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Author: shooper

Published on

DATE:
August 29, 2024

TO:
Building Principals
Assistant Principals
Elementary Administrative Assistants
Secondary Registrars
Secondary Attendance Secretaries.

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

SUBJECT:
Enrollment of Returning Charter School Students

In the February 2022 Principal Meeting, school principals were directed to consult with and receive permission from their AOS before denying enrollment to a student who lives in the school's boundary and wishes to return at any point in the school year from a charter school. This guidance remains in effect for principals and assistant principals at all levels.

This information should be communicated to individuals who have responsibility for enrolling students at each school location.

Published on

DATE:
August 29, 2024

TO:
Principals and Assistant Principals

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Michelle Reyes, Attendance/Prevention Specialist

SUBJECT:
Attendance Resources for Labor Day

Thank you for your tremendous efforts to warmly welcome our students and families back into our buildings and back to school. Attendance Works notes that these warm, welcoming environments make a big difference with attendance:

“Research and experience shows that attendance improves when a school community offers a warm and welcoming environment that engages students and families and provides enriching learning opportunities. Students are more likely to come to school when they feel safe, know that someone at the school cares about them, and when there are exciting and relevant lessons. Families are more likely to make sure their children are in class every day when they know school staff are looking out for their children’s best interest and when they understand the potentially adverse impact of absences, even just two days a month, on academic success.”

Help families plan ahead and make sure their child is back in school directly following a school holiday by posting alerts using Parent Square, school websites, and social media. Ready-made resources are available in English and Spanish here. If you would like to customize the announcement with your school logo or have any questions, please contact Michelle Reyes at michelle.reyes@jordandistrict.org or (801)567-8205.

We still have FREE banners and stickers available in case you missed it in the last JAM.

Published on

DATE:
August 27, 2024

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 2024-2025

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

The evacuations will be conducted during the week of:
Monday, September 9 through Friday, September 13, 2024

Your school’s regular bus drivers will perform this evacuation as they drop your students off in the morning, one day during that week. This procedure will take place at your school and within the student’s regular bus drop off/pick up zone. All professional school bus drivers who transport students are required to perform evacuation procedures in case of an emergency. Bus evacuation will be through the rear door, side door, front door, or any combination of the three. 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:
August 30, 2024

TO:
Elementary Principals

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator, Teaching and Learning
Norman Emerson, Instructional Support Services/Fine Arts Consultant

SUBJECT:
JSD-Arts Representatives for 2024-25

This year we will continue to invite two District Arts Representatives (DARTS) to represent your school throughout the 2024-25 school year. We are pleased to be able to continue this program which received the Sorenson Legacy Exemplary Program Award in 2023. We have appreciated the work of past DARTS representatives and how they have helped strengthen arts instruction in your schools. Meaningful progress toward a greater level of arts integration has been made, and we wish this to continue.

DARTS meetings will be held on the following dates: September 11, November 13, January 22, March 26, and April 30. The meetings will be held at the Auxiliary Services Building Auditorium from 4:30-6:00 p.m. (the last meeting on April 30th will be a shorter meeting and will be from 4:30-5:30 p.m.). 

Please assign two classroom teachers to serve as your school’s DARTS representatives. The DARTS representatives will meet five times throughout the year to learn and collaborate. Teachers will be paid at the inservice rate and will earn relicensure points (Note: In addition to the two regular classroom teachers, your school's BTS arts educator will also be attending the DARTS sessions). 

Please email the names of your choices for the JSD DARTS Team for the 2024-25 school year to jana.shumway@jordandistrict.org or jacquelin.webster@jordandistrict.org by Monday, September 9, 2024 if possible.

Published on

DATE:
August 29, 2024

TO:
Principals and Assistant Principals

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Michelle Reyes, Prevention Specialist, Student Services

SUBJECT:
Attendance Awareness Month Materials 2024 & The Importance of September Attendance

We would like to invite your school to participate with us as we celebrate Attendance Awareness Month to shine attention on the importance of attending school every day. We have chosen Be Present, Be Powerful as our campaign slogan. You can find ready-made resources to help you plan and celebrate here. Teachers can access a teaching attendance toolkit from Attendance Works. Take advantage of Parent Square to send out information. Also included in the resources are attendance motivations and “Did you know?” facts you can share with your school community.

