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Category: High School Action Required

Published on

DATE:  
July 31, 2025

TO: 
District employees who qualify for mileage reimbursement

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

SUBJECT:  
Defensive Driving Course Requirement for Mileage Reimbursement

Our insurance carrier, State Risk Management, has asked that every person who receives mileage reimbursement take the Utah Defensive Driving Course. We ask that you complete this free course as soon as possible using the instructions attached to this memo.

A new District Mileage Reimbursement form can be found at this link https://jordandistrict.org/wp-content/uploads/083_MileageReport.xlsx. This new form has a box under the title for the individual to enter the completion date of the course. Please note that beginning in January 2026, Accounting will only reimburse mileage that includes the completion date of the Risk Management Defensive Driving Course. The course must be completed every two years. Supervisors approving mileage reimbursement – please remind your employees to complete this course and enter the date at the top of their mileage reimbursement form to avoid delays in reimbursement in January 2026.

The link below provides access to the course in the Utah Learning Portal. Your username is your district email. Click “Sign Up” and fill out the required information. Note that the security key word is Jordan and you may create your own password.

https://utah-riskpool.sabacloud.com/Saba/Web_wdk/NA1PRD0101/index/prelogin.rdf#/login

Once you have passed the course, record the completion date on your mileage reimbursement form and print the certificate. You may use the print option at the top of the final page of the online assessment or print your certificate from the attachment that will be emailed to you. Retain the certificate at your location for audit purposes.

If you have questions regarding the mileage reimbursement form, please contact Dan Ellis, Director of Accounting, Budgets, and Audits at 801.567.8389. If you have questions about the Risk Management Defensive Driving Course, please contact Brandon Conti, Risk Management Coordinator at 801.567.8876.

Published on

DATE:     
July 30, 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:  
Fire Drill Required Within the First 10 School Days

All schools are required to conduct a fire drill within the first 10 days of the school year. This provides a great opportunity to review plans, emergency response/Incident Command assignments, evacuation maps, outside rally locations, communications, and related supplies.

Please call the Jordan School District 24-hr. Alarm Response 801-567-8865 at least 30 minutes in advance of the drill, so the fire department is not dispatched.

Use the JSD Incident Command System Manual - Fire Action Plan as your drill guideline. Jordan School District Safety Manual

Should you have any questions or concerns please contact Matt Alvernaz the District Safety Coordinator at matt.alvernaz@jordandistrict.org or 801-567-8623.

Published on

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator Human Resources
Jane Olsen, HR Specialist

Greetings!

Continuing in the tradition of collaboration, building relationships and cultivating systems of support we will be having a Meet & Greet for departments, systems of support, sponsors and our partners on August 8 during the New Teacher Induction. This is an opportunity to interact with our anticipated 250 new teachers, connect them with resources, and develop relationships.

We would like to invite you to have a table or table(s) for the Meet & Greet during our lunch break. Arrival/setup can begin as early as 11:00 A.M. and take down time would begin at 12:50 P.M.

To notify us of your reservation and to assist us in planning, please see the invitation below and click the ‘CLICK HERE to Reserve a Table’ link. Please complete your reservation request by 8/4/2025 so we can source the appropriate number of table and chairs.

New this year, you will have the option to notify us if you need power for your table. Please indicate your need for power during your reservation process.

Tablecloths will not be available, please plan to decorate your table and have takeaways to provide to our new educators such as information, swag, manipulatives, or a link to resources connected to your department.

Help us show them that Jordan School District is the District of choice for the best and brightest educators.

Questions?
Please contact Jane Olsen, HR Specialist at jane.olsen@jordandistrict.org or 801-567-8217.

Published on

DATE:
July 1, 2025

TO:   
Principals
Special Education Teachers (Preschool and School-Age) Speech-Language Pathologists

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

SUBJECT:  
Extended Year Special Educator Stipends 2025-26

Please read the following information and instructions carefully. Submitting these days requires an online survey to be filled out and submitted.

This year the state has allocated 4 additional days available to work during the two weeks before or after your contract days. Please read the attached memo for instructions on when the days can be worked and how to submit them correctly. The link for submitting the days is included in the attached memo.

If you have questions please contact Amanda Hamblin at the Special Education office.

