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Category: Elementary Schools

Published on

DATE:
April 24, 2025

TO:
Elementary Principals
Head Administrative Assistants

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

SUBJECT:
Elementary Administrative Assistants Trade Days and Summer Hours

Elementary administrative assistants are calendared to work 206 days in a school year, including 5 days in which students and teachers are not in the building. These days generally occur the Friday after parent-teacher conferences (2) and on grade transmittal days (3). The PTC days can already be traded for the Friday compensation day if the administrative assistant works both evenings of the PTC. They are also allowed to be paid for up to 10 additional optional days during the summer months, which are not included in their 206-day contract. These days are intended to provide additional pay for them to keep up with work, such as student enrollments, over the summer.

Beginning immediately, greater flexibility may be provided to Elementary administrative assistants by:

  • Trading up to 5 non-student/teacher work days during the school year to work in the summer months, and/or
  • Converting up to 5 optional summer days into pool hours for office assistants to work additional hours from July 2025 to June 2026.

Option 1
Elementary administrative assistants may choose to trade up to 5 contracted days (three grade transmittal and two PTC compensation days) to use as additional work days the following summer. This could provide up to 15 additional work days in the summer.

Option 2
Elementary administrative assistants may choose to convert up to (5) five of their optional summer days into additional pool hours for their office assistants to work July 2025 - June 2026. For every full day that is not used as an additional day by the administrative assistant, 10 hours will be added to the pool hours to be used by the office assistants to work from July 2025 to June 2026.

Option 3
Elementary administrative assistants may choose to do a combination of options 1 and 2, not to exceed 5 trade days in the school year and not to exceed 5 converted pool hour days to use for office assistants.

Tracking
For Option 1 - Administrative assistants will have an option in the Skyward Time Off System to log the grade transmittal day as a “Trade Time - Days” with the reason code “Trade Time Day Taken Off” for building principals to approve. When they work the day in the summer, they will need to log it in the Skyward Time Off System as a “Trade Time - Days” with the reason code “Trade Time Day Worked”. This information will also need to be documented on the Pool Hours spreadsheet.

For Option 2 - A Google form will be available in the checkout materials to declare the number of optional days that will be converted to pool hours for the upcoming school year. These hours will then be documented and tracked in the Pool Hours spreadsheet by the district AOS administrative assistants.

A Google form will be distributed as part of Principal Checkout. Building principals will need to approve these converted days on the Google form and submit it as part of the checkout process.

Published on

DATE:  
April 17, 2025

TO:      
Elementary Principals

FROM: 
Carolyn Gough, Administrator, Teaching & Learning
Norman Emerson, Instructional Support Services Consultant

SUBJECT:
Elementary Media Assistants Guidelines

As part of our ongoing effort to enhance library services and support the District’s goals, guidelines for the work of elementary library assistants are provided below. They are designed to ensure a consistent and effective library experience for all students and staff across our district.

The primary responsibility of elementary school media assistants is administering the school library. The entire 17-hour weekly allocation is typically needed for this. As a result, additional duties outside the library should generally not be assigned.

Please adhere to the following guidelines:

  • Please consult with the library media assistants as you plan the master schedule and assign class library times for the school year.
  • The schedule should include adequate time for assistants to prepare for classes of varying grade levels and complete tasks such as shelving books.
  • An open checkout time for students to independently come into the library to exchange books should be provided.
  • To ensure adequate supervision, please avoid combining classes for assigned library times.
  • Library assistants should be provided three overlapping hours each week to collaboratively plan and work on book promotions, displays, curriculum scheduling, lessons, and district projects.
  • Assistants should be given at least one week at the beginning of the school year to prepare the library for class visits. Two weeks are needed for shelving, cleaning, inventories, and record maintenance to prepare the library for closure at the end of the school year.

If assistants work beyond 17 hours per week, the additional time must be pre-approved by the principal and funded using school-based budgets.

Assistants scheduled to work over five hours in a single day are entitled to a 30-minute duty-free lunch break, which is not counted as part of the 17-hour paid schedule.

Four training meetings are held each year. Please work with your school’s assistants to make arrangements so both can attend each two-hour meeting.

Please contact Norman Emerson at 801-567-8364 if you have any questions about these guidelines.

