Jordan School District
Brigham Young University Career Services is seeking feedback that will help them not only recruit people into education but also help prepare graduates in education to perform well in the hiring process. The attached survey is brief but will provide significant information. Responses will be confidential. Please help out by taking the survey. Thank you!
Principal Survey - https://byu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e3EcN4ztIyxGYkJ
This meeting will follow the format of the past meetings. The agenda and meeting links will be sent out by Monday, February 1st. The meeting will start at 8:00 a.m. and a beverage service will be available beginning at 7:30 a.m.
At this meeting we are going to have Natalie Gordon, from the State Land Trust Office, come and do training with all of you on how to make a concise Land Trust Plan. The plan needs to be Student Centered, Measurable, and Academic. She's going to explain what needs to go into the different parts of the plan; Goal, Measurements, and Action Plan Steps. She will also be available to answer questions at the end.
Looking forward, the website is still under construction and it will come back up later than expected. When it comes back up the 2019-20 Final Reports will need to be completed as well as the 2021-22 plan.
Below is information to clarify how full evaluations will be completed. Remember that only provisional teachers will complete a full evaluation.
Administrators may sign up for a virtual training to help refresh the features of the Perform evaluation system. The trainings will last up to two hours depending on need. These trainings will begin next week. To register search “Administrator Perform Refresher” in JPLS. A Zoom link will be sent out to participants before the training.
Administrators may use the bubble sheet to complete observations and enter the information into Perform. If you need help entering the data, please contact the JES office for assistance.
Teachers who will be evaluated using the Perform system now have access to sign up for the Canvas training through JPLS. Teachers who will be evaluated using the JPLS system (teacher specialists) do not need to complete the training as the training focuses on the in-class observations. Have teachers search “UETS-based JPAS Online Training 2020-2021” in JPLS to register.
Dear Principals:
As some registration dates for Middle Schools have shifted to earlier in the year, it is important that we seek to accommodate their efforts. As a result, we ask that the HMH RI (formerly SRI) and Reading Benchmark 1 be administered no later than Jan 15 where possible. We realize this is a week earlier than advised in the Testing Bulletin, and appreciate your flexibility and commitment to helping our team members across the district succeed.
As a reference, the following Rubric will be used for providing reading data to Middle Schools for the transition from 6th to 7th Grade.
Thank you for all of your hard work.
Reading Placement Rubric
Current (20-21 Students)
6th Grade Students going into 7th Grade
| CATEGORY | Highly Proficient | Proficient | Approaching Proficient | Below Proficient |
| District Benchmark (Most Recent)
Out of 30 |
29-30 | 24-28 | 17-23 | 0-16 |
| HMH RI
Lexile Score |
1041+ | 955-1040 | 755-954 | 100-754 |
| CogAt Verbal | Stanine 7+
PR: 77+ |
Stanine 5-6
PR: 43-76 |
Stanine 4
PR: 25-42 |
Stanine 1-3
PR: 1-24 |
A few housekeeping items for Land Trust:
At the February 2, 2021 Principal Meeting we are going to have Natalie Gordon, from the State Office, come and do training with all of you on how to make a concise Land Trust Plan. The plans need to be Student Centered, Measurable, and Academic. She's going to explain what needs to go into the different parts of the plan; Goal, Measurements, and Action Plan Steps. She will also be available to answer questions at the end.
The website is still under construction. When it comes back up the 2019-20 Final Reports will need to be completed.
Our Board of Education has asked that we verify that training with your School Community Councils has been completed prior to the 2021-22 plan being submitted. Completion of the training will be confirmed with your AOS. To help you with the training we are including some links and a Power Point as resources to provide this training.
This video gives a brief introduction of how Utah received trust lands at statehood, how the land creates revenue for schools, how that revenue is invested, and how earnings are distributed through the School LAND Trust program.
Utah School & Institutional Trust System can be found on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/qlr0wFacsyk.
School Community Council Training videos and more information can be found on the School Trust System on the website.
https://schools.utah.gov/schoollandtrust/training
A Jordan School District training video was recorded previously with Mike Anderson and Tracy Miller. That link can be found here:
https://jordandistrict.org/resources/communitycouncil/
Here is the PowerPoint that Mike Anderson has used in previous trainings.
