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Category: Elementary Schools

Published on

DATE:
July 26, 2024

TO: 
Elementary Principals
Elementary Media Assistants

FROM: 
Administrators of Schools
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning Department
Norman Emerson, Instructional Support Services Consultant

SUBJECT:  
Quarterly Training Meetings for Elementary Media Assistants

To prepare and train elementary library media assistants to effectively provide services to elementary schools and to build consistency across elementary library programs, training meetings have been scheduled for the 2024-25 school year. The participation of both of your library assistants in these meetings is appreciated and expected. The meetings are to be included in the assistants' weekly allotment of 17 hours. Except for August 21, 2024, they have been scheduled on Fridays.

The meetings will be held as follows:

  • August 21, 2024 - JATC South, 9:00-11:00 a.m.
  • October 18, 2024 - JATC South, 8:30-10:30 a.m.
  • January 24, 2025 - Viridian Event Center 8:30-10:30 a.m.
  • April 25, 2025 - JATC South, JATC South, 8:30-10:30 a.m.

Please share this information with your school’s elementary media assistants.

Please contact Norman Emerson at 801-567-8364 if further information is needed. Thank you for your continued support of the library media program in the Jordan School District.

Published on

DATE:        
July 25, 2024

TO:   
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Resource Officers

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

SUBJECT:  
District SRO Training

The annual District School Resource Officer training will be held as shown below and is required for each SRO and at least one administrator. Additional administrators are welcome if desired.

Date: Friday, September 6th
Time: 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM
Location: ASB Presentation Room

Please contact District School Safety Coordinator, Matt Alvernaz at matt.alvernaz@jordandistrict.org or by phone at (801) 567-8623 if you have any questions.

Published on

DATE:  
July 25, 2024

TO: 
Elementary Principals

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Norman Emerson, Fine Arts Consultant

SUBJECT:
BTSALP Funding for 2024-25 School Year

During the 2024 legislative session, the Beverly Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program funding formula was changed. Instead of allocating up to 80% of BTS Arts educators’ loaded salaries to LEAs, a uniform amount is being provided to districts per teacher. This will negatively impact some schools since they would need to come up with an amount that perhaps would exceed 20% of the loaded salary under the new funding formula.

To prevent most schools from paying unexpected increases for the new school year, the district will subsidize the school’s portion for the 2024-2025 school year and keep the current funding structure of 20% in place as in the past. Moving forward the district will work to equalize funding to offset increasing costs, but an increase in overall BTS expenses is anticipated.

Your school’s financial dashboard has been updated to reflect the BTS FTE allotment you will receive and the percentage your school will be expected to pay this year. Further information will be provided at the principal’s meeting in August.

Published on

DATE:    
July 18, 2024

TO:  
Administrators
Administrative Assistants

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

SUBJECT: 
Labor Day Annual-Personal Leave before-after Critical Day

If you are a contracted employee and need to take Annual/Personal Leave on a Critical Day before/after Labor Day 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.

 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
Labor Day Sept. 2, 2024 Aug. 30 and Sept. 3, 2024 July 20 – July 30, 2024

*Critical Days are the first student attendance days before or after a school holiday. If a non-student attendance day falls before or after a school holiday, the Critical Day is the day before or after that non-student attendance day when students are in attendance.

Published on

TO:
Administrators
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
June LeMaster, Administrator Human Resources
Rebecca Eastman, HR Generalist

A friendly reminder for the Employee-Funded Sick Bank Policy,

Employees are automatically enrolled in the sick bank each year through the annual donation of one (1) annual leave day to the sick bank. More information regarding the Employee-Funded Sick Bank can be found in policies, DP326NEG -Sick Leave-Educational Support Professionals and DP 324NEG -Sick Leave-Licensed.

For those who wish to opt out of participation in the Employee-Funded Sick Bank, keep an eye out for instructions starting in the July issues of JEM and JAM.

