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Category: Elementary Action Required

Published on

DATE: 
Thursday, May 16, 2019

TO:   
All Principals

FROM:   
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:  
2019 WIDA Reports

Hard copy 2019 WIDA Individual Student Reports (ISRs) will be hand-delivered to schools by Friday, May 24, 2019.  A copy of each student’s ISR printed in English should be placed in their CUM file.

Per state law, a copy of each student’s ISR also needs to be sent home within three weeks of receiving them.  We have included an ISR for the home language listed for each student in Skyward, though the WIDA AMS system does not translate ISRs in all languages.  Along with the ISR, please send home the following documents:

  1. The Yearly Parent Notification for English Learner Status (required by State law)
  2. The Parent/Guardian Guide to the Individual Student Report
  3. The Parent/Guardian Guide to the Individual Student Report for Alternate Testing (only for parents of students that took the WIDA alternate test)

In June, the Evaluation, Research & Accountability Department will disseminate several data dashboards that will allow school administrators to analyze WIDA achievement and proficiency levels using student subgroup filters (i.e., gender, socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, absenteeism, etc.) and WIDA subtests.  More information regarding these data dashboards will be forthcoming.

Published on

DATE: 
May 15, 2019

TO:   
Principals
All Certified Special Education Staff

FROM: 
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Julie Brown, Program Specialist
Courtney Titus, Program Specialist

SUBJECT:
Year-End Checkout for Traditional Schools/Year-Round Schools

Please see attached memo.

Published on

All Classified and Certified Administrators:

Please take a moment to fill out the following survey to help us narrow down your interests and needs for training provided at our Annual Administrative Leadership Conference 2019, which will be held August 6 & 7 at South Hills Middle School.

Survey Link for Administrators' Conference Breakout Sessions
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BJB7Z9J

Published on

DATE:   
May 9, 2019

TO: 
Principals and Administrative Assistants on Traditional Calendars

FROM: 
June LeMaster, Administrator, Human Resources
Administrator of Schools

SUBJECT: 
Summer Hours for School Personnel

Please review the attached schedule of Summer Hours for School Personnel below, with all designated summer school personnel at your location. Extended school office/business hours are acceptable; however, other adjusted schedules are NOT acceptable because they limit public access to school personnel.

Published on

Principals:  Desks, chairs, etc. are needed to fill seven elementary portables. Do you have extra items just sitting around in your building that you could contribute? Please call Curtis Hagen at 801-567-8752 if you have items you can share! Thank you!

Published on

DATE:     
May 7, 2019

TO:  
All Principals

FROM:     
C. Brad Sorensen, Administrator of Schools
Michael V. Anderson, Administrator of Schools

SUBJECT: 
Final Approved Fee Schedule for 2019-20 School Year

The Board of Education has approved the 2019-20 fee schedule which can be found on the district website under the following link fees.jordandistrict.org. Because it is required by the Board of Education to approve all fees charged at schools, only fees listed on the website may be charged for the 2019-2020 school year. Please make sure that every fee charged at your school appears on the approved website. If it is not on the website, do not charge the fee.

We need each school to do the following prior to the beginning of the 2019-20 school year:

  • Place a link of the fee website (fees.jordandistrict.org) on your own school’s website
  • Make sure the website link (fees.jordandistrict.org) is included in all of your registration information and is sent out to your community
  • Encourage each of your teachers/coaches/advisors to include this information at parent meetings and in their disclosure statements
  • Have copies of all approved fee forms on file for review and available for an annual audit which will be done by the appropriate Administrator of Schools

Additionally, in the event a fee was overlooked or not submitted prior to the Board approved fee schedule and you want to appeal for it to be added to the website, the following process has been put in place:

  1. Require a written request from your teacher/advisor/coach explaining the need for a fee
  2. Evaluate your school finances to determine if it can be covered at the school level
  3. Talk with and submit a written request to your Administrator of Schools for consideration
  4. Administrator of Schools will appeal fee request to Cabinet
  5. If approved, the requested fee will be submitted on the Board of Education’s consent agenda
  6. The website will be adjusted and the new fee will be reflected on the school’s fee schedule

Published on

DATE:    
April 26, 2019

TO:  
Jordan District Principals

FROM:   
Administrators of Schools

SUBJECT:  
Time Schedule for the Last Day of School

The Transportation Department has made every effort to accommodate dismissal times for the last day of school. Please review this memo carefully for your dismissal time, and convey that information to your students and parents. Once again, we extend our appreciation to the administration and employees who work in the Transportation Department for assisting in the transportation adjustment required to accommodate these changes.