Published on

DATE:    
June 25, 2025

TO:  
Principals
Assistant Principals
Registrars
School Counselors

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Stacee Worthen, Counselor Consultant
Steven Harwood, Application Dev. & Support Manager-Information Systems
Steffany Ellsworth, Support Services Manager-Information Systems

SUBJECT: 
H.B. 191 High School Credit Amendments

Overview:
Utah’s new legislation, HB191, introduces additional requirements for tracking and reporting high school packet credits. This memo outlines the new processes and responsibilities—especially for registrars—to ensure compliance and accurate data collection.

Key Points of HB191:

  • Definition of a “Packet”:
    • A packet is a collection of instructional materials and assessments that students complete independently, with little or no direct instruction. Credit is typically earned based on completion of assignments within the packet.
  • Types of Packet Credit:
    • Credit Recovery: Pass/Fail for courses not initially passed or completed; does not impact GPA; used to meet graduation requirements.
  • New Core Codes:
    • New curriculum codes will be created and found in the Course Catalog.

Action Items:

  • Registrars:
    • With the exception of Home & Hospital, Jordan School District does not use packets for original credit.
    • Begin using the new core codes established by Information Systems for all packet credits issued.
      • The new core codes will be found in the Jordan School District Course Catalog.
    • Credit recovery completed via outside vendors (e.g., Northridge, BYU Independent Study, etc.) need to be entered using the 999 entity and the new curriculum codes, not using the transfer curriculum codes.
    • If completing a credit recovery packet through your LEA, credit must be entered with your school entity and the new curriculum course codes.

If you have questions about the implementation or need clarification, please reach out to Stacee Worthen, Counselor Consultant, at (801)567-8309. Thank you for your attention and cooperation as we implement these legislative changes.

Published on

DATE:    
July 31, 2025

TO:     
All School Administrators and District Department Directors/Consultants

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

SUBJECT: 
2025-26 Required Testing Ethics Professional Development Procedures for Education Support Professionals

For the 2025-26 school year, administrators will need to conduct a training on the state’s testing ethics policy for all licensed educators as well as any education support professionals (ESPs) who will assist with district-, state- or federally-mandated testing. 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 “2025-26 Principal’s Testing Ethics Checklist for ESPs” form, which is due to Assessment, Research & Accountability by Friday, September 19, 2025.

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 “2025-26 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:

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

Published on

TO:
All Administrators

FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Human Resources

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, 2025.

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 and the Human Resources dashboard 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).

Published on

TO:
All Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning

The district-wide professional development day is on August 12th, 2025.

All licensed personnel are required to select and attend a keynote speaker in the morning and are required to attend a session on Portrait of a Graduate at their respective school in the afternoon.

Please sign up for a keynote ASAP if you haven’t already. Please remind teachers in back-to-school communications to sign up for a keynote.

Administrators who are NOT hosting at a particular location should be in attendance with teachers. Divide your administrative team accordingly.

To register for a morning keynote:

Please choose a speaker and then register for a keynote speaker using this LINK

Keynote speakers are NOT content specific. The topics and location information for each keynote speaker are included in the registration information.

Afternoon Portrait of a Graduate Presentation:

Attached is the link to the folder with the presentation and facilitator script along with other POG resources. Please review the documents in anticipation of the principal presentation on the afternoon of August 12, 2025. You can adjust your own copy of the slides to fit the needs of your faculty, but please keep the most important messages regarding POG in tact. Please contact Carolyn Gough ext: 88122 for questions about the presentation or resources.

Folder link

Published on

DATE:  
June 26, 2025

TO:    
Principals
Assistant Principals

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

SUBJECT:   
School Safety Specialist List Update/Confirmation

Please review the spreadsheet linked below to confirm and/or update the School Safety Specialist information for your school. Update the information directly on the form. The information needs to be accurate in order for them to receive communications from the district and the state, as well as their stipend payments.

Beginning the 2026-27 school year, the School Safety Specialist role will be filled by an assistant principal. Schools may choose to make that change now or wait until next year. Schools choosing to implement that change for the 2025-26 school year will simply update the form linked below.

All updates or changes need to be entered on or before Tuesday, August 12th 2025. The list will be submitted to the state on August 13, 2025.

2025-2026 School-Based Safety Specialists

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to:

Matt Alvernaz
School Safety Coordinator
Matt.alvernaz@jordandistrict.org
(801)567-8623

Published on

DATE:  
June 26, 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: 
SRP Training – New Administrators and School Safety Specialists

All new administrators or newly appointed school safety specialists are required to attend an SRP/ICS training for the 2025-2026 school year. This training will be offered over ZOOM. Please see the following dates and times available:

  • August 13th, 2025 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
  • August 14th, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
  • August 15th, 2025 from 10:00 PM to 12:00 PM

SIGN UP HERE

ZOOM LINK HERE

Please make every effort to attend one of these trainings.