Published on

DATE:
August 16, 2024

TO:
All Principals

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

SUBJECT:
Professional Development Opportunities for September and October

Below is a listing of all the professional development opportunities for Special Education Licensed Staff for September and October. A link to sign up for each training will be sent to all Special Education Licensed Staff Members.

 

Published on

DATE:
August 26, 2024

TO:
Elementary Principals

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Teaching and Learning Administrator
Norman R. Emerson, Fine Arts Consultant

SUBJECT:
Assemblies by Artistic Resources for Teachers and Students, Inc. (ARTS, Inc.)

ARTS, Inc., now in its sixty-fifth year of operation, was founded in 1959. It has provided performances in all forty-one school districts in Utah, reaching more than 250 schools yearly with professional arts and education programming. We welcome their artists to our schools again for the 2024-25  school year. 

Click this link to find:

  • The assembly schedule with the date and time the artists will be at your school.
  • The contact information for the performing group coming to your school.

The artists have been instructed to contact you at least two weeks before their assembly to verify starting times and specific needs for their performance. If the date selected for the performing group at your school does not work with your schedule, please contact them as soon as possible to reschedule. The name and phone number of the contact person for each group have been provided.

If you have any questions, please contact Norman Emerson at 801-567-8364.

Published on

DATE:
Thursday, August 29, 2024

TO:
All School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:
Data Gateway Updates and School Report Card Project Release Dates

Data Gateway Updates

The state’s Data Gateway has been updated with 2023-24 RISE, Utah Aspire Plus, DLM, and ACT proficiency results. In addition, student growth (SGPs/MGPs) have also been updated for the 2023-24 school year. Here are some helpful pages on the state’s Data Gateway:

  • Data Gateway Login Page – If administrators don’t have an account or their account is locked or deleted, please contact Ben Jameson in Assessment, Research & Accountability.
  • Student Proficiency – Administrators can see proficiency by test type (RISE, Utah Aspire Plus, or DLM), grade level, district, or school.
  • Compare Schools Report – Administrators can compare both proficiency and growth (MGP or median growth percentile) for demographically similar schools.
  • Student Growth – Administrators can compare proficiency and growth on a scatterplot.
  • Test Scores by Teacher – Found under My Tools once administrators have logged into their account, this report allows them to see RISE, Utah Aspire Plus or DLM data for their teachers’ 2023-24 classes as well as current year students.
  • WIDA ACCESS Reports – Found under My Tools once administrators have logged into their account, this feature allows administrators to download the 2024 WIDA score reports for their currently enrolled English learners.

School Accountability Report Card Projected Release Dates

USBE expects to release school accountability report cards to the public on September 24, 2024. A secure release to school district officials and school administrators is expected to begin on September 5th and conclude on September 18th.

Targeted School Improvement (TSI), Additional Targeted School Improvement (ATSI), and Comprehensive School Improvement (CSI) designations and exits are expected to be released on September 24th as well. As a reminder, schools designated as TSI are eligible for exit annually. The schools designated as ATSI that are eligible for exit were identified in the fall of 2019 or earlier (cohorts 1 and 2).

For questions about the Data Gateway reports, individual administrator Data Gateway accounts, school accountability report cards, or TSI/ATSI/CSI designations, please contact Ben Jameson in Assessment, Research & Accountability.

Published on

TO:
All Employees

FROM:
Sarah Palmer, Director of Payroll

URS doesn’t discourage members from using third-party advisors. However, be cautious of any non-URS advisor or financial planner who claims to represent URS or have expertise in URS benefits. URS does not contract with or otherwise outsource investment advising to any third-party for any reason.

Published on

DATE: 
August 29, 2024

TO:
Principals
Assistant Principals
Panorama Survey Coordinators
Administrative Assistants

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

SUBJECT:
Panorama Student Feedback Survey Opt-In Report

Panorama (Early Warning System) and social-emotional surveys may only be administered to students whose parents have opted-in. Parents are asked to opt-in to the student feedback survey during the registration process. When the online registration process closes on Oct. 1 schools will manually enter the opt-in information into Skyward.