Public Law:     R277. Education, Administration     R277-419-2.Definitions  R277. Public Accounting

“School day” means a minimum of two hours per day per session in Kindergarten; and a minimum of four hours per day in grades one through twelve. All school day calculations shall exclude lunch periods and pass-time between classes.

MA/np

Published on

DATE:    
April 10, 2019

TO: 
School Principals and Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Administrators of Schools

SUBJECT:     
Principal Year-End Check Out Materials for 2018-2019

Attached is the list of all forms and items to be completed for principal check out.

  • Items highlighted in purple will be reviewed at check out with your Administrator of Schools.
  • Items highlighted in green require you to bring the requested items to your checkout.
  • Forms provided by the District for principal check out are included with this JAM and will no longer be on a separate website.
  • You should turn in one completed copy of each form and keep a copy on file in your school for easy reference as you prepare the check out for the next school year.

If you have any questions, please contact your Administrator of Schools’ administrative assistant.

MA/np

Published on

Please invite your families to this Family Resource Fair on April 22, 2019 at the ASB Auditorium from 4:30-6:30. Families who are Language Learners, McKinney Vento, or at-risk in any way would benefit. Please notify your families, and post this flyer.

Published on

In planning school calendars for 2019-20 please remember to not schedule any school activities for March 24, 2020 in order for employees and community members to attend their local Caucus'. Secondary schools, you may be asked to host the local Caucus Night. More information will be given as we get closer to this event. Thank you!

Published on

Principals:  Please post in your school and send the attached flyer to each School Community Council member, all parents are invited to attend.

Jordan Parent University
New Schools, New Adventures!
Thursday, April 11, 2019
7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
South Hills Middle – 13508 S 4000 W, Riverton

Published on

DATE:  
Thursday, March 7, 2019

TO:  
Elementary Principals

FROM: 
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:
Tableau Account Set Up – Acadience Reading MOY Data Dashboard

The Evaluation, Research & Accountability Department is excited to announce the rollout of a new data visualization system that will allow school administrators to drill into their achievement data in new and more meaningful ways at the click of a mouse. We have purchased Tableau, which is a data visualization software platform that allows us to design interactive charts, graphs, and crosstabulations that you can filter by subgroups such as students with disabilities, EL students, socioeconomic status, gender, race/ethnicity, etc. The first release of dashboards will come from your school’s middle of the year Acadience Reading data.

In order for schools to see and use these dashboards, principals will need to set up their Tableau account. Principals will receive an email from Tableau prompting them to join. Please see the attached step-by-step instructions to set up the school account. Once the set up process has been completed, we will push out your MOY Acadience Reading dashboards.

Principals may share Tableau account login information with their assistant principals. Sensitive student and teacher information will be included in these data dashboards; therefore, principals may not share login information with school personnel other than assistant principals. Please contact Ben Jameson with any questions at 801-567-8243 or ben.jameson@jordandistrict.org.

Published on

DATE:  
Thursday, February 28, 2019

TO: 
All Principals

FROM:  
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:  
2019 UEPC School Climate Survey Reminder

We are half way through the 2019 UEPC School Climate Survey administration window.  The survey window is scheduled to close on Friday, March 15, 2019.  Many schools have had great response rates thus far, but there are still some who have not notified parents of the survey and have not given students or faculty/staff an opportunity to take the survey.

Principals are asked to do the following, if they have not already done so:

  • Please notify parents of the school climate survey as soon as possible. Send out a link with the attached sample parent letter (please edit as you see appropriate) via Skylert and post the link on your school’s website.  You may need to send out several reminders between now and the close of the survey window.  In the past, the district’s response rate from parents has reached only 12%.  In order for us to get a healthy response rate from parents, they need as much notice as possible with a few friendly reminders to take the survey for schools.
  • Please schedule a time in which your faculty and staff can take the survey, perhaps during a faculty meeting.
  • Please work with your teachers to ensure that every student second grade and up has a time scheduled during the school day in which they may take the survey.

Principals may check their response rates for each stakeholder survey by clicking on the links below.  Please see the response rates as of Monday, February 25, 2019, attached with this memo.

