. Please reach out to Language & Culture Services for any assistance with your new device.

Published on

DATE:
April 22, 2024

TO:
Applicable School Principals and Administrative Assistants
All Area Administrators of Schools and Administrative Assistants

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

SUBJECT:
External Audit Visits

The external auditors (Squire & Company, PC) will be visiting the following schools on the dates indicated. They will be reviewing school fees (appropriate amount charged, waivers, etc.) and financial information. Once finished, the auditors will want a few minutes with the Principal. If the Principal is unavailable, an Assistant Principal may meet with them. The auditors are planning on coming to the schools in the order listed. Exact times of arrival will vary depending on length of stay at earlier schools and travel time. If you have any questions or if your administrative assistant will not be available, please call Natalie Grange at (801) 567-8312.

April 29, 2024
Copper Hills HS
Sunset Ridge MS
Fox Hollow ES
Terra Linda ES
April 30, 2024
West Jordan HS
Joel P Jensen MS
Heartland ES
Riverside ES
May 1, 2024
Bingham HS
Elk Meadows ES
Elk Ridge MS
Westland ES

 

May 2, 2024
Herriman HS
Copper Mountain MS
Fort Herriman MS

May 3, 2024
Riverton HS
Rosamond ES
Monte Vista ES
Mountain Ridge HS

May 6, 2024
Oquirrh Hills MS
Southland ES
Jordan Hills ES
Hidden Valley MS

 

Published on

DATE:
April 23, 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 (SHELTER)

Our monthly drill preparation will be held on May 1st at 3:00 PM with a second session at 3:30 PM. This month we will be covering SHELTER. 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.

Information regarding the SHELTER response protocol can be found in the Jordan School District Safety Manual on pages 20-24. 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

DATE:
April 10, 2024

TO:
School Psychologists and School Psychology Interns

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

SUBJECT:
May School Psychologist & School Psychology Interns Meeting

A meeting for school psychologists and school psychology interns has been scheduled for Friday, May 3, 2024, from 12:00 to 3:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Auxiliary Services Building (7905 South Redwood Road). We will start at 12:00 p.m. with a luncheon. Julia Connelly, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist will provide us with a presentation that addresses Pathological Demand Avoidance.

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

cc: Principals

Published on

DATE:
April 25, 2024

TO:
Principals
Assistant Principals

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

SUBJECT:
HB182 Compliance Regarding Surveys and Preferred Pronoun Use

Utah Code §53E-9-203 prohibits schools and school employees from administering any “psychological or psychiatric examination, test, or treatment, or any survey, analysis or evaluation” (emphasis added) where the purpose is to cause a student to identify information in one of the following eight areas:

  1. political affiliations or, except as provided under Section 53G-10-202 or rules of the state board, political philosophies;
  2. mental or psychological problems;
  3. sexual behavior, orientation, or attitudes;
  4. illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior;
  5. critical appraisals of individuals with whom the student or family member has close family relationships;
  6. religious affiliations or beliefs;
  7. legally recognized privileged and analogous relationships, such as those with lawyers, medical personnel, or ministers; and
  8. income, except as required by law.

HB 182, which passed in the 2024 Utah legislative session and takes effect on July 1, 2024, amends the third item in this list to read as follows (emphasis added):

c. sexual behavior, orientation, gender identity, or attitudes;

In light of this change, principals should communicate the following guidelines to all school staff:

  • Students should not be asked or otherwise surveyed (including through questions on a beginning of the year “About Me” or “Getting to Know You”-style assignment) as to their sexual or gender identity.
  • Students should not be asked or otherwise surveyed (including through questions on a beginning of the year “About Me” or “Getting to Know You”-style assignment) as to what pronouns they would prefer to use in the class setting.
  • District Policy AA 432 - Student Attendance and Teacher Disclosure Statements requires building administrators to approve teacher disclosure statements and documents. Documents or statements that include survey questions about gender identity or preferred pronouns should not be approved.
  • Staff may respect a student’s request to use a variation or alternate form of the name on record in Skyward or a request to call the student by a different name entirely; however, staff MAY NOT change an official record in Skyward without the written consent of the parent or guardian.
  • Staff may respect a student’s request to be identified by pronouns that do not conform with the gender identity on the birth certificate and found in Skyward. Staff with concerns about these complying with these requests should speak with their building principal.
  • Staff may not intentionally withhold information from parents about a student’s requested name, preferred pronoun, or communicated gender identity. If a student indicates concerns about repercussions from the parent or guardian (to and including threats of abuse or violence) becoming aware of the requested name, pronoun, or identity, the student should be referred to building administration for additional support.

Additionally, staff should be reminded that HB182 also establishes a requirement that any survey related to an early warning system (i.e. Panorama), social emotional learning question, or the school climate system requires parental OPT-IN during registration at the beginning of the school year, adding an additional clearance step to the prohibitions listed above.

