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Category: Elementary Action Required

Published on

DATE:  
11/5/2024

TO:  
Principals
Special Education Teachers (Resource & Cluster)

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

SUBJECT:  
Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) Testing Checklist

Attached is the DLM checklist for all special education teachers who are administering the DLM assessment to any of their students for the 2024-25 school year. You are required to complete and return the checklist to Jen Birrell for all Elementary teachers and Mikaylee Krebs for all Secondary teachers at the District Office by Friday, December 20, 2024. This form is also available online at specialed.jordandistrict.org/staff/forms on the Special Education website.

Please direct any questions or concerns to Jen Birrell for Elementary Teachers and Mikaylee Krebs for Secondary teachers.

Jen Birrell: 801-567-8905 or jennifer.birrell@jordandistrict.org

Mikaylee Krebs: 801-567-8356 or mikaylee.krebs@jordandistrict.org

 

Published on

TO:
Elementary Principals
Elementary Assistant Principals

FROM:
Becky Gerber, Administrator of Schools
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Schools
Garett York, JAESP Committee Member

Please submit concerns to be discussed by JAESP committee and cabinet by November 6, 2024. You may submit concerns or questions using the Google Form 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.

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: 
Thursday, October 24, 2024

TO: 
Elementary School Administrators

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Assessment, Research and Accountability
Rebecca Smith, Consultant, Gifted & Talented

SUBJECT:  
CogAT Sample Parent Notification Letter and Parental Exclusion Form

The 6th grade CogAT testing window opens Tuesday, October 29 and closes Friday, December 6. In preparation for testing, school administrators may wish to communicate with parents about CogAT testing. To facilitate this, a sample parent notification letter in both English and Spanish has been attached with this memo. School administrators are welcome to use the sample letter as it is written or add additional information as they see fit. It is recommended that school administrators send the parent notification letter via ParentSquare to 6th grade parents rather than sending the note home with students.

If parents express a desire to exclude their student from CogAT testing, the parental exclusion form on the main page of Assessment, Research & Accountability’s website may be used. That parental exclusion form may be found here.

Questions regarding the 6th grade CogAT may be referred to Kassidy Towery in Assessment, Research & Accountability or Rebecca Smith and Taryn Cox in Gifted & Talented.

Published on

TO:
All Administrators

FROM:
Jordan School District Cabinet Members

All licensed administrators are invited to complete the following questionnaire by November 15, 2024. This formal process of gaining your input will serve as a conversation starter with your Administrator of Schools about work assignments for the coming school year (2025-26) in Jordan District. Personal preference is one of many factors considered when determining administrative assignments. This does not take the place of the need to sign up for a formal Principal interview. Please use this link to access the form: 2024-25 Licensed Administrator Assignment Questionnaire.

Published on

TO:
Principals

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Brandee Bergum, Consultant in Teaching & Learning

To prepare for using the Star Reading assessment as our new district-wide reading screener, we are offering training for two educators from each school to become school-based guides on the assessment.

These guides will assist their ELA departments or grade-level teams in accessing, administering, and understanding the reports from the assessment. We will provide multiple virtual training sessions, starting with the first session on November 8, from 1:00 to 3:00 PM. Additional sessions will be available before or after school in November and December. Educators will be compensated at their hourly rate for attending.

Please submit the names of your two educators or have them contact Brandee Bergum, x88152 or brandee.bergum@jordandistrict.org,  to receive the link for the November 8 training.

Published on

DATE:   
Thursday, October 17, 2024

TO:  
Elementary School Administrators

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

SUBJECT: 
2024-25 Stakeholder Input Survey Preview and Administration Materials

Please see the memo below for instructions of what needs to take place before the survey window opens on Friday, November 1, 2024.

Published on

DATE:  
October 10, 2024

TO:  
School-based Administrators

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

SUBJECT:  
Bullying Action Plans & Required Training

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.

All training will take place at JATC-South on the following days and times:

November 12
Session One: 8:30-10:30 – Register HERE
Session Two: 11:00-1:00 – Register HERE

November 20
Session One: 8:30-10:30 – Register HERE
Session Two: 1:00-3:00- Register HERE

December 3
Session One: 8:30-10:30 – Register HERE
Session Two: 1:00-3:00 – Register HERE

January 7
Session One: 8:30-10:30 – Register HERE
Session Two: 1:00-3:00 – Register HERE

Register for your session through Canvas at pd.jordandistrict.org

Note: Training for school mental health staff members who support bullying intervention will be arranged through Student Services at already scheduled training meetings.

