Category: Elementary Info

DATE:
August 3, 2023

TO:
School Administrators
Elementary Administrative Assistants
Secondary Attendance Secretaries
Secondary Registrars

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director, Student Services
Caleb Olson, Enrollment Consultant, Student Services

SUBJECT:
Initial Enrollment Without Birth Certificate

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Utah Code (§53G-6-603) states that: Upon enrollment of a student for the first time in a particular school, that school shall notify the enroller in writing that within 30 days the enroller shall provide to the school either: (a) a certified copy of the student's birth certificate; or (b) (i) other reliable proof of the student's: (A) identity; (B) biological age; and (C) relationship to the student's legally responsible individual; and (ii) an affidavit explaining the enroller's inability to produce a copy of the student's birth certificate.

The original or certified copy of a birth certificate issued by the Bureau of Vital Statistics is required for initial enrollment into any Jordan School District school. A copy of the certificate should be made and kept in the student’s cumulative folder. When a student transfers between Jordan District schools, it is not necessary to have the parent again supply the birth certificate (especially when the school is able to confirm that a copy of the birth certificate is available in the student’s cumulative folder when it transfers); however, building principals may choose to require birth certificates from transfer students or students entering the initial grade offered by the building provided this requirement is consistently applied to all students.

When a parent or guardian cannot provide a birth certificate at registration, the following steps should be followed:

• The student is enrolled and allowed to attend school.
• The parent/guardian is immediately given the 30-day grace period letter. This should be provided in-person at the time of registration.
• If a birth certificate has not been provided within 30 calendar days, the 10-day warning letter should be provided. If it cannot be provided in person, it should be sent via certified mail. An additional copy of the letter may be sent to the email provided by the parent at registration if delivered via MoveIt.
• If a birth certificate has not been provided by the end of the 10-day window, the student should remain enrolled and allowed to attend. School staff should notify law enforcement by certified letter. Once notification has been sent, the school’s statutory obligation has been met.

In some instances, the parent/guardian may not have a birth certificate. In this case, “other reliable proof” may be used. The documentation provided must prove the student’s identity and age. The steps below should be followed when using other documentation:

• The student is enrolled and allowed to attend school.
• The 30-day and 10-day letters should be provided as explained above.
• If other reliable proof is brought to the school, the “Affidavit of Birth” document must be completed and notarized. A copy of the documentation and the affidavit should be placed in the student’s cumulative folder.
• Law enforcement should be notified if documentation is not provided by the end of the 10-day warning window.

Parents and guardians do not need to be sent to Planning & Enrollment for approval of their “other reliable proof” documentation; however, school staff are welcome to consult with Planning & Enrollment about the particulars of documentation provided to the school. Notary services are also available at Planning & Enrollment if they cannot be provided at the school.

The 30-day and 10-day letters, as well as the “Affidavit of Birth” documents, are available on the Planning & Enrollment website in the School Resources section under the “Resources & Forms” tab.

If no documentation is available, code requires the school to assemble a review team to work with the enroller to determine the student’s biological age. Administrators should contact Planning & Enrollment for assistance with this process.

Please contact Planning & Enrollment at 801-567-8183 with questions or concerns.

DATE: 
August 3, 2023

TO:  
School Administrators
Elementary Administrative Assistants
Secondary Attendance Secretaries
Secondary Registrars

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director, Student Services
Caleb Olson, Enrollment Consultant, Student Services

SUBJECT: 
New Student Grade Level Placement

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When a student enrolls in Jordan School District they should be placed according to their age (see “Appropriate Age Chart” in online Planning & Enrollment Manual). This would include students that enroll from another state or country. Exceptions include:

• A military child who does not meet the deadline but has previously attended kindergarten or a higher grade as a resident in another state. (53G-4-402 and 53E-3-902)
• A student who was accelerated or retained in a previous school or district within the state of Utah. Jordan District will honor the acceleration or retention and continue to place the student in the next consecutive grade.
• A student who was home schooled should be placed based on the parent’s request. Examples include, but are not limited to:
  • The student attended a public school in the 7^th grade but was in home school for the 8^th grade. The parent(s) or guardian(s) requests placement in the 8^th grade. The school would place the student according to the request.
  • The student attended public school in the 7^th grade but was in home school for the 8^th grade. The parent(s) or guardian(s) states that the student completed both the 8^th and 9^th grade during the past school year, and requests placement in the 10^th grade. The school would place the student according to the request.
• A student who has never been in an educational setting should be placed according to their age.
• A student may be enrolled in the first grade even though the child did not meet the entry date for kindergarten the previous year, provided a full year of kindergarten was successfully completed in another state or private school (not daycare or preschool). The parent(s) or guardian(s) shall provide convincing evidence that the child has the academic, social and emotional skills necessary to succeed in first grade AND provide a statement from the previous school that verifies the student’s successful completion of the kindergarten curriculum.

Jordan School District does NOT enroll:

• Any student who has previously received a diploma.
• Any student who is not five (5) years of age before September 2^nd of the year they will be entering school (R277-419-2).

