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Category: Elementary Schools

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The full newsletter can be found at the link below. Stories include:

Celebrate Black History Month!
Taking a month out of the year to celebrate and recognize Black History, does not mean it's not important the other 11 months of the year. February is given to us to truly reach out and learn something new that we hadn’t known before. American and World history is so vast that as Dr. John Henrik Clarke states, “What we call Black history truly is the missing pages of world history.” The fact that many countries celebrate Black History demonstrates the many perspectives that should be honored when sharing pieces of the story in the History books. I always find myself in the habit of reading a historical story and wondering, “I wonder what was happening with the rest of the country during this time? What were the families from other cultures doing during that time? People suddenly don’t disappear when the Great Depression happened, but the schoolbooks certainly omitted a lot of people.”

Black History Month isn’t just for Black People to learn and engage with information. It’s for everyone. Half of the things we interact daily with were and are created by Black People: gas masks, protective mailboxes, the stoplight, automatic elevator doors, blood banks, home security systems, refrigerated trucks, the super soaker, tissue holders, clothes dryer, folding chairs, golf tea…. I could go on, Google can help you finish this exhaustive list. Because of that fact, everyone should take the time to learn about the people and culture behind the inventions.

The one thing I do each year is find an area that I want to learn more about surrounding Black History. The information is so vast, and I always received the Civil Rights information in school that I wanted to learn more beyond the struggle of gaining our alienable rights that were already bestowed upon Americans. Each year, I find a focus: famous Black poets, Black entrepreneurs, eras like the Harlem Renaissance or Motown.. each time I learn something new. I challenge everyone to do this. What do you not know too much about? With the amount of information on Google and YouTube, the possibilities are endless. If it still overwhelms you, simply go through the National Museum of African American History and Cultures website. This national treasure that is seated in DC has a plethora of information. Learn, grow, and know Black History is American History.

Culture Corner Set up a culture consultation!
Contact our Culture, Diversity, and Parent Outreach specialists to set up a consultation for you, your PLC, or your school. The CDO team can support you in the following ways:

  • Support for critical conversations (You are planning on a lesson that you anticipate will include critical conversations)
  • Training on critical conversation facilitation
  • Have the culture and diversity team come teach a lesson
  • Small group pull-out (no more than 10)

ELLevation Tips & Tricks
Teachers can easily add Activities to their Favorites folder for future viewing and lesson planning. There are two ways to favorite an Activity:

  1. While browsing: click the Favorite button located at the bottom left of each Activity card.
  2. In an Activity: click the Favorite button found on the left of the top bar.

After an Activity has been favored, you can access it by clicking on the left navigation slide-out menu.

ELD Lead Celebration
This month we are highlighting Angie Larson with Kelsey Peak Virtual Middle school! She is in her first year as an ELD lead and has done an excellent job of creating online content accessible to all students. She makes sure every student at the virtual middle school is getting the support they need to find success through their online learning. Thank you, Angie for being such a great example to your students and to our district!

Reflective Questions

  • What helps my students feel cared for and appreciated?
  • What can I do to show them how they are cared about?
  • How are my students represented in my curriculum and classroom?
  • How do I celebrate my student's diverse backgrounds?

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We have a schedule for the elementary schools to have a Spanish interpreter available for parent teacher conferences. Please notice that many schools will have those conferences held via zoom. We will share the assigned zoom link with those schools. 

If you have additional languages, please use this form to request interpreters.

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DATE:   
February 8, 2023

TO:  
Elementary School Principals

FROM:  
Paul Bergera, Director of Transportation
Kathy S. Jones, Trainer/Risk Coordinator of Transportation

SUBJECT:   
“Safety in the Schools” – Bus Safety Video

Utah State Standards for school buses require students to receive annual bus safety instruction.

