Parent Teacher Conferences are fast approaching, and many of you will find your school in need of one or more interpreters in order to serve the needs of your parents. Mirsa Joosten is happy to find an interpreter in each language you need, but this can be extremely difficult when there is not sufficient time for her to make arrangements. For this reason, we ask you to please contact Mirsa to request your interpreter at least three weeks in advance. Mirsa can be reached at 801-567-8314 or mirsa.joosten@jordandistrict.org.
Category: Elementary Action Required
Jordan Parent University – Teens, Opioids & Vaping – February 18, 2020
Administrators: Please post in your school and building. Send the attached flyer out in a Skylert to your community and to each School Community Council member. All parents are invited to attend.
Jordan Parent University
Teens, Opioids & Vaping
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Mountain Ridge High | 14100 S Sentinel Ridge Blvd | Herriman
Free and open to the public!
Elementary 2019-20 Stakeholder Survey Preparation
DATE:
Thursday, February 6, 2020
TO:
Elementary Principals
FROM:
Shelley Nordick, Ph.D, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
SUBJECT:
2019-20 Stakeholder Survey Preparation
Jordan School District will be administering its own student, parent, and faculty/staff stakeholder survey this year to students in grades 1-12. The survey window opens Monday, February 10, 2020, and closes Friday, April 3, 2020, to accommodate parent conferences and year-round tracks. In November, principals were sent a list of licensed educators at your school and were asked to submit any changes to that list. Those verified and updated lists have now been added to the stakeholder survey. If schools have hired licensed faculty since November 2019, please contact the Evaluation, Research & Accountability as soon as possible so that we can update your school’s surveys.
To prepare for, and administer, the 2019-20 student, parent, and faculty/staff stakeholder survey, please make sure the following activities are completed for each of the stakeholder surveys:
Student Survey
- Before students take the survey, a link to the student survey needs to be placed on the computers in your computer lab(s) and/or Chromebooks. The link will be sent to your school techs.
- Schedule dates and times within the survey window for students in grades 1-6 to take the survey under supervision in the computer lab(s) at your school. The surveys are short and should take 5-10 minutes to complete.
Faculty/Staff Survey
After the survey window opens, individual licensed faculty and classified staff will receive an email from the district with a link inviting them to participate in the stakeholder survey. Principals may consider notifying teachers and staff that such an email will be forthcoming.
Parent Survey
After the survey window opens, parents will receive an email from the district with a link inviting them to participate in the stakeholder survey. No further action by principals is necessary.
Please direct any questions or concerns to the stakeholder survey coordinator, Holly Allen, at holly.allen@jordandistrict.org (801-567-8115).
Early & Late Enrollment Permits for 2020-21
DATE:
February 5, 2020
TO:
Principals
Administrative Assistants
Secondary Attendance Assistants
FROM:
Administrator of Schools
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Caleb Olson, Planning and Enrollment Consultant
SUBJECT:
Early & Late Enrollment Permits
The window for the school choice Early Enrollment Period closes on Friday, February 21, 2020. The law requires that parent(s)/guardian(s) receive written notice from the school by April 3, 2020. The results e-mails sent to parents(s)/guardian(s) after records have been placed on the waitlist or seated list serves as that written notice. Schools will need to ensure that communication with parent(s)/guardian(s) has occurred for each permit request.
Beginning February 21, 2020, the Late Enrollment Period begins. The late enrollment period is for applications submitted before Dec. 1 or after the third (3rd) Friday in February for the following year, or a permit request for the current school year. (See “Open Enrollment / School Choice Permits” in the online Planning and Student Services Manual.)
Any permit submitted during the late enrollment period must be processed and prepared for import by the school; however, Board priorities do not need to be verified. These permits will be placed at the bottom of the waitlist currently in PowerSchool when processed. The permit waitlist in PowerSchool will be used throughout the school year to grant permit requests and seat students at the school. Permits may be re-ordered on the waitlist according to the late enrollment requirements (see See “Open Enrollment / School Choice Permits”).
Permits for the current (2019-20) school year can still be submitted in Skyward by parent(s)/ guardian(s), and schools must make decisions and provide notification within two weeks of the permit submission. These permits should still be processed and waitlisted or seated as appropriate. However, after the January 1 pre-enroll, approved permits are no longer automatically sent to Skyward. Schools will need to manually enter these 2019-20 permits into Skyward. Because the pre-enroll has already occurred, these permits should be entered using the “History” screen of the “Previous Reason Code” section of the “School Path”.