*First-year Educational Support Professionals and hourly employees are not eligible for sick bank, therefore, a sick bank day will not be deducted (if applicable).

Published on

DATE:
July 18, 2024

TO:
Principals
Assistant Principals

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

SUBJECT:
Early Warning System – Panorama Users by Role

Panorama, the District’s Early Warning System (HB84), will begin nightly data downloads for the 2024-25 school year during the first week of August 2024. To ensure that all the appropriate permissions are activated users by role must be validated by each school.

There are two (2) roles that must be identified:

  1. Administrative Roles:
    a.   Have access to all students throughout the school
    b.   See all discipline information (number, type, and action of each consequence)
    c.   Receive reports about their school and district
    d.   Typically, the principal, assistant principal(s), school counselors, school psychologists, and clinical support staff have this access. The administrator may choose others that receive this access (special education team leaders, student trackers, athletic directors, etc.)
  2. Survey Coordinator Roles:
    a.   Receive reports about the school
    b.   Have access to all students throughout the school
    c.   Should NOT be the school principal
    d.   Coordinate survey administration and messaging

Using the 2024-25 Panorama Administrators and Survey Coordinators sheet select your school, list the names of the users (first and last name), select the role, and enter the users district email address. Schools should enter this information prior to August 1, 2024 to ensure seamless use at the beginning of the school year.

Schools who wish to have their faculty activated should email Travis Hamblin (travis.hamblin@jordandistrict.org).

Published on

Jordan School District Employees are responsible for knowing and adhering to all District policies and procedures. The Crucial Concerns and Policy Review is now available to District employees in Skyward through “Online Forms.” As a condition of continued employment, all employees (i.e. Licensed, ESP, Substitutes, Coaches, Miscellaneous adults, etc.), with the exception of minor students, will be required to complete this training. We ask your assistance in notifying your employees of this required training and ask that this training be completed by November 1, 2024.

A message will appear upon login of Skyward Employee Access for the employee to complete an “Online Form.” Employees can complete the steps at that time or can return to the review at another time by selecting “Online Forms” under “Employee Information.” Attached is a tutorial to assist in completing the review.

Reports of completion will be available through Skyward so you can verify that your staff members have completed this process. A tutorial is attached for your reference. If you or any staff members need technical help, please call the help desk at 801-567-USER (8737).

Note: The Crucial Concerns and Policies review was significantly reduced for the 2024-25 contract year. See the table below.

2024-2025 Estimated Time Required
Administrator Lic. Time Required 2 HR 41 Min 16 Sec
Licensed Time Required 2 HR 37 Min 16 Sec
ESP Time Required 2 HR 4 Min 14 sec
Sub/Misc Time Required 1 HR 42 Min 48 sec

Published on

DATE:
Thursday, July 18, 2024

TO:
All School Administrators
District Department Directors/Consultants

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

SUBJECT:
2024-25 Required Testing Ethics Professional Development Procedures for Education Support Professionals

For the 2024-25 school year, administrators will need to conduct a training for all licensed educators as well as any education support professionals (ESPs) who will assist with district-, state- or federally-mandated testing on the state’s testing ethics policy. All licensed educators will need to be trained on the policy. Administrators will want to consider including computer lab assistants who function as the school’s test coordinator, any classroom aides that assist with testing, literacy aides who assist with Acadience Reading or Math testing or progress monitoring, or any office staff that assist test coordinators with district-, state- or federally-mandated testing.

The three required procedures for completing this testing ethics professional development are listed on the “2024-25 Principal’s Testing Ethics Checklist for ESPs” form, which is due to Assessment, Research & Accountability by Friday, September 20, 2024.

As has been done in the past, administrators may provide the testing ethics training themselves using the Google slide deck linked in this memo. Alternatively, administrators may show the YouTube video linked below to school personnel. The video provides the same information as the slide deck. Once school personnel have been trained, either by a school administrator or using the video, they are required to sign the “2024-25 Standard Test Administration and Testing Ethics Policy Training Signature Form.” Administrators are asked to keep these signed forms on file at the school.