If the parent(s) or guardian(s) disagree with the student’s placement they may request acceleration or retention testing. Acceleration and/or retention testing is conducted to determine academic ability (see “Accelerations and Retentions” in online Planning & Enrollment Manual).

Please contact Planning & Enrollment (801-567-8183) with any questions you may have.

DATE:    
August 3, 2023

TO: 
School Administrators
Elementary Administrative Assistants
Secondary Attendance Secretaries
Secondary Registrars

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director, Student Services
Caleb Olson, Enrollment Consultant, Student Services

SUBJECT: 
Third Party Information Release Opt-Out

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Please see the attached memo.

23-24’ Digital Teacher Leader (DTL) Program

To support the implementation of digital and personalized learning in Jordan School District, the Digital Teaching & Learning Team is continuing the Digital Teacher Leader (DTL) Program. The DTL program begins with each school designating one person as their school Digital or Instructional Coach. Our program is designed to build the capacity of the coach in order to provide support in the implementation of classroom personalized and digital learning.

Responsibilities of the Digital or Instructional Coach:

• Meet monthly with your Digital Learning Specialist, from the district Digital Teaching & Learning team, to coordinate, collaborate, and implement a blended learning plan for your school.
• Attend a regularly scheduled after-school training on digital tools & blended learning. Training is typically held online in Zoom on the 1st Tuesday of each month.
• Hold a (20-30 min) monthly meeting at the school to highlight the use and implementation of digital tools in the classroom. Work with school administrators on a regular basis. Help administrators to complete a technology plan for the school. This is part of the Leadership in Personalized and Digital Learning Academy (LPDL).
• Collaborate with teachers to use digital tools and personalized learning.
• Serve as a member of the school Technology Team.

Digital and Instructional Coaches should work towards the following attributes:

• Knowledge of digital and personalized learning theory.
• Earn and apply ideas from the Coaching Endorsement and EdTech Endorsement (EdTech can be started after the coaching endorsement is completed).
• Seamlessly incorporates digital tools in instruction.
• Willing to coach, motivate and guide other teachers to use technology in instruction.

It is expected that the digital teacher leader will spend two to four hours per week completing the above responsibilities through digital, blended and face-to-face methods.

As reported in TSSA requirements: Teaching & Learning will provide 1/8th or 1/7th the cost (.125 FTE) for an Instructional Coach to support Tier 1 instructional uses of digital learning in respective high or middle schools. This FTE may only be used in the distribution of the regular contract and is not eligible for 7th-period authorization use.

The .125 FTE will be in place of the current digital teacher leader program. Schools may fund additional digital teacher leaders.

Any questions can be directed to Jared Covili jared.covili@jordandistrict.org 801-567-8191.

DATE:
July 19, 2023

TO: 
Principals
Administrative Assistants

FROM:    
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent

SUBJECT:  
Fee Waiver Materials 2023-24 – Revised

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The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) recently approved an amendment to the School Fees. The annual Certificate of Compliance will no longer be required as per R277-407-14. Schools still need to collect and maintain the following, which may be requested as part of the school fees monitoring visits:

• Students given waivers
• Students denied fee waivers
• Students who worked in lieu of a waiver

All USBE School Fees Notices and School Fee Waiver Applications can be found by clicking HERE.

Forms can be found under Grades K-6 and Grades 7-12 in multiple languages. The Fee Waiver Application, for both elementary and secondary was revised February 2023. Use the current form when having parents fill out the application.

 

Attention: Students who previously showed verification of eligibility do not need to resubmit documentation. It may be necessary for the principal (or designee) to contact the previous school of transferring students for verification of fee waiver status. Kindergarten students coming into the school, new students to the District, and students with extenuating circumstances will still be required to submit documentation.

 

Help Us Welcome New Educators at the New Educator Induction

Administrators,
You’re Invited to Welcome New Educators!

As part of the in-person session of New Educator Induction we want to welcome them with a host of Jordan School District personnel. We invite you and any members of your staff to come and join us on August 11, 2023 from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. (with roughly an 8:30 a.m. departure time) to take part in celebrating and being a welcoming committee outside West Jordan Middle School. Our goal is to support and retain our educators from day 1. Dress in school or JSD attire, bring your mascot, and cheer our New Educators on as they attend their first official event as a member of the JSD community. Help us show them that Jordan School District is the "District of Choice" for the best and brightest educators.

As a reminder, new educators would benefit from having their District issued computers prior to this event.

 

DATE:
Thursday, July 6, 2023

TO:
All School Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:
2023 Growth Measure Results Now Available in Tableau

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The summary Growth Measure dashboard in Tableau has been updated with 2023 end of year results. School administrators and instructional coaches will be able to see the following 2022-23 results for each testing window:

• Participation
• Proficiency
• Growth
• ELA comprehension and language performance
• Elementary school proficiency and growth comparison
• Middle school proficiency and growth comparison
• High school proficiency and growth comparison
• Individual teacher and student results

District results may be found here.

All of these dashboards are equipped with various demographic filters to help you analyze and interact with your school’s data.

Please direct questions about these dashboards to Ben Jameson in Evaluation, Research & Accountability.