Skip to content

DATE:    
May 2, 2018

TO:   
School Principals and Administrative Assistants

FROM:  
Administrators of Schools

SUBJECT:  
Principal Year-End Check Out Materials for 2017-2018


Attached is the list of all forms and items to be completed for principal check out.

  • Items highlighted in purple will be reviewed at check out with your Administrator of Schools.
  • Items highlighted in green require you to bring the requested items to your checkout.
  • Forms provided by the District for principal check out are included with this JAM and will no longer be on a separate website.
  • You should turn in one completed copy of each form and keep a copy on file in your school for easy reference as you prepare the check out for the next school year.

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

MA/nt

DATE:  
April 26, 2018

TO:
Jordan District Principals

FROM: 
Administrators of Schools

SUBJECT: 
Time Schedule for the Last Day of School


The Transportation Department has made every effort to accommodate dismissal times for the last day of school. Please review attached memo carefully for your dismissal time, and convey that information to your students and parents. Once again, we extend our appreciation to the administration and employees who work in the Transportation Department for assisting in the transportation adjustment required to accommodate these changes.

Public Law:  R277. Education, Administration   R277-419-2.Definitions   R277. Public Accounting

“School day” means a minimum of two hours per day per session in Kindergarten; and a minimum of four hours per day in grades one through twelve. All school day calculations shall exclude lunch periods and pass-time between classes.

MA/nt

Attachments

DATE:   
April 4, 2018

TO: 
Principals
Administrative Assistants

FROM:  
Administrator of Schools
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Planning and Student Services

SUBJECT:   
Permanent Records – Transfer Processes and Procedures


Year-End Permanent Record Transfers:
Permanent records for students leaving the school (either a boundary change or 6th and 9th grade advancement) need to be delivered in person to the appropriate school by the sending schools staff. Records need to be delivered on or before:

Traditional Schools:   June 8, 2018

Year-Round schools:  July 6, 2018

The receiving school will need to check the student list against each permanent record to assure all permanent records were received. Each bundle must be accompanied by two (2) alphabetized lists which includes the name of the sending school and receiving school. Computer lists or PDM’s may be used. Dead files should be provided to receiving schools separately in their own box.

General Permanent Record Transfer Procedures (District policy AS61):

  • A parent release is not required when transferring student records from one school to another.
  • Any school receiving a written request to forward a copy of a transferring student’s record to the new school shall comply within 30 days of the request, and within 10 days of the request for a military child’s records, unless the record has been flagged as a “Missing child,” in which case the copy may not be forwarded and the requested school shall notify the police department.
  • Transfer the ORIGINAL records for students in grades K through 8.
  • A CERTIFIED COPY of the cumulative/permanent record along with the original health record (Utah School Immunization Record) of students in grades 9 through 12 shall be transferred to requesting schools outside of Jordan School District. The ORIGINAL RECORDS and a copy of the health record of students in grades 9 through 12 shall be archived at the Jordan District high school.
  • Maintain a record of the date the record transfer request was received and the date and school where the record was sent.

DATE:   
April 4, 2018

TO:  
Principals
High School Registrars

FROM:   
Administrator of Schools
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Planning & Student Services

SUBJECT:  
Transfer of K-8 Student Files for Retention at the State Records Center and for Permanent Archives


Please see memo below.

Principals: Please forward the attached flyer to teachers who may be interested in this opportunity.

Brigham Young University School Leadership Program
Aspiring Principals Academy
Learn the Principles of being a Principal

Apply by June 15, 2018 at: education.byu.edu/edlf/aspiring_principals.html

DATE: 
March 19, 2018

TO:   
Applicable School Principals and Administrative Assistants (Financial and Membership)
All Administrators of Schools and Administrative Assistants
Travis Hamblin, Planning and Student Services
Michael Heaps, Support Services Manager

FROM:  
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Daniel Ellis, Director of Accounting, Budgets and Audits
Jason Mott, Accountant/Internal Auditor

SUBJECT:
External Audit Visits


Please see attached memo.

 

 

DATE: 
Thursday, March 22, 2018

TO:    
All Principals

FROM:  
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:
USBE Guiding Document for R277-404 SAGE Opt-in Changes


Principals are asked to communicate the following information as well as provide the USBE Guiding Document that accompanies this memo to their teachers.