Response Rate Links:

Faculty/Staff Responses:

https://uepc.co1.qualtrics.com/results/public/dWVwYy1VUl85TnN2ZTc5NE1MNUJZUUEtNWMwYWQ5MDIyNmNjZGIwMDEzNzU0MTY3 - /pages/Page_7ed374a9-bc68-4d7d-b2e2-306bbc1b8a33

Parent Responses:

https://uepc.co1.qualtrics.com/results/public/dWVwYy1VUl85TnN2ZTc5NE1MNUJZUUEtNWM2MmViMjc0ZjBkNWIwMDEzODliYmUz - /pages/Page_932e5fd6-d0b3-4b85-99ba-52154455f84d

Student Responses:

https://uepc.co1.qualtrics.com/results/public/dWVwYy1VUl85TnN2ZTc5NE1MNUJZUUEtNWM2MmVlMTZjMzdmNDQwMDBkZDc3ZDAy - /pages/Page_7205b01b-4d07-4bb9-8f89-4a3d6d6f3108

Published on

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) posted a rule in the Federal Register requiring small drone owners to display the FAA-issued registration number on an outside surface of the aircraft. Owners and operators may no longer place or write registration numbers in an interior compartment. The rule is effective on February 25. The markings must be in place for any flight after that date.

When the FAA first required registration of small drones in 2015, the agency mandated that the registration marking be readily accessible and maintained in readable condition. The rule granted some flexibility by permitting the marking to be placed in an enclosed compartment, such as a battery case, if it could be accessed without the use of tools.

Subsequently, law enforcement officials and the FAA’s interagency security partners have expressed concerns about the risk a concealed explosive device might pose to first responders upon opening a compartment to find a drone’s registration number. The FAA believes this action will enhance safety and security by allowing a person to view the unique identifier directly without handling the drone.

This interim final rule does not change the original acceptable methods of external marking, nor does it specify a particular external surface on which the registration number must be placed. The requirement is that it can be seen upon visual inspection of the aircraft’s exterior.

The FAA has issued this requirement as an Interim Final Rule—a rule that takes effect while also inviting public comment. The FAA issues interim final rules when delaying implementation of the rule would be impractical, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. In this case, the agency has determined the importance of mitigating the risk to first responders outweighs the minimal inconvenience this change may impose on small drone owners, and justifies implementation without a prior public comment period.

The FAA will consider comments from the public on this Interim Final Rule, and will then review any submissions to determine if the provisions of the ultimate Final Rule should be changed. The 30-day comment period will end on March 15, 2019. To submit comments, go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for “RIN 2120-AL32.”

As Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao promised last month, the FAA also posted proposed new rules to let drones fly routinely at night and over people, and to further integrate them safely into the nation’s airspace. The comment period for these proposals is now open and ends on April 15.

Published on

DATE:   
February 4, 2019

TO:  
Principals
Resource Team Leaders

FROM: 
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education

SUBJECT:  
Projected Caseload Process for 2019-2020 Resource Allocations

Based on administrative recommendations, the hiring window has been moved up to meet the increasing demands caused by teacher shortages, particularly in specific job categories. To address this advanced timeline, the Special Education Department will be creating a 1.5 allocation until updated data can be ascertained. Projections and staffing allocations will be made similar to what was done last year. This method should make the workload on special education teachers and team leaders much easier. Please read through this information carefully. Based on updated information, data may be updated by the end of February. If you have any questions, please contact your assigned teacher specialist.

Caseload Information

  • No mid-year SCRAM report will be required. Please continue to send in SCRAM changes as they occur throughout the year. You will still be completing an End-of-Year SCRAM report.
  • Your December 1 SCRAM report will be used as the baseline for next year’s caseload estimate.
  • A 3-year average of incoming students to your school has been calculated to provide an estimate of incoming students in the youngest grade at your school. This number was added to your December 1 SCRAM numbers.
  • The number of students leaving your school in the exiting grade has been calculated. This number was subtracted from your December 1 SCRAM numbers.
  • Finally, we’ve maintained a trend line (for some schools since the 2002-03 SY) that shows estimated caseload versus actual caseloads on Oct. 1 and Dec. 1 SCRAM. We will use this trend line to make adjustments to estimates as needed.
  • All allocations will be conservative and may be re-evaluated at the end of this school year or after the Oct. 1 2019 count has been finalized.

