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Category: High School Info

Published on

TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Steffany Ellsworth, Assistant Director - Support Services, Information Systems

ParentSquare Pointers - End of Year Archive

📁 All ParentSquare posts for the 2025-26 school year will be archived on June 30th.

Why do we archive?
●Let’s start the 2026-27 school year with a clean slate.
●To avoid clutter and make it easier for parents to navigate through posts.

📁 What will be archived?
●All posts and any photos included in posts.
●Media and documents uploaded to the Photos, Videos, Files section.
●Posts sent to Groups.

What will NOT be archived?
●Post sent on or after June 30th.
●Scheduled posts set to go out after June 30th.
●Posts tied to events happening after June 30th.
●Groups and group members.●Direct Messages.

📦 Access to Archived Posts
●You will still be able to access archived posts through the Advanced Search.

Should you have any questions or need assistance accessing archived posts, contact the Information Systems help desk at (801) 567-8737, or ext. 88737.

Published on

DATE:  
June 18, 2026

TO:  
High School Principals

FROM:   
C. Brad Sorensen, Administrator of Schools

SUBJECT: 
Athletic Classes Taught During School Day

As you are finalizing your teaching schedule boards for the next school year, there is a need to know which of the athletic classes (up to ten) you will be offering to be taught at your school during the school day.  As per an agreement made with the Board of Education, if a coach/advisor coaches their respective activity during the school day, they do not qualify for the Extended Differential allotment.

Paraprofessional coaches/advisors teaching classes during the day will be paid a monthly stipend amount (previously paid an hourly rate by clocking in on True Time) based on the Teacher Salary Schedule Level 1 $63,900. One period taught is equivalent to .125 of your allocated FTE totaling $7,987.50 per period/per year or $3,993.75 per period/per semester.

Published on

DATE:
June 11, 2026

TO:
Principals Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent

SUBJECT:
Fee Waiver Materials 2026-27

Schools need to collect and maintain the following, which may be requested as part of the school fees monitoring visits:

  • Students given waivers
  • Students denied fee waivers
  • Students who worked in lieu of a waiver

All USBE School Fees Notices and School Fee Waiver Applications can be found by clicking HERE.

Forms can be found under Grades K-6 and Grades 7-12 in multiple languages. The Fee Waiver Application, for both elementary and secondary was revised April 2026. Use the current form when having parents fill out the application.

Attention: Students who previously showed verification of eligibility do not need to resubmit documentation. It may be necessary for the principal (or designee) to contact the previous school of transferring students for verification of fee waiver status. Kindergarten students coming into the school, new students to the District, and students with extenuating circumstances will still be required to submit documentation.

Published on

TO:
Principals
Assistant Principals
Other Administrators

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

As announced in a previous JAM, a discipline training for new administrators and administrative interns will be held on July 28, 2026, at the ASB Presentation Room from 8 AM to noon. Approximately 30 seats are available for current administrators who would like a discipline refresher.

See the previous JAM for details on the training.

Sign up for the training here.

Published on

DATE:
Thursday, June 18, 2026

TO:
All Administrators

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

SUBJECT:
2025-26 Assessment Results Now in Tableau

All state assessment results for the 2025-26 school year are now available in Tableau.  Viewers will be able to see results for the district, schools and individual students.  Where relevant, viewers may also see results by classroom teachers (except with the ACT, Utah Aspire Plus, and the WIDA Access, which are not connected to classroom teachers).  The links below will help administrators navigate directly to the updated results for each assessment:

STAMP for DLI

Acadience Math

Acadience Reading

ACT 11th grade administration

6th grade CogAT

RISE (growth scores will be available in the fall)

Star Reading

Utah Aspire Plus (growth scores will be available in the fall)

WIDA Access (growth targets will be available in the fall)

AP exam results will be available in Tableau by the end of July (pending a release date from the College Board of July 10th).  The state will release DLM results for students with significant cognitive disabilities sometime in the fall.

For questions about these dashboards, please contact Ben Jameson in Assessment, Research & Accountability.  To request additional data or to see these results in another way, please contact the district’s data scientist, Brooke Anderson, in Assessment, Research & Accountability.

Published on

DATE:
June 8, 2026

TO:
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Safety Specialists

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

SUBJECT:
2026-27 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 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.

Three virtual drill preparation trainings will be held back-to-back on the first Wednesday of each month at 2:40, 3:10 PM, and again at 3:30 PM.  The ZOOM LINK will remain the same for each session throughout the year.  School Safety Specialists are expected to attend.  Other administrators or interested employees are always welcome as well.

MONTH DRILL TYPE NOTES
August Fire First 10 days of school
September Secure
October Lockdown Evacuation required for elementary schools
November Shelter
December Hold Evacuation required for elementary schools
January Fire First 10 days of school after winter break
February Secure
March Lockdown Evacuation required for elementary schools
April Earthquake Great Shakeout. Evacuation is optional
May Drill of Choice Choose whichever drill is appropriate for your school

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:
All Administrators
All Office Staff

From:
Steffany Ellsworth, Manager - Information Systems
David Bowman, Assistant Director of Systems and Security

This is a reminder of a previous JAM sent on March 26th regarding a system downtime on the Juneteenth holiday.