There are several materials attached with this memo for your use:

  • 2024-25 Principal’s Testing Ethics Checklist – This form needs to be filled out and sent to Assessment, Research & Accountability by Friday, September 20, 2024.
  • Testing Ethics Presentation, 2024-25 – This is the slide deck if administrators choose to present the training in-person.
    2024-25 Standard Test Administration and Testing Ethics Policy – This document should be distributed to every licensed educator as well as any ESPs that assist with district-, state- or federally-mandated testing.
  • Testing Ethics Video – This is the training video that may be used in lieu of a school administrator providing the training, though it is still recommended that school personnel view the video together. The video may also be found at this YouTube link.
  • Standard Test Administration and Testing Ethics Training Signature Form, 2024-25 – Administrators should retain a signed copy of this form for all licensed educators as well as any ESPs who assist with district-, state- or federally-mandated testing.
  • Testing Ethics Policy FAQ – Administrators should distribute this FAQ document to all licensed educators and any ESPs that assist with district-, state- or federally mandated testing.

Please contact Ben Jameson or Gaylene Miller in Assessment, Research & Accountability with any questions.

Published on

DATE:
July 18, 2024

TO:
School Administrators
Elementary Administrative Assistants
Secondary Attendance Secretaries
Secondary Registrars

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

SUBJECT:
Guidance on “Proof of Residency” Requirements

Inconsistencies districtwide in how parents/guardians have been asked to supply “proof of residency” documentation has led to difficulties in enrolling students and an unpredictable enrollment experience at different schools and levels. 

Effective immediately, all schools in Jordan School District will require TWO (2) proof of residency documents at the time of enrollment: One or two documents from Column A of the table below and no more than one document from Column B (the model document listing from the Utah State Board of Education has been used as a basis for this table):

 

Column A (1 or 2 documents)
 Column B (No more than 1 document)
  • Property deed. The deed must be for a primary residential property, not for investment or commercial property.
  • Mortgage statement from the most recent billing period.
  • Lease and payment record from the most recent billing period.
  • Government photo ID with current address.
  • Notarized Affidavit of Occupancy or Rental
  • Other documentation, as approved by Planning & Enrollment or School Administration
  • Pay stub
  • Bank or credit card statement
  • Utility bill
  • Vehicle registration
  • Voter registration
  • documentation
  • Church or religious records, including a notarized affidavit from a local congregation leader affirming that the parent resides within boundaries.
  • Other documentation, as approved by Planning & Enrollment or School Administration

If there are concerns with the provided documentation, a third document may be requested at the direction of school administration; however, requiring three documents should NOT be standard practice. Updated documentation can and should be requested when a parent/guardian submits a change of address request or when school administrators believe the family’s residency status has changed.

If the parent/guardian declares during enrollment that the family is homeless and qualifies for services under McKinney-Vento, the declaration covers BOTH residency document requirements. No further documentation can or should be requested from the parent or guardian and the student should be enrolled immediately. After enrollment, if there are concerns about eligibility for McKinney-Vento services, the school may coordinate with the district McKinney-Vento liaison for further assistance. 

An “explainer document” (in English and Spanish) to show to parents is attached to this memo. Additional information can be found in the Planning & Enrollment Manual at https://planning.jordandistrict.org/manual/enrollment/#ResProof 

Published on

TO:
All Administrators

FROM:
C. Brad Sorensen, Administrator of Schools

The Annual Jordan School District Administrative Leadership Conference is scheduled for Tuesday, August 6, 2024, at West Jordan Middle School, 7550 S. Redwood Road, West Jordan Utah. Full-time Administrative Interns (paid) assigned to your building are also expected to attend. The agenda and flyer are attached. Our first Principal meeting is also scheduled for Thursday, August 8, 2024, at West Jordan Middle from 8:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.