Published on

DATE:
April 25, 2024

TO:
Principals
Assistant Principals

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

SUBJECT:
Summer 2024 Discipline Trainings

Please mark your calendars for the following discipline trainings in July 2024. Watch for sign-up information to come in June:

Additional trainings may be scheduled if needed. School teams may also contact Caleb Olson for assistance on specific areas of concern or assistance.

Discipline Basics for New Administrators
When: Tuesday, July 16, 2024, 9-11 AM
Where: ASB Auditorium
This training is intended for new administrators and district-placed administrative interns to learn the basics of discipline logging and processing.

Newly assigned administrators and interns will receive an email invitation to attend this training in late May or early June.

Discipline Refresher
When: Thursday, July 18, 2024, 9-11 AM and 1-3 PM
Where: ASB Auditorium
This training is intended for existing administrators to review the discipline logging process and to hear updates to logging for the 2024-25 school year.

Published on

DATE:
 April 11, 2024

TO:
 Elementary Principals Elementary
Head Administrative Assistants

FROM:
 Jill Durrant, Administrator of Schools
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Schools
Becky Gerber, Administrator of Schools
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools 

SUBJECT:
 Elementary Administrative Assistants Trade Days and Summer Hours

Elementary administrative assistants are calendared to work 206 days in a school year, including 5 days in which students and teachers are not in the building. These days generally occur the Friday after parent-teacher conferences (2) and on grade transmittal days (3). The PTC days can already be traded for the Friday compensation day if the administrative assistant works both evenings of the PTC. They are also allowed to be paid for up to 10 additional optional days during the summer months which are not included in their 206-day contract. These days are intended to provide additional pay for them to keep up with work, such as student enrollments, over the summer.

Beginning immediately, greater flexibility may be provided to Elementary administrative assistants by: 

  • Trading up to 5 non-student/teacher work days during the school year to work in the summer months, and/or
  • Converting up to 5 optional summer days into pool hours for office assistants to work additional hours during the busiest times in August, in preparation for the start of the school year.

Option 1
Elementary administrative assistants may choose to trade up to 5 contracted days (three grade transmittal and two PTC compensation days) to use as additional work days the following summer. This could provide up to 15 additional work days in the summer.

Option 2
Elementary administrative assistants may choose to convert up to (5) five of their optional summer days into additional pool hours for their office assistants to work prior to the first day of school. For every full day that is not used as an additional day by the administrative assistant, 10 hours will be added to pool hours to be used by the office assistants to work prior to the first day of school. 

Option 3
Elementary administrative assistants may choose to do a combination of options 1 and 2, not to exceed 5 trade days in the school year and not to exceed 5 converted pool hour days to use for office assistants.

Tracking
For Option 1 - Administrative assistants will have an option in the Skyward Time Off System to log the grade transmittal day as a “Trade Time - Days” with the reason code “Trade Time Day Taken Off” for building principals to approve. When they work the day in the summer they will need to log it in the Skyward Time Off System as a “Trade Time - Days” with the reason code “Trade Time Day Worked”. We will ask you to also include this on a Google form in the checkout process for this coming year as a double-check with the True Time system.

For Option 2 - A Google form will be available in the checkout materials to declare the number of optional days that will be converted to pool hours for the upcoming school year. These hours will then be documented and tracked in the Pool Hours spreadsheet by the district AOS administrative assistants.

A Google form will be distributed as part of Principal Checkout. Building principals will need to approve these traded and/or converted days on the Google form and submit it as part of the checkout process.

Published on

DATE:
April 4, 2024                      

 TO:
Jordan District Administrators, Directors

 FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
 Administrators of Schools

SUBJECT:
 Time Schedule for the Last Day of School  

Please review this memo carefully for your school dismissal time, and convey this information to your students and parents.

Published on

JORDAN SCHOOL DISTRICT is offering Elementary and Secondary paid administrative internship openings for the 2024-25 academic year. Applications are open now through March 1, 2024 at midnight.

Please refer to the details below:

  • Applicants must select their level of preference (elementary, middle or high) and submit only
    one application.
  • Selected applicants will be interviewed.
  • Assignments are for 1-year only, with no guarantee of a permanent administrative position.
  • Internal applicants, if selected, will be treated as an employee on a leave of absence for the current school year. Internal applicants chosen as an intern will have the right to return to a comparable licensed position at the end of the internship.

Applicants must:

  • be enrolled in a university administrative/leadership program, OR
  • have a current in state or out-of-state administrative license, OR
  • be in the JSD Administrative Pool.
  • Elementary Administrative Interns are paid on a teacher salary schedule – 187-day contract plus 20 additional days (total of 207 days).
  • Secondary Administrative Interns are paid on a teacher salary schedule – 187-day contract plus 10 additional days (total of 197 days).
  •  A night stipend will be added according to level assignment.
  •  Assignment locations are to be determined.

If you are interested in this internship opening, click here to apply!

Click here for a Frontline application tutorial.

Published on

Now is the time to sign up for district supported Elementary Computer Science rotations for the 2024-2025 school year. Digital Teaching and Learning will provide training and professional development throughout the school year.