A new record, Method of Instruction, has been created in the Skyward student profile to track a student’s learning method, whether full-time In-Person, full-time Online, or Hybrid (both in-person and online). The Method of Instruction can be used in many reports, including attendance reports, scheduling reports and data mining. In addition, an indicator will appear in the upper, right-hand corner of the student’s profile screen for Virtual and Hybrid students. The indicator is a blue-green . This will help to quickly identify the student’s instruction method.
Below are some key dates in regards to Method of Instruction:
A tutorial on how to add/update the Method of Instruction record can be found in the Information Systems Documentation Folder. If you have any questions regarding Method of Instruction, please reference this tutorial or contact the help desk.
Thank you all for your patience and understanding this year with your technology orders. We have experienced unprecedented delays on the most popular models of Chromebooks, laptops, and even Apple laptops and iPads.
Here are a few updates and recommendations regarding these devices:
Please contact Tonya Hodges in the Purchasing Department at tonya.hodges@jordandistrict.org or 801-567-8706 for assistance with your Technology orders.
In anticipation of next year's planning and scheduling, we will be turning pre-transfers on earlier than we have in the past. We have scheduled this task for the afternoon of December 11th. You should then be able to start running reports and see your next year's students beginning December 14th.
A few reminders about pre-transfers:
In addition to turning on pre-transfers, the course master will be rolled over on December 10th for next year scheduling preparation.
Please contact the help desk with any questions or concerns regarding the timing of the pre-transfer process.
DATE:
Thursday, December 3, 2020
TO:
Elementary School Principals
FROM:
Shelley Nordick, Ph.D., Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
SUBJECT:
Updates for Fall Testing
Reading Inventory
Reading Inventory (RI) is up and available for all elementary (4-6) schools. Please contact the teachers at your school to make sure they know that it is available and ready to use. All in-person teachers and virtual teachers should have access to the Reading Inventory test. If teachers are unable to login, please have them email kira.jensen@jordandistrict.org. Kira is now able to easily add any virtual classes that could not be added with the original upload.
Additionally, Teaching & Learning has just purchased more licenses so that all the students who qualify to use RI can test! This means no more shuffling licenses at your schools!
CogAT Testing for 6th Graders
Schools that have gone virtual for two weeks can still complete their CogAT testing when students return to school. We will be extending the testing window until December 18, 2020, to allow for the change in circumstances. Please contact kira.jensen@jordandistrict.org if you need help with CogAT, or if you have any questions or concerns. Principals are strongly encouraged to not wait until the end of the window to test students, if at all possible.
AAPPL Testing for DLI Schools
The AAPPL testing window has now been extended through January 15, 2021. If any teachers at your school do not complete their AAPPL testing by the original deadline of 12/11/2020, they can still test until 01/15/2021, but they will need to let us know so we can contact the State Office. Please email that information to kira.jensen@jordandistrict.org.
Any and all websites that are domain specific to Weebly or Wix will be blocked by the JSD iBoss Filter on January 18, 2021. All Weebly or Wix sites content will need to be transferred to a JSD supported website. For assistance please contact your school Digital Coach and your school assigned Digital Learning Specialist, Contact Us.
DATE:
Thursday, November 19, 2020
TO:
Elementary Principals
Elementary Administrative Assistants
FROM:
Shelley Nordick, Ph.D., Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
SUBJECT:
MOY 2020 Acadience Reading Testing – In-person and Online Students
Acadience Reading Benchmarks are once again required this year by the state – both students receiving their instruction in-person and online. USBE has extended the middle-of-the-year testing window by one week to Friday, February 5, 2021. This memo contains information on how the benchmark administration will be accomplished for both.
Students Receiving Instruction In-person:
Principals should have received an updated Monday-Thursday schedule of when district testers 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 testers 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. To better be able to social distance between individual testing areas, we are requesting that schools use one of two room options:
If neither of these room options is possible, please contact Ben Jameson at 801-567-8243 to make 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 testers will follow a similar routine for testing that they have followed in the past.
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 this year. Parents of online students can choose to have their student tested in-person at their boundary school or virtually via Zoom. Testing of online students will take place on Fridays at each elementary school. Evaluation, Research & Accountability will be sending a small team of 4-5 district testers to meet with and administer the benchmark assessments in-person to online students (principals have already been notified if their assigned Friday). We are requesting that schools set aside a location for the testers 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 online students for a testing appointment. Schools will not need to schedule anything themselves. If parents of online students or online teachers request the link to schedule a testing appointment, schools may provide the following link:
https://jordandistrict.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5mYuLUZcEtt9QOx
Please contact Ben Jameson with any questions or concerns. We look forward to working with you on a smooth Acadience Reading test administration.
