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Category: High School Action Required

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DATE: 
Thursday, December 19, 2019

TO:  
All Principals

FROM:  
Shelley Nordick, Ph.D., Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT: 
Preparation for 2020 WIDA Access for ELLs Testing

January 6, 2020 marks the opening of the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs test administration window.  Testing will conclude on March 6, 2020. This test will be administered to every EL student with a Language Proficiency Level (LPL) of 4 or less. With the exception of a small group of pilot schools who will administer the WIDA ACCESS themselves, four teams of testers from the Evaluation, Research & Accountability Department will administer the test in each school. See complete memo below. Also attached with this memo is a test schedule that outlines the WIDA ACCESS test dates for each school.

Published on

DATE: 
Thursday, December 12, 2019

TO:   
All Principals

FROM:   
Shelley Nordick, Ph.D, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:    
Tableau Viewer Account Set Up for Assistant Principals

The Evaluation, Research & Accountability Department is excited to announce that Tableau Viewer accounts have been made available for assistant principals.

Assistant principals will receive an email from Tableau Online prompting them to join. Please see the attached step-by-step instructions to set up the account. Once the set up process has been completed, I will be able to push out the variety of data dashboards available for your school.

As a reminder, school administrators may not share Tableau login information with school personnel outside of the school administration. Please contact Ben Jameson with any questions at 801-567-8243 or ben.jameson@jordandistrict.org.

Once your account is set up, you can access the Tableau login page by clicking here:
https://sso.online.tableau.com/public/idp/SSO

Published on

The Salt Lake County Health Department has seen a recent increase in norovirus activity and is asking schools to be proactive in their approach to prevention and their response to cases of illness.

The most effective approach is four-pronged:

Hand Washing: Remind staff and students to engage in frequent, thorough, hand washing.

  • Wash hands regularly
  • Washing with soap and warm water, and physically scrub for at least 20 seconds.
  • Hand sanitizers are not an adequate replacement for proper hand washing with soap and warm water. Use in addition to hand washing.

Cleaning & Disinfecting: Standard cleaning and use of effective disinfecting practices are sufficient to remove or kill viruses.

Protect Yourself: “If it’s wet and it’s not yours, don’t touch it!” When cleaning areas soiled by vomit or diarrhea, custodial staff should wear protective equipment and follow universal precautions.

Stay Home: When Ill: Keep ill students and staff home from work and school for the duration of their illness.

Attached is a PDF file you may use to encourage proper protection against the spread of illness.

Published on

DATE:   
Thursday, December 12, 2019

TO:   
All Principals

FROM:  
Shelley Nordick, Ph.D., Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT: 
USBE Teacher Engagement Survey

The Utah State Board of Education is requesting that we disseminate the following teacher engagement survey to all classroom teachers.  This is NOT the same as the district’s stakeholder school climate survey scheduled to be released on February 10, 2020. Principals should send the attached letter entitled JSD Educator Engagement Email Template for Survey Distribution to all classroom teachers in their school. This document invites teachers to participate in an 8-minute anonymous teacher engagement survey that they can access using the link in the document.

The survey window is already open and will close on December 31, 2019. Please refer any questions about the survey administration to Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research & Accountability.

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Administrators: The first notification date is coming up. Please share with appropriate employees in your building.

Employees resigning/retiring at the end of the current contract year that gives official early notification of resignation/retirement will be eligible for a tiered incentive. To qualify, the notification must be submitted online on or before the following dates:

  • December 15, 2019     $500.00
  • January 15, 2020     $300.00
  • February 15, 2020     $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 resignation/retirement notification form is found in Skyward Employee Access under Task Processes. 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.

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Social Emotional Learning Accelerator - date changed to March 6th. Please visit wellness.jordandistrict.org/sel  to sign up to present or attend. Please forward to those at your school who you would like to attend.

See attached flyer.

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JSD Administrators:

McKinley Withers, our District’s Health and Wellness Specialist, is conducting a research study through the University of Utah on teacher wellness. (See approval form in this week's JAM)

If you would like your school to be considered as a study site for this research please contact McKinley Withers at mckinley.withers@jordandistrict.org, or 801-567-8245. Also, if you have any questions about the purpose, commitment, or privacy related to this study prior to participation, please contact McKinley with your questions or concerns after reading the study summary below.

