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The following are new administrative assignments:

  • New Assignment effective July 31, 2023:
    • Melissa Flores, Senior Associate General Counsel at Maricopa County Community College appointed General Counsel.
  • New Assignments effective July 1, 2023:
    • Jerilyn Schafer, assistant principal at Westland Elementary appointed principal at Riverside Elementary School.
    • Kim Anderson, previously assigned assistant principal at Welby Elementary appointed assistant principal at Westland Elementary.
    • Janae Young, previously assigned assistant principal at Silver Crest Elementary appointed assistant principal at Welby Elementary.
    • Holly Bagley, previously assigned administrative intern at Southland Elementary assigned administrative intern at Silver Crest Elementary.
    • Nanette Ririe, principal at Monte Vista Elementary appointed assistant principal at Southland Elementary.
    • Natalie Gleave, previously assigned assistant principal at Rose Creek Elementary appointed principal at Monte Vista Elementary.
    • Baylee Lansford, assistant principal at Blackridge Elementary appointed assistant principal at Rose Creek Elementary.
    • Ann Henrie, teacher specialist at Heartland Elementary assigned administrative intern at Blackridge Elementary.
    • Russell Stephenson, previously assigned assistant principal at West Hills Middle appointed assistant principal at Joel P. Jensen Middle.
    • Kristie Howe, principal at Eastlake Elementary appointed assistant principal at West Hills Middle.
    • Hallie Myler, assistant principal at Butterfield Canyon Elementary appointed principal at Eastlake Elementary.
    • Ami Anderson, instructional coach at Rocky Peak Elementary assigned administrative intern at Butterfield Canyon Elementary.

There is still currently funding to provide schools with free HEPA air purifiers in K-12 classrooms, daycares, and Early Childhood Education (ECE). We currently have air purifiers in about 60% of schools and want to ensure all eligible partners are aware of this opportunity before the funding runs out on July 31, 2023.

Schools that wish to order can either reach out to Jake Jensen directly at jake@uphe.org or can complete the interest form on Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environments (our contracted partners) website linked HERE.

DATE:    
Thursday, June 15, 2023

TO:   
Elementary School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:   
2023 EOY Acadience Reading Results Now Available in Tableau


The Acadience Reading summary dashboard has been updated in Tableau with end of year benchmark results. School administrators and instructional coaches will be able to see the following 2022-23 results for each benchmark period:

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.

The Transportation Moratorium Field/Activity Trips Dates 2023-24 have been revised to reflect ACT testing in March 2024. March 5 was originally scheduled as a moratorium date. However, due to a high school calendar change, the moratorium date has changed from March 5 to March 13, 2024. Please plan accordingly. (High School Calendar Change for 2023-24)

You'll notice a slight moratorium time change in the morning from 9:00 am to 9:15 am Monday - Thursday. This allows bus drivers to complete their elementary school runs with sufficient time to make it to the school requesting a field/activity trip without arriving late. Therefore, field/activity trips will not start prior to 9:15 am. Please plan accordingly.

 

On August 10th, from 9-12 we will be having our first annual "Wellness Welcome." Our topic is "Restoring a Culture of Connection." We welcome all educators who would like to add to their wellness toolkit for themselves and their students. Our target audience is classroom teachers, but everyone is welcome!

If you are interested, fill out the brief form and we will keep you updated as the event gets closer. A stipend may be available for licensed employees.

DATE:
June 8, 2023

TO:
All School Administrators

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
McKinley Withers, Health and Wellness

SUBJECT:
Student Mental Wellness Opportunities and Reminders


Throughout the 2023 summer, Jordan District’s Clinical staff will offer mental wellness groups focused on coping, connections, and community, as well as individual check-ins, screenings, and mental health consultations. If a student or staff member would benefit from these services, please share the attached flyer with them so they can schedule an appointment.

As a reminder, emergency services and mobile crisis teams remain available throughout the summer through 988 and SafeUT.

The new English Language Arts Standards for elementary grades have been approved and are now available on the UEN website. It is common protocol for instructional standards in the state of Utah to be reviewed and updated on a regular basis. The new standards have gone through rigorous revisions and state board approval. They will be in effect for the 2023-24 school year and can be viewed on the UEN website. Please share the attachment with the links with teachers to help them in the planning process for the 2023-24 school year.

Use the following links to access the new English Language Arts standards for the 2023-24 school year:

Step by Step Guide to Finding the New 2023 ELA Standards

New 2023 ELA Standards

Dear Administrators,

Each year parents must reapply for a space available permit for their student(s). This process will no longer be done by filling out a paper form issued by the school.

All space available permit requests will now be submitted online. Please see the instructions/tutorial on how parents can access and complete this online form.

Space Available Guideline Reminders:

  • Students who live within 1.5 miles of an elementary school and 2.0 miles of a middle or high school are identified as ineligible for transportation.
  • If space is available, students who live too close to the school to qualify for state supported bus service may be allowed to ride from the nearest existing approved bus stop.
  • Space available passes may be withdrawn at any time if an increase in eligible riders reduces the number of seats available.
  • Parents are responsible for the safety of their student(s) traveling to and from the bus stop. Bus stops will not be added to accommodate space available riders.
  • Space Available Passes will be issued within 15 calendar days after the school year begins.

WHO? YOU!
Are you looking to improve your ability to address the "elephant in the room"? Want to be able to better handle difficult conversations? Join members of the Culture and Diversity Team to hone your skills in a relaxed, open environment.

