Jordan School District
TO:
All Principals
FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Nadine Page, Administrative Assistant
Take note of the following quarterly newsletter with important communication about the School LAND Trust (SLT) Program.
If you missed the training resources shared by email in August, please navigate to the Compliance Newsletter section titled "Training Newsletters" and select the one that applies to you.
TO:
Administrators
FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
The Jordan School District Board of Education has approved a new Districtwide cellphone policy, AA453 Personal Use of Electronic and Communication Devices. A video will be shared with parents explaining how the new policy applies to our elementary and secondary schools.
We invite you to watch the video:
TO:
Administrators
Administrative Assistants
FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
The annual Business and Auxiliary Services Training was recorded on October 10, 2024. To access the Zoom recording, click on this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pOin2UbSlIHy_0xt21l4_1KLF00Fip6L/view?usp=drive_link
TO:
School Administrators
School Administrative Assistants
FROM:
Katie Bastian, Director of Nutrition Services
JSD Nutrition Services has purchased local apples from Pyne Farms in Santaquin, Utah to celebrate this day with our district. Check out the YouTube link below for a great 3-minute Pyne Farm tour video and to learn about apples.
This year, Apple Crunch Day falls during National School Lunch Week! The theme for this year is "School Lunch Pirates...Find Your Treasure". Attached are some fun handouts about apples that incorporate the pirate theme.
Touch base with your school's kitchen manager to brainstorm how you would like to serve the apples in your school. We hope you enjoy this celebration!
TO:
All Kindergarten Teachers, Coaches, and Administrators
FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Michelle Lovell, Consultant, Elementary Language Arts, Teaching & Learning
Join us as we learn and explore Wit and Wisdom. We will be diving into planning strategies. There will be giveaways and prizes. We look forward to seeing you there!
Sign up HERE
DATE:
Thursday, October 10, 2024
TO:
Elementary School Administrators
FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
Michelle Lovell, Elementary Language Arts Consultant
SUBJECT:
BOY Acadience Reading Parent Letters
ALO does not have a parent letter that complies with the requirements for parent communication in 53E-4-307 for benchmark assessments in reading. Thus, we have created our own letter that meets legislative compliance and still communicates the basics of what parents need to know about their student’s reading skills.
Parent letters will be distributed as a PDF file to school administrators, instructional coaches and administrative assistants soon. Each school will need to decide who will take responsibility for ensuring these parent letters are printed and then sent home.
For questions about these parent letters, please contact Ben Jameson in Assessment, Research & Accountability or Michelle Lovell in Literacy.
TO:
All Administrators
FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
A new policy, AA453 Use of Personal Electronic and Communication Devices, commonly referred to as the "cell phone policy" will take effect on Tuesday, October 29. Please take time to review the policy with your administrative team. More information will be provided at principal meeting on October 15th. Please contact your AOS with any questions.
TO:
Elementary Principals
FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Rebecca Smith, Consultant in Teaching & Learning
Teaching & Learning is offering an optional, half-day PD for all elementary teachers: Sparking Minds – Transform your Teaching with Engaging Questions, Socratic Seminars, and Dynamic Dialogue.
The PD will include supporting information for Wit & Wisdom. Half-day substitutes will be provided. The PD will be offered specific to grade bands: K, 1-2, 3-4, 5-6.
Please see the flyer for details and dates. Share this information with your teachers. Contact Rebecca Smith (88368) if you have questions.
TO:
Administrators
FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Jared Covili, Consultant in Teaching & Learning
At the district level the setting will be switched from the default setting of “Maximum Value” to “Most Recent view”. Teachers will maintain the ability to switch their view to Maximum Value and set the proficiency calculation to what fits their needs.
This move provides immediate insights into students' current understanding and progress and allows teachers to adjust instruction based on the latest data. The previous setting of “Maximum” gave a limited story of the students' mastery.
What do you need to do as an administrator:
The setting for “Most Recent” will be set at the district level. If you would like your staff to see additional proficiency settings contact Larisa Nageli, Digital Learning Specialist, to make that adjustment for you.
TO:
Elementary Principals
Elementary Administrative Assistants
FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
RaeAnna Kirk, Lead School Nurse
Principals, you may use the message below (and attached) to share the maturation materials with 5th Grade parents:
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Our 5th grade maturation program is held online. It is presented in an online video format presented by health care providers. While this is not a mandatory program, this is presented as an opportunity for you to watch the program together. Students are encouraged to talk to their trusted adults for questions or concerns that they may have. Our presentation can be found online at Elementary Health & Maturation.
Sincerely,
DATE:
October 3, 2024
TO:
All Administrators
FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
McKinley Withers, Health and Wellness Consultant
SUBJECT:
Parent Mental Health Series Offering
Administrators,
Jordan District has partnered with the Cook Center for Human Connection to offer ongoing mental health education for parents and caregivers. This partnership includes FREE access to frequent live, virtual educational sessions on rotating topics. It also includes access to a library of recorded sessions and resources for each topic that is covered. Sessions are offered in both Spanish and English at 5pm and 7pm.