Study Summary

The purpose of this study is to uncover what school leaders have been doing well as well as what school leaders could do to improve teacher’s workplace wellness, which is defined by their overall subjective wellbeing (teachers’ self-perceptions of healthy and successful functioning at work), teaching efficacy (appraising one’s teaching behaviors as effectively meeting environmental demands), and school connectedness (feeling supported by and relating well to others at school). With an understanding of teacher’s perceptions of what has had a positive impact on their workplace wellness, school leaders will be better equipped to provide meaningful interventions and creative approaches to improve a teacher’s sense of efficacy, connectedness, and overall well-being. The questions guiding this research are:

  • What are teacher’s perceptions of ways that school leaders have fostered a sense of wellbeing, efficacy, and connectedness for them in the workplace?
  • What strategies have been used, and could be used, by school leaders to support teacher wellness through improved teaching efficacy and school connectedness?

Your participation in any part of this study is voluntary. There are three types of participation for those who choose to participate at each school. Individual or identifiable information will not be published or publicly available.

  • All teachers in selected schools will be invited to take the Teacher Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire (TSWQ), a copy of this survey and additional information on its questions and development can be found at tyrenshaw.org. Data from schoolwide survey data will be aggregated for each school. This data will not be individualized or published with your school’s name. Data will be used for research purposes only, will be stored on secure Jordan District servers, and your school’s results will not be published.
  • An invitation to individual teachers at your school, who have 7 years of experience or more, will be sent following the invitation to take the TSWQ. Those that agree to participate will volunteer between two and four hours for focus group participation. The purpose of these focus groups are to understand teacher’s perceptions of what has contributed to their feelings of workplace wellness (as defined above). Names of focus group participants will be changed and will not be published or publicly available.
  • School principals will be invited to participate in individual interviews to discuss strategies and leadership perspectives on what promotes improved teacher wellness. This interview could take up to one hour. Individual principal’s names will be changed and will not be published or publicly available.

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If a school is sending a device home with students, it is important to remember that state law (53G-7-216) and federal law (CIPA) prohibit schools from allowing a device to go home with a student that does not have a Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) compliant filter installed on it. This includes, but is not limited to, hotspots and chrome books. I-Pads and laptop computers are not allowed to go home at this time as the District continues looking for a filtering solution for those devices. If you are looking at sending a hotspot home with a student, KAJEET is one option which has satisfied District tests. If your school has allowed students to take home devices, please ensure that every one of them, including hotspots, has an installed CIPA compliant filter.

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Principals:  Please post in your school and send the attached flyer to each School Community Council member, all parents are invited to attend.

Jordan Parent University
Who Do You Call When...Issues Arise?
Thursday, November 21, 2019
7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Mountain Creek Middle | 5325 W. Bingham Rim Road | South Jordan

Free and open to the public!

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Parent & Teen Talk - Let's Connect!

Parent seminar to discuss parent-teen connection, the effects of social media on the brain, and supporting LGBTQ youth @ West Jordan Middle School, open to all parents and community members in Jordan.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019
6:00 p.m.
West Jordan Middle School

See flyer below for more details. Please post flyer in your school and share with appropriate people in your school and community.

 

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POWERSCHOOL PERMIT TRAINING

Date: 
November 14th

Time:  
9am-11am or 1pm-3pm
Choose one session to attend
Registration is not required

     AND

Date:
November 19th

Time:
10am-12pm
Registration is not required

Who:  
School personnel who currently or may potentially work with school choice permits

Where:
Jordan District Auxiliary Services Building Auditorium
7800 South Redwood Road
Park on the North end of the building, Enter through the 1st Auditorium door.
You will need to use your card access ID badge to gain entrance into the building.

Any person that will be working with permits will need to have a password. IF they do not ALREADY have one - please let Donna Kolva (801.567.8259) or donna.kolva@jordandistrict.org) know and she can initiate that process.

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Head Custodian Picture day will be held during our November 20th workshop. We would like every Head Custodian to have a professional picture taken for our display board at the ASB. Please make arrangements for them to attend this “mandatory” Custodial Workshop. It would be great if they could wear a school logo shirt and look the part to represent your school. Our November Custodial Workshop will be held November 20th starting starting at 8:30 a.m. and should conclude no later than 10:00 a.m.  Thank you for your support.

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Cabinet members will be interviewing all administrators currently employed by Jordan School District who wish to be considered for an elementary or middle school principal position between now and October 2020. Similar interviews will be held each fall for anyone who has not interviewed previously. This year's interviews will be held on Monday, November 18, and Wednesday, November 20.

