Jordan School District
TO:
All Administrators
FROM:
Ami Shah, Officer Equity & Compliance
The final PD of the year is on April 11, 2024, at the JATC South from 4:30 to 6:30 PM. Prof. Dusty Jensen from USU will present on understanding the culture and needs of our Native American students.
All licensed employees will receive 2 hours of in-service pay and licensure points. The administrators are encouraged to attend.
Register for the PD HERE
Please see the flyer for additional information.
TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants
FROM:
June LeMaster, Administrator of Human Resources
Special Calendars are Coming Mid April
It is that time of year when Administrators review Licensed staff to determine who require a special calendar for the 2024-25 school year. Special Calendars are an essential Human Resources process to ensure appropriate contract pay, accurate time entry, and emergency employee tracking.
Examples for employee who may be on a special calendar include:
If you have questions about special calendars please contact Brittany Bauer (x88214) or Jane Olsen (x88217).
TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants
FROM:
June Le-Master, Administrator of Human Resources
Jane Olsen, HR Recruiting, Licensing & Hiring
Please see the attached newsletter.
DATE:
March 20, 2024
TO:
All Principals
FROM:
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Brian King, Assistant Director of Special Education
Mike Trimmell, Ed.D., Special Education Administrator
SUBJECT:
Inclusion Symposium 2024
This is a great opportunity to take teams of teachers to work together to discuss inclusive practices and strategies for students with disabilities in your schools. Funding for the symposium would need to come from school funds. Please consider sending teams of teachers and leaders to learn more about these inclusive practices.
Registration for the event can be found at the link on the attached memo.
DATE:
March 20, 2024
TO:
Elementary Principals
Elementary Special Education Teachers
Secondary Special Education Teachers
FROM:
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Brian King, Assistant Director of Special Education
SUBJECT:
"A Day in the Life of a Teacher with Inspire" PD Opportunity
The session will be facilitated by an N2Y expert and will focus on providing practical insights and strategies for effective implementation of this curriculum to support student learning.
Please join us to see how using Inspire can help make your groups more engaging and tailored to the unique needs in your resource classroom!
Date/Time: April 19th, 2024 from 1:30- 2:30 PM
Location: Google Meet (link will be sent out to all resource teachers via email)
See the memo below for more information.
TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants
FROM:
Scott Thomas, Administrator of Auxiliary Services
Katie Bastian, Director of Nutrition Services
The USDA and Utah State Office of Education Board addressed fundraisers and competitive foods and services by enacting guidelines for food fundraisers that are exempt from Smart Snack nutrition Standards. Please see accompanying handout for details and let your Nutrition Services Coordinator know if you have questions.
TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants
FROM:
Michelle Love-Day, Director of Language & Culture Services
We are excited to share our ML Memo with you. In this newsletter, we have important dates, ML parent nights along with SIOP and ELLevation tips and resources. We hope that as you continue to support students you will gain insight in our cultural corner about Ramadan and celebrate our teacher spotlight.
The full newsletter can be found at the link below. Stories include:
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, April 22, 2024
10:00am - 11:30 am
Presentation Room, ASB, Entrance C
See attached flyer.
DATE:
Thursday, March 21, 2024
TO:
Elementary School Administrators
FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
SUBJECT:
Research Project
The Research Review Committee has reviewed a research project in which your school has been asked to participate.
Project Title: Enhancing Educator Expertise: Evaluating the Impact of an E-Learning Module on Teachers’ Knowledge of Collaborative Writing Strategies
Applicant: Stacy Selk, Western Governors University
The project has been approved by the District Research Review Committee. The applicant will email educators directly to invite them to participate in the e-learning module. Participation in the study is at your discretion. If you have questions or concerns relating to participation, please contact Ben Jameson at 801-567-8243.
Thank you for your assistance.
TO:
All Administrators
FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Michael Heaps, Director of Information Systems
Steffany Ellsworth, Support Services Manager in Information Systems
Every Chromebook comes with an expiration date called Auto Update Expiration (AUE) where it will no longer receive critical updates. Google recently announced that new Chromebooks will receive updates for up to 10 years after a model is first released. In addition, Google announced that updates for some older Chromebook models will also be extended. These updates range from keeping your devices secure on the web to continued device stability improvements.