On January 4, 2018, the State Board of Education amended R277-404 to read: “In accordance with Subsection 53G-15-1403(1)(a), an LEA shall reasonably accommodate a parent’s or guardian’s request to allow a student’s demonstration of proficiency on a state required assessment to fulfill a requirement in a course.”  This opened a 30-day public comment period, which closed on March 12, 2018.  This amendment has since become official and USBE has provided a guiding document to assist schools and teachers as they implement this change in Board Rule.

The guiding document is comprised of two sections.  The first section discusses the various components of Board Rule and Utah Code that play into the Board’s decision to ratify this change.  This section is meant for LEA and school administrators.  Specifically, because of provisions in Utah Code 53G-6-803 that allow parents to have the “right to reasonable academic accommodations from the student’s LEA” including an accommodation that “shall allow a student to earn course credit towards high school graduation without completing a course in school by testing out of the course; or demonstrating competency in course standards.”  It was the consideration of this statute in particular that led the USBE to pass the amendment to R277-404.

The second section is meant for teachers to use as an example of how they might word this amendment in an addendum to their disclosure for this year and their disclosure statement for next year.  Essentially, teachers can choose the course requirement in which they will accept a student’s proficiency rating of a 3 or 4 on the SAGE as a substitute.  Please note that a 3 or 4 on the SAGE for that content area would mean that the student received 100% of the value of the selected course requirement.  If a student does not score a 3 or higher, the score from the course requirement will be used.  Teachers must have a parent’s signature opting their student into this procedure.  Teachers also need to provide a copy of the signed form for the student’s CUM file just like we do for an opt-out form.

As teachers implement this change, the other rules surrounding the administration of state-mandated tests apply.

Teachers may NOT:

  • Use statewide assessments to reward or punish a student.
  • Allow a statewide assessment to have a negative impact on the student’s academic grade.
  • Penalize a student who has been opted out of the statewide assessment.
  • Independent of the parent or guardian, use the demonstrated proficiency of a student on a statewide assessment to fulfill a requirement in a course.

Teachers are not required to implement this amendment to Board Rule; however, they are required to reasonably accommodate a parent’s request to allow demonstrated proficiency on a statewide assessment to fulfill a course requirement.  If teachers do not articulate up front what the reasonable accommodation is for their course, they will need to determine what is reasonable on a case-by-case basis at the request of parents.

Please contact Ben Jameson in the Evaluation, Research & Accountability department with any questions.

The Great Utah ShakeOut Earthquake Drill

On April 19, 2018, hundreds of thousands of Utahns will “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” in the Great Utah ShakeOut Earthquake Drill.

All schools are encouraged to participate in this drill, or to conduct an earthquake drill sometime in the month of April. Please take this opportunity to incorporate emergency preparedness in classroom lessons and teach proper ways to protect oneself during an earthquake.  The drill will help us to be prepared for a catastrophic disaster in our area.

We encourage all schools to register at www.ShakeOut.org/Utah. After you register your school, please click on the “Resources” tab; where you will find a Shakeout Drill Manual for K-12 schools. This manual will provide you great information for your school’s exercise.

Please review the Jordan School District Incident Command procedures for the Earthquake Action Plan and Standard Operating Guidelines.

Please plan and prepare to take part in this statewide earthquake response exercise.

It is time for schools to begin accepting applications from GRADUATING SENIORS who are interested in the Utah Seal of Biliteracy. Students should download the application here:  http://worldlanguages.jordandistrict.org/secondary, attach evidence of English proficiency (ACT English score of 18 or higher or 5 on WIDA) and foreign language proficiency (generally AAPPL) and turn all into school counselors. Counselors have been instructed on how to proceed and should send names of students who qualify to Pam Su'a by May 7. Please refer any questions on the Seal to Pam at x88320.

DATE:  
March 12, 2018

TO: 
Building Administrators

FROM:   
Scott Thomas, Administrator
Paul Bergera, Staff Assistant
Lance Everill, Facility Operations Coordinator
Ron Boshard, Risk Management Coordinator

SUBJECT: 
Great Utah Shake Out


On April 19, 2018, hundreds of thousands of Utahan’s will “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” in the Great Utah Shake Out.

All schools are encouraged to participate in this drill or hold an earthquake drill in the month of April. Please take this opportunity to incorporate emergency preparedness in classroom lessons and teach proper ways to protect yourself during an earthquake.  The drill will help us to be prepared for a catastrophe disaster in our area.