Any administrator interested in being interviewed this year should email Angela Montague at angela.montague@jordandistrict.org by Monday, October 21st at 5:00 p.m. Please indicate whether you would like to be considered for an elementary principal position, a middle school principal position, or both. This process is not designed to select principals for newly-constructed schools or any school in particular. No application or documentation is required.

Any questions should be directed to a Cabinet member. We look forward to getting to know you better.

Published on

TO:                                                                                            
All Principals

FROM:                                                                                        
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Superintendent of Schools

DATE: 
October 10, 2019

SUBJECT: 
Licensed Employee Advisory Committee for the Board

The Board of Education is forming an advisory committee made up of licensed employees from every school in the District.  The purpose of this committee is to advise the Board regarding issues that affect licensed employees (salaries, grants, leave, etc.).  Representatives will meet four times during the year (November, January, April, and July) and will be compensated at their hourly rate for participation.

Elementary and special schools, Valley High School and Academies will send one representative; middle schools two; and high schools three.  Help us in selecting the assigned number of representatives from your school by using the following process.  Please adhere to these procedures exactly as outlined.

Nomination

Elementary and special schools, Valley High School and Academies will need a minimum of two nominees; middle schools a minimum of three; and high schools a minimum of four.  Additional nominees are at your discretion.

  1. Invite licensed employees to nominate, by secret ballot, the name of the licensed employee they would like to represent your school. Administrators are not eligible to serve on this committee.
  2. Ask those nominated if they would be willing to serve. Serving as a committee member is not mandatory. If a licensed employee is unwilling or unable to serve, ask the next highest vote receiver, until you have the desired number of nominees.

Voting

  1. Prepare a secret ballot for each licensed employee (including administrators) with the names of the nominees. The Board would prefer this be done by secret ballot to ensure that no employee feels pressure to vote for a particular nominee.
  2. All licensed employees at elementary and special schools, Valley High School and Academies should be encouraged to vote for one nominee; middle school licensed employees two; and high school licensed employees three.
  3. Tally the results.
  4. For elementary and special schools, Valley High School and Academies, the top vote receiver is the representative and the next highest will serve as an alternate.
  5. For middle schools, the top two vote receivers are the representatives and the next highest will serve as an alternate.
  6. For high schools, the top three vote receivers are the representatives and the next highest will serve as an alternate.

Please inform the representatives, the alternate, your faculty, and me of the results. Representatives will be contacted with meeting dates, times and location.  The first meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 13th from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Thank you for your help with this matter.  We are confident that this advisory committee will have a positive impact on the lives of our educators.

 

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National School Bus Safety Week is October 21-25. Since that is Fall Recess for all of our traditional schools, we would like to observe School Bus Safety Week October 14-18. The following resources are available to your students:

High Schools:
  • https://highwaysafety.utah.gov/pedestrian-and-bicycle-safety/school-bus-safety/ - This link provides critical bus safety information for students currently in Drivers Education or for students who are already driving
  • Encourage your students to participate in the National School Bus Safety Poster Contest.  The theme is "My School Bus, The Safest Form of Student Transportation!"  See attachment for details.

Published on

Welcome to a new school year!

Here are a few helpful hints and reminders regarding SUBSTITUTES:

 

SHORT TERM SUBSITUTES (fewer than 10 consecutive days)

http://workatjordan.org/files/Substitutes-improving-coverage-2019.pdf

 

LONG TERM SUBSTITUTES (more than 10 consecutive days)

  • A new law requires that long term (LT) substitutes must have a current Utah teaching license, or the school must demonstrate their efforts to secure a licensed substitute for each position.
  • LT licensed substitutes qualify to teach any subject despite their endorsements or teaching level.
  • The administrative assistant has the ability to run a list of licensed substitute for the teacher.
  • Administrative Assistants, not the teacher are to enter the LT substitute position in Frontline and assign the LT substitute.
  • The teacher must contact Jane Olsen, HR Generalist well in advance of the LT leave to obtain approval for a LT absence.
  • The teacher must enter their absence in Skyward.
  • Maternity leave is not entered in Frontline until the baby is delivered.
  • Full time teachers may have the substitute job shadow one full day and a half day for half time teachers. This time is also entered by the administrative assistant.