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Category: Elementary Schools

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The County Library has just added a new digital collection of Spanish eBooks & eAudiobooks for all ages. This is perfect for English learners in Spanish speaking families.  Spanish literacy skills will help students maintain their native language and these literacy skills will support their English language development. These books are also good for students who are studying in our Spanish courses. Books are available at https://slcolibrary.odilo.us

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DATE:   
May 16, 2018

TO: 
Elementary Principals

FROM:   
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum/Staff Development & Special Programs
Lisa Robinson, Director of Special Education
Courtney Titus, Program Specialist

SUBJECT:   
Preschool students registering at boundary schools

Many of you have had questions about whether to automatically register a student who has previously had preschool services through Jordan School District. Our preschool programs are composed of students with disabilities and typical peers, therefore, there could be many students who attended preschool coming to register at their neighborhood school. In addition, your elementary teacher specialist will be getting each school a list of incoming kindergarten students who are on an IEP and those who are not receiving special education services to you.

This is a reminder that students are actually registering for access to Jordan School District. Please ask your secretaries to enroll students who live in your boundary. It is best to automatically register a student in their neighborhood school and then if you have placement questions or concerns contact Susan Sudbury or Courtney Titus and changes can be easily facilitated through skyward.

Please direct any questions or concerns to Susan Sudbury at 801-567-8355 or susan.sudbury@jordandistrict.org or you may contact Courtney Titus at 801-567-8904 or courtney.titus@jordandistrict.org.

 

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Information Systems has begun rolling out a new Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware solution. The new product is called Sophos. This will replace Symantec's anti-virus that is currently installed on all Windows computers. Additionally all Macintosh computers will also have the new software installed. We are initially targeting only faculty and staff machines. This is to avoid interruptions during testing. Student machines will be migrated to the new software over the summer. Impact to users should be minimal. At most they will receive a prompt to reboot. Like most software updates this prompt can be postponed to a time that is convenient to the users. Finally Macintosh computers running OSX 10.13.2 will need to accept the installation. Please refer to the included PDF instructions on how to accept the installation for these machines. District IS staff are working with school techs to schedule installations for each building. Please make faculty and staff aware or these changes. For any questions or concerns please contact your school tech or the help desk at 88737 (801-567-8737).

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DATE:    
May 15, 2018

TO:  
Principals
All Certified Special Education Staff

FROM: 
Laura Finlinson, Admin of Curriculum/Staff Development & Special Programs
Lisa Robinson, Director of Special Education
Julie Brown, Program Specialist
Courtney Titus, Program Specialist

SUBJECT: 
Year-End Checkout for Traditional Schools/Year-Round Schools

Please see attached memo.

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Administrators:

Several questions have been raised regarding school-based activities. In an effort to assist you in determining whether an activity is approved or not approved, an Approved-Not Approved Activity & Procedural Guidelines folder will be shared with each of you on Google Drive.  The folder contains a Quick Reference Guide, as well as, supporting guidelines for all approved activities mentioned on the list.  All considered activities should continue to be approved through your respective AOS.

Please keep in mind, the list and guidelines may be updated on a regular basis to address other Utah State Risk concerns or considerations.

The Approved-Not Approved Activity & Procedural Guidelines folder can be accessed by the following steps:

  • Google Drive

-Shared with me

       -Approved-Not Approved Activity & Procedural Guidelines

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DATE:   
Tuesday, May 15, 2018

TO: 
All Principals

FROM: 
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:
2018 UEPC School Climate Survey Results

The 2018 UEPC School Climate Reports are being prepared.  Before distributing these survey results, principals are required to agree to follow three directions regarding access to, and disclosure of, UEPC survey data:

  1. Table 6 in your school report provides a thumbnail sketch of all teachers at your school who had responses from at least 10 students and/or 10 parents. This table is for school administrators only.  Table 6 may NOT be viewed by or shared with any person beyond district leadership or your school administration.
  2. School reports include a results page for all teachers who received 10 or more evaluations from students and/or parents. Results pages with individual teachers’ Cactus IDs at the top of the page are NOT to be viewed by or distributed to persons other than the school administration or the teacher whose ID appears on the top of the page.
  3. No attempts are to be made to identify respondents or publicly publish information on particular individuals.