What Does This Mean for You? The extended time before updates expire may allow your school some flexibility in prolonging the life of your Chromebooks. While it remains important for your school to maintain a regular rotation of purchasing new Chromebooks, you may find that your rotation is able to be spread out over a longer period of time, depending on hardware performance, maintenance and deterioration.
When to Surplus Older Chromebooks? It is not necessary to send a Chromebook to surplus solely due to the original AUE date. Rather, the extended AUE date can be used to determine when a Chromebook will no longer receive updates. However, if the Chromebook has performance or hardware issues, continue to surplus the device even if it hasn’t met the extended AUE date. If in doubt, consult with your school tech.
How Long Will My Older Chromebooks Continue to Receive Updates? The chart below shows the extended AUE dates for older Chromebooks.
| Chromebook Model | Extended AUE Date |
| Chromebook 11 G6 EE* | June 2027* |
| Chromebook 11A G6 EE* | June 2029* |
| Chromebook 11 G7 EE | June 2029 |
| Chromebook 11 G8 EE | June 2029 |
| Chromebook 11A G8 EE* | June 2029* |
| Chromebook 11 G9 EE | June 2031 |
*IMPORTANT NOTE - Chromebook models with an asterisk will have some features and services that will not be supported through the extended AUE date. According to Google, this includes Google Play Store being removed from the Chromebook and all Android-related data being erased from the Chromebook and not recoverable.
TO:
All Administrators
FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Ami Shaw, Officer of Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion
Jordan School District invites all faculty, students, and families to Heroes Among Us to hear the inspiring stories of remarkable individuals who have shown unwavering dedication to our community. Join us at West Jordan Middle from 5-7 pm on April 3rd to hear our speakers share their struggles, successes, and life lessons. Bring your questions about mentoring, career paths, and internship opportunities for your students.
Pizza dinner will be served! RSVP by clicking HERE or scanning the QR code on the flyer to secure your spot! Please see the attached flyer for more information!
TO:
All Administrators
FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
The Health and Wellness Department, in Student Services is hosting a parent event scheduled for April 10th, 2024 at Riverton High School. This conference- style event aims to bring together professionals and education experts in the field of mental health and well-being to share their knowledge, insights, and research with parents in our JSD communities. This event aims to help parents to be best equipped to support their children with well-being.
We will offer resource booths near the entrance of the school from 5:30-6pm, and throughout transition time for parents to gain insight and information on helpful resources.
We will offer three(3) 30-minutes sessions between 6pm-8pm to maximize learning for parent participants. Some sessions will repeat more than once.
Topics will include best practices, research insights, or information that would be useful to parents of school-aged children. Including mental health issues in the schools and associated issues (bullying, stress, perfectionism, social pressures, etc.), risk, prevention, resilience and ways in which parents can help support their students.
Please share the attached flyer and encourage parents in your communities to attend!
TO:
Elementary Principals
FROM:
Becky Gerber, Administrator of Schools
Ann Pessetto, JAESP Committee Member
2024 JAESP Awards:
Jennifer Ludlow: Distinguished Principal of the Year
Veronica Holyoke: Distinguished Assistant Principal of the Year
Tiffany Smith: Community Leader Principal of the Year
Candie Checketts: Student Advocate Principal of the Year
Jerilyn Schaffer: Rookie Principal of the Year
Jessica Stowe: Instructional Leader Principal of the Year
Ken Westwood: Mentor Principal of the Year
Suzie Williams: Innovator Principal of the Year
We congratulate these principals for their excellence in school leadership.
TO:
All Administrators
FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Jared Covili, Consultant in Teaching & Learning
Check out the link to the flyer for the latest updates from Teaching & Learning for March. Learn tips and tricks, sign up for upcoming PD, and learn about important updates from the T & L team.
DATE:
March 14, 2024
TO:
District Administrators
Principals
Assistant Principals
FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Melissa Flores, General Counsel
Sandra Riesgraf, Director, Communications
Travis Hamblin, Director, Student Services
Caleb Olson, Enrollment Consultant, Student Services
SUBJECT:
Record Request: FERPA or GRAMA
This is a revision and reissue of a memo previously distributed in September 2023 and replaces that version of this document.
Please distribute the information below to anyone in your school or department who may field questions regarding a record request.