New hires are required to attend CS training August 21-23, 2024 at the ASB. Returning paraprofessionals will only need to attend August 23rd.

Please fill out the Computer Science sign-up form BEFORE May 1, 2024.

Published on

Utah State Senate Bill 150 requires schools to assess students’ reading level 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 middle of year Acadience results by February 28, 2024. You may copy the letters onto your school letterhead and send the letters home with students.

Published on

Wit & Wisdom training is still available for teachers who have not yet had the opportunity to attend. Teachers and coaches at the elementary level who have not attended the training are asked to sign up on JPLS by January 22nd. Reserving training dates now will help the Teaching & Learning department get an accurate count of training needs and ensure that all teachers have access to the training. All teachers and coaches are asked to attend the training this current school year.

Published on

Mark your calendar and save the date to attend the Literacy Promise Conference. There are some fantastic presenters in attendance this year that you will not want to miss.

T & L will pay for up to three individuals from each school to attend the Literacy Promise Conference held on March 20-22. This can include administration, coaches or teachers. Schools are not required to participate or may choose to send less than three individuals. Responses will be accepted through March 8th. Please click on the link below and fill out the form to list the individuals who will be paid for through T&L. If your school would like to send more than three individuals, registration can also be done at the school or individual level using the QR link on the enclosed flyer.

The conference is March 20-22, 2024 at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo, Utah.

LINK to register individuals to be paid by T&L.

Published on

DATE:
January 8, 2024

TO:
All Principals

FROM:
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Brian King, Assistant Director of Special Education
Mike Trimmell, Ed.D., Special Education Administrator

SUBJECT:
2024 Special Education Transition Fair

Special Education is excited to announce an in-person, Special Education Transition Fair for 2024 and would love for you to join us! There will be over twenty community resources attending to help answer any post-secondary questions for our students and families.

The Transition Fair will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 27 from 4 - 7 p.m. at West Jordan Middle School. We hope that you will be able to attend! For questions please contact Ashley Calhoun at 801-567-8208 or ashley.calhoun@jordandistrict.org

Please make sure to send the flier out to your community.

Special Education Transition Fair Flyer (English/Spanish)

Published on

Department Administrators:

The FTE Audit process is critical in ensuring employees are paid accurately and out of the appropriate budgets. Like last year, the FTE Audit will be electronic. Below is the process we will follow for the audits:

Electronic FTE Audit Process:

  • November 15, 2023 – HR will share with directors and administrative assistants the FTE Audit Report via Google Sheets. Please review the report with your administrative assistant. The report will include verification of faculty/staff, FTE, title and budget code(s). Please refer to the “Instructions” sheet in the document for assistance in completing the audit.
  • November 30, 2023 – DUE DATE for the FTE Audit Report to be completed for HR to process. Check the “yellow” box on the front page to indicate audit completion.
  • THE BEST NEWS OF ALL – All corrections made on the FTE Audit Report will be made by HR upon return. Change forms will not be required; however, new hires not listed on the report will require the submission of a hire sheet to HR in Frontline.
  •  If you are interested in meeting with HR to review/assist with your audit, please contact Brent Burge (88224) to schedule an appointment. We ask that you review the audit and come prepared to the meeting with needed changes to your audit.

Thank you for your time and assistance.

Published on

DATE:   
November 9, 2023

TO: 
All Administrators & Threat Assessment Teams

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
McKinley Withers, Health and Wellness
Angie Rasmussen, Student Safety & Wellness Specialist

SUBJECT:
Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) Level 2 & 3 Training Dates

Traditionally, 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.

If you have already completed level 2, we are excited to announce a new training opportunity, CSTAG level three (3).

This in person Level 2 workshop will:

  1. Review CSTAG level 1
  2. Focus on implementation and use of the threat assessment process
  3. Focus on sustainable ways to use CSTAG in your school
  4. Review and training on the decision tree
  5. Review the CSTAG forms and best practices for documentation
  6. Practice using real-world scenarios.

Level 2 Course #101883 Friday, December 1, 2023

District Office Room 129
8:00am-10:00am Section #127887 or 1:30pm-3:30pm Section #127888

Level 2 Course #101883 Friday, March 1, 2024

District Office Room 129
8:00am-10:00am Section #127889 or 1:30pm-3:30pm Section # 127890

NEW Level 3 In-Person Training

Wednesday, June 5th
District Office Room 129
10:00am-12:00pm Course #101984 and Section # 127891

Please sign up using JPLS for the session you will be attending. Select this  to register for level 2 or 3 sessions of CSTAG training.

If you are not certain about having completed the CSTAG Level 1 or 2 courses or should you have any questions please reach out to Angie Rasmussen at angie.rasmussen@jordandistrict.org.

Published on

As a reminder from Principal Meeting on 11/7/23, please fill out the form indicating when you would like to receive all Wit and Wisdom materials for your school. See the attached document for more information.

Wit and Wisdom Implementation and Training Timeline

Wit and Wisdom Implementation Preference