Information Systems wants you to be aware of upcoming essential maintenance that will affect the availability of the internet and core systems during the upcoming observed holiday on Monday, June 15th.

The following major systems will be inaccessible on this day:

Skyward Finance & Student Systems
Phone Systems Including Voicemail
Internet Connectivity
Department and School Websites

Thank you for your understanding and patience.

Published on

TO:
All Administrators and All Financial Administrative Assistants

FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Dan Ellis, Director of Accounting
Bonnie Brennan, Director of Insurance Services

For fiscal year 2027 the insurance composite rate will be increasing to $17,652 annually or $1,471 per month. This rate represents the District’s portion of medical and life insurance premiums for an individual employee. Please ensure you are using this amount when forecasting personnel budget costs for next year.

Additionally, for fiscal year 2027 the industrial insurance rate will be increasing to 0.2%.

If you have questions or need assistance, please call Dan Ellis at (801) 567-8389.

Thank you.

Published on

TO:
All Administrators

FROM:
David Bowman Assistant Director of Systems and Security

The district-wide student YouTube block will be put in place, discontinuing direct student access to YouTube from their Chromebooks beginning August 18, 2026. This change applies only to student accounts.

As announced in the November Principal Meeting, principals continue to have the option to block students from accessing YouTube sooner. If you would like to have YouTube disabled before August 18th, please contact David Bowman in Information Systems.

Teachers will continue to have access to YouTube and may use instructional video content with students through MyVideoSpot. MyVideoSpot allows teachers to import videos from YouTube and other sources, create custom video links, remove advertisements, and select specific start and end points for classroom use. These videos can then be easily shared with students through Canvas, Nearpod, Google Slides, and other instructional tools.

Training and support resources are available through Digital Teaching and Learning.

To access additional training information, please see the JAM below:

https://jam.jordandistrict.org/2025/11/20/myvideospot-for-student-youtube-access/

Published on

DATE:
June 4, 2026 

TO:
All Principals and Administrative Assistants 

FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Human Resources  

SUBJECT:
Summer Hours for School Personnel

The District Administration appreciates and values the relationships you have established  with the patrons in your communities and we believe it is critical that school personnel remain  accessible to the public throughout the year. We also understand that elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools may be without or with fewer students during the months of  June, July, and August. 

Please review the schedule of Summer Hours for School Personnel below, with all  designated summer school personnel at your location. Extended school office/business hours are acceptable; however, other adjusted schedules are NOT acceptable because they limit public access to school personnel. 

If the principal is the only staff member in the building, please place a sign on the door with a telephone number to reach someone inside the building who can unlock the door. If no one is in the building on a particular day, please inform your Administrator of Schools and post a sign on the door indicating the next time the office will be open. 

Elementary Schools
Administrative Assistant 10-month Contract
Principal/Asst. Principal 12-month Contract
Office Hours 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., weekdays (except holidays),  June and August 

Middle Schools
Administrative Assistant 12-month Contract (Funding for vacation/office coverage is allotted)
Principal/Asst. Principal 12-month Contract
Office Hours 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., weekdays, except holidays,  June, July, and August 

High Schools
Administrative Assistant, Registrar – 12 month Contracts  (Funding for vacation/office coverage is allotted)
Attendance, Clerk & Counseling Assistants – 10 month Contracts
Principal/Asst. Principal 12-month Contract
Office Hours 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., weekdays, except holidays,  June, July, and August 

Thank you for your assistance with this important matter.

Published on

DATE:
June 4, 2026

TO:
School Principals
Directors

FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
April Gaydosh, Administrator, Human Resources
Brent Burge, Associate Director, Human Resources

SUBJECT:
Shift Differential Update

As part of JESPA negotiations for the 2026-2027 contract year, the shift differential was increased effective July 1, 2026 as follows:

Swing Shift – The employee’s shift must begin between 12:00 p.m. (noon) and 10:00 p.m.  The employee must work a full eight hours. The additional rate of pay is $0.65 per hour.

Graveyard Shift – The employee’s shift must begin between 10:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m.  The employee must work a full eight hours.  The additional rate of pay is $1.30 per hour. 

Only ESP, benefit-eligible employees are eligible for shift differential.  Please follow the current process to submit for shift differential pay. 

