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DATE:    
Thursday, April 17, 2025

TO:  
Elementary School Administrators
Norm Emerson, Fine Arts Consultant

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Assessment, 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: Best Practices for Elementary Fine Arts Specialists

Applicant: Rachel L. Wadham, Brigham Young 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 solicit your participation in a survey. 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.

A survey will be distributed to elementary arts specialists and art teachers to discover best practices for instruction and classroom management in the fine arts classroom.

Thank you for your assistance.

 

DATE:  
Thursday, April 17, 2025

TO:
All School Administrators

FROM: 
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Assessment, 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: Exploration of the Male Student Achievement Gap

Applicant: Korie Bellamy, Weber State 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 solicit your participation in a survey. 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 research will involve 20-minute one-on-one interviews with language arts, math, science and social studies teachers.

Thank you for your assistance.

TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Mike Haynes - Director, Jordan Education Foundation


The Challenge Obstacle Run is a family-friendly fundraising obstacle course run open to all ages and created to make a difference in Jordan District Classrooms! Sponsored by local businesses and Jordan Education Foundation, 100% of proceeds go directly toward Classroom Grants benefiting students & teachers in Jordan District!

The Challenge Run is open to the community with participation from all of our schools. Teachers can run free by registering with the promo code "Teacher2025."

The run begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 10 and ends with a (free), fun family festival with lots of free giveaways. You can participate in any one of the events (Obstacle Run, Festival, Fundraising) or in all three! Bring your family, friends, and neighbors for a super fun day!

  • Saturday, May 10
  • 9 a.m.
  • Veterans Memorial Park, West Jordan
  • A T-shirt is included in registration

Come see what all the fun is about!  For more details and to register online, please visit jefchallenge.org.

TO:
Principals

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent


Hello There,

I wanted to reach out to share some exciting resources that are available to Salt Lake County schools! Jordan Valley Water is thrilled to be offering free school tours of both our Water Treatment Plant and Conservation Garden Park to Grades 3 and up. High school tours are also available—if interested please reply to the email below and I will send you a specific high school tour flyer. We believe that these tours will provide valuable learning experiences for staff and students alike, and we would love to have your school district represented!

We would greatly appreciate it if you could help spread the word by sharing the attached flyer with teachers and educational staff within your district. These flyers contain all the necessary details and information on how to register for a tour. It’s a great opportunity for teachers to learn about resources they can incorporate into their classrooms, as well as to provide hands-on experiences for their students.

Thank you for your support and we hope to see you on a tour soon!

Madeline Sueltz
Community Outreach Coordinator
madelines@jvwcd.org

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


Attached is the Special Ed Newsletter for April 2025.

DATE: 
April 10, 2025

TO: 
All Principals and All Counselors

FROM:  
Michael Anderson, Ph.D., Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Stacee Worthen, School Counselor Consultant

SUBJECT:  
2025-2026 Comprehensive School Counseling Program (CSCP) Calendar


Comprehensive School Counseling Program (CSCP) dates are planned so that individual counseling teams may include them in their school and CSCP calendars. It is essential that counselors prioritize and attend CSCP meetings as they work to perform their other duties and tasks. This allows counselors to enhance their skills, understand responsibilities and expectations, gain mastery on compliance-related items, and improve upon best practices and positive workflow.

See the full schedule on the memo below.

 

DATE:    
April 7, 2025

TO:  
All Principals

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

SUBJECT: 
DSPD Training


Special Education is partnering with the Department of Services for People with Disabilities (DSPD) and the Utah Parent Center to host a virtual information session on April 15, 2025. This event is for anyone with a student that has a disability. DSPD provides community resources to students with disabilities. It is important that students get on the waitlist early!

The training will include information such as: What exactly is DSPD, and why should I be on the waitlist? What are the benefits for people waiting for services? Join us to answer these questions and more! Hosted by Amber Beck, Jordan School District Parent Consultant, and Calleen Kenney, Family to Family Network Coordinator, with guest Anna Dees DSPD Intake Specialist.