Parents and caregivers can register to attend ANY of the 30+ mental health topic live sessions or access the content asynchronously.
We invite you to share the attached October Session Calendar with your school community and to review the session descriptions.
We hope that this can be a helpful resource for your schools and communities!
TO:
All Administrators
Administrative Assistants
FROM:
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Brian King, Ph.D., Assistant Director of Special Education
Mike Trimmell, Ed.D., Special Education Administrator
Please see the attached newsletter.
DATE:
October 1, 2024
TO:
Principals
Special Education Providers
FROM:
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Mike Trimmell, Ed.D., Special Education Administrator
SUBJECT:
Transcription Services for the Visually Impaired
We have three amazing transcriptionists that support teachers that have students who are visually impaired. Their main role is to transcribe assignments into braille and enlarge text for general education and special education teachers that have visually impaired students in their classrooms.
To be able to support transcription services we ask that assignments be given to the transcriptionists 2 weeks in advance. This is the minimum time needed to transcribe work. Some assignments may take longer depending on the amount of graphics, which require a lot of reproducing and labeling. As an example, a language arts assignment with no graphics may only take 1 to 2 hours to transcribe, where a science or history assignment may take up to 10 hours to transcribe if there are maps or graphics.
The process of transcribing an assignment includes typing the assignment into a braille program, proofreading it, formatting it according to braille rules, embossing it, and then adding tactile graphics and labels if needed. Please note that a due date is also required for the transcriptionists to begin working on the assignment. To provide FAPE, students with visual impairments are guaranteed to have their assignments the same time as the rest of the class, which requires careful planning on both the part of the teacher and the transcriber.
Please contact Suzanne Miller for all braille transcription at Suzanne.miller@jordandistrict or 801-567-8662.
TO:
All Administrators
FROM:
Scott Thomas, Administrator of Auxiliary Services
What are some facts you should know about extension cord use and limitations? Check out the document below for all the details!
DATE:
October 1, 2024
TO:
School Psychologists and School Psychology Interns
FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Fulvia Franco, Program Specialist – Guidance
SUBJECT:
October School Psychologist Guidance Meeting
A meeting for school psychologists and school psychology interns has been scheduled for Friday, October 11, 2024 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Auxiliary Services Building (7905 South Redwood Road). Brad Lundahl, Ph.D., Associate Professor at the University of Utah in the Department of Social Work, will provide us with a presentation on Motivational Interviewing.
Part-time Staff: I would appreciate it if you could adjust your schedules in order to attend this meeting.
cc:
Principals
TO:
Administrators
Administrative Assistants
FROM:
Sarah Palmer, Director of Payroll
Please see the document below.
The following are new administrative assignments:
Assignments effective October 7, 2024:
TO:
All Administrators
All Office Staff
FROM:
Steffany Ellsworth, Support Services Manager
We are excited to announce our annual Utah Skyward User Conference! The conference is scheduled for Wednesday, November 6th at Jordan School District Auxiliary Services Building. Please see the attached agenda for additional details.
This conference is an opportunity to learn about Skyward directly from the source as most sessions are presented by Skyward staff. There are some fantastic sessions being offered this year, including Data Mining for Beginners, Data Mining for Advanced Users, Admin Bootcamp, Skyward Tips & Tricks, Grade Analysis, and Qmlativ Business sessions.
During these sessions, you’re welcome to ask questions. However, if you have an issue that may take more time to resolve, we suggest you call our help desk for additional support.
We hope you make the most out of this year's conference by discovering fresh insights, learning valuable tips and tricks, getting your questions answered, and exploring new possibilities within Skyward. If you have any questions about attending the conference, please feel free to call the help desk at ext. 88737.
TO:
Elementary Administrators
FROM:
Garett York, JAESP Committee Member
Student Council Conference registration emails have been sent out. If you did not receive an email confirmation, you are not registered for the conference. Every year we have a few schools that come without registering. We are extremely full this year and won't have room for extra schools. Please reach out to UAESP at 801-891-4253 if you have any questions!
TO:
Principals
FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Teaching and Learning Administrator
Chris Richards-Khong, Teaching and Learning Staff Assistant Administrator
The Jordan School District is excited to announce the School-Based Associates (SBA) program for the 24-25 school year. For many years, past Associate participants have asked about bringing the powerful learning experiences within Associates back to their colleagues in the classroom. School-Based Associates will now make that desire a possibility!
The district approved mini-grant application is a streamlined Google form. Administrators or teachers can initiate this grant. Use the application guide to help you keep things simple. Call Chris Richards-Khong with questions 801-567-8158.
Zoom Link Q & A Drop-in Sessions Available
