Skip to content

Category: Elementary Schools

Published on

DATE:  
December 3, 2024

TO:  
Principals and Assistant Principals

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Michelle Reyes, Attendance/Prevention Specialist, Student Services

SUBJECT:   
Attendance Awareness Winter Recess Resources

Keeping Attendance Top of Mind: Sense of Belonging is Vital

Sense of belonging is feeling valued, accepted, and included in a group or community, where you feel connected, you matter, and feel you are part of something bigger (the feeling of “fitting in”). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs lists belonging and being valued as one of the five key things every human needs to survive. Adults can enlist small and simple actions, such as greeting students at the door with a smile, to help students in your community feel a stronger sense of belonging. Belonging has been linked to greater student well being and stronger academic achievement. This intentional investment of attention on the adult’s part can have meaningful impacts for the academics and attendance of students. Find key points on how you can help students’ sense of belonging here.

Raising Awareness-Quick Links and Ideas

  • Short Motivational Video-Share a short motivational video on morning announcements starring the sports legend-Magic Johnson about the importance of Attendance.
  • Social Media/Website/Newsletter Posts-Consistently share the importance of attendance with all stakeholders. Ready-made social media post in English and Spanish.
  • Holiday Letter-Improve attendance around the winter recess by sending a letter to families encouraging good attendance. This letter template can be used in English and Spanish.
  • Communicate Dates for the Break-Make sure families know the dates school will be out for the break and when it resumes. Use the prepared resources below to post on parent square, social media, in school and teacher newsletters, on your school website, and to advertise around your school.

Attendance Awareness Resource-Winter Recess:
English-
Winter Recess Reminder

Facebook Post

Instagram Post

Spanish-
Winter Recess Reminder

Facebook Post

Instagram Post

Questions? Contact Michelle Reyes at michelle.reyes@jordandistrict.org or 801-567-8205.

Whedon, S. (2024, March 18). Why students need to feel a sense of belonging and how to create it. Panorama Education. https://www.panoramaed.com/blog/student-sense-of-belonging

Published on

TO:
Principals
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Dan Ellis, Director of Accounting
Natalie Grange, Accounting Administrator

Please submit all school allocation budget transfer forms to Natalie.Grange@jordandistrict.org, no later than January 31, 2025.

Budget transfers for this school year cannot be made after January 31. The budget transfer form is attached.

Published on

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Amanda Bollinger, Associate Administrator, Teaching & Learning
Jared Covili, Consultant in Teaching & Learning
Amy Kinder, K-12 Math Consultant, Teaching & Learning

Administrators, please share this information with your teachers.

Many of your teachers are pursuing a STEM endorsement (see our EIP website for a full list of endorsements). USBE WILL REIMBURSE THEM FOR THEIR COLLEGE CLASSES! This is called the STEM Endorsement Incentive Program (EIP) and it has been funded again for the 2024-25 school year. See the attached flyer and link to our EIP website for more information.

Applications for reimbursement are now being accepted for teachers who completed STEM courses after June 1, 2024. The next round of reimbursements applications is due December 17, 2024 for teachers who completed STEM courses in Summer/Fall 2024.

If you have any questions, please reach out to the content consultant. We would love to talk to you!

Published on

TO:  
Administrators
Administrative Assistants

FROM: 
June LeMaster, Administrator, Human Resources
Brent Burge, Human Resource Administrator, ESP

If you are a contracted employee and need to take Annual/Personal Leave on a Critical Day before or after the MLK recess for any reason not listed in policy DP335NEG or DP335B, you must submit a request as follows:

How to Request

During the window, the employee must send the request through email. Please include your name, school, position, and the date you are requesting the leave. Requests left on voicemail or over the phone will NOT be accepted.

Licensed employees submit their request to licensedpersonalleave@jordandistrict.org

Education Support Professionals submit their request to classifiedpersonalleave@jordandistrict.org

The employee will receive an email confirmation within two working days after submitting the request. If the employee does not receive a confirmation email, then Human Resources has NOT received your request and your leave will not be approved.