Principals are asked to please download, initial, and sign the attached document entitled Data Access and Disclosure Requirements.  Please return the initialed and signed copy to me via email or through District Mail.  Once the 2018-18 UEPC School Climate Survey becomes available and I have the signed Data Access and Disclosure Requirements form initialed and signed by you, I will send your school’s survey report to you via a MoveIT email file.

Once you receive your 2018 UEPC School Climate Survey Report, please distribute a copy of the results pages to each educator so that they may include it in the portfolio portion of their JPAS.

Please remember that your UEPC School Climate Survey Report may include potentially sensitive information as a result of opinions and comments expressed by survey respondents.  Make certain you carefully follow the above requirements when sharing this information and use great discretion when doing so.

Please contact Ben Jameson in Evaluation, Research & Accountability with any questions or concerns.

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Principals:

The fourth and final notification of expiring licenses was sent to 224 licensed employees on April 20, 2018. This final letter serves as a notification of termination if they choose not to complete the process by June 30, 2018. We requested your assistance in notifying the employees, securing their signature and returning the form to HR by May 11, 2018.

To date, HR has received 102 of the 224 letters sent out to licensed employees with expiring licenses. According to CACTUS, there are 113 educators that have not yet completed their license renewal, 19 of which have not yet begun their background check process. Principals will be receiving an email with status details for those educators in their building who still haven’t completed the license renewal process.

If educators still have questions after reviewing the instructions contained in previous notifications, they should contact Jill or Stacy immediately for assistance.

  • Stacy 801-567-8215 (Elementary)
  • Jill 801-567-8227 (Secondary)

Please provide encouragement to your educators to act quickly to avoid termination, as licensure is a condition of employment. HR needs the form returned by all who received it regardless of their current renewal status. Thank you in advance for encouraging those in your building with expiring licenses to take care of this as soon as possible.

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DATE:    
Thursday, May 10, 2018

TO:     
Elementary and Middle School Principals

FROM:  
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT: 
Nextera Fall Trainings

Please see memo below for information and dates.

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In collaboration with the Friday Institute, USBE, and UEN, JSD will provide a “Leadership in Blended and Digital Learning (LBDL) Academy,” designed specifically for administrators to lead schools toward blended and digital learning through research-based content and job-embedded experiences. The program will follow a blended-learning model with an online course in Canvas and five face-to-face sessions. Participants completing the LBDL Academy will receive the State’s Ed Tech Endorsement.

The face-to-face sessions will be held at the ASB from 8:00 – 3:30 on the dates listed below. A brief description of each session is included as well.

Thursday, September 13, 2018, Session 1: Blended Learning. This session explores and extends upon leadership research and various blended and digital learning models and definitions from leading sources in the field (Michael Fullan, The Christensen Institute, etc.)

Tuesday, November 13, 2018, Session 2: Creating a Culture for Blended Learning. This session will focus on the important culture shifts for all stakeholders including activities around managing complex change (Knoster’s Model), engaging in critical conversations, and engaging stakeholders.

Thursday, January 17, 2019, Session 3: Shifting Teaching and Learning. This session will focus on the key changes in curriculum and instruction in a blended learning environment, including frameworks for instruction such as TPACK and SAMR, and other essential topics such as Digital Content and Tools.

Thursday, March 14, 2019, Session 4: Supporting Teachers Through Professional Learning.  This session will focus on the competencies of a blended learning educator and professional learning models which draws on the ISTE and iNACOL standards and also explores various models of professional learning such as competency-based PD.