 

Published on

DATE:  
Thursday, October 10, 2024

TO: 
Elementary Principals and Instructional Coaches

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Assessment, Research and Accountability
Michelle Lovell, Elementary Language Arts Consultant

SUBJECT:
ALO Data Training with Principals and Coaches

With the transition from mClass to Acadience Learning Online (ALO) for the Acadience Reading assessment, it is important that building administrators and instructional coaches know how to access the reporting suite in ALO and understand the data they are analyzing. The ALO reporting suite allows users to view data by district, school, grade level, class, and student for benchmark status, pathways of progress (after the MOY benchmark window), and progress monitoring.

In collaboration with Teaching & Learning’s Literacy Department, Assessment, Research & Accountability is offering a training for elementary principals and instructional coaches that will cover the following:

  • How to access the various reports and data views in ALO.
  • How to ask the right questions to think intentionally about Acadience results.
  • How to prepare for conversations principals and coaches will have with teacher leaders, grade level PLC teams, community members, and other key personnel.

Principals and instructional coaches from each school are asked to attend the training together. Attendees may choose from one of five sections in JSD’s Canvas Catalog using this link:

Date Location Time
Tuesday, October 29 ASB PDC 103 (Entrance B) 12:00 – 3:30 pm
Wednesday, October 30 ASB PDC 113 8:00 – 11:30 am
Thursday, November 7 ASB PDC 102 8:00 – 11:30 am
Thursday, November 7 ASB PDC 102 12:00 – 3:30 pm
Wednesday, November 13 ASB PDC 102 8:00 – 11:30 am

All trainings will be held at the Jordan School District Auxiliary Services Building located at 7905 South Redwood Road.

For questions or more information about this training, please contact Ben Jameson in Assessment, Research & Accountability or Michelle Lovell in Teaching & Learning.

Published on

TO:
All Administrators

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent

The following professional development days have been added to this year's calendar.

2024-25 School Year Calendar

Professional Development Day (No Students Attend)
Friday, November 8, 2024
Friday, March 14, 2025

All employees should work in the building on these days. As you are planning Professional Development in your schools and departments please plan as follows: Principal-Directed School Level Professional Development will be held in the morning hours and optional District-Level Professional Development may begin at 1:00 pm.

Please provide these dates to your employees.
If you have any questions please contact your Administrator of Schools.

Published on

TO:
Elementary Principals
Elementary Teachers

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Amanda Bollinger, Associate Administrator, Teaching & Learning
Amy Kinder, K-12 Math Consultant, Teaching & Learning

Principals,

Our Information Systems department has now resolved the rostering issues with Think Central Math Expressions. K-5 teachers should now be able to access all Math Expressions materials through Think Central.

PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH YOUR K-5 TEACHERS IMMEDIATELY.

Thank you for your patience as this issue was resolved.

Published on

DATE:
September 25, 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 (LOCKDOWN)

Our monthly drill preparation will be held on October 2nd at 3:00 PM with a second session at 3:30 PM. This month we will be covering LOCKDOWN.  Each School Safety Specialist is expected to attend along with administrators assigned to oversee school safety.  All other administrators are welcome to attend as well. The meeting is also open 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 LOCKDOWN response protocol can be found in the Jordan School District Safety Manual on pages 12-14.  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:
September 19, 2024

TO:
All Administrators & Threat Assessment Teams

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

SUBJECT:
Reminder: Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) Workshop Dates

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.

The 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

If you have already completed level two (2), we are offering a new training opportunity, CSTAG level three (3)!

Here is a reminder of the remaining training offered for this school year:

**CSTAG Level 2**
Friday, December 6th, Virtual session (Zoom) only, (1-3pm)
Friday, February 28th, DO Room 129, (8am-10am)
Friday, May 2nd, DO Room 129, (1pm-3pm)

**CSTAG Level 3: Practical Use**
For those CSTAG team members who have completed levels 1 and 2 and would like a refresher and deeper dive into using threat assessment in your schools. Bring your questions so we can solve all your CSTAG problems!
Friday, October 18th, In-Person, DO Room 129 (8am-10am) (RESCHEDULED FROM Friday, September 20th)
Friday, December 6th, Virtual Session (Zoom) only, (8am-10am)
Friday, February 28th, DO Room 129, (1pm-3pm)
Friday, May 2nd, DO Room 129, (8am-10am)

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:
Elementary Principals and Assistant Principals

FROM:
Becky Gerber, Administrator of Schools
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Schools
Garett York, JAESP Committee Member

Please submit concerns to be discussed by JAESP committee and cabinet by October 2, 2024. You may submit concerns or questions using the Google Form  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.

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

TO:
Administrators
Administrative Assistants

FROM:    
John Larsen, Business Administrator

The agenda for the optional Zoom training session for office and administrative staff of schools and District departments is attached. The October 10 session will be held from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. via Zoom. This meeting is a refresher course that will go over any changes in district departments this year, and offer clarification on broad-based issues and general reminders.