School Holiday Date of Holiday Critical Days Window
Martin Luther King

 Licensed & ESP

 January 20, 2025 Jan. 17 and 22, 2025 Dec. 7 – Dec. 17, 2024

Licensed Annual/Personal Leave Taken on a Critical Day 2024-2025

ESP Annual/Personal Leave Taken on a Critical Day 2024-2025

Published on

DATE:  
November 26, 2024

TO: 
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Counselors

FROM:   
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Stacee Worthen, School Counseling Consultant

SUBJECT:  
December School Counselor Training & Professional Development

The December school counselor’s training and professional development opportunities can be found on the document below. Please ensure that your school’s counselor(s) are able to attend their respective meetings. Please contact Stacee Worthen if there are any questions.

Published on

DATE:   
November 26, 2024

TO: 
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Safety Specialists

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Matt Alvernaz, School Safety Coordinator

SUBJECT: 
Monthly Drill Preparation (HOLD)

Our monthly drill preparation will be held on December 4th at 3:00 PM with a second session at 3:30 PM. This month we will be covering HOLD. Each School Safety Specialist is expected to attend along with administrators assigned to oversee school safety. All other administrations are welcomed to attend as well. The meeting is also opened to any staff who may be interested.

After each monthly training all school staff should be trained by the administrator over school safety and the School Safety Specialist. After being trained each month, teachers should educate their students on each safety drill. Additionally, schools should communicate with their patrons regarding Standard Response Protocol(s) (SRP) and the drill being conducted each month. Videos, handouts, and other resources can be found at the link(s) below.

Information regarding the HOLD response protocol can be found in the Jordan School District Safety Manual on pages 5-7. We will discuss how to implement and execute the drill. This will be an opportunity to ask questions and share ideas amongst the schools.

We will be holding this meeting over Zoom so please join using this link.

Published on

TO:
Administrators
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Sarah Palmer, Director of Payroll

Due to the last working day at the District Office, Payroll changed payday to Dec 20th.

Because of this change, we also need to change the Frontline Deadline.

Sub Pay Period -  Dec 1-13, 2024

Schools and Dept Deadline - Dec 13 - 5:00 p.m.

Payroll will pay what is in Frontline on Dec 13 @ 5:00 p.m.

Any changes afterwards - an Absence Management Form will need to be submitted.

Published on

TO:
All Administrators

FROM:
Scott Thomas, Administrator of Auxiliary Services

Holiday decorations add a joyous and festive mood to the holiday season, but when holiday decorations are not used properly they can turn from festive to fiery in a split second.

Jordan School District would like everyone to follow a few safety tips when decorating to avoid a tragic holiday and keep everyone safe.

See the flyer below for more information.

Published on

DATE:
November 21, 2024

TO:
Administrators of Locations with Employees Paid with Federal Dollars

FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Dan Ellis, Director of Accounting
Natalie Grange, Accounting Administrator

SUBJECT:
Federal Program Work Certification

Federal Regulations require the district to certify the payroll of any employee being paid with federal funds. Accounting identifies employees that meet this federal criteria and prepares certification forms by location. Principals and department heads please review the attached instruction memo and look for your payroll certification email the week of November 18, 2024. Certifications are due Friday, December 6, 2024.

Please review your certification ASAP and contact Natalie Grange if you have any questions or concerns. natalie.grange@jordandistrict.org, ext. 88312

Published on

TO:
All Administrators

FROM:
Bonnie Brennan, Director of Insurance Services

The safety of our students, teachers, and staff is our #1 priority.  These few slides will remind all of us to slow down, be aware of our surroundings, and how we can all do our part in making the district a safe place to work.

Please take a minute in one of your upcoming staff meetings to review this information with your staff.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Bonnie Brennan, Director of Insurance Services at 801-567-8285.

Published on

TO:
All Administrators

FROM:
Garett York, JAESP Committee Member

Join UEASP's Assistant/Aspiring Principal Conference coming up on December 5th from 8:30-3:00 at the Viridian Event Center in West Jordan featuring Andrew Marotta and Hank Smith. You do not have to be a member of UAESP to attend. Register for the event at ueasp.org

.

 

Published on

DATE:
November 20, 2024

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:
Guidelines for Hiring Paraeducators Working in Special Education

Please see the attached document. The document will be emailed to all administrative assistants.

Published on

TO:
Elementary Principals
Elementary Assistant Principals

FROM:
Becky Gerber, Administrator of Schools
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Schools
JAESP Committee Members

Each year, the Utah Association of Elementary School Principals (UAESP) gives the Jordan Association of Elementary School Principals (JAESP) the opportunity to celebrate elementary principals for the great work they are doing in their schools.