Thursday, April 4, 2019, Session 5: Implementing and Sustaining Blended Learning. This session will focus on the nuts and bolts of shifting to a blended learning model and implementation strategies. Topics include budget, space, technology & devices, communications, data, and evaluation.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Through legislation, additional funding was added to the Digital Teaching and Learning Grant for the 2018-2019 school year. In an effort to expand blended learning opportunities and build capacity within schools, administrators participating in the LBDL Academy will have the option to apply for 1:1 devices, training, and support for a team of technology teacher leaders. Applications will be available once the budget has been confirmed from USBE. (This is a one-year opportunity only.)

If you would like to be registered for the LBDL Academy, please contact Shelley Nordick before June 1.  801-567-8110 shelley.nordick@jordandistrict.org

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DATE: 
May 9, 2018

TO: 
All Principals, Administrative Assistants, and Custodians

FROM: 
Scott Thomas, Administrator of Auxiliary Services
Paul Bergera, Staff Assistant of Auxiliary Services
Dave Rostrom, Director of Facilities Services
Sandi Abplanalp, Facility Systems Coordinator

SUBJECT:    
Summer Card Access Scheduling

With the end of the school year rapidly approaching, the need to re-evaluate current access levels of your staff may be necessary.  Employees with 24/7 access will remain the same, however, access may need to be altered for your teachers, staff and sweepers.  Please be aware that if teachers retain their current access levels during summer months their badge will allow them access into the building regardless of whether or not the building has been disarmed.  If your sweepers will be working days, let Sandi Abplanalp know what hours they are authorized to have access.

Please note that District Maintenance workers and District delivery drivers’ access will remain the same (7:00 am-5:00 pm). Please contact Sandi and let her know what days the building will be closed so their access can be removed.

Time zones assigned to the doors will be removed after the last bell on the last day of school. If you want your main door left open or have summer programs running during the summer months, contact Sandi to adjust the schedule.   You will be receiving a report which includes a list of employees with access to your building and their access times and passes.  If you have employees that will not be returning in the fall, please collect their badges as part of their final check out and return them to Sandi in the Facilities Services Department.  If an employee is transferring, email Sandi their names and new locations as soon as possible so she can assign them to their new location.  Please account for all of the lockout/unlock cards, portable passes, recess passes, office passes, elevator passes and substitute passes that are listed in this report.

Please be aware that employees with extended building access will revert back to regular access when the school year ends (with the exception of the head administrative assistants and custodians) and a new Building/Card Access-Administrator Authorization form will need to be submitted when the new school year begins.  Please call Sandi with any questions or concerns.

Sandi Abplanalp
Jordan School District
Facility Systems Coordinator
801-567-8616
sandi.abplanalp@jordandistrict.org

Cc: 
Jordan School District Cabinet Members

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DATE:
April 9, 2018

TO:
School Principal and Lunch Manager

FROM:
Scott Thomas, Administrator, Auxiliary Services
Jana Cruz, Director of Nutrition Services

SUBJECT:
Records to be kept for the school lunch program

The records below are necessary to be kept on file.

2014-15 Skyward:  Daily Activity and Monthly Payment Totals Report

2015-16 Skyward:  Daily Activity and Monthly Payment Totals Report

2016-17 Skyward:  Daily Activity and Monthly Payment Totals Report

2017-18 Skyward:  Daily Activity and Monthly Payment Totals Report

We certify that the above records for this year and the preceding three years are on file in the school where they will be accessible for review by the District, State and Federal officials involved in the school lunch program of the Jordan School District.