The Survey window is August 30-September 20, 2024. The following information is provided to inform and assist you as you administer student surveys:

  • The list of students who may take the survey (opted-in) will be provided to Panorama prior to the administration of the survey by Student Services. Only opted-in students will be able to log in and take the survey.
  • Schools should print out the list of students who have opted-in and provide teachers with the list of students in their classes that have opted-in. The registration opt-in information can be accessed through Skyward using this data mining report.
  • Using the list provided to them by the main office, teachers will be able to manage the administration of the survey. Using the opt-in list, teachers will be able to identify why students may not be able to log in and take the survey.
  • If there are students wishing to take the survey and they are on the opted-in list, but are having log-in issues – the school survey coordinator should contact Panorama directly for assistance at support+utahjordan@panoramaed.com. Student Services does not have the ability to manage access to surveys.
  • Students may choose to not take the survey even though their parents have opted them into the survey. Student feedback surveys administered through Panorama are never required and are always optional.
  • Parents/Guardians should always be informed/notified regarding the administration of any survey.

Survey coordinators and administrators should view the Administering Panorama Survey presentation for information, instructions, and guidance regarding the student feedback surveys. Other Panorama information may be found on the Student Serves website here.

Should you have any questions please reach out to Travis Hamblin (travis.hamblin@jordandistrict.org) or Michelle Reyes (michelle.reyes@jordandistrict.org).

Published on

DATE:  
August 8, 2024

TO: 
Principals
Administrative Assistants

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

SUBJECT: 
Updated Parking Lot Duty Guidelines for Elementary Schools 2024-25

Through the 2018-19 negotiations process, the Board allocated funds to pay each elementary teacher $400 for parking lot duty each year. The stipend will be paid out on April paychecks. The following are additional details and clarifications for the implementation of this payment.

  • Although parking lot duty requirements will vary from school to school, the payment is the same districtwide.
  • Administrators are encouraged to reduce parking lot duty for teachers as much as possible while maintaining necessary coverage.
  • All full-time K-6 licensed educators districtwide who are responsible for parking lot duty are eligible for the $400 stipend. Half-time educators are eligible for a $200 stipend.
  • All elementary school Special Education cluster teachers and preschool teachers are eligible for an $800 stipend.
  • Licensed educators (psychologists, BTS teachers, etc.) who have not previously been assigned parking lot duty may choose to participate and be paid a stipend but should not be required to do so.
  • Administrators and classified staff are not eligible for a stipend.
  • The stipend will be paid out on April paychecks.
  • Teachers are required to complete parking lot duty unless they coordinate with the principal to give their assignment and stipend to another willing teacher.
  • Teachers can take on as many parking lot duty assignments (and stipends) from other teachers as will fit in the calendar.
  • Teachers can only give up their parking lot duty assignment and stipend or accept an additional assignment and stipend in coordination with the principal.
  • Teachers can only give up or accept an entire assignment and an entire stipend.
  • Principals should adjust the parking lot duty schedule as necessary to allow as many teachers to take on as many extra assignments as needed.
  • Special Education cluster teachers and preschool teachers cannot give up their parking lot duty assignment.
  • Stipends for parking lot duty are included in retirement pay calculations.

To streamline payment, please ask your administrative assistant to complete an Excel workbook that will be shared in March. Please scan the completed submission sheet and send it with your regular April payroll to the Payroll Department by April 2, 2025 so that teachers can be paid the stipend on their April 25th check. Please list each educator in your building and beside each name indicate the dollar amount ($0, $200, $400, or increments of $400, or $800) the teacher should be paid.

The budget code for Parking Lot Stipends is 10 E XXX 0050 1024 131

Please contact your Administrator of Schools with any questions.

Published on

DATE:
August 1, 2024

TO:
Principals
Head Financial Secretaries
Special Education Teachers (Resource and Self-Contained)
Speech-Language Pathologists/Technicians

FROM: Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education

SUBJECT:
Special Education Budget Allocations 2024-25

In the document attached below are the special education budget allocations for Resource, Self-Contained Teachers and Speech-Language Pathologists for the 2024-25 school year. (Cluster Leaders and school psychologists do not receive a Special Education budget.) Remember that special education monies must be spent in ways that provide the most benefit to special education students with the goal to improve student achievement and performance.

Published on

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Jared Covili, Consultant in Teaching & Learning

Leadership in Personalized and Digital Learning Academy 2023-2024

The LPDL Academy is designed specifically for administrators to lead schools toward blended and digital learning through research-based content and job-embedded experiences. Upon completion, you may receive USBE's Educational Technology Endorsement.

The LPDL Academy will follow the blended-learning model; online course expectations in Canvas, five face-to-face meetings, completion of a digital implementation roadmap, and consultations as needed. As a participant, your school will receive professional development grant money to build the capacity of teachers and leaders, $5000 per school.

