Skip to content

Category: Elementary Schools

Published on

DATE:
October 29, 2025

TO:   
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Safety Specialists

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

SUBJECT:  
USBE Communication to School Safety Specialists and State Requirements

USBE has begun sending communicating to School Safety Specialists about school safety, training opportunities, and safety specialist’s roles and expectations. If your school’s safety specialist has not received any communication from USBE please update your school’s information using this link: 2025-2026 School-Based Safety Specialists. Any updates made need to be communicated to Matt Alvernaz at Matt.alvernaz@jordandistrict.org ASAP.

Each designated safety specialist is required to annually complete a state Canvas course as well as attend ZOOM meetings throughout the year. The trainings are recorded and are available if the safety specialist or administrator are unable to attend. Attendance is encouraged whenever possible. Administrative controls for the Canvas course are handled by USBE and any issues with the course need to be addressed with USBE. Administrators over safety are not required to complete the Canvas course unless they are the designated School Safety Specialist. The USBE ZOOM trainings are open to all administrators.

The USBE ZOOM trainings for safety specialists are separate from the monthly ZOOM SRP trainings conducted on the first Wednesday of each month during the school year by Matt Alvernaz, the District Safety Coordinator. These training sessions are for school safety specialists and administrators over safety but other administrators or school staff may attend. These trainings are NOT recorded.

The next SRP ZOOM training (SHELTER) will be on November 5th from 3:00 to 3:30 with a second session beginning right after at 3:30 to 4:00. Please mark your calendars and plan accordingly. The ZOOM link will remain same each month.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the School Safety Coordinator, Matt Alvernaz, at Matt.alvernaz@jordandistrict.org or (801)567-8623.

Published on

DATE:    
October 29, 2025

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 (SHELTER)

Our monthly drill preparation will be held on November 5th at 3:00 PM with a second session at 3:30 PM. This month we will be covering SHELTER. Each School Safety Specialist is expected to attend along with administrators assigned to oversee school safety. All other administrators are welcomed to attend as well. The meeting is also open 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 SHELTER response protocol can be found in the Jordan School District Safety Manual on pages 20-24. 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

FROM:
Jared Covili, Consultant in Teaching and Learning
Steven Harwood, Application Dev & Support Manager in Information Systems

Information Systems and Teaching & Learning are beginning the process of rostering classrooms for the new Google Class Tools (Classroom Management System). This will require creating a Google Classroom for each class and populating those classrooms using Clever. NOTE: We are NOT moving to Google Classroom in lieu of Canvas, rather Google Classroom is the most efficient method for rostering students into Google Class Tools. As a reminder, Class Tools is a possible replacement for GoGuardian or LanSchool. This tool allows teachers the ability to control student browsing, create a lockdown browser, and provide students with live captioning or translations.

What you need to know:
Each class in your school will have a Google Classroom created and rostered with students.
Teachers must accept this Google Classroom for it to be enabled for use.
Students will NOT be able to remove themselves from this Google Classroom
New students will automatically be added, and departing students will automatically be dropped from this Google Classroom.

Schools wanting training on Google Class Tools can contact Digital Teaching and Learning. For more information, click on the following article: Rostering with Clever

Published on

TO:
Principals

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Amanda Bollinger, Associate Administrator, Teaching & Learning
Amy Lloyd, K-12 Math Consultant, Teaching & Learning

Principals,

K–5 teachers who had not previously received training in the Open Up Math curriculum participated in their initial professional development session on October 29th. A follow-up half-day session is scheduled for November 10th to further enhance instructional practice.

This information has been communicated to teachers via email.

Training Details:
Day 2:
November 10th
8:30 - 11:30
ASB Auditorium

We look forward to learning together and continuing to build a strong mathematics community!

Published on

TO:
School Principals

FROM:
Michelle Love-Day, Director of Language & Culture Services

All administrators are invited to one Zoom session next week, November 6th at 9:00 or November 7th at 2:00, to learn about facilitating conversations with students related to discriminatory language. Administrators will receive access to Nearpods and other resources that can be used with students in one-on-one settings to help teach them the impact of discriminatory language.

Published on

DATE:   
Thursday, October 30, 2025

TO: 
Elementary 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: Parent-Teacher Relationships in China and the United States

Applicant: Anxu Chen, 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. 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 researcher will contact teachers directly with an invitation to participate in an online interview, which will last up to 60 minutes.

Thank you for your assistance.