Please contact Student Services at 801-567-8183 with questions.
2020 Legislative and Utah State Capitol Visits and Meetings
Please call or text Mike Anderson at 801-419-6133 regarding any student or staff groups visiting the Utah State Capitol Building during the 2020 Legislative Session. We wish to be able to support them and put them in touch with our local lawmakers.
Professional Development Opportunity 3rd-6th Grade Teachers – Multisyllable Routine Cards from 95% Group
T&L is excited to introduce Multisyllable Routine Cards from 95% Group for all 3rd-6th grade teachers. This is a short daily routine that can be implemented similar to Heggerty in K-2nd grade. Please share the attached flyer with all 3rd-6th grade teaches and encourage them to pick a date to attend. The first three sessions are already full and the others are filling up quickly so encourage them to register soon. Teachers will receive all materials need to implement the program as well as receive inservice pay for attending. If you would like to arrange a training at your school for all 3rd-6th grade teaches, that is an option as well. Please contact Mandy Thurman (ext: 88119) to arrange a school training or with any other questions.
HR Upcoming Events – Early Notification, February 15; Teacher Transfer Fair, February 19, 2020
Administrators: Please share the following with the appropriate individuals
Take note of the upcoming deadline, February 15, 2020, for Early Notification (Resignation/Retirement).
Teacher Transfer Fair for elementary and secondary will be held on February 19th from 4:00-6:30 pm at Elk Ridge Middle School. Please share the attached flyer with your licensed staff.
See document below for details.
Special Insurance Enrollment February 3-18, 2020
Administrators: Please share with your employees.
All employees are required to access the new online enrollment system to verify dependents, add beneficiary information and elect or waive additional benefits. Attached are directions for accessing the online enrollment system. Go to Web Address: http://www.infinityhr.com.
Enroll in the Following Benefits February 3-18th. See attachments for details.
- Life
- Accidental Death & dismemberment
- Aflac Accident
- Aflac Critical Illness
- Aflac Hospital Advantage
All benefits are offered on a guarantee basis which means no health questions!
Lexia Upgrade Postponed to January 31, 2020
Due to some new and important information from Lexia, the upgrade date has been postponed from January 21st to January 31st. Please read and share this important information with your faculty.
As we prepare to migrate schools to the expanded scope and sequence in Lexia please be aware of the following important points.
- We are asking that schools allow students to continue to use Lexia at the level they are currently on after the program update. There is no need to retest students for a new placement. Retesting students at this point in the year can affect the data that the state collects to determine whether we have met the usage requirements for the grant. We recommend students just continue to use the program as usual. Students should not notice any disruptions to their daily routine when the system updates.
- If your students are using iPads, ensure that the most recent version of the Lexia app is installed. Your school tech should have already completed this (you can find it by searching for Lexia Core5 or going to your app updates if it’s already installed). Access to the browser version of the program is the same as before.
Appeals Reminder January 22, 2020
Appeal Hearing paperwork needs to be into SIS by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, January 17, 2020. Appeal Hearings will be held the following Wednesday, January 22, 2020.
Elementary Math Tournament at Daybreak Elementary – April 2, 2020
There is still space available for entries in the Math Tournament at Daybreak Elementary on April 2, 2020. Please see the attachments for more information. A teacher specialist is available to help set-up a math tournament program at elementary schools. Please contact Rebecca Smith (801-567-8368) with any questions you may have.
Guidelines to Establish Kindergarten Enrollment for 2020-21
DATE:
January 16, 2020
TO:
Elementary Principals
Administrative Assistants
FROM:
Administrator of Schools
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Caleb Olson, Planning and Enrollment Consultant
SUBJECT:
Guidelines to Establish Kindergarten Enrollment
It is the responsibility of each school principal to obtain a kindergarten roster for the upcoming school year. This roster helps facilitate kindergarten staffing and establish budgets for supplies and materials. Typically, efforts to establish kindergarten rosters begin in December.
The following steps should be used to establish a kindergarten roster:
- Send a flyer home with every student.
- Publicize in the school newsletter – communicate (several times) the importance of getting accurate kindergarten counts.
- Use all other resources available to you. (Skylert, social media, etc.)
- NOTE: New Student Online Enrollment (NSOE) for the 2020-21 school year enrollment will not be available until after January 1, 2020 pre-enroll. If applications were entered prior to pre-enrollment, they need to be inactive for the current year and active for next year. This can be done during the approval process in NSOE.