School Name ___________________________________________________________________

Principal's Signature_______________________________              Date_________________

Manager's Signature_______________________________              Date_________________

Please return to the Nutrition Services Department by:
Traditional Schools – June 1, 2018
Year Round Schools – July 3, 2018

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Date:  
May 2, 2018

To: 
Elementary, Middle, and High School Principals and Administrative Assistants

From: 
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Dan Ellis, Director of Accounting, Budgets, and Audits
Jason Mott, Accountant/Internal Auditor

Subject: 
Check Phishing Scam

It has recently come to our attention that there may be an information phishing scam occurring within the District. The scam consists of schools receiving a donation check with no information regarding who donated the funds. Schools are then encouraged to set up an account to view the donors and set up an ACH service for future donations.

These checks are from YourCause, LLC and claim to be for a Wells Fargo Community Support Campaign. If you have received any of these checks:

  1. Please do not cash them as they will return unpayable
  2. Do not create an account or sign up for ACH with this group
  3. Please send these checks into Accounting

As a reminder, never give any of your personal information, bank information, or passwords to anyone. No one from the District should ask for your password to log into any of the District systems. School bank information should never be given out to set up ACH payment or receipt transactions.

If you have questions or need assistance, please call Dan Ellis at (801) 567-8389.

Thank you.

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DATE:     
Thursday, May 3, 2018

TO:  
All Principals

FROM:   
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
Michael Heaps, Director of Information Systems

SUBJECT:
AAPPL Testing Issue using Chromebooks

We are finding that the connection to the LTI AAPPL server using Chromebooks isn’t stable enough to support voice recording during the AAPPL speaking test without removing some of the network filtering. To test with fewer filtering restrictions requires that a special Google account and login be created. Since these special logins allow students access they wouldn’t normally have, the responsibility of schools and teachers to maintain network security and safety for students will be heightened.

What this means for schools and teachers is that students using a Chromebook will need to be logged in with xxxlang@my.jordandistrict.org (where xxx is the school number) whenever an AAPPL test is being administered on a Chromebook. We do NOT want the user name and password for xxxlang@my.jordandistrict.org to be given to students. Otherwise, students would have access to certain websites that would normally be blocked. This means that the teachers will have to log into that account for every Chromebook that a student will use to complete an AAPPL test.

We ask that principals speak with their dual language immersion and foreign language teachers about this issue and request that they log into the xxxlang@my.jordandistrict.org account themselves rather than having students log in.

For the future, the IS department is working on a more permanent and secure solution.

Please contact Ben Jameson in Evaluation, Research & Accountability at 801-567-8243 or ben.jameson@jordandistrict.org or Michael Heaps in Information Systems at 801-567-8271 or Michael.heaps@jordandistrict.org with any questions or concerns.

Published on

DATE:
Thursday, May 3, 2018

TO:
Elementary Principals

FROM:
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:
KEEP Administration within the Mandated Window

This is just a reminder that, as with all state-mandated tests, the Kindergarten Entry and Exit Profile (KEEP) has a window in which teachers may administer the test to their students.  The end-of-year window to administer the KEEP, set by USBE, is four weeks before the end of school.  Thus, the following windows will apply to traditional and year-round elementary schools for KEEP administration:

  • Traditional KEEP Window: Monday, May 7 – Friday, June 1, 2018
  • Year-Round KEEP Window – A Track: Monday, May 14 – Friday, June 7, 2018
  • Year-Round KEEP Window – B, C, and D Tracks: Tuesday, June 5 – Tuesday, July 3, 2018

In addition, June 15, 2018, is the deadline for traditional elementary schools to input their KEEP data onto the Data Gateway.  June 30, 2018, is the deadline for year-round schools to input their data onto the Data Gateway.

We ask that principals please remind their kindergarten teachers of these testing window and data entry dates.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Ben Jameson in Evaluation, Research & Accountability at 801-567-8243 or ben.jameson@jordandistrict.org or Becky Gerber at 801-567-8087 or becky.gerber@jordandistrict.org.

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Insurance open enrollment will begin June 1 and continue through July 31. Enrollment information is available online on the insurance web page. Posters were sent to each location, please post in prominent locations for your employees. Copies are attached for you regarding dates and times of meetings.