Published on

DATE:   
Thursday, October 30, 2025

TO:  
All Elementary and Middle 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: Recommendations for Improving the Practice of Digital Learning at Jordan School District Utah

Applicant: Riley Peterson, Liberty 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. 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 project will involve teacher participation in a survey, interview and/or questionnaire.

Thank you for your assistance.

Published on

TO:
Elementary Administrators

FROM:
Megan Cox (Rose Creek)
Garett York (Southland)
Jessica Stowe (Bastian)
Ronna Hoffman (Oak Leaf)

Please submit questions to be discussed by JAESP committee and Cabinet by the first Tuesday of each month. You may submit concerns or questions using the Google Form below OR you may send items to be discussed directly to Megan Cox at Rose Creek, Garett York at Southland, Jessica Stowe at Bastian, Ronna Hoffman at Oak Leaf.

Google Form Link

All items will be discussed anonymously as we work to provide clarification and solutions to concerns of elementary administrators.

Notes of the discussions will be published on a Google Doc titled "JAESP Committee Notes 2025-26" which will be shared with Elementary Administrators.

Published on

DATE: 
October 3, 2025

TO:   
All Administrators
All Office Staff

FROM: 
Steffany Ellsworth, Manager - Information Systems

SUBJECT:  
2025 Utah Skyward User Conference

Happy fall, y’all! With fall, comes the annual Utah Skyward User Conference. This year, it’s even more exciting as we’ll be previewing Skyward’s new Qmlativ Finance and Student systems! Join us on Thursday, November 6th at Canyons School District in their Support Services Center. Please see the agenda for the address and session times.

This conference is a great opportunity to learn directly from Skyward experts, as sessions are taught by their staff. This year’s lineup includes several outstanding sessions focused on Qmlativ. Many sessions offer a side-by-side comparison of Qmlativ and our current finance and student system, SMS.

Our district will be live on Qmlativ Finance on May 4th, 2026 (see Qmlativ JAM for more info), so this conference is a chance to preview how the system looks, operates, and can make your daily work easier. You’ll also find Skyward student sessions that will demonstrate how to use both SMS and Qmlativ, giving you a chance to compare processes in both systems.

During these sessions there will be an opportunity to ask questions. However, if you have an issue that may be more timely to resolve, we ask that you contact our helpdesk for assistance.

We hope this year’s conference will inspire you with new insights, practical tips, and a deeper understanding of what’s possibly in Skyward. There is no need to register in advance. For questions about attending the conference, please feel free to call the help desk at extension 88737.

Published on

TO:
School Principals
District Employees
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator

In order to maintain a professional work atmosphere for students and staff members, respect staff time, and to avoid ethical and fraudulent conflicts of interest with vendors, building administrations are asked to abide by the following:

Vendors are not allowed into District schools/facilities to solicit business from employees during business hours. Building administrations may allow vendors to leave promotional materials (e.g. brochures, business cards, posters, etc.) with the front office and request these materials be placed in an area, such as the employee break room or bulletin board, so staff may view them and take one, if they so choose. Materials may not be placed in staff boxes. Vendors are not allowed to make sales pitches during faculty or staff meetings. Vendors are not to provide a snack, treat, or meal for employees in the break rooms while the vendor remains to solicit business. Building administrations may allow a vendor to leave a snack, treat, or meal along with promotional materials and a note indicating who brought the items and who employees should contact if more information is desired. Employees, including building and district leadership, should never feel like they are required to meet with vendors and hear their sales pitches.

Decision makers are advised to avoid gifts from vendors in order to guard against the appearance of misconduct. A vendor providing a gift or meal for the staff or large groups is a very nice gesture of thanks and support. A vendor providing a special, private gift or lunch to only the decision maker(s) can create an ethical conflict of interest that can influence decision making.
Vendors must follow the same protocol expected of all other visitors to District buildings by checking in at the front office and proceeding beyond the front office only after being invited to do so.

If an employee desires to meet with a vendor at a District location to discuss services the vendor may offer to them personally, the employee and vendor must meet outside of normal business hours for that building. For schools, this means no contact between one-half hour before school starts and one-half hour after school ends, including lunch time and prep time. These hours are considered work hours and must be respected by the employee and vendors.

The District’s finance system is not to be used to pay for employees’ personal business (e.g. mortgage payments, utility payments, insurance payments, donations to churches, credit card payments, etc.). Payroll deductions are not permitted for non-Jordan District purposes unless the funds are tax sheltered through a District-allowed plan (see #6 below). It is not appropriate for the District to engage in employee personal bill pay at taxpayer expense. Any payment arrangements made by employees with vendors should be done using the employees’ personal financial institution.