Bus safety instruction and awareness for students in grades K-6 will come in the form of a video entitled “Bus Safety”. This video is available via YouTube for each individual teacher to present to his or her class.
Link to the “Bus Safety” video

Grades K-1 are also required to watch the Winnie the Pooh video at the following link:
Winnie the Pooh Video

When every teacher in grades K-6 has shown the video to his or her students, please send a quick e-mail confirmation to tammy.spearman@jordandistrict.org indicating that your school has completed this process.

Feel free to contact Tammy Spearman in the Transportation Training Department at (801) 567-8807 with any questions you may have.

We would like to have this completed and turned into the Utah State Board of Education by April 28, 2023.

Thank you for helping Jordan School District achieve “Safety in the Schools”.

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The District has recently conducted a bid for HP & Canon OEM Ink, Toner and Supplies. Effective immediately, 5 vendors have been awarded for HP supplies, and 5 vendors for Canon Supplies. This bid will be good for 5 years.

The following vendors should be used for your HP & Canon ink, toner and supplies moving forward:

HP OEM Supplies
Associated Business Technologies
Fisher’s Technology
Les Olson Company
Pacific Office Automation
Innovative Print Consulting

Canon OEM Supplies
Associated Business Technologies
Canon Solutions America-Supplies
Fisher’s Technology
Innovative Print Consulting
Pacific Office Automation

Here is a link to contact information for each vendor:
Vendor Contact Information

Please note that this contract is for OEM supplies only. This does not cover compatible inks and toners. We highly recommend using OEM ink and toners in your machines, especially in the Canon copiers. Some compatibles have caused damage to both HP and Canon machines in the past. We are also starting to see situations where some new HP printers are rejecting any compatibles and will only allow OEM toner to be installed. This is also happening on occasion when older printer models receive an update. Buying OEM supplies is the safest and best way to ensure that your machine runs optimally and that warranties are not voided.

If you have old machines that you are still using that HP and Canon are no longer manufacturing ink and toner for, then you can request compatibles when making your purchase. Please be aware that this contract cannot be referenced for these orders. If your order exceeds the $5,000 small dollar purchase threshold, you would need to get 3 quotes for your purchase.

We are asking that any existing open purchase orders for ink, toner and supplies be closed, even if the vendor is listed above. New open purchase orders will need to be created with additional language and referencing the new contract, or P-Cards can be used for your orders. Please fill out a Purchase Order Change/Delete Form for each open PO that needs to be closed. Please note “Close PO- New Contract”.

Please return the forms to Tonya Hodges in Purchasing at tonya.hodges@jordandistrict.org , or contact her if you need assistance with your orders.

 

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DATE:  
Thursday, February 9, 2023

TO: 
Elementary School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:   
AAPPL for DLI and 6th Grade CogAt Tableau Dashboards Updated with 2022-23 Results

AAPPL for DLI and the 6th grade CogAt results have been updated in Tableau with the 2022-23 results. The dashboards contain district, school, and individual student data. In addition, the AAPPL dashboards will display results by teacher. Tableau users may filter data by various demographic and student groupings as well.

AAPPL for DLI results may be accessed here:

Explore Menu > AAPPL for DLI Analysis

6th grade CogAt results may be accessed here:

Explore Menu > 6th Grade CogAt

Please contact Ben Jameson in Evaluation, Research & Accountability with questions about these dashboards.

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Principals:

We have scheduled two separate training sessions on the operation of the school’s security camera and software. The training will include the use of the software, saving of camera footage and the transferring of that footage to the appropriate device. We receive many requests for help in this area.

The training will be held on March 1, 2023.

Session 1:  9:00-10:00 am
Session 2:  1:00-2:00 pm

Both sessions will be held at the Auxiliary Service Building in the Presentation Room, enter at Entrance C. It is recommended that at least one administrator per building attend one of the sessions and if possible send one hall monitor to each session.

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DATE:    
Thursday, February 9, 2023

TO:  
Elementary School Administrators

FROM: 
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, 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: Music Integration in Early Childhood and Elementary Classrooms

Applicant: Jennifer Gee, San Diego State University

The project has been approved by the District Research Review Committee. The researcher will send out a recruitment email inviting educators to participate in a research survey. Employee 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.