The categories are:
*Distinguished Principal of the Year
*Distinguished Assistant Principal of the Year
*Rookie of the Year
*Innovator of the Year
*Community Leader of the Year
*Student Advocate Principal of the Year
*Instructional Leader of the Year
*Principal Mentor of the Year

If you feel that an elementary principal or assistant principal has done exceptional work, we invite you to nominate them for an award by clicking this link.

This survey closes on December 11, 2024 at 11:59 pm.

Published on

TO:
Elementary Principals

FROM:
Paul Bergera, Director of Transportation

You now have the ability to view bus video footage from your school's folder on either a PC or Mac computer. Please follow the attached instructions and remember to work with your building tech in order to complete this process effectively. Contact your school tech or Debbie McKinlay at 801-567-8841 with any questions you may have.

Published on

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Chris Richards-Khong, Associate Administrator of Teaching and Learning

Were you thinking about a mini grant option for your school but were not sure how to fit it into the schedule? We have some creative schools that are doing some fun, flexible things with scheduling their sessions. We would like to share their ideas with you.

Published on

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Chris Richards-Khong, Associate Administrator of Teaching and Learning

The Jordan Teacher Leader Fellows is searching for sixteen educators from a variety of teaching experiences. During their 2-year cohort, Teacher Leader Fellows will earn an annual $1500 stipend while engaging in a variety of professional learning experiences focused on teacher leadership skills and educational advocacy. Encourage your teachers to apply today for this exciting new opportunity! See the flyer for more details.

Published on

TO:
Principals

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Amanda Bollinger, Associate Administrator, Teaching & Learning
Tricia Rojas, Specialist, Health & PE

The elementary P.E. curriculum team has worked together on an aligned curriculum for students K-6. The activities come with standards, how to build the skills, and engaging games where students can develop the skills in a fun environment. It also includes ways to scaffold the skills and games for our adapted P.E. classes. See the attached memo for links to the resources.

District Elementary P.E. Folder

Elementary Scope and Sequence

Elementary Sports Units

Published on

DATE:
November 21, 2024

TO:
Principals
Assistant Principals
Elementary Administrative Assistants
Secondary Registrars
Secondary Attendance Secretaries

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

SUBJECT:
School Choice Permit Allocations and Procedures

The open enrollment permit window opened on Friday, November 15, 2024. Permit seat totals can be found on each school’s Enrollment Dashboard. Open the “2025-26” tab and scroll down to the permit section.

ACTION REQUIRED: Principals should review the individuals listed on their dashboard in the “Permit” section and ensure that permissions are marked appropriately. Planning & Enrollment will defer to the permissions marked for various staff members when requests for additional seats are made. Please ensure that staff information is updated by December 6, 2024.

Schools should verify all outstanding applications prior to leaving for Winter Recess and verify any applications received during Winter Recess as soon as possible in the morning on Tuesday, January 3, 2023, so that the lottery can be run that afternoon. Once the lottery has been run, schools may immediately begin offering seats (if available). Seats not accepted within two weeks should be revoked (after attempting communication with the parent) and reoffered to the next student in line on the waitlist. At least weekly, schools should verify applications in the 2025-26 school year workspace and prepare them to be processed and moved to the waitlist. At least monthly, schools should verify applications in the 2024-25 school year workspace and prepare them to be processed and moved to the waitlist.

During the early enrollment window (now through February 7), the availability of permit seats is governed by BUILDING CAPACITY. Schools that are the most full will have the least available seats. Adding seats is governed by rules of the tier system established by the Board of Education and, in all instances, requires conversation with the Administrator of Schools for the building. In the late enrollment window (after February 7 and 2.0 allocations are released), schools may request additional seats from their Administrator of Schools. Available seats in this window will be determined by the availability of space, by grade, in the teacher allocation based on current enrollment figures.

One final reminder: the early enrollment window (now through February 7) requires schools to seat students if permit seats are available. Schools MUST follow the waitlist order when offering seats. It is inappropriate – and potentially illegal – for a school to modify the waitlist order so that students who listed the school as a “first choice” are placed before others, regardless of their lottery priority. Schools who follow this practice may lose the ability to seat permit applications themselves. School administrators with concerns over this guideline may raise the issue with their Administrator of Schools.