Published on

DATE:   
June 26, 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: 
AED/SRP/Incident Command Training – Administrators/School Safety Specialists

Automated External Defibrillator (AED) training for every school administrator is being offered for the 2025-2026 school year. This will include annual district Standard Response Protocol (SRP) and Incident Command System (ICS) refresher training. School Safety Specialists are encouraged to attend as well. Please follow the link below to sign up for one of the following four training sessions.

  • September 26th, 2025 from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM at JATC South
  • September 26th, 2025 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM at JATC South
  • October 3rd, 2025 from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM at JATC South
  • October 3rd, 2025 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM at JATC South

SIGN-UP HERE

Please make every effort to attend one of these trainings. For questions or concerns contact the School Safety Coordinator, Matt Alvernaz, at matt.alvernaz@jordandistrict.org or by phone at (801)567-8623.

Published on

DATE:
June 19, 2025

TO:
Principals
Assistant Principals

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

SUBJECT:
Panorama Users by Role

Panorama, the District’s Early Warning System, will not have usable data from July 1-August 11, 2025, during the annual rollover. Nightly data downloads for the 2025-26 school year will resume on or around August 11, 2025. 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:
    1. Have access to all students throughout the school
    2. See all discipline information (number, type, and action of each consequence)
    3. Receive reports about their school and district
    4. 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:
    1. Receive reports about the school
    2. Have access to all students throughout the school
    3. Should NOT be the school principal
    4. Coordinate survey administration and messaging

Using the Panorama Administrators and Survey Coordinators, please update (if needed) the names of the users (first and last name), select the role, and enter the user's district email address. Schools should enter this information prior to August 1, 2025, 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

DATE:
May 21, 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 Schedule

This schedule is designed so that our district will remain in compliance with state regulations.  The design is set up so the district can help prepare and support each of your schools throughout the year to better implement these drills.  This schedule is to be followed throughout the district.

Secondary schools are required to have FOUR (4) evacuations a year.  You may do more if desired.

Elementary schools are required to conduct an evacuation EVERY OTHER MONTH.  These evacuations can follow any drill and DO NOT have to be in conjunction with a fire drill.  Due to this regulation and the mandated fire drill after winter break, an evacuation drill will need to be conducted in both December and January in order to remain in compliance.  This only applies to elementary schools.

Two virtual Drill Preparation trainings will be held back-to-back on the first Wednesday of each month at 3:00 PM and again at 3:30 PM.  The ZOOM LINK will remain the same for each session throughout the year.  School Safety Specialists and Administrators over safety are expected to attend.  Other administrators or interested employees are always welcome to attend as well.

If there are any questions, concerns, or conflicts, please contact the District Safety Coordinator Matt Alvernaz at matt.alvernaz@jordandistrict.org or by phone at (801) 567-8623.

Published on

TO:
High School Administrators
Middle School Administrators

FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Human Resources
Brad Sorensen, Administrator of Schools
Cody Curtis, Administrator of Schools

The Human Resource Department would like to announce the newly established process for administering extra period stipends to educators within the Jordan School District for the 2025-2026 school year. It is imperative that all administrators adhere to this procedure and documentation to ensure compliance and efficient processing.

Process Details:

  1. Pre-Approval Requirement:
    • Before offering any extra period stipends, administrators must obtain pre-approval from their Administrator of Schools. This step is crucial to ensure alignment with district policies and resource allocation.
  2. Completion of Required Documentation:
    • Once pre-approval is obtained, both the educator and the school administrator must complete the attached "Extra Period Stipend Agreement" form.
    • A copy of the signed agreement must be retained at the school location for the entire academic year.
  3. Enrollment Dashboard Update:
    • The approved stipend must be recorded in the Enrollment Dashboard. This ensures transparency and accurate tracking of stipends across the district.
  4. Submission for HR Processing:
    • After the agreement is signed, the school is responsible for submitting the Extra Period Stipend form to Human Resources.
    • This submission will be processed in the Skyward system, ensuring the stipend's inclusion in the educator's monthly payroll.
  5. Monthly Dashboard Reflection:
    • Once the form is processed through HR, the FTE will be reflected on both the Enrollment Dashboard and HR Dashboard each month that the educator receives the additional stipend. 