Thank you for your assistance.

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The following are new administrative assignments:

New Assignment effective January 3, 2023:

  • Katie Jarvis, administrative intern at River’s Edge appointed assistant principal at River’s Edge.

New Assignments effective as soon as possible:

  • Steffany Ellsworth, Support Services Lead in Information Systems appointed Support Services Manager in Information Systems.

New Assignments effective February 21, 2023:

  • Derek Bennett, administrative intern at Mountain Ridge High appointed assistant principal at West Jordan High, replacing Howard Griffith who is retiring.
  • Curtis Hagen, Staff Assistant at Auxiliary Services appointed assistant principal at Mountain Ridge High, replacing Derek Bennett.
  • Tim McConnell, retired administrator in Park City School District appointed assistant principal at Ridge View Elementary.

New Assignments effective July 1, 2023:

  • Michael Hutchings, assistant principal at West Jordan High appointed principal at West Jordan High, replacing James Birch who is retiring.
  • Rachel Hill, administrative intern at West Jordan High appointed assistant principal at West Jordan High, replacing Michael Hutchings.
  • Tamara Rajczyk, consultant in Special Education appointed principal at South Valley, replacing Rita Bouillon who is retiring.
  • Jennifer Ludlow, principal at West Jordan Elementary appointed principal at Oquirrh Elementary, replacing Shauna Worthington who is approved for a Sabbatical leave.
  • Abram Yospe, principal at Columbia Elementary appointed principal at Foothills Elementary, replacing Cherie Wilson who is retiring.
  • Keith Klein, principal at Etna Elementary in Lincoln County School District in Afton, WY appointed principal at Columbia Elementary, replacing Abram Yospe.
  • Vaega Toilolo, administrative intern at Bingham High appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.
  • Russell Stephenson, administrative intern at Joel P. Jensen Middle and Oquirrh Hills Middle appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.
  • Jessica Wilson, administrative intern at South Hills Middle and South Valley appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.
  • Jessica Hayes, administrative intern at Child Development Center appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.
  • Thyme Meleisea-Vea, administrative intern at Oak Leaf Elementary appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.
  • Angela Solum, assistant principal at Riley Elementary in Salt Lake School District appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.
  • Janae Young, administrative intern at Aspen Elementary appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.

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DATE:
Thursday, February 9, 2023

TO: 
All School Administrators

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, 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: Retaining State-Qualified Teachers: An Exploratory Case Study

Applicant: Amanda Bollinger, University of Phoenix

The project has been approved by the District Research Review Committee. The researcher will send out a recruitment email inviting educators to participate in a research survey. Employee participation in the study is at your discretion. Survey participants who meet study criteria will be invited to participate in interviews or focus groups. If you have questions or concerns relating to participation, please contact Ben Jameson at 801-567-8243.

Thank you for your assistance.

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DATE:  
Thursday, February 9, 2023

TO: 
All School Administrators

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, 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: Cross-Cultural Development and Psychometric Validation of the Beliefs about Behavior Scale in the U.S. and Taiwan

Applicant: Howard Fan, Idaho State University

The project has been approved by the District Research Review Committee. The researcher will send out a recruitment email inviting educators to participate in a research survey. Employee 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.

Thank you for your assistance.

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ALPS testing will be conducted during the school day at local schools from February 6  - March 14.  The GT office and/or the proctor for your site will contact you with dates and times for your school.  Please contact Rebecca Smith (88368) with any questions you may have.

Thank you for accommodating the testing at your sites.

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Due to a conflict with busing, the Elementary Math Tournament will now be held on Thursday, April 6, 2023.  All other details and times will remain the same.

Please see the attached document for complete information.  Registration is due on Friday, February 17. Please register here.

Please contact Rebecca Smith (88368) with any questions you may have.

