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Category: Elementary Info

Published on

DATE:  
September 6, 2022

TO: 
Principals and Assistant Principals

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Sharon Jensen, Consultant Student Support Services
Michelle Reyes, Prevention Specialist

SUBJECT:  
September Attendance Flyer 2022

Principals and Assistant Principals,

Hopefully you have had a wonderful start to the year!

Stressing the importance of school attendance in September has been proven to have great benefits on attendance for the remainder of the school year. Students who miss more than 3-4 days in September go on to miss almost a month of school. Included is a September flyer sent out to parents on PeachJar but it would be wonderful to make this available in your schools as well. A new attendance flyer will be sent out each month as we strive for better attendance.

We hope we are starting the year off strong with attendance!

Published on

DATE: 
Thursday, September 15, 2022

TO:  
Elementary School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:  
Student Assessment Profile in Tableau

The ability to see the assessment record for the educational career of individual students is now at your fingertips. The Elementary Student Profile dashboard in Tableau will allow you to look up an individual student and see all of their assessment data for Acadience Reading, Acadience Math, and RISE (ELA, math and science) as well as the student’s attendance record and demographics (race/ethnicity, EL status, gender, special education status, and native language).

This dashboard will allow you to effectively include assessment and demographic data as you discuss the needs of individual students and the supports they require in such settings as PLCs, student support teams, TAT teams, IEP meetings, 504 meetings, etc.

School administrators may access the dashboard here.

Please contact Brooke Anderson in Evaluation, Research & Accountability with questions about the dashboard.

Published on

DATE:
Thursday, September 8, 2022

TO:
All 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: Policies and Leadership Responses to Teacher Vocal Problems

Applicant: Pam Hallam, BYU-Provo

The project has been approved by the District Research Review Committee. The applicant has been directed to contact you to discuss the extent of the project and to obtain your permission to conduct the study at your school. 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.

The project will involve the recruitment of teachers who are interested in participating on a focus group to discuss and research voice care as part of vocal health.

Thank you for your assistance.

Published on

The following dates have been scheduled for administrative assistant (user group) meetings this year. These will be held after the September, January, and March Principal meetings, so administrators can be informed about topics and items that will be discussed with their assistants. See the attachment with the dates listed.

Published on

DATE:
September 8, 2022

TO:
All Principals

FROM:
Administrators of Schools
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Scott Festin, Consultant, Planning and Enrollment
Caleb Olson, Consultant, Planning and Enrollment

SUBJECT:
10th Day Enrollment versus the Estimate

Please see the memo below.

Published on

Last year we introduced Kindergarten Night Out and it was a huge success! This is a night for teachers to come together to collaborate, learn, and enjoy some time together. This year, we are pleased to announce that we are expanding to include a First-Grade Night Out and a Second-Grade Night Out. Please see the attached fliers and share them with your teachers!

Published on

DATE:
Thursday, September 8, 2022

TO:
All 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: The Challenge of Peer Leadership

Applicant: Doug Stump, Southern Utah University

The project has been approved by the District Research Review Committee. The applicant has been directed to contact you to discuss the extent of the project and to obtain your permission to conduct the study at your school. 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.

The researcher is looking for first-year administrators who have been assigned to schools where they were also a teacher.

Thank you for your assistance.

Published on

Portable classroom ramps are very expensive and the District does not keep an inventory of extra ramps.

When there is a ramp request for a legitimate ADA accommodation, administrators should contact their AOS first, to discuss the specific circumstances. If the AOS deems the ramp necessary, they will then contact Facility Services to determine the best school to move a ramp from along with an appropriate timeline for the installation.

Published on

DATE:   
September 1, 2022

TO: 
All School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:  
BARK Content Monitoring

Now that school is back in session, here is a review of our districtwide content monitoring system which runs through a software system called BARK. BARK was awarded a contract extension over the summer and we will continue to screen alerts and send them to schools for review. NO other content monitoring software should be purchased by schools. BARK monitors all student accounts across all JSD schools and levels. Here is a summary of the notification protocols and procedures.