If your building has extra PPE that is going unused or if your building desires extra PPE currently located at another building, please let Kris Wishart in Purchasing (x88708) know. She will try to match up any existing surplus with existing desires across the District.
Administrators: Please encourage your Educational Support Professional employees to attend this fun event. They do not need to be off contract time.
We invite you to join us as we celebrate Educational Support Professionals Day with the help of Utah Jazz star Thurl Bailey.
Mr. Bailey will share his inspirational story during a special event honoring Jordan School District ESPs for their hard work and dedication supporting students and education.
Please RSVP for one of four sessions at 8:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 18 or Friday, December 4 at Copper Hills High School.
You can RSVP at the link below:
Dear Principals,
Sign templates are available for schools to print:
Attached below is a PDF package containing the templates. New signs were added on Nov. 12, 2020.
If you would like them customized with your school logo and colors please contact Chad Margetts in the Office of Communications. 801-567-8201.
The Instructional Support Center is available to print traffic flow signs for those who would like to purchase through ISC.
DATE:
Friday, October 30, 2020
TO:
Elementary Principals
FROM:
Shelley Nordick, Ph.D., Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
Rebecca Smith, Consultant over ALPS/Gifted and Talented
SUBJECT:
Universal CogAt Testing of 6th Grade Students Training and Test Administration
Time Sensitive: Principals are asked to share the following information with their school test coordinator and 6th grade teachers.
Dates and Times for training are:
Please see more information on the memo below, as well as the Parental Exclusion form.
In an effort to effectively and efficiently provide access to report cards for all families, but especially our online families, Info Systems will be adding the report cards to Skyward Family Access on November 9th. This is typically only done at the end of each school year. Online teachers are not able to print report cards of students outside of their homebase school. The teachers will be asking parents to access report cards through Skyward Family Access.
Please direct families to follow these steps to access the report cards.
Please remind teachers that all grades must be finalized by November 6th.
Attention Administrators,
The deadline for employees to complete the Crucial Policy review is fast approaching. As of today, 79% of administrators, 83% of licensed employees and 79% of ESP employees have completed the required Crucial Policies review, which includes the new required Title IX and Human Trafficking training. However, only 34% of miscellaneous employees have completed the Crucial Policy Review. The Crucial Policy review is required of all employees, with the exception of minor sweepers/student assistants. The Crucial Policies Review is accessed in Skyward Employee Access.
Administrators and Administrative Assistants may access the Crucial Policy Review Report for their location by following the instructions below:
Website link: https://is.jordan.k12.ut.usOpens in a new window
Click: Documentation
Click: Human Resources
Click: Crucial Policy Review Report Instructions
Please run your report and notify each employee of this requirement. The HR Department is tasked with monitoring these reports for compliance and will be contacting principals as needed. If any employee listed in this report is no longer employed, please email your HR feeder assistant.
Employees needing assistance in accessing Skyward Employee Access are directed to contact the Help Desk at 801-567-8737.
Regards,
Human Resources
DATE:
Thursday, October 22, 2020
TO:
All Principals
FROM:
Shelley Nordick, Ph.D., Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
SUBJECT:
WIDA ACCESS 2.0 Test Administration Training for Schools
Please see memo below regarding the mandatory training to be provided and who should attend.
Dear Administrators,
A populated copy of your Compliance and Assurances Report will be sent to you by the Teacher Specialist assigned to your school. Due dates are Dec. 17 and April 15. A couple of things to keep in mind:
1. The document is current as of Nov., 2020. As new EL students enroll in your school, you will need to add those students to the report. You can check your monthly language proficiency report to determine who the new students are.
2. There will be virtual administrative workshop times where the ELS team will be available to offer support in report completion. Please bring a list of ESL endorsed teachers at your school. We will be looking up student information with you.
Dear Administrators,
The ELS department would like to continue to support our students who are distance learning and provide an opportunity for them to get a free student desk and chair from the warehouse surplus. Supplies are limited and should be reserved for students participating in distant learning. Please have your secretaries, parent liaisons, ELD leads and anyone else who works with our online students reach out to get a school total. Once you have a total, send the request over to Steven Oldham over at the warehouse. Steve can have the desk delivered to your school or patrons can pick up a desk from the warehouse at the ASB. Know that supplies are limited and on a first come first serve basis.