Timeline

  • Initial allocations of certified special education FTE will be provided to the Human Resources Department in time for your 2.0 FTE Allocation.
  • Each Principal will receive a letter outlining their estimated caseload numbers for 2019-20 and the projected resource FTE allocation for 2019-20.
  • We will only be sending the allocation letter to each school’s principal.

Requests for Resource Instructional Assistants

In April, we will send a packet of information to each Resource and Support Class team to request instructional assistants for 2019-20. This will include a regular resource assistant allocation and the information needed to request Critical Needs Instructional Assistants. This timeline should allow your teams to have a better idea of which students with additional staffing needs will be attending your school for 2019-20.

Published on

DATE:  
January 13, 2019

TO: 
Elementary Principals
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Administrator of Schools
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Planning & Student Services

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:

  1. Send a flyer home with every student.
  2. Publicize in the school newsletter – communicate (several times) the importance of getting accurate kindergarten counts.
  3. Use all other resources available to you. (Skylert, etc.)
  4. NOTE: New Student Online Enrollment (NSOE) for the 2019-20 school year enrollment will not be available until after January 1, 2019 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Hang banners announcing Kindergarten Registration being accepted for the following school year.

Please schedule your kindergarten orientation BEFORE APRIL 5, 2019. 

Optional:

  1. Make a block contact with every home using PTA support.
  2. Contact pre-schools in the attendance area of your school.
  3. Use a telephone tree operated by parent volunteers with a list of questions for consistency.
  4. Contact neighbors who can identify new move-ins.
  5. Contact community members who do not have children enrolled in school.
  6. 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.

Published on

DATE:   
Thursday, February 14, 2019

TO:  
All Principals

FROM: 
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:  
2019 UEPC School Climate Survey Response Rate Links

Principals are encouraged to use the following links to monitor the response rates for the student, parent and faculty/staff UEPC School Climate Surveys.

As a reminder, all students second grade and up should have time scheduled during the school day to take the school climate survey. Depending on your technology configuration, some schools may need to schedule computer labs to help facilitate the student survey administration.

Principals should provide time during a faculty meeting as necessary for faculty and staff members to take the survey as well.

Finally, principals should notify parents of the option to take the survey via Skylerts, parent newsletters, social media, or by any other communication means available. Parents will likely need several reminders. In addition, it is recommended that schools provide computers and/or a survey link for parents to take the survey while attending spring parent conferences.

Response Rate Links:

Faculty/Staff Responses:
https://uepc.co1.qualtrics.com/results/public/dWVwYy1VUl85TnN2ZTc5NE1MNUJZUUEtNWMwYWQ5MDIyNmNjZGIwMDEzNzU0MTY3 - /pages/Page_7ed374a9-bc68-4d7d-b2e2-306bbc1b8a33

Parent Responses:
https://uepc.co1.qualtrics.com/results/public/dWVwYy1VUl85TnN2ZTc5NE1MNUJZUUEtNWM2MmViMjc0ZjBkNWIwMDEzODliYmUz - /pages/Page_932e5fd6-d0b3-4b85-99ba-52154455f84d

Student Responses:
https://uepc.co1.qualtrics.com/results/public/dWVwYy1VUl85TnN2ZTc5NE1MNUJZUUEtNWM2MmVlMTZjMzdmNDQwMDBkZDc3ZDAy - /pages/Page_7205b01b-4d07-4bb9-8f89-4a3d6d6f3108

Published on

DATE: 
Thursday, January 31, 2019

TO: 
All Principals

FROM:   
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT: 
2019 UEPC School Climate Survey – Preparation and Administration Details

Please see attached memo with details.

Published on

DATE: 
January 31, 2019

TO: 
All Principals

FROM: 
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:    
RISE Summative and Utah Aspire Plus Summative Help Sessions for Resource Teachers and EL Leads

A member of the Evaluation, Research & Accountability Department will be available at the following dates, times and locations to assist resource teachers and EL leads as they input student accommodations into the RISE Nextera admin system and the Utah Aspire Plus PearsonAccessNext system.

In addition, school test coordinators may also come to these help sessions if they require assistance.

Date: Time: Location:
Monday, Feb. 4, 2019  

 

3:00 – 5:00 pm

  

 

PDC 101
Monday, Feb. 11, 2019
Monday, Feb. 25, 2019
Monday, Mar. 4, 2019
Monday, Mar. 11, 2019

School principals and department heads are asked to provide this information to all school test coordinators as well as special educators and EL leads that will be involved in RISE or Utah Aspire Plus Summative testing.