Two laws govern processes that parents/patrons must follow to access information the District maintains: FERPA and GRAMA.
FERPA is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal law that governs access to a student’s educational record. The educational record typically consists of the contents of the student’s cumulative folder, the Special Education record (if applicable), and information for the student in Skyward. District Policy DP367 – District Records Management designates each school's principal as the school's record officer. As such, parents may obtain copies of information in the student's educational record by making a written request to the principal. The parent does not need to be referred to Planning & Enrollment or Communications; however, both departments can assist schools in identifying records that may be responsive to the parent's request. If a parent requests the student’s entire education record (a record that may contain information from multiple schools), this information can still be provided by the school where the student is currently enrolled; the building principal is the record officer for all records at that location, no matter where they may have originated.
Any clips of District surveillance video that were used in student discipline are considered part of the educational file for both the subject student and any victims. Under FERPA, parents have a right to “access” this portion of their child’s record, but do not have a right to obtain a copy of video footage. The process of providing access to footage will include a review by Planning & Enrollment, Communications, and General Counsel but is overseen by the school principal. An updated overview of the process schools should follow in providing access to retained footage is available at this link:
GRAMA is Utah’s Government Records Access and Management Act. It outlines the process for the general public to access records created and maintained by government entities. Practically every other type of record generated and maintained by the district (except those designated as “private,” “controlled’, or “protected” in DP367) may be accessed by an individual through the GRAMA process. Emails, including emails sent to and from students that are not maintained as part of the student’s educational file, are included in the records subject to GRAMA. DP367 outlines that the District will only respond to GRAMA requests that are submitted through the Utah Open Records Portal. Individuals may submit their request directly to the portal via the website and do not need to contact Planning & Enrollment or Communications first. Patrons may be required to pay the cost of employee time (in excess of 15 minutes) for preparing records.
TO:
All District Administrators
All District Administrative Assistants
FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
A proposed USBE rule change would have required the District to count the Health & Wellness Day as a teacher professional development day. The 2024-25 calendar was created and approved with this rule change in mind. The rule change was ultimately not passed, which allows the District to continue to count the Health & Wellness Day as a virtual instruction day AND frees up an allowed teacher professional development day to be used elsewhere in the year.
To reduce the impact on students and employees, the following change was approved by the Jordan Board of Education:
This change allows for an additional teacher professional day for teachers while also creating more consistent days off for students and families.
Updated calendars can be accessed at this link: Calendars - Jordan Planning & Enrollment
TO:
Elementary Principals
FROM:
Becky Gerber, Administrator of Schools
Ann Pessetto, JAESP Committee Member
Please submit concerns to be discussed by JAESP committee and cabinet by March 20, 2024. Send items to be discussed to Nick Hansen at Golden Fields, Ann Pessetto at Silver Crest, or Kaleb Yates at the new Flex School. All items are discussed anonymously as we work to provide clarification and solutions to concerns of elementary administrators.
Notes of the discussions will be published following the meeting on the Google Doc titled "JAESP committee notes 2023-24" shared previously with Elementary Administrators.
TO:
All Administrators
FROM:
Scott Thomas, Administrator of Auxiliary Services
Electrocutions are the fifth leading cause of occupational injuries. Remember: You don’t have to be an electrician to be exposed to electrical hazards!
See the document below for safety tips.
TO:
All Administrators
Administrative Assistants
FROM:
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Please see the attached newsletter.
TO:
All Administrators
FROM:
Scott Thomas, Administrator of Auxiliary Services
Administrators:
It is the time of year to schedule many of our school-based activities. There are always many questions about which activities are permitted in schools. In an effort to assist you in determining whether an activity is approved or not approved, an Approved-Not Approved Activity & Procedural Guidelines folder has been shared with each Administrator on Google Drive. The folder contains a Quick Reference Guide, as well as, supporting guidelines for all approved activities mentioned on the list. All considered activities should continue to be approved through your respective AOS.
Please keep in mind, the list and guidelines may be updated on a regular basis to address other Utah State Risk concerns or considerations.
The Approved-Not Approved Activity & Procedural Guidelines folder can be accessed by the following steps:
Google Drive > Shared with me > Approved-Not Approved Activity & Procedural Guidelines