All administrators are assigned a one-hour "escape room" slot (see link) on Thursday, August 8th which will be held at "A Great Escape-Gardner Village" located at 1100 W. 7800 S. #3, West Jordan Utah.

Additionally, the Jordan Education Foundation will need our help with a service project set up in the West Jordan Middle School gymnasium on Thursday, August 8, 2024. We ask each administrator to spend one hour before or after your assigned “escape room” slot to stop by and help with the service project. Random prizes will be drawn at a later time for those who show up to help with the JEF service project.

Published on

TO:
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Mike Heaps, Director of Information Systems
Jeri Gamble, Customer Support in Information Systems

21 Fund Summary Budgetary Data Mining Report: If you run the 21 Fund Summary report during July, the balances will not be correct until after Accounting has rolled June balances over to 2023-24 later this month.

Cash Receipts and Journal Entries: Make sure you are selecting 2024-25 when you add cash receipts and journal entries. You will continue to see the option for 2023-24 until October, which is when we will close out the 2023-24 year. Please review your cash receipts and journal entries that are in batch or WIP status. If any cash receipts are in 2023-24, then please edit them and change the year to 2024-25. The fiscal year cannot be changed on journal entries, so you’ll need to delete the 2023-24 journal entries that are in batch, submitted or WIP status and re-enter them.

Published on

TO:
All Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Mike Heaps, Director of Information Systems
Jeri Gamble, Customer Support in Information Systems

SKYWARD STUDENT

Rollover and Pre-transfers

Rollover has been completed which means the new 2024-25 school year is now our “current” school year. Pre-transfers have been turned off, so marking a student inactive on the Entity tab or making changes to the School Path tab will not remove a student’s entry record at your school. See the 2024-25 No Show Guidelines to follow when you are notified a student will not be attending your school for the 2024-25 school year.

Please remember, when entering new students for the 2024-25 school year, use the entry date of 08/20/2024.

Family Access Tutorial in Spanish

Breaking News!  There is now a Spanish tutorial available on jordandistrict.org for lunch and student fee web payments. It can be found by navigating to Parents & Students, Family Access (Skyward), Lunch and Fee Payments.

SKYWARD FINANCE

 21 Fund Summary Budgetary Data Mining Report:  If you run the 21 Fund Summary report during July, the balances will not be correct until after Accounting has rolled June balances over to 2023-24 later this month.

Cash Receipts and Journal Entries:  Make sure you are selecting 2024-25 when you add cash receipts and journal entries. You will continue to see the option for 2023-24 until October, which is when we will close out the 2023-24 year. Please review your cash receipts and journal entries that are in batch or WIP status. If any cash receipts are in 2023-24, then please edit them and change the year to 2024-25. The fiscal year cannot be changed on journal entries, so you’ll need to delete the 2023-24 journal entries that are in batch, submitted or WIP status and re-enter them.

Published on

The following are new administrative assignments:

New Assignments effective July 1, 2024:

  • Raimee Jensen, assistant principal at West Jordan Middle appointed principal at West Jordan Middle.
  • Ethan Walsh, administrative intern at Sunset Ridge Middle and West Jordan Middle appointed assistant principal at West Jordan Middle.

Published on

TO:
All Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Mike Heaps, Director of Information Systems
Jeri Gamble, Customer Support in Information Systems

The HR and Finance year end process was completed successfully on Monday, July 1.

Don’t forget that we don’t close out the 2023-24 year until October, so when you add Journal Entries and Cash Receipts, please make sure you select 2024-25.

21 Fund Summary Budgetary Data Mining Report: Accounting will roll June balances over to 2024-25 later this month. If you run the 21 Fund Summary report for the month of July, the balances will not be correct until after Accounting has rolled the balances.

JULY 1-9
Parents will not be able to make food service or student fee payments online from Monday, July 1 – Tuesday, July 9 while we complete year-end processes and the rollover.

JULY 3
Payroll: Begin entering 2023-24 time off.