As a taxpayer funded subdivision of the State of Utah, Jordan School District participates in the Utah Retirement Systems (URS). While employees have the private option of authorizing financial advisers or others to manage their retirement funds, there are inherent risks associated with any investment strategy. Jordan School District and Utah Retirement Systems does not and has not endorsed, contracted out, authorized, advocated, recommended, sponsored, or vetted other entities, including 403b agents, to represent them in these matters. Instead, URS employs retirement advisors, with a URS email and phone number, who will meet with and advise JSD employees free of charge. URS is a nonprofit trust and their advisors never earn commissions. If you want help with URS questions, please contact URS and if you choose to go outside of URS, please compare commissions and fees.

As a taxpayer funded entity, Jordan School District, its departments and schools must only work with businesses that have first gone through the proper procurement process. Competing vendors are to be treated fairly without personal preference or bias.

Published on

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,

Published on

TO:
All Administrators
All Admin Assistants

FROM:
Jordan District Cabinet Members

We are excited to announce and provide a method for employees to pay their school meal balances remotely without going to the front office. Please see the attached instructions on how to set this up. Employees can also set up recurring payments and low balance notifications similar to parents.

Additionally, we want to remind employees that they should avoid having a negative balance on their meal account. Employees may not have a negative balance greater than $10.00.

Published on

DATE:     
October 16, 2025

TO:  
Elementary School Administrators
Middle School Administrators
High School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:  
November School Counselor Training and Professional Development

November School Counselor training and professional development opportunities.

(11/5) CSCP Counselor Collaborative Committee, District Office, Room 129

  • Only School Counselors appointed to this committee
  • 8:00 am - 11:30 am            

(11/6) BRISC Monthly Call, Zoom

  • All School Counselors (optional)
  • 10:00 am - 11:00 am

(11/7) CSCP BRISC Training - Day 1, ASB, Presentation Room, Entrance C

  • All New Counselors and Interns
  • 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

(11/10) CSCP BRISC Training - Day 2, ASB, Presentation Room, Entrance C

  • All New Counselors and Interns
  • 8:00 am - 12:00 pm

(11/11) Riverton Feeder Meeting

  • Riverton Feeder Counselors K-12
  • 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm

(11/14) CSCP NOV SEC PLC, JATC-South, Auditorium

  • Secondary School Counselors
  • 7:30 am - 9:00 am

(11/14) CSCP NOV ELEM PLC, JATC-South, Auditorium

  • Elementary School Counselors
  • 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm

(11/19) CSCP New Counselor Training, District Office, Room 129

  • All New Counselors and Interns
  • 8:00 am - 11:00 am

(11/20 - 11/21) Utah School Counselor Association Annual Conference, Davis Convention Center

  • All School Counselors (optional)
  • 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

(11/24) CSCP BRISC Training - Consult Call, Zoom 

  • All New Counselors and Interns
  • 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

(11/25) Copper Hills Feeder Meeting, District Office, Room 129

  • Copper Hills Feeder Counselors K-12
  • 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Please direct any questions to Stacee Worthen, School Counselor Consultant, at 801-567-8309.

Published on

DATE:   
Thursday, October 16, 2025

TO: 
Elementary School Administrators

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:  
2025-26 Stakeholder Input Survey Preview and Administration Materials

Jordan School District will be administering its own student, parent, and faculty/staff stakeholder input survey this year. The student survey will be administered to all students in grades K-12. The survey window opens Monday, November 3, 2025, and closes Tuesday, November 25, 2025. Administrative assistants were asked to verify a list of licensed educators at their school location, which was due on Friday, October 10th. Those verified and updated lists have now been added to the Stakeholder Input Survey. If schools have hired licensed faculty since October 10, 2025, please contact Assessment, Research & Accountability as soon as possible so that we can update your school’s surveys before the survey window opens. We will not be able to update the surveys once they go live.

See the memo below for all the details.

Published on

DATE:   
Thursday, October 16, 2025

TO:   
Elementary School Administrators

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Assessment, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT: 
2025 BOY Acadience Reading Dashboards in Tableau

2025 beginning of the year Acadience Reading data and results are available in Tableau Viewer accounts. Administrators may view aggregate student participation, benchmark proficiency, and measure proficiency by school and grade level over time. In addition, school administrators may view individual student and teacher data. Demographic filters are also available to help school administrators drill down to the data they wish to see.