We encourage all schools to register at www.ShakeOut.org/Utah. After you register your school, please click on the “Resources” tab; here you will find a Shakeout Drill Manual for K-12 schools. This 17 page manual will provide you great information for your schools exercise.

Please review Incident Command procedures relevant to earthquake drills.

Please plan and prepare to take part in this statewide earthquake response exercise.

DATE:  
Thursday, March 8, 2018

TO:  
All Principals

FROM: 
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT: 
Extension of UEPC School Climate Survey Window


Because of the delayed start and other issues we experienced during the beginning of the UEPC School Climate Survey, the window has been extended to Friday, March 23, 2018. Principals are encouraged to remind parents and faculty members again about the survey and to ensure that all students second grade and up have the opportunity to take the survey.

Also, as a reminder, here are the links for you to track respondent participation in the student, parent and faculty/staff surveys:

Parent Survey:  https://co1.qualtrics.com/reports/public/dWVwYy01YTdkZjIyNzhhM2M0MjAwMGQ0NDg0M2ItVVJfOU5zdmU3OTRNTDVCWVFB

Student Survey: https://co1.qualtrics.com/reports/public/dWVwYy01YTdkZmE1Y2U2ODY5MTAwMTgyMDM4NjktVVJfOU5zdmU3OTRNTDVCWVFB

Faculty Survey: https://co1.qualtrics.com/reports/public/dWVwYy01YTdkZmI4NWM3NzZhNDAwMTQ0NzY3MzEtVVJfOU5zdmU3OTRNTDVCWVFB

February 18, 2018

Dear Chemistry Teachers,

We want to let you know about an exciting new professional development opportunity available for chemistry teachers with at least five years of experience. The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Brigham Young University has secured funding to host a Research Experience for Teachers summer program. Our inaugural summer program begins on June 4th, 2018 and runs for ten weeks through August 10th, 2018. We understand that some flexibility may be required due to your academic year schedules.

If you are selected to participate, you will be paired with a faculty mentor who will help you engage in an original research project in chemistry or biochemistry. Along with the Research Experience for Undergraduate participants, you will visit several industrial sites to learn about the careers available to Utah students after graduation. You will also have time set aside to translate your research experience into classroom activities to take back to your school during the academic year, and to interface with our BYU Chem and BioChem Camps for youth ages 9-14.

The program is fully supported, so you will receive a $6,000 stipend, along with an allowance for housing and travel. If desired, you may earn graduate credit through the BYU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. It will also be possible for you to present the results of your research and/or the classroom experiments that you design at a regional or national meeting such as the American Chemical Society or National Science Teachers Association annual meetings.

More information about the program, descriptions of possible research projects, and the online application are available at our website: https://reu.chem.byu.edu. The application deadline is March 15, 2018. We welcome your inquiries and look forward to working with you this summer!

Sincerely,

Rebecca Sansom                     Daniel Ess
rsansom@chem.byu.edu       dhe@chem.byu.edu
(801) 422-9089                       (801) 422-9164
RET Program Director           REU Program Director

DATE:     
February 13, 2018

TO:  
Middle School Principals
High School Principals
Special Educators
Speech Language Pathologists
School Psychologists

FROM:  
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curric./ Staff Development & Special Programs
Lisa Robinson, Director of Special Education
Julie Brown, Program Specialist

SUBJECT: 
Post-High Transition Training


Post-High Transition Training will be provided for all secondary special educators, Speech Language Pathologists, and School Psychologists. The training will focus on ways to make the process more student- centered as well as highlight the changes to the Utah State Special Education Rules, and provides as much clarification as possible on the diploma options. This half-day training will be conducted by combining high school feeders. In order to give school teams the opportunity to participate in a group while still providing for student learning, the training has been set up so that each school will send half of their staff in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. Please plan for the full day substitute teachers to switch between morning and afternoon groups. We recognize that Speech Language Pathologists (SLP) may work in multiple buildings and may not be available to attend the training on the assigned day of the secondary feeder. If the SLP works in 2 secondary schools, the SLP should attend with their home base school. If the SLP splits between elementary and secondary, and is scheduled at an elementary the day of the secondary training, the SLP can attend with another feeder. Staff that are not available for trainings with their feeders on March 6th or 7th should attend the March 8th training, as this is a single feeder system. School Team Leaders, please send a list of morning and afternoon participants to the Teacher Specialist assigned to your school by March 1st. Special Education will cover the substitute costs for training (Budget code: 1292). For more information, please contact Julie Brown at julie.brown@jordandistrict.org or 801-567-8200.

