Jordan School District
DATE:
Thursday, April 2, 2020
TO:
All Principals
FROM:
Shelley Nordick, Ph.D., Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
SUBJECT:
End of Year State Testing Updates
The Utah State Board of Education released the following updates for the various end-of-year state summative assessments:
Please see memo below.
Dear Administrators:
Once again, thank you for all the amazing work you are doing to help teachers and students during this trying time. In reviewing the needs for evaluations and also understanding the amount of stress administrators and teachers are under we will be making one more change to evaluations. Our hope is to be of help and to support you all the best way we can. Please make the necessary contact with your teachers to let them know what they will need to do.
ARL/APT/Interns/Provisional Psychologist/ Provisional Educators
If the teacher has had at least one passing evaluation for the 2019-2020 school year, the teacher will now be considered complete and no further action will be required.
If no evaluations have been completed, then you will need to contact the teacher and instruct them to complete the educator interim on JPLS (or the provisional psychologist).
Note: If you have already completed and signed off on a teacher specialist evaluation for an ARL, APT, intern, or provisional teacher you will not need to have the teacher complete an interim.
Dear Administrators,
Thank you for your patience in regards to teacher evaluations during this time of change and uncertainty. Many have asked what will be the next steps in the evaluation process. In order to help relieve the stress for both administrators and teachers the following changes will be made, effective immediately. Please contact Rebecca Lee with all questions and concerns at rebecca.lee@jordandistrict.org or (801) 567-8369. Thank you for all your continued help and support.
Career Educators on Full – Not Completed Yet
Career educators who are a full cycle for the 2019-2020 school year and have not been through the evaluation process, or have begun but not finished one or more pieces of the process (missing an in classroom observation, interview), will be placed on an interim.
Action Required: Administrators will need to contact all career teachers and have them
complete the interim on JPLS. This will include the beginning of the year activities and then the end of the year reflection. What will need to be completed by the teacher: three goals, self-evaluation, reflection on all three goals. Lists will be updated to reflect the change.
Provisional Educators
All provisional educators that have already had one full evaluation will be considered complete. If you have a provisional educator that has not yet received a full evaluation we will place them on a full Teacher Specialist evaluation on JPLS to complete the one full required evaluation. Lists will be updated to reflect this change.
Action Required: Notify any provisional that have not been through one cycle and let them know they need to complete the teacher specialist online. Note: Teacher Specialist evaluations will need to be manually added and may take until Monday, March 30th to appear.
Educators Currently on an Interim
Educators currently on an interim will have no change. Please remind these teachers to complete their reflection piece so that they may be acknowledged by the assigned administrator.
Action Required: Send out reminder emails to teachers on interims reminding them to complete the reflection piece of the interim.
Note: Each administrator will receive an email with a list of changes for their schools by Monday, March 30, 2020. It will indicate who they need to contact in regards to the above changes.
Please see instructions regarding another way for teachers to communicate with their students. Please forward this to your teachers.
Paychecks
All paychecks that are not direct deposited will temporarily be mailed to your address on file in Skyward. This will take effect today, March 13th, until further notice.
To avoid possible delays in receiving your paycheck, please log in to your Skyward Employee Access to verify that your address is correct, or to make any changes to your address.
1 - Log in to Skyward Employee Access (call 801-567-8737 for login assistance if needed)
2 - EMPLOYEE INFORMATION tab
3 - PERSONAL INFORMATION (under Employee Information heading)
Address
View and/or change your address online:
View and/or change your address by telephone:
Direct Deposit
View and/or change your direct deposit online:
Paper Direct Deposit Authorization form:
W-4
View your W4 information online (you cannot change your W-4 online):
Paper W4 Form:
W-2
View your W2 online
Paper Copy of W2:
Please continue to work with your staff members who desire to work from home. Direct any questions or concerns to your Administrator of Schools.
Please take the time to review the following time-sensitive Action Item.
As schools transition from a Year Round (YRE) to a traditional schedule, select employees may be required to transition to a traditional pay frequency (September to August) if they have not yet done so.
Click on this link for information if you are a:
· Licensed or Support Professional at Fox Hollow Elementary on a YRE pay schedule and have not requested to change to a traditional pay frequency for the 2020-2021 school year. You must transition to a traditional pay frequency for the 2020-2021 school year.