Published on

DATE:     
April 17, 2025

TO: 
All Administrators

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

SUBJECT:
Important MHAP Updates

Due to changes in funding, the following updates to the Mental Health Access Program (MHAP) will take place in the spring and summer of 2025.

  • As of April 21st all MHAP referrals will be done by Kevin Mossel (even in secondary schools with a school-based clinician). This is because families referred for services to MHAP providers will NOT be authorized for $900 of services and we will be using new “end of year” forms and process to reflect this change.
  • The District will no longer be paying for MHAP services over the summer. MHAP services authorized will be covered through the end of the school year. After June 6, students and families will be transitioning to insurance or other forms of payment for services. Please do not set an expectation with students and their families that funds are available for services throughout the summer.
  • No new MHAP referrals will be accepted after Friday, May 16th, 2025. Kevin will follow up with families referred up until May 16th.

If you have any questions, please reach out to McKinley Withers (mckinley.withers@jordandistrict.org, 88245) or Kevin Mossel (kevin.mossel@jordandistrict.org).

Published on

TO:
Administrators
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Bonnie Brennan, Director of Insurance Services

We have a new process to report your volunteer hours.  You will click on the link below to start the process. Use your district email address as your account. You will need to answer each of the questions before it will let you submit your report. If you don't have any hours to report in one of the categories you must enter a "0".  We have listed many of the common programs that the amazing volunteers have taken on in the past. If there is another activity that is not listed, please click on "other" and provide more details.

Once you have all of the information added to the form, click "Submit" at the bottom and you are done. This report is due by Friday, May 2nd.

VOLUNTEER GOOGLE FORM

We hope this process makes your job a little easier. If you have any questions, please contact Bonnie Brennan (801) 567-8285, bonnie.brennan@jordandistrict.org.

Published on

DATE:
April 17, 2025

TO:
Elementary Principals with Self-Contained Support Classrooms

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:
2025 Elementary Unified Sports Day

Unified Sports Day will be held over two days this school year (May 28 & May 29). 

Location: Riverton High School

Time: 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 

May 28, 2025 - Daybreak, Eastlake, Mountain Shadows, River’s Edge, Rocky Peak Virtual, Rose Creek, South Jordan, Terra Linda

May 29, 2025 - Antelope Canyon, Golden Fields, Heartland, Kauri Sue Hamilton School, Monte Vista, Mountain Point, Riverton, Riverside

This memo is for your information. Your self-contained support classroom teachers will handle the organization of the event for your school (as has been done in years past). The following documents will be sent to your self contained support classroom teachers in preparation for the events. 

Sports Day Information 

Permission slips: May 28th

Permission Slips: May 29th

Sample letter for the general education peer

For questions about Unified Sports Day, please contact Ashley Calhoun at (801) 567-8208 or ashley.calhoun@jordandistrict.org

 

Published on

DATE:    
April 17, 2025

TO:  
Principals
Assistant Principals
Panorama Survey Coordinators

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

SUBJECT: 
Spring Panorama Student Feedback Surveys

The spring Panorama Student Feedback Survey window is Friday April 18, 2025 through Friday May 16, 2025.

Panorama (Early Warning System) and social-emotional surveys may only be administered to students whose parents have opted-in. Parents are asked to opt-in to the student feedback survey during the registration process. When the online registration process closes schools should manually enter the opt-in information into Skyward. Student opt-in lists are provided to Panorama prior to survey administration along with a mid-window upload will also occur.

The following information is provided to inform and assist you as you administer student feedback surveys:

  • The list of students who may take the survey (opted-in) will be provided to Panorama prior to the administration of the survey by Student Services. Only opted-in students will be able to log in and take the survey.
  • Schools should print out the list of students who have opted-in and provide teachers with the list of students in their classes that have opted-in. The registration opt-in information can be accessed through Skyward using this data mining report.
  • Using the list provided to them by the main office, teachers will be able to manage the administration of the survey. Using the opt-in list, teachers will be able to identify why students may not be able to log in and take the survey.
  • If there are students wishing to take the survey and they are on the opted-in list, but are having log-in issues – the school survey coordinator should contact Panorama directly for assistance at support+utahjordan@panoramaed.com. Student Services does not have the ability to manage access to surveys.
  • Students may choose to not take the survey even though their parents have opted them into the survey. Student feedback surveys administered through Panorama are never required and are always optional.
  • Parents/Guardians should always be informed/notified regarding the administration of any survey.