- Schedule kindergarten orientation as soon as possible. After the January pre-enroll, check your New Student Online Enrollment to see if there are any pending applications that need follow up.
- Hang banners announcing Kindergarten Registration being accepted for the following school year.
Please schedule your kindergarten orientation BEFORE APRIL 3, 2020.
Optional:
- Make a block contact with every home using PTA support.
- Contact pre-schools in the attendance area of your school.
- Use a telephone tree operated by parent volunteers with a list of questions for consistency.
- Contact neighbors who can identify new move-ins.
- Contact community members who do not have children enrolled in school.
- Avoid forwarding kindergarten orientation letters to new addresses if a family has moved from your boundary area. Delete that name from your list.
Please be diligent in recruiting all the kindergarten students within your school boundary.
Join us for your EL Task Force Meeting! – February 2020
Task Force - the sequel
EL Culturally Responsive Task Force Meeting
Secondary
Thursday, February 6, 2020
Elementary
Wednesday, February 26
Please see flyer below for details and share with appropriate people. Sign up in JPLS and find the sub code listed.
Reminder: Switch to Lexia Core 5 Version 4 – January 21, 2020
We will be upgrading to the new version 4 of Lexia Core 5. This switch will take place on Tuesday, January 21st. Please be sure you have supported technology in place by this date to avoid any interruption in access to the program. Please see the JAMs dated 10/3 and 11/14 for details regarding supported technology.
Literacy PD Opportunity for 3rd-6th Grade Teachers – Multisyllable Routine Cards – February 2020
T&L is excited to introduce Multisyllable Routine Cards from 95% Group for all 3rd-6th grade teachers. This is a short daily routine that can be implemented similar to Heggerty in K-2nd grade. Please share the attached flyer with all 3rd -6th grade teachers and encourage them to pick a date to attend. Teachers will receive all materials needed to implement the program as well as receive inservice pay for attending. If you would like to arrange a training at your school for all 3rd-6th grade teachers, that is an option as well. Please contact Mandy Thurman (ext: 88119) to arrange a school training or with any other questions.
Appeal Hearing Videos on USB Drives – January 2020
Appeal Hearing Videos on USB Drives:
When submitting videos for Appeal Hearings, please use a USB drive and follow the download instructions attached.
Building an Arts Rich School – Join Our Principal Conversations – January, February and March 2020
Dear Elementary Principals,
We are excited to invite you to the upcoming elementary principal conversations about improving school culture and student learning through the arts. We have planned three site visits in 3 different school districts: Jan. 17, February 21, and March 27, 2020 . Please RSVP for all sessions that you plan to attend so we can order lunch for you : artsrichschools2020.eventbrite.com
Please see flyer below for more information.
6th-grade Registration for 7th-Grade Mathematics Courses – 2020-21
Administrators and Counselors:
Please see attached letter, which includes the necessary links to teacher information, below. Please share with the appropriate people.
Preparation for 2020 WIDA Access for ELLs Testing
DATE:
Thursday, December 19, 2019
TO:
All Principals
FROM:
Shelley Nordick, Ph.D., Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
SUBJECT:
Preparation for 2020 WIDA Access for ELLs Testing
January 6, 2020 marks the opening of the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs test administration window. Testing will conclude on March 6, 2020. This test will be administered to every EL student with a Language Proficiency Level (LPL) of 4 or less. With the exception of a small group of pilot schools who will administer the WIDA ACCESS themselves, four teams of testers from the Evaluation, Research & Accountability Department will administer the test in each school. See complete memo below. Also attached with this memo is a test schedule that outlines the WIDA ACCESS test dates for each school.
Tableau Viewer Account Set Up for Assistant Principals – December 2019
DATE:
Thursday, December 12, 2019
TO:
All Principals
FROM:
Shelley Nordick, Ph.D, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
SUBJECT:
Tableau Viewer Account Set Up for Assistant Principals
The Evaluation, Research & Accountability Department is excited to announce that Tableau Viewer accounts have been made available for assistant principals.
Assistant principals will receive an email from Tableau Online prompting them to join. Please see the attached step-by-step instructions to set up the account. Once the set up process has been completed, I will be able to push out the variety of data dashboards available for your school.
As a reminder, school administrators may not share Tableau login information with school personnel outside of the school administration. Please contact Ben Jameson with any questions at 801-567-8243 or ben.jameson@jordandistrict.org.
Once your account is set up, you can access the Tableau login page by clicking here:
https://sso.online.tableau.com/public/idp/SSO