The face-to-face sessions will primarily be held at the ASB in Room 112 from 8:00 am - noon on the dates listed below. Mark your calendar and look for the Canvas course invite coming soon. If you have questions, please contact Jared Covili, Digital Teaching & Learning Consultant, at  801-567-8191 or jared.covili@jordandistrict.org 

Sign up today at: https://bit.ly/jordanLPDL

Session 1: Blended Learning

Wednesday, September 11, 2024 

  • Session focuses on personalized learning models (competency-based, blended, etc), digital leadership, and an introspective look at you as a digital leader.

Session 2: Culture & Change Management

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

  • Session focuses on understanding school leadership and cultural interactions, a framework for leading school change, and engaging stakeholders.

Session 3: Shifting Teaching & Learning
Wednesday,  November 14, 2024

  • Session focuses on personalized learning and teaching, supporting all students, and the leader's role in observing and evaluating.

Session 4: Human Capacity and Professional Learning

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

  • Session focuses on effective elements of professional learning, digital learning competencies, distributed leadership, and professional learning models

Session 5: Systems for Transforming to Personalized and Digital Learning

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

  • Session focuses on technology and infrastructure systems, devices, budgets, learning spaces, and rethinking current structures to facilitate change.

Published on

TO:
Elementary Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Michelle Lovell, Consultant in Teaching & Learning

Required literacy classes are now available for registration for new teachers and teachers moving to a new grade level. 

If a teacher is moving grade levels and has already taken any of the trainings, they DO NOT need to take them again. If a teacher has completed Wit & Wisdom training for any grade level, they do not need to repeat the training. 

To register for classes go to https://pd.jordandistrict.org/. Classes can be found by searching for the class titles or clicking on the links in the attached document.  Please be sure that all new teachers are aware of the different trainings that they will need for their grade level and the dates that they are being offered. These are currently the only offerings for these classes this year. New teachers should sign up for one date for each training listed under the grade level they will be teaching. In-service rate will be paid for Heggerty and MSRC classes taken outside of contracted hours. Substitutes will be provided for all classes taught during contracted hours. A stipend of $600.00 will be paid to teachers for the completion of the in-person and online bookwork for LETRS training. 

If you have any questions regarding classes or the registration process, please contact:
Brittney Eldredge
801-567-8161
brittney.eldredge@jordandistrict.org

Published on

DATE:
August 1, 2024

TO:
Administrators
School Safety Personnel 

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

SUBJECT:
National Summit on K-12 School Safety and Security

You are invited to join the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on September 25 and 26 for the 2024 National Summit on K-12 School Safety and Security. This virtual event brings together K-12 school leaders and practitioners to discuss and share actionable recommendations that enhance safe and supportive learning environments.  

Registration is now open for the 2024 Summit. This year’s event will feature panel discussions, sessions and keynote speakers covering topics such as violence prevention, emergency planning, youth online safety, student mental wellness, K-12 cybersecurity and student interventions and support. These sessions are designed to foster a nationwide dialogue on some of the most critical school safety issues, as well as equip school stakeholders and personnel with resources, training and best practices to apply in their local K-12 communities. 

EVENT DETAILS
Dates: Sept. 25-26, 2024
Time: 10:00-1:00 p.m. MDT each day
Location: Held virtually via Microsoft Teams 
Registration: Registration is required and there is no cost to attend. To register, please visit 2024CISASchoolSummit.eventbrite.com. 

WHO SHOULD ATTEND
The Summit is open to anyone with a passion for improving school safety but will be of particular interest to K-12 school and district administrators; principals and superintendents; school-based law enforcement; teachers and school staff; mental health practitioners; first responders; federal, state, local, tribal and territorial government partners; and other school safety and security professionals. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Additional details, including speakers and agendas, will be shared when available. To learn more about the Summit, please visit cisa.gov/news-events/events/2024-national-summit-k-12-school-safety-and-security. 

Published on

TO:
All Principals
All Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Nadine Page, Administrative Assistant

The following instructions are to help you in compiling the timesheets that will be coming to you from your licensed personnel. The complete list of instructions is attached to this JAM.