Click on this link for information if you are a:
· Bus Driver or Bus Attendant on a YRE pay schedule and have not requested to change to a traditional pay frequency for the 2020-2021 school year. You must transition to a traditional pay frequency for the 2020-2021 school year.
Click on this link for information if you are a:
· Licensed or Support Staff employee currently assigned to a YRE school and have not requested to change to a traditional pay frequency. You have the option of remaining on a YRE pay frequency, or transitioning to a traditional pay frequency for the 2020-2021 school year.
If you have further questions, contact HR at 801-567-8150.
We are gathering additional food items for the Principal's Pantry for all schools. Please refer to the attached memo for details. Contact Randy White at 801-567-8178 with questions.
Please see document below for details and link to the registration page.
The following information will be shared with teachers in JEM. Please review so you may assist or answer questions about the teacher transfer process.
Video link: http://jem.jordandistrict.org/2019/02/how-to-apply-for-a-teacher-transfer/
Tutorial attached below.
Administrators: Please post and share with those in your building.
Youth Mental Health First Aid USA is an 8-hour training for adults to teach how to help adolescents and young adults who may be developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. The evidence behind the program demonstrates that it helps trainees identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. See flyer below for details on how to register.
Saturday, March 21, 2020
7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Jordan School District Auxiliary Services Building
Room 113
All administrators are invited to attend our first SEL Accelerator! We ask that administrators also invite individuals at their schools who would benefit from attending and who you'd like to have learned more about implementing social and emotional learning. For questions, contact McKinley Withers at x88245. See flyer below for details.
Many of us love our Apple devices, anything ranging from an iPad, to a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, or your iMac or Apple TV. We are purchasing and seeing more and more of these devices in our offices and classrooms, and they help our students grow and learn, and allow the rest of us to do our jobs efficiently.
We encourage you to keep purchasing Apple products for your classrooms and offices. However, any Apple device needs to be purchased from Apple Computer through the purchase order process for educational usage per the State of Utah contract. We may not always get the correct discounted price when purchased from the Apple Store or other retailers such as Best Buy or Costco. It also causes problems for our Information Systems department to get the devices in the Device Enrollment Program (DEP) and the Mobile Device Management (MDM) for tracking and updates. When purchased elsewhere, iPads are not getting engraved with the school district's name (we get this free through Apple on the state contract), and the device management licenses are not being purchased with them.
The District's Amazon Business account will no longer allow purchases of these products, and P-Cards are not to be used for computer/technology devices.
When you need to purchase Apple devices, please contact Tonya Hodges in the Purchasing Department, and she can assist you with quotes from Apple for the devices you need. No additional quotes are required for your purchase! Simply enter a requisition in Skyward with the Apple quote attached, and you are ready to go. Tonya can be reached at 567-8706 or at tonya.hodges@jordandistrict.org .
DATE:
Thursday, February 27, 2020
TO:
All Principals
FROM:
Shelley Nordick, Ph.D., Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
SUBJECT:
Education Support Professional Stakeholder Survey
Due to the fluctuation in Education Support Professional staff at some schools, we are asking that school administrators forward a link to ALL Education Support Professional personnel at their schools so that they may have an opportunity to complete their stakeholder survey. Please use the following link:
Education Support Professional Stakeholder Survey:
https://jordandistrictex.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_42OCoADTgTYHm1T
Please contact Holly Allen or Ben Jameson in the Evaluation, Research & Accountability Department with any questions or concerns.
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.
Assistant Principals:
Please click on the link below to choose the days and times you would like to attend the training meetings. Please choose one day and time for each of the months for March, April and May. June's meeting will be one meeting for all assistant principals to be held on June 23, 2020 from 10:00-1:00 pm at the JATC-S. Lunch will served at that meeting.
The new 5th grade maturation program has brought with it new practices that encourage students to seek out answers to their sensitive questions by asking parents or other trusted adult family members. Along with the new videos and permission forms, we also recommend a new procedure for introducing the video. Before starting the video, a statement should be made pertaining to how questions will be handled. Students should be informed that they may find they have questions after viewing the video, and should reach out to a parent or other trusted adult family member to seek answers to their questions.
Schools may still invite their school nurse to attend, and the school nurse can introduce the video if needed, but will not take student questions. Again, the parent is the best person for a child to go to with questions.
The two 30-minute videos (one for boys and one for girls) and the permission forms can be found at this link: http://pe.jordandistrict.org/healthandwellness/.
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.
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!
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
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).