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DATE:
Thursday, February 2, 2023

TO:
All School Administrators

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
Michelle Love-Day, Director of Language & Culture Services

SUBJECT:
Navigating Parental Exclusion Requests with the WIDA Access

The annual administration of the WIDA Access is mandated by the federal government, which uses this assessment to hold schools accountable for providing an equitable education for multi-language learners. This accountability stems from the 1974 Supreme Court case Lau v. Nichols where a California school district was sued because it was not providing language services to many of its ML students. This Supreme Court case essentially ensures that students’ civil right to an equitable education and the government has chosen to use the WIDA Access as a way to hold school districts accountable for doing so.

The WIDA Access is federally mandated, which means that parents cannot opt their students out of taking the test. Because of the part this assessment plays in a student’s educational rights, parents do not have the power to revoke a student’s civil right to take the WIDA Access. Thus, the state was required to remove the WIDA Access from the parental exclusion form a few years ago.

So, what happens when a parent insists that their child not take the WIDA Access? Basic procedures are outlined below:

  • The school administration should discuss any or all of the attached talking points with the student’s parent.
  • If the parent still insists that their child not participate in the WIDA Access, then the school should document the parent’s refusal. Schools may use this Google tracking sheet for documentation or their school opt out log already available to school test coordinators.
  • When testing is complete, the school will share the Google tracking sheet with JoLynn Snelgrove in Evaluation, Research & Accountability using this email address: snelgrove@jordandistrict.org. JoLynn will also check school opt out logs.

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

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DATE:
Thursday, February 2, 2023

TO:
All School Administrators

FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
Michael Heaps, Director of Information Systems
David Bowman, Systems & Security Manager

SUBJECT:
Chromebooks with Expiring Hardware that Will Be Used for Testing

When Chromebooks are purchased, they come with a pre-defined time at which the vendors will stop giving updates to the software that makes the computers run. With Chromebooks this is almost always 5 years or a bit more.

This is called the Auto Update Expiration (AUE) Date.

When a Chromebook hits that date it may continue to work, but it stops getting updates from Google. Over time, this will decrease its functionality with the internet where things will stop working properly. Websites won’t load right; extensions and apps either work partially or won’t work at all.

This can become an issue when older Chromebooks won’t be able to update to the minimum device specifications outlined for a testing secure browser such as the RISE Secure Browser, TestNav (Utah Aspire Plus and ACT), DRC Insight (WIDA Access), etc. If the older testing device can’t update to the secure browser’s minimum specifications, it is possible that the testing platform will be glitchy or not work at all.

In some cases, more than 60% of a school’s Chromebooks are already expired. To see how many and what percentage of your school’s Chromebooks are expired, please click here.

As testing season approaches, school administrators will want to think about how to mitigate possible technology issues if the majority of the school’s Chromebooks that will be used for spring testing are expired. Also, school administrators are strongly encouraged to run an infrastructure test prior to ACT, RISE, and/or Utah Aspire Plus summative testing. If schools are unable to replace expired Chromebooks prior to spring testing and many of the school’s devices failed the infrastructure test, school administrators should develop a plan for rotating through newer devices to complete spring summative testing.

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Valued Licensed Employees:

The Human Resource Department is contacting you with important information regarding upcoming events and opportunities.

LICENSE RENEWAL
Teachers and other educators whose educator license will expire on June 30, 2023, are encouraged to begin the license renewal process starting February 1st by going to the USBE website.  You may begin reviewing the videos; however, license renewals cannot be submitted to the USBE before January 2023. The District HR Department will send you reminders in November, January, and March.  A FINAL reminder will be sent to you in April as a 4th and FINAL NOTICE & NOTICE OF TERMINATION should you not receive your license renewal certification in CACTUS by June 30, 2023.
DON’T DELAY – START THE PROCESS NOW!