Important Reminders:

  • The stipend is contingent upon factors such as student enrollment, budget constraints, and scheduling needs, and may be revoked if necessary.
  • All requests for extra-period stipends must be documented and processed according to the guidelines outlined herein.

Please ensure that all relevant personnel are informed of these changes and that the procedures are implemented immediately. Should you have any questions or require further clarification, do not hesitate to contact the HR department.

Attachments:

Thank you for your attention to these important updates and for your continued commitment to supporting our educators.

Published on

DATE:
June 4, 2025

TO:
All administrators

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

SUBJECT:
Summer SafeUT Expectations & CLOSE ALL TIPS

Administrators,

Throughout the summer, SafeUT tips will continue to be sent through the Dashboard to all individuals assigned. Issues and tips received through SafeUT should continue to be addressed throughout the summer (notifications are not urgent unless otherwise specified and can be addressed within normal working hours). After-hours and urgent notifications will follow regular protocol.

As staff members change at each of your schools, it is important to keep our SafeUT Dashboard up to date. We will automatically add any changes for your school’s administrators, counselors, school psychologists, and school-based clinicians to your school’s dashboard starting July 1st. If you have additional updates, changes, or would like to add or remove individuals, you are encouraged to reach out with any requests.

Please email McKinley Withers or Angie Rasmussen for any SafeUT changes or updates outside of the known updates mentioned above. In your email, include the staff member’s name, email address, and title in your email. For any individual who would like text message notifications, please include a cell phone number. Non-administrative individuals may also request to remove text message alerts.

Please keep in mind that it is critical that ALL SafeUT tips are “closed” in a timely manner and your school's SafeUT Dashboard is up to date because:

  • When tips are not closed, it appears that the school did not address or respond to the concern.
  • The data is used for funding decisions.
  • SafeUT uses the feedback to improve how tips are distributed, which impacts our work.

Here are some helpful tools for this process:

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Angie Rasmussen (angie.rasmussen@jordandistrict.org) or McKinley Withers (mckinley.withers@jordandistrict.org).

Published on

DATE:
May 29, 2025

TO:
School Principals and Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Administrators of Schools

SUBJECT:
Principal Year-end Checkout Materials for 2024-25

Attached is the list of items to be completed for principal checkout.

  • Items highlighted in yellow will be reviewed at checkout with your Administrator of Schools.
  • Items highlighted in green require you to bring the requested items to your checkout.

If you have any questions, please contact your Administrator of Schools’ administrative assistant.

Published on

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Amanda Bollinger, Associate Administrator, Teaching & Learning

FALL Mentor Training will be available online through Canvas from August 1 to September 7. Training is provided to new mentors based on an administrator's recommendation. Complete the Google form for each mentor you wish to enroll. We have limited seats; first come, first served. Teachers will be paid a $150 stipend for completing the mentor Canvas training.

The Google form to submit names for mentor training is now open! Please submit your names by Friday, August 22.

Please confirm the following before completing this form:
1) Potential mentor has not already completed training
2) Potential mentor is willing to complete the training

You can access a list of currently trained mentors on your school’s mentor list, shared with you via Google Sheets and your school coaching plan. If you need help accessing your mentor list, please contact your district coaching specialist.

Google Form Link: https://forms.gle/NaUpsFW2SJomBomQ8

Published on

TO:
Administrators

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

Administrators, please share this information with your teachers.

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

Applications for reimbursement are now being accepted for teachers who completed STEM courses after June 1, 2024. The next round of reimbursements applications is due May 28, 2025 for teachers who completed STEM courses in Winter/Spring 2025.

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

Published on

DATE:    
May 22, 2025

TO:  
All Principals and Administrative Assistants

FROM:  
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Human Resources

SUBJECT: 
Summer Hours for School Personnel

Please review the schedule of "Summer Hours for School Personnel", with all designated summer school personnel at your location.

Published on

TO:  
All Administrators

FROM:
Jordan School District Cabinet Members

Please review the important information below regarding the upcoming Administrative Leadership Conference.

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

  • Event: Jordan District Administrative Leadership Conference
  • Time: Breakfast at 7:30 AM, Conference begins at 8:00 AM
  • Location: Fort Herriman Middle School, 14058 S. Mirabella Dr (6200 W), Herriman

Keynote Book Order Information

The keynote address will feature a speaker from the Arbinger Institute, focusing on the book Leadership and Self-Deception. If you would like a copy of this book in your preferred format, please use the attached Google Form to place your order by June 20, 2025.