These dashboards may be accessed through the Explore menu in Tableau or directly using the links below:

Acadience Reading, 2015-Present
Explore > Assessments > Acadience Reading & Early Literacy > Acadience Reading Analysis, 2015-Present

Acadience Reading and Math results may be accessed in ALO.

The Progress Monitoring Fidelity Report in Tableau has also been updated to include the following:

  • Completion rates by school
  • Completion rates by course
  • Completion rates by teacher
  • Completion rates by student

The progress monitoring dashboards contain a link to updated guidance and recommendations from Teaching & Learning about the frequency at which students should be progress monitored.

Please contact Ben Jameson or Brooke Anderson in Assessment, Research & Accountability for more information about these dashboards. For questions about progress monitoring recommendations, please reach out to your school’s district literacy specialist.

 

Published on

TO:
Assistant Principals

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent

The November Administrator/Assistant Principal meetings will be held on November 6 (8:00-11:00am) and November 13 (8:00-11:00am). All meetings will be held in-person at the JATC-S. All invited administrators, assistant principals, and intern assistant principals are invited. A beverage service will be provided, beginning at 7:30 am at each of the meetings. As a reminder you only need to attend one of the sessions offered. Both sessions will provide the same information. Please CLICK HERE and it will take you to the Google Doc to sign up for which day you would like to attend. If you have any questions please call Nadine Page at 801-567-8182 (x88182).

Published on

TO:
School Administrators

FROM:
Brad Sorensen, Administrator of Schools
Cody Curtis, Administrator of Schools
Odette Desmarais, Administrator of Schools
Meredith Doleac, Administrator of Schools
Becky Gerber, Administrator of Schools
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools

**TAKE NOTE OF THE NEW LOCATION! - Plan to arrive early in order to avoid the traffic involved with Elk Ridge Middle.

PRINCIPAL MEETING WILL BE HELD AT THE JORDAN LEARNING CENTER (JLC - 3706 W 9800 S, SOUTH JORDAN) 

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE WILL START WITH ALL LEVELS IN THE QUAD AT 8:00 AM

A beverage service will be provided at 7:30 a.m. Lunch will be provided.

Published on

DATE:
October 9, 2025

TO:
Principals
All Special Educators and Related Service Providers

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

SUBJECT:
Important Deadline--Please Read Immediately
SCRAM Data Due by the end of day Wednesday, November 05, 2025
Updating SCRAM for December 1 Funding Count

We are fast approaching our December 1 SCRAM count deadline. Special Education Resource and SCSC Team Leaders will soon receive a SCRAM report via District Mail with all students who are currently receiving services through your school’s special education program(s). Please read this Memo carefully as several items have been modified/updated to include new procedures implemented with our new Embrace program. 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.

Funding Implications
Special education funding and, therefore, school staffing/assistant allocations, etc. are contingent upon the accuracy of this data. Your timely and accurate response is critical!

All Corrections and SCRAM reports are Due:
By 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 5, 2025

 

Published on

DATE:   
October 11, 2025

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

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director, Student Services
Scott Festin, Planning Consultant, Student Services

SUBJECT:  
Permit Trainings for the 2026-27 Season

Planning & Enrollment will be hosting training opportunities for staff to prepare for the 2026-27 permit season, which opens on Saturday, November 15, 2025. Sessions will not be targeted at any specific audience, so individuals are welcome to attend any session.

Please register for all sessions using this LINK.

Session dates, times, and locations are listed below. Additional training sessions will be added if needed.

Date Time Location
Monday, October 27 1:00-3:00 PM ASB Auditorium (Entrance A)
Tuesday, October 28 9:30-11:30 AM ASB Presentation Room (Entrance C)

Permit questions should be addressed to Scott Festin, Planning Consultant, scott.festin@jordandistrict.org, x88370

Published on

TO:
Principals

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Amanda Bollinger, Associate Administrator, Teaching & Learning
Amy Lloyd, K-12 Math Consultant, Teaching & Learning

Principals,

If you have any K-5 teachers that have not received training on the Open Up Math curriculum, please have them sign up for the final training of the year at this LINK. This information was also shared with teachers this week in a JEM.

Training Details:
Day 1:

  • Date: October 29th, 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM
    Location: ASB Presentation Room (Entrance C)
    Lunch will be on their own.

Day 2:

  • Date: November 10th
    (Half-day, grade-level sessions; details coming soon)

In these sessions teachers will dive deeper into evidence-based practices in mathematics, explore high-quality instructional mathematics materials, and gain strategies to strengthen their student-centered learning environment. We look forward to learning together and continuing to build a strong mathematics community!