PRINCIPAL/ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT INSTRUCTIONS 

Principals and administrative assistants have 11 assignments:

  1. Assign a designated person to oversee this program. Add their name to the google sheet.
  2. Make sure the plans are turned in on or before September 30, 2024.
  3. All plans must be logged (with the date received), by the designated person, no later than Oct 31st on the provided google sheet.
  4. Provide time for eligible staff to complete the plan.
  5. Gather and track the timesheets as licensed employees complete them.
  6. Make sure teachers follow through.
  7. Add the actual number of hours the employee worked, (up to a maximum of 32 hours, which is determined by the FTE of the employee) after you receive the timesheet.
  8. Verify that all employees, that are eligible, have turned in their timesheet on or before April 11, 2025.
  9. If an employee works at multiple sites, the school listed as the check location is to track the timesheet for that employee.
  10. If an employee changes locations during the school year, the administrative assistant for the new location must collect the timesheet and log it by the April 11 deadline.
  11. Keep the plans and timesheets on file at your location for auditing purposes.

Eligible licensed personnel must turn in their plan to the principal or administrative assistant (designated person) on or before September 30, 2024.

Principals are asked to give time in a meeting at the beginning of the year for eligible staff to fill out the Professional Hours Plan and turn it in.

A google doc (school name – Educator Directed 32 Hours 2024-25) will be shared to each individual school to be used in tracking the plan as well as the timesheet. Please use this original google doc to track the hours. Do not create your own form. 

    • Administrative assistants, or other designed person will add 
      • the school location, 
      • names of the employees, 
      • employee ID (six digit #), 
      • FTE of the employee (the awarded amount is determined by the FTE of the employee; 1 FTE = 32 hours, .5 FTE = 16 hours,
  • ***the items above will be prefilled. Please double check to make sure all employees are listed correctly for your school, 
    • date that you received the plan, 
    • finally, the date when you have received the timesheet and the hours to be paid (once you have received the final hours worked).

Thank you for your help in making sure all eligible employees receive the correct pay.

Published on

DATE:
Thursday, August 1, 2024

TO:
Middle and High School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:
Summative Testing Changes for 2024-25

Principals are asked to share the following information with their Utah Aspire Plus and RISE tested teachers.

With the change in the ELA core approved by the Utah State Board of Education in recent months, the state’s summative assessments will need to reflect those changes. The changes to RISE and the Utah Aspire Plus are highlighted below:

Utah Aspire Plus

  • The English subtest will no longer be administered. Only the Reading, Math and Science subtests will be administered.
  • Scores will be delayed as the state will need to undergo a standard setting process because of this change. This means that teachers will not have access to Utah Aspire Plus scores when students complete testing. No grade incentive will be possible for the 2024-25 school year for any of the subtests because part of the standard setting process includes the predicted ACT scores, which requires scores from all of the subtests. We expect to receive scores sometime in the fall of 2025.

RISE

  • The ELA RISE assessment and the RISE Writing assessment (5th and 8th grades only) will also be revised according to the new ELA core. We do not expect scores for these assessments to be available either due to the necessity of a standard setting process. No grade incentive will be possible for the 2024-25 school year for these two assessments, though they may still be used for RISE Math and Science.
  • RISE Writing benchmarks will also be suspended for just the 2024-25 school year. USBE is working to field test new RISE Writing benchmarks, but they will not be available until the 2025-26 school year.
  • The Listening and Editing benchmarks will be permanently removed from the RISE system beginning with the 2024-25 school year.

For questions about these changes, please contact Ben Jameson in Assessment, Research & Accountability.

Published on

DATE:
Thursday, August 1, 2024

TO:
Elementary School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:
Summative Testing Changes for 2024-25

Principals are asked to share the following information with their Utah Aspire Plus and RISE tested teachers.

With the change in the ELA core approved by the Utah State Board of Education in recent months, the state’s summative assessments will need to reflect those changes. The changes to RISE are highlighted below:

RISE

  • The ELA RISE assessment and the RISE Writing assessment (5th and 8th grades only) will also be revised according to the new ELA core. We do not expect scores for these assessments to be available due to the necessity of a standard setting process. No grade incentive will be possible for the 2024-25 school year for these two assessments, though an incentive may still be used for RISE Math and Science.
  • RISE Writing benchmarks will also be suspended for just the 2024-25 school year. USBE is working to field test new RISE Writing benchmarks, but they will not be available until the 2025-26 school year.
  • The Listening and Editing benchmarks will be permanently removed from the RISE system beginning with the 2024-25 school year.

For questions about these changes, please contact Ben Jameson in Assessment, Research & Accountability.