Survey coordinators and administrators should view the Administering Panorama Survey presentation for information, instructions, and guidance regarding the student feedback surveys. Other Panorama information may be found on the Student Serves website here.

Other survey information including the Spring survey window may be found here.

Should you have any questions please reach out to Travis Hamblin (travis.hamblin@jordandistrict.org) or Michelle Reyes (michelle.reyes@jordandistrict.org).

Published on

TO:
Principals and Department Heads

FROM:
Mike Haynes - Director, Jordan Education Foundation

Outstanding ESP nominations are open! Is there someone in your school or department who goes the extra mile? Someone who works behind the scenes making everyone else's job easier? Nominate them today for Jordan Education Foundation's annual ESP Awards. To submit a nomination, go to our website: Education Support Professional Recognition

Nominations close on April 30th, so get your nominations in today!

Published on

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.

 

Published on

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.

Published on

DATE:
April 14, 2025

TO:
All Principals
All Budget Directors

FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Daniel Ellis, Director of Accounting, Budgets & Audits
April Gaydosh, Administrator, Human Resources
Steffany Ellsworth, Manager, Information Systems
Bonnie Brennan, Director of Insurance Services
Sarah Palmer, Director of Payroll
Kurt Prusse, Director of Purchasing

SUBJECT: 
Year-End Processing Deadlines

Please observe the attached critical deadlines regarding the financial year-end processes for the 2024-25 year. Please review these dates as they could have a major effect on your location’s ability to operate.

Published on

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.

Published on

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

Published on

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.

Published on

DATE: 
April 10, 2025

 TO: 
Jordan District Administrators, Directors

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Administrators of Schools

SUBJECT:
Time Schedule for the Last Day of School

Please review this memo carefully for your school dismissal time, and convey this information to your students and parents.

Published on

DATE:   
April 9, 2025

TO:    
School Administrators
School Safety Specialists

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

SUBJECT:   
April Safety Drill – Great Utah ShakeOut 2025

On Thursday, April 17th 2025, at 10:15 A.M. a million Utahns will “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” in the annual Great Utah ShakeOut Earthquake Drill.

All schools are encouraged to participate in this drill during the designated time, or to conduct an earthquake drill sometime in the month of April. This is an opportunity to incorporate emergency preparedness in classroom lessons and to include proper ways to protect oneself during an earthquake.

The Jordan School District has registered as a whole to participate in the Great Utah ShakeOut. You can find more information at: www.ShakeOut.org/Utah.

Please review the Jordan School District Safety Manual - Earthquake Action Plan and Standard Operating Guidelines on pages 28-31 for planning, drilling and responding to an earthquake.

For additional information or guidance please contact the District School Safety Coordinator, Matt Alvernaz at matt.alvernaz@jordandistrict.org or by phone at 801-567-8623.

Published on

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.

 

Published on

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

Published on

DATE:
April 7, 2025

TO:
Principals
All Certified Special Education Staff

FROM:
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education

SUBJECT:
End of Year SCRAM Detail Report

All Special Education providers will receive a copy of this memo to review for year-end SCRAM procedures. Please read it carefully as several items have been modified/updated to include new procedures implemented with our Embrace program. The SCRAM report will be sent to the team leader for each school via District Mail. Once you have read through the memo, use the process you have in place at your school to include all service providers to share the report and make the necessary corrections. Scram reports and corrections are due no later than Friday, May 2, 2025.

Please work together as a team and only return one copy of the report with all corrections for each school.

NEW PROCEDURE AS OF APRIL 2025:
For the remainder of this school year and going forward our procedure will be to submit SCRAM electronically through Embrace only. It is no longer required to continue to submit the paper version. If there are inconsistencies in the submission of Embrace SCRAM we will once again need to implement the paper SCRAM.

Please read the attached Memo and tip sheet for more information before you proceed with the SCRAM report.

Submit all SCRAM changes and/or corrections AND the signed SCRAM report to Jen Warkentine at the District Office.

If you have questions, please contact the Teacher Specialist assigned to your school or Jen Warkentine at (801) 567-8207 or jen.warkentine@jordandistrict.org.

All SCRAM reports and SCRAM document changes must be received by the Special Education Office no later than Friday, May 2, 2025.