If you would like to participate, please send an email to Lisa LeStarge at lisa.lestarge@jordandistrict.org. Attendees of each session will receive an email the day prior to the training with instructions for connecting to the Zoom meeting.

Published on

TO:
Administrators

FROM:    
John Larsen, Business Administrator

Training will be provided by the Business and Auxiliary Services Departments on October 8, 2024 from 8:00 a.m. to noon at the Auxiliary Services Building Presentation Room. This training opportunity is for school or department personnel including principals, assistant principals, administrative assistants, clerks, aides or others with responsibilities correlating with the Business or Auxiliary Services Departments. The draft agenda is attached.

If you would like to participate in this session, please send an email to Lisa LeStarge, at lisa.lestarge@jordandistrict.org. The total number of participants in this session will be capped at 60 (plus presenters). Attendees will be provided with a link to hand-outs provided by the presenters so they can be viewed during the training or downloaded for future use.

We hope you will take advantage of this training opportunity.

Published on

DATE:
Thursday, September 19, 2024

TO:
All School Administrators
All Administrative Assistants

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

SUBJECT:
2024-25 Stakeholder Input Survey – Preparation and Administration Details

The 2024-25 Stakeholder Input Survey will be administered to parents, school employees, and students in grades K-12 beginning Friday, November 1, 2024, and ending Tuesday, November 26, 2024. All parents, licensed educators, education support professionals, and students should be invited and encouraged to participate in the survey.

Survey respondents have the opportunity to take part in the survey for individual principals, assistant principals, classroom teachers, and licensed support staff (i.e., instructional coaches, counselors, school psychologists, speech-language pathologists, library media specialists, cluster leaders, etc.). Thus, we need to ensure that the survey contains an accurate list of each school’s licensed educators for whom respondents can take the survey.

Please see the attached memo for the table containing a unique link for each school that will direct viewers to a list of licensed staff that has been downloaded from Skyward. Administrative assistants are asked to verify the accuracy of that list, adding or deleting licensed educators as necessary. Staff verification lists need to be verified by Friday, October 4, 2024. This will allow enough time for Assessment, Research & Accountability to upload the staff lists into the survey. Once the survey begins, we will be unable to add or delete any staff, so it is essential that administrative assistants carefully verify the accuracy of these lists.

Published on

TO:
Administrators

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Amanda Bollinger, Associate Administrator, Teaching & Learning

Administrators, please share this information with your teachers.

Many of your teachers are pursuing a STEM endorsement (see our EIP website for a full list of endorsements). USBE WILL REIMBURSE THEM FOR THEIR COLLEGE CLASSES! This is called the STEM Endorsement Incentive Program (EIP) and it has been funded again for the 2024-25 school year. See the attached flyer and link to our EIP website for more information.

Applications for reimbursement are now being accepted for teachers who completed STEM courses after June 1, 2024. The next round of reimbursements applications is due September 27, 2024 for teachers who completed STEM courses in Summer 2024.

If you have any questions, please reach out to the content consultant. We would love to talk to you!

Published on

DATE:
September 10, 2024

TO:
All Administrators and Financial Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Superintendent of Schools
John Larsen, Business Administrator

SUBJECT:
Staff Appreciation Funds (formerly known as Staff Discretionary Funds)

A change has been made in Staff Appreciation Funds beginning this year. An additional allocation of up to $50 per staff member (both licensed and ESP) for snacks, meals, etc. in conjunction with Professional Development has been approved. Please see the attached memo for budgeting and other helpful information on utilizing these funds.

Published on

DATE:
September 12, 2024

TO:
Elementary Principals
Elementary Teachers

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Amanda Bollinger, Associate Administrator, Teaching & Learning
Amy Kinder, K-12 Math Consultant, Teaching & Learning

SUBJECT:
URGENT MATH INFORMATION

Principals,

It has come to our attention that elementary teachers have been unable to access resources for Think Central Math Expressions due to a rostering issue. Our Information Systems department is actively working with the parent company, HMH, to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.

To support planning and instruction in the interim, we’ve been provided temporary access to the Math Expressions materials through an evaluator account. Step-by-step directions on how teachers can access Math Expression materials immediately are provided in the attached document. PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH YOUR TEACHERS IMMEDIATELY.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience as we continue to resolve this issue.

Published on

TO:
All Principals
All Administrative Assistants

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

All McKinney Vento Aides are required to attend.

Monday, September 23, 2024
10:00 am - 11:30 am
Presentation Room, ASB, Entrance C

See attached flyer.