Please distribute the attached flyer to your community.

For more information or questions about the event, please contact Ashley Calhoun at 801-567-8208 or ashley.calhoun@jordandistrict.org

 

JSD DSPD Training Flyer - English

JSD DSPD Training Flyer - Spanish

TO:
All Administrators

FROM:
Scott Thomas, Administrator of Auxiliary Services
Brandon Conti, Risk Management Coordinator


Awkward postures are deviations of body parts from their neutral position. Working in these postures is a contributing factor to musculoskeletal disorders and can cause discomfort. Please see tips and hints below.

DATE:
April 1, 2025

TO:
Elementary Teachers, Coaches and Administrators

FROM:
Teaching & Learning

SUBJECT:
Wit & Wisdom Round Table Discussion


Due to popular demand, the Teaching & Learning department will host a second Wit & Wisdom Round Table opportunity on April 18, 2025 from 1:30-3:30 at the JATC South located at 12723 Park Avenue in Riverton. A panel of teachers from each grade level will share how they are making Wit & Wisdom work in their classrooms and how they are finding success with their students. Teachers attending this session will receive a stipend of 150.00. Teachers who were not able to attend the round table on March 14, 2025 will be given first priority. Registration is required and is available at pd.jordandistrict.org.

DATE:
March 27, 2025

TO:
Elementary Principals

FROM:
Anthony Godfrey, Superintendent
Odette Desmarais, Administrator of Schools
Meredith Doleac, Administrator of Schools
Becky Gerber, Administrator of Schools
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools

SUBJECT:
Updated Requirements for the Use of Inflatables at PTA-Sponsored School Events


Utah State Risk Management's Liability Policy now excludes bounce houses and related items. Specifically, the policy states: "No coverage under this coverage agreement shall apply to any bodily injury resulting from the use of any recreational inflatable or trampoline except when the use of a trampoline is supervised by a trained instructor as part of the covered entity’s designated programs."

As the school administrator, if your PTA chooses to include inflatables as part of a PTA-sponsored event at your school, you are required to provide documentation of the following items prior to your PTA representative signing a contract. If you already have contracts in place for this school year (2024-2025), you will need to provide this documentation 15 days prior to the scheduled event.

The PTA must contract with a private vendor and provide current documentation of the following from the contracted vendor:

  • A current business license 
  • A current insurance policy that includes ALL of the following:
    • A current certificate of insurance with a minimum coverage of $1,000,000 per person and $3,000,000 aggregate in relation to a single occurrence.
    • The certificate of insurance listed above must list Jordan School District as an additional insured entity on the policy.
  • A written verification from the contracted vendor that they and/or their employees will set up and run the inflatable equipment for the entire event. Your school employees and volunteers cannot run the inflatable equipment at any time during the event. Your employees and volunteers may not be covered for accidents that occur.

Your PTA may choose to purchase an additional liability policy for this event to provide additional coverage in the event of an accident.

All documentation listed above must be sent to the Elementary Administrator of Schools Office prior to signing an event contract or at least 15 days prior to the event if your PTA has already contracted for an event this school year (24-25).

Send all documentation to shannel.hooper@jordandistrict.org.

You will receive an email verification when the documentation has been received and verified, notifying you that you may proceed with the requested event.

TO:
All Principals

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Amanda Bollinger, Associate Administrator, Teaching & Learning


Principals,

As a school leader you are key to the success of instructional coaching, a powerful and evolving tool in education!

Please mark your calendars to attend our final Instructional Coaching Institute with your coaching team. You will be provided time to review your current coaching plan, collaborate with other schools on coaching, and begin to discuss plans for next year.

SECONDARY ICI:
DATE: Wednesday, April 16th
TIME: 8:00-11:00 a.m.
PLACE: ASB Auditorium

ELEMENTARY ICI:
DATE: Friday, April 18th
TIME: 8:30-11:30 a.m.
PLACE: ASB Auditorium

DATE:        
March 27, 2025

TO:  
Administrators
Survey Coordinators

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

SUBJECT:
Navigating Panorama Survey Results


Below you will find resources to help you navigate and use Panorama Survey Results.