BHS and WJHS Feeder: March 6th at WJHS in the Tech Atrium
Morning session:         7:30 a.m. -11:00 a.m.
Afternoon session:      11:30 a.m. -3:00 p.m.

HHS and RHS Feeder:  March 7th at RHS in the Tech Atrium
Morning session:         7:30 a.m. -11:00 a.m.
Afternoon session:      11:30 a.m. -3:00 p.m.

CHHS Feeder and Make-Up:  March 8th at WHMS in the Media Center
Morning session:         7:30 a.m. -11:00 a.m.
Afternoon session:      11:30 a.m. -3:00 p.m.

WJHS:      8136 S. 2700 W. West Jordan
RHS:       12476 S. Silverwolf Way (2700 W.) Riverton
WHMS:    8270 S Grizzly Way (5400 W.) West Jordan

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

Jordan Parent University
Legislative Forum
Thursday, February 8, 2018
7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Elk Ridge Middle - 3659 W 9800 S, South Jordan

 

DATE:       
January 10, 2018

TO:  
Principals
Resource Team Leaders

FROM: 
Laura Finlinson, Admin. of Curriculum/Staff Development & Special Programs
Lisa Robinson, Director of Special Education

SUBJECT:  
Projected Caseload Process for 2018-19 Resource Allocations


Based on Administrative recommendations, the hiring window has been moved up to meet the increasing demands caused by teacher shortages, particularly in specific job categories. The Staffing 2.0 allocations are scheduled to be released by mid-February. To address this advanced timeline, the Special Education Department will be making resource staffing allocations differently than in the past. This method should make the workload on special education teachers and team leaders much easier. Please read through this information carefully because it is a new process. If you have any questions, please contact your assigned teacher specialist.

Caseload Information

  • No mid-year SCRAM report will be required. Please continue to send in SCRAM changes as they occur throughout the year. You will still be completing an End-of-Year SCRAM report.
  • Your December 1 SCRAM report will be used as the baseline for next year’s caseload estimate.
  • A 3-year average of incoming students to your school has been calculated to provide an estimate of incoming students in the youngest grade at your school. This number was added to your December 1 SCRAM numbers.
  • The number of students leaving your school in the exiting grade has been calculated. This number was subtracted from your December 1 SCRAM numbers.
  • Finally, we’ve maintained a trend line (for some schools since the 2002-03 SY) that shows estimated caseload versus actual caseloads on Oct. 1 and Dec. 1 SCRAM. We will use this trend line to make adjustments to estimates as needed.
  • All allocations will be conservative and may be re-evaluated at the end of this school year or after the Oct. 1 2018 count has been finalized.

Timeline

  • Initial allocations of certified special education FTE will be provided to the Human Resources Department in time for your 2.0 FTE Allocation.
  • Each Principal will receive a letter outlining their estimated caseload numbers for 2018-19 and the projected resource FTE allocation for 2018-19.
  • We will only be sending the allocation letter to each school’s principal.

Requests for Resource Instructional Assistants

In April, we will send a packet of information to each Resource and Support Class team to request instructional assistants for 2018-19. This will include a regular resource assistant allocation and the information needed to request Critical Needs Instructional Assistants. This timeline should allow your teams to have a better idea of which students with additional staffing needs will be attending your school for 2018-19.

DATE:
January 18, 2018

TO:
Principals
Special Education Staff

FROM: 
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum/Staff Development & Special Programs
Lisa Robinson, Director of Special Education
Julie Brown, Program Specialist-Special Education
Courtney Titus, Program Specialist-Special Education

SUBJECT: 
Extended School Year (ESY) Qualification Procedures and Timelines


Please see attached memo for guidelines.

School nurses work hard behind the scenes to ensure the health and safety of the students in our schools. Do you love your school nurse? If you recognize the critical role your school nurse plays in your school, please complete the attached application (to the extent that you are able). Send it and at least two of the required letters to Nancy Ward in Educational Support. The other requirements will be completed for you. Many thanks!