  • BARK uses an AI to scan student Gmail messages, Google chats, Google documents, and Google slides, regardless of the device that is used. As long as the student is logged in to and using their Jordan District Google account, the content can be monitored.
  • Notifications and alerts are categorized as non-severe, severe, and imminent.
  • The alerts are monitored primarily by Angie Rasmussen, JSD Student Safety and Wellness Specialist. Some will require additional investigation at that level to determine the context and to weed out false positives.
  • Notifications to schools will include administration, counseling, and other mental health teams. This allows for several adults to receive notifications in case they are somewhat time sensitive.
  • Notifications will come in an email from Angie unless it is urgent, then a phone call or text message will be communicated.
  • Notifications that are not considered emergencies or urgent will not be sent after 3pm on a school day to ensure that intervention is reasonable and timely for school personnel.
  • Content alerts are not monitored over the weekend or on days that students don’t attend, but emergency alerts will still be sent when immediate intervention is needed.
  • We will continue to receive after hours 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

Published on

DATE:   
September 1, 2022

TO:  
District Administrators
School Administrators

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

SUBJECT: 
Content-Specific Opt-Out Requests

Please see the attached memo.

Published on

School Administrators:

Please review next week’s JAM (September 8, 2022) for a summary of the FTE Audit process and required due dates. The FTE Audit is critical to ensure employees are paid correctly and from the correct budgets. The audit will be electronic again. However, if you would like assistance, you will have the option to schedule an appointment with HR to review your audit.

We appreciate your time in completing this essential task.

Published on

DATE:
August 24, 2022

TO:
All School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:
Suicide Prevention Grant Funds

Each year our District is awarded grant funds for suicide prevention programs and training. Schools are able to use this grant fund for training or conferences related to suicide prevention or for programs such as Hope Squad or Sources of Strength. There are other relevant training and programs that may qualify for this grant. This grant will not cover “consumable” supplies such as treats, T-shirts, fidgets, or other incentives or prizes. Funds must be spent on training and programs.

This year, using carryover from unspent funds from prior years, Student Services will be offering for any member of your school’s mental health team (school counselors, school psychologists, or clinical support/social workers) to attend ONE of two suicide prevention conferences with your permission. This invitation will be sent to them directly.

Please reach out to McKinley Withers or Angie Rasmussen if you have suicide prevention training or programs that you would like to have funded using this grant. Please have a plan and cost in mind for consideration.

Published on

Please take note of the following clarification on the difference between "Grade Transmittal Days" and "Professional Development Days." This information is also being distributed to employees via JEM.

Grade Transmittal Days are scheduled three times per year (October 21, January 17, March 27) as required in District Policy D207 - Calendar Development. These days occur each year in the Jordan School District. Payment for these days is built into the base teacher salary. Students do not attend. In-person work by teachers is not required; however, schools are open and teachers may use time on this day for finalizing and submitting grades.

Professional Development Days are three days throughout the year (September 16, November 4, April 21) where the Board of Education and District Administration have converted a student instructional day to a professional development day, as allowed by Utah Code 53F-2-102(d). These days are authorized on a year-to-year basis. These days are included in the 187 days of the standard teacher contract. Students do not attend. Principals may use up to three hours of each day for required professional development activities. The remainder of the contract day is to be used by teachers for planning and preparation.

The level and teacher calendars have been updated to clarify this change:

Published on

DATE: 
September 1, 2022

TO: 
All Jordan School District Principals (with bus route students)

FROM:   
Scott Thomas, Administrator of Auxiliary Services
Paul Bergera, Director of Transportation
Kathy Jones, Transportation Trainer/Risk Coordinator

SUBJECT: 
State Required Bus Evacuations and School Bus Safety 2022-2023

State required semi-annual school bus evacuations have been scheduled for this spring. This applies to those students that ride the bus daily to and from school.

The evacuations will be conducted during the week of:

Monday, September 12, 2022 through Friday, September 16, 2022

Your school’s regular bus drivers will perform this evacuation one day during the week as they drop your students off in the morning. This procedure takes place at your school and is located in your normal bus drop off/pick up zone. All professional school bus drivers that transport students are required to perform evacuation procedures in case of an emergency. Bus evacuation will be through the front door this year. Students will then, under the direction and supervision of the bus driver, evacuate and meet in a safe place approximately 100 feet away from the bus.

Your assistance is welcome but not mandatory to complete this required evacuation drill quickly, safely and effectively.

We appreciate all you do to help us safely transport your students.

Published on

With the restructure of the Human Resource Department, which includes Brittany Bauer and Jane Olsen in their new assignments as HR Specialists, the HR Department has a new look. While Brittany and Jane will focus on NEW EMPLOYEES, Brent and June will focus on CURRENT EMPLOYEES for all employee groups. For additional details, please see the attached graphic. We look forward to continuing to serve you.