WHAT?
We'll be reading and discussing "Don't Feed the Elephants" by Sarah Noll Wilson and using her techniques to get comfortable being uncomfortable.

WHEN?
Meeting Dates: June 15th, July 6th, July 27th, and August 10th

Time and Location TBA
Zoom Option Available

Email gwen.creelerickson@jordandistrict.org to reserve your spot.

DATE:
June 1, 2023

TO:
Elementary Principals
Elementary Head Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Becky Gerber, Administrator of Schools
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Schools
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Jill Durrant, Administrator of Schools

SUBJECT:
Elementary Administrative Assistants Optional Summer Hours


Elementary school administrative assistants have up to eighty (80) hours of additional time to use during the summer months after the 206 contract ends June 13, 2023 and before the contract begins July 26, 2023. These hours remain optional and flexible and are to be used in coordination with the school principal. No other assistant (full or part time) may use these additional hours.

It is suggested the hours be spread out over the summer months when the administrative assistant is off contract and be used to keep registration current in Skyward and address other matters that typically build up over the summer months (voicemails, purchase verifications, time sheets, etc.). The hope is that these summer hours will aid the school in a successful opening for the students.

The hours should be reported through True Time under the heading “Summer Office Hours” and will be charged to account number: 10 E xxx 0050 2483 152.

DATE:
June 1, 2023

TO:
All School Administrators 

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
McKinley Withers,  Health and Wellness

SUBJECT:
Summer Content Monitoring


During the summer months, from June 5th until August 22nd, content monitoring and notifications will have some temporary changes.

  • Notifications to schools will only include administration and not counseling or mental health professionals. This allows for 12-month employees to still receive notifications and not those who are off contract. The notifications will go to the entire team of admin at each school in case there are administrators that are out of the office.
  • Notifications that are not considered emergencies or urgent will not be sent after 2pm to ensure that intervention is reasonable and timely for school personnel.
  • Content monitoring will be checked once per week while school is not in session. 
  • We will continue to receive imminent alerts and will continue to work with administrators when immediate intervention is required.

Should you have any questions please reach out to Angie Rasmussen at angie.rasmussen@jordandistrict.org

District Cabinet has approved a change to the end-of-year schedule for Kindergarten testing beginning May 2024. Kindergarten teachers will still have six testing days; however, the testing window will be divided into a five-day block with a scheduled day for makeup testing on the last day of the school year. The second-to-last day of the school year will become the last day of school for Kindergarten. This change will impact both full-day and half-day students.

The calendars at http://planning.jordandistrict.org/calendars/ for 2023-24 and 2024-25 have been updated to reflect the change.

We have been approved to move over to a new IEP platform. We will be moving from Goalview/EdPlan to Embrace. Embrace is a program that has multiple programs under one. We will use the system as our IEP system, Medicaid system and 504 system.

Goalview will be decommissioned and no longer operate as of June 30, 2023. Embrace will be in place as our system for documenting and maintaining compliance for IEPs, Medicaid, and 504s. We will begin the migration of data over the summer and provide training during the Special Education Summer Conference.

Training for School Psychologists, Counselors, and Clinical Staff on the 504 components of Embrace will be conducted at another time.

You are strongly encouraged to attend the Embrace training in person on August 8th.

We will also have administrative sessions to highlight what administrators will want to know about Embrace on August 8th as well. We are excited about the new system and the opportunities moving forward.

If you have questions, please contact your Teacher Specialist.

 

Principals,
Please share the following information and attached flyer with any faculty that may be interested.

Dear Colleague:

Are you interested in shaping the future of Utah education?
Join us for the 2023-2024 BYU Education Policy Institute.

Engaging in education policy is crucial if you are interested in. . .

  • Contributing your perspective, experience, and expertise to better informed and inclusive policies
  • Improving educational outcomes
  • Addressing societal challenges, such as poverty, unemployment, social mobility
  • Promoting equity and inclusivity
  • Fostering innovation and adaptability
  • Ensuring accountability and transparency
  • Influencing resource allocation

Together we are empowered to make a difference!

See the attached flyer for details and registration information.

I hope to have you join us.

Bryan Bowles
Professor, Educational Leadership & Foundations
Brigham Young University

DATE:  
May 24, 2023

TO: 
Principals
Assistant Principals

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services

SUBJECT:
Panorama – Wrapping up the current year


What to expect over the summer: Shortly after the end of the current school year, Panorama will “freeze” the data in the platform to show the final data from the 2022-2023 school year. Our nightly downloads stop a few weeks after the last day of school to account for the data in your SIS being finalized. If you are running school or district professional development over the summer, you’ll be able to review data from 2022-2023 and revise support notes. Please note that the platform does not support summer school sessions and that data will not appear in Student Success.

Best practices to wrap up the current year: This article on Panorama Academy contains recommendations and guidance for how you and your users can effectively wrap up the 2022-2023 school year.

Back to School: This article on Panorama Academy will help you prepare for back-to-school in Panorama. On or about August 14th Panorama will begin downloading student data, after that date, rosters will be displayed. At the beginning of the year rosters will change frequently.

Have questions? Find answers to frequently asked questions related to our process to close out the school year and prepare for the new one here. And of course, you can always reach out to your Panorama team with any additional questions!

As a reminder: Panorama operates on FERPA. Therefore, students graduating, moving schools, or withdrawing will not be in Panorama in the fall. To ensure that you have all the data you feel like you need it is strongly suggested that you save/print your current years data on or before June 12, 2023.

Resources:

Please reach out to Travis Hamblin @ travis.hamblin@jordandistrict.org for any training or program needs.