LICENSED EARLY NOTIFICATION (Resignation or Retirement)
Licensed employees resigning/retiring at the end of the current contract year, who give official early notification in SKYWARD – EMPLOYEE ACCESS, will be eligible for a tiered incentive. To qualify, notification must be submitted on or before the following dates:

  • February 15, 2023        $200.00

 The incentive will be paid on the last regular paycheck. Notifications of resignation/retirement received after the dates listed above will not qualify for an incentive. The official District “Notice of Resignation” form is found in Skyward under “Employee Access”. Please see District policy DP318 for more detailed information regarding resignations. If you do not know your Skyward username or password please contact the Help Desk at 801-567-8737.

Licensed employees who do not submit an official “Notice of Resignation” form in Skyward “Employee Access” with at least thirty (30) calendar days’ written notice WILL BE FINED $500, which will be deducted from their final check.  Informing your principal/school administrator either verbally or in writing is not sufficient.  See District Policy DP318 – Resignations - Licensed.

School/District Administrators must submit an official “Notice of Resignation” form in Skyward “Employee Access” with at least sixty (60) calendar days’ written notice WILL BE FINED $500 in accordance with District Policy DP318A – Resignations-Administrators.

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DATE:
February 1, 2023

TO:
Principals
Special Education Staff
School Secretaries

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

SUBJECT:
Special Education Budget Closeout for the 2022-23 School Year

Please note that Special Education purchase orders/requisitions for the 2022-23 school year must be received by Monday, March 6, 2023 @ 5:00 p.m. Please remember the following:

  • Budgets are not carried over from one year to the next.
  • Remember to deduct any previously submitted amounts from your Special Education budget (so that you know your balance) before submitting new orders. This includes reimbursements submitted through your school. No orders will be processed that exceed your budgeted allocation.
  • Please check with your school secretary to make sure all Special Education reimbursements have been submitted to the Special Education Department by the March 6th deadline. We will soon be providing each school secretary with a sheet of currently recorded purchase/reimbursement totals for the special education department at your school up through January 31, 2023.
  • When ordering supplies, follow Skyward procedures.
  • Be sure to follow the ordering guidelines outlined in the attached budget information page, as you close out your current year budgets.

Staff will be notified of the new budget allocation amount prior to the start of the new school year. Keep in mind that new purchase orders/requisitions will not be processed until late July when all of the current year’s budgets have been closed out.

As you close out your budgets for the current school year, please note the following:

  1. All purchase orders/requisitions, should be routed through Amanda Hamblin in the Special Education Department.
  2. Use the following codes for Purchase Orders/Requisitions, P-Cards, and ECHECKS submitted through the year.

Coding for P.O.s/Requisitions, NPOs, P-Cards, ECHECKS:

FUND TYPE LOCATION PROGRAM FUNCTION OBJECT
10 E (School #) 1295 1090 Use object code

If you have questions regarding your Special Education budget, please contact Amanda Hamblin at (801) 567-8177.

Please review the Special Education Budget information that is attached below.

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How To Become “Highly Qualified” and Receive LANE CHANGE INCREASE.

PARAPRO Testing is optional for most school locations but required for all Title One School locations. Applicants/Employees interested in working at a Title I school may contact the Title One school principal for additional testing options.

Please see the attached document for more information.

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This year, the annual Teacher Transfer Fair is open to all CURRENT JSD teacher/educators AND student teachers, interns and those on a 1-year agreement.  This event is for current Jordan School District teachers/educators seeking a new teaching/assignment opportunity! The transfer fair will be combined for both elementary and secondary teachers/educators.

Please come prepared with:

  • Your JSD ID badge – required to gain entry, AND
  • Copies of your resume available to distribute.

Come explore your options in JORDAN SCHOOL DISTRICT!

See the flyer below for more information.

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Prior to the TEACHER TRANSFER FAIR on February 13th, principals may post available positions for the 2023-24 school year on a Google Form. Please fill out the Teacher Transfer Fair link to advertise your transfer openings for teachers and other licensed employees. This will allow teachers to view your postings prior to the Teacher Transfer Fair.