JULY 5
Payroll: June Payroll is due.
Payroll: True Time Submissions due.
Inventory/Purchasing: Continue entering 2023-24 Inventory and Purchase requisitions. Warehouses resume delivery schedules.

JULY 7
Payroll: True Time 1st approvals due.

JULY 9
Skyward Student Rollover: Skyward Student will not be available during this time.
Student Fees: Do not enter any student receipts in Skyward Fee Management after midnight Monday, July 8, through July 9.

Published on

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Caleb Olson, Enrollment Consultant in Planning & Enrollment

A reminder to all administrators of annual discipline refresher trainings. All administrators are encouraged to attend a session to prepare for the new year.

Session 1:
Thursday, July 18: 9-11 AM at the ASB Auditorium

Session 2:
Thursday, July 18: 1-3 PM at the ASB Auditorium

NEWLY ADDED Session 3:
Monday, July 29: 1-3 PM at the ASB PRESENTATION ROOM

Use this LINK to sign up for a session to attend

Published on

DATE:        
June 26, 2024

TO:
All Principals, Directors and Supervisors

FROM:    
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Sarah Palmer, Director of Payroll

SUBJECT:  
DP375 – Vacation Schedule for Administrative Personnel

Clarification of administrator vacation days carryover:

  • Administrators receive 20 frontloaded vacation days on July 1st of each year. These frontloaded days are earned throughout that current year.
  • Administrators may carryover up to 20 earned vacation days from the previous year. Any earned days over 20 not used by December 31st of each year will be forfeited.

Therefore, as of December 31, 2024, any unused vacation days above 40 days will be forfeited. These 40 days consist of the 20 days that will be frontloaded on July 1, 2024 for the 2024-25 year, as well as up to 20 unused earned days that are allowed to be carried over from the previous 2023-24 year.

Published on

TO:
Administrators
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Steffany Ellsworth, Support Services Manager in Information Systems

Introducing ParentSquare: Our New Communication Platform Launching July 1st!

We are excited to announce the launch of our new school communication platform, ParentSquare, which will be available July 1st! Does this mean that Skylert is no longer available? That’s correct, Skylert will no longer be accessible after June 30, 2024. The good news is that ParentSquare is capable of so much more!

See the document below for all the exciting details!

 

Published on

TO:
Administrators
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Jeri Gamble, Customer Support in Information Systems

Reminders!!
Accounting Magicians: Please, for the love of all things numerical, **do not** enter any cash receipts, check requests, mileage, or electronic journal entries. The deadline was June 19. Yes, you read that right, JUNE 19. Everything should have been approved by June 20. Fear not, you can begin submitting your precious cash receipts, electronic journal entries, check requests, and mileage again on July 2, but make sure you select the year 2024-25. Time travel is tricky, folks.

SKYWARD FINANCE ROLLOVER: Brace Yourselves!
We will be performing the grand year-end processes on Monday, July 1. On Friday, June 28, I'll be donning my janitor hat for some serious cleanup. Here’s how you can assist:

  • Check Requests: Make sure there are no check requests loitering around awaiting approval.
  • Cash Receipts: No current year cash receipts should be lounging in WIP or Batch status.
  • Journal Entries: Keep those current year journal entries out of Batch or Open status. Trust me, it’s for the greater good.

Pro Tip: It’s best to stay out of Skyward Finance on July 1. If you must enter, please don’t touch anything. Seriously, just look, don't touch. We don't need any rollover mishaps.

SKYWARD STUDENT ROLLOVER/ONLINE PAYMENTS REMINDER:
**Heads Up** The Skyward Student Rollover will occur on Tuesday, July 9. During this thrilling event, Skyward Student will be completely unavailable. It’s like it’s going on a digital vacation.

Our dear parents won’t be able to make any food service or student fee payments online from July 1 to July 9. The system needs some "me time" to complete the year-end processes and the rollover. Buckle up, everyone! It's going to be an exciting end-of-year ride!

Note: Chat GPT helped me spruce up this week’s email. 😊