  1. Navigating Panorama Survey Results [Video]: 5-minute video guiding school leaders into your survey results
  2. Winter 2025 Key Insights Report [PDF]: High level insights from Winter 2025 survey results

Additionally, there are several resources in Panorama Academy that may be helpful to you. These are available anytime in Panorama.

  1. Navigating Survey Reports Video [34-minutes]
  2. Reviewing Survey Data and Taking Action
  3. PDF of all results, click "Save as PDF" from main survey page [DIstrict Elementary example]

DATE:
March 27, 2025

TO:
Elementary Schools

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Michelle Lovell, Consultant, Elementary Language Arts

SUBJECT:
University of Utah Summer Reading Camp Opportunities


The University of Utah will be offering a summer reading camp for students who may benefit from additional reading support this summer. Please share the attached flyer with families who may be interested in this event.

DATE:
March 27, 2025

TO:
Elementary Teachers and Instructional Coaches

FROM:
Teaching & Learning

SUBJECT:
Wit & Wisdom Workshop Opportunity


Join Teaching & Learning for a special workshop where the BTS specialists will highlight ways to integrate the arts with Wit & Wisdom. This event will take place on April 9th in the ASB Auditorium from 4:15 - 6:15pm. Registration is now open in the Canvas Catalog.

TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Steffany Ellsworth, Support Services Manager


We're launching a redesigned login site for the Canvas Professional Development instance!

This new design will be implemented on March 28th, 2025. All of your existing course enrollments and progress will remain unchanged.

DATE: 
March 26, 2025

TO:  
Administrators
All Panorama Users

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

SUBJECT:  
Intervention Plans in Panorama: Communicating with Families


As we strive to increase trust and further deepen MTSS within your school, communication with a student’s respective parent/guardian is critical. Schools may keep parents/guardians informed about their student’s intervention plan and progress by generating a secure link directly from a student’s profile in Panorama’s Student Success.

Any educator with access to a student’s intervention plan may share the plan by generating a secure link that parents/guardians may access for 45 days.

Instructions are found in Panorama Academy or by using this link. Educators may select from a list of pre-populated guardian emails or create a custom message.

Parents/guardians will be able to view intervention plan details, current or updated progress notes and strategies, and frequently asked questions about intervention plans.

DATE:  
March 26, 2025

TO:  
Administrators
School Safety Specialists
Threat Assessment Team Members

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

SUBJECT:   
Proactive Strategies to Prevent Youth Violence **OPPORTUNITY**


School leaders are facing an alarming rise in violence, threats, and behavioral challenges. The pressure to respond to crises is overwhelming, but reactive measures alone won’t create lasting change.

Join an online training for Breaking the Cycle: Strategies for Youth Violence Prevention on Tuesday, April 15 at 2 PM (ET) to explore how intervention, behavioral threat assessment, and a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework can help you break the cycle of violence.

Gain insights from Michele Gay and Ben Fernandez of Safe & Sound Schools, along with Thom Jones from Navigate360 (who provides our curriculum for CSTAG), as they share actionable strategies to help you:

  • Recognize early warning signs of potential threats
  • Implement sustainable, effective prevention measures
  • Empower your staff with the confidence and tools to act

Click HERE to save your spot.

TO:
Principals

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent


Description

The Principalooza Leadership Conference is an annual conference hosted by the Utah State Board of Education for school-level administrators and those who support them to both receive leadership development and critical information.

Please note: The $20 fee is not refundable. Only Visa and MasterCard payments are accepted. Space is limited to the first 400 registrations.

Your attendance will provide you with a toolbox of program information, resources, tools, research, or other section information that is pertinent to you. For any follow-up questions, you can reach out directly to quinn.kellis@schools.utah.gov.

Date of Conference: April 22, 2025
Time: 8:00 - 4:00 pm
Location: Utah Valley Convention Center
Registration Closes: March 31, 2025 11:59 pm

Register HERE