 

Published on

DATE: 
June 4, 2026

TO:
All School Administrators 

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
McKinley Withers, Health and Wellness

SUBJECT:
FREE Mental Health Education for Parents and Caregivers

Jordan District has partnered with the Cook Center for Human Connection to provide ongoing mental health education for parents and caregivers. This collaboration offers FREE access to live, virtual educational sessions covering various topics. Included are the resources for ALL summer months. Please share the following resources with your school community: 

  • Mental Health Series
    • June Mental Health Series: Sessions are offered in both English and Spanish. 
    • July Mental Health Series: Sessions are offered in both English and Spanish. 
    • August Mental Health Series: Sessions are offered in both English and Spanish. 
    • Previously recorded seminars can be accessed through a comprehensive library of sessions and resources for each topic. You can access the library of recorded sessions at any time by visiting this site: https://parentguidance.org/mhsindex. 
  • Included in the mental health series is a "Watch Together Series" for families. While the Mental Health Series is designed for parents, these “Watch Together” events are for the whole family, especially teens and young adults.
    • June Event: Conversations About Consent - Are You Listening?
      • Wednesday, June 17th at 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm MST  REGISTER NOW
    • No July Event
    • August Event: Body Positivity - Kaia & Vince
      • Wednesday, August 12th at 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm MST  REGISTER NOW

Please share the attached flyers/resources with your school communities. Should you have any questions please reach out to Angie Rasmussen at angie.rasmussen@jordandistrict.org.

Published on

DATE:
June 4, 2026

TO:
All School Administrators 

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
McKinley Withers, Health and Wellness

SUBJECT:
Bark Summer Content Monitoring

During the summer months, from June 5th until August 10th, Bark content monitoring and notifications will have some temporary changes.

  • Notifications to schools will only include administration and not counseling or mental health professionals. This allows for 12-month employees to still receive notifications and not those who are off contract. In case there are administrators that are out of the office, the notifications will go to the entire team of administrators at each school. 
  • Notifications that are not considered emergencies or urgent will not be sent after 2pm to ensure that intervention is reasonable and timely for school personnel.
  • Content monitoring will be checked twice per week, in June, while school is not in session, and once per week, in July.  Notifications will be sent to administrators on those days before 2pm. 
  • We will continue to receive imminent alerts and will continue to work with administrators when immediate intervention is required.

Should you have any questions please reach out to Angie Rasmussen at angie.rasmussen@jordandistrict.org.

Published on

TO:
Principals

FROM:
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Brian King, Assistant Director of Special Education
Mike Trimmell, Special Education Administrator

Jordan School District Special Education Summer Conference 2026

The Special Education Summer Conference for the 2026-27 school year will be held on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, at West Jordan Middle School. Check-in begins at 7:30 am and the conference begins at 8:00 am. Attendees will receive a $200 stipend, and lunch will be provided. Administrators are also welcome to attend. There will be sessions specifically for Administrators throughout the day.

All Certified/Licensed Special Education staff and school administrators are invited to attend. Please register through PD Catalog by July 31st.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your teacher specialist.

Published on

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Director of Teaching and Learning
Jared Covili, Consultant Digital Teaching and Learning

Please join USBE and Google for Education for a series of webinars to help K12 and higher education leaders explore how to deploy AI in safe, effective, and practical ways. These sessions are free and open to all Utah education leaders.

Week of July 13th
AI on Campus - A Practical Guide to Integrity, Policy, and Career Readiness

Week of July 20th
Gemini for Your Campus: A Technical Guide to Deployment and Security

Week of July 27th
The Google AI-Powered Researcher: From Grant Proposal to Final Draft
Inclusive by Design: Using Google AI to Enhance Accessibility and UDL

Week of August 3rd
Gemini for Your Campus: A Technical Guide to Deployment and Security

Week of August 10th
Meet a Google Engineer: Q & A

More information including invites and links to be sent two weeks ahead of the first session. Register in the form at the following link: AI in Education: Leadership Training Series Registration.

Published on

TO:
Administrators
ELD Leads
Staff

FROM:
Mike Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Michelle Love-Day, Director and Language Teacher Specialists

Language and Culture Services wants to make sure you have all of the information at hand to share with your families on WIDA data. In accordance with Title III compliance, we want to ensure the steps are followed to send home the score reports and notification letters. In the document here, you will find those steps along with guidance on compliance and comparing growth data. We also know that many of you will be celebrating the success with your students that have reached proficiency in WIDA. We have added a final tab to have some language that you can use so that everyone, including the ML learner, knows the importance of this test. We would love to attend any of those celebrations, so please let your language teacher specialist and director know. Thank you for all of your hard work this year and being a superhero for our super amazing multilingual students!

Document link here

Published on

TO:
High School Principals
High School Registrars

FROM:
Steffany Ellsworth, Support Services Manager

Information Systems will be populating the Graduation date and Grad/Dipl status to GR on Friday, May 29, for all active seniors who don’t already have a code. The graduation date for every senior who has not withdrawn will be June 4, 2026, even if graduation is being held another day.

If you have any senior who is not receiving a regular diploma, you can start entering their graduation status and date at any time. It is not necessary to wait for this utility to be run, as the utility will not override any existing graduation status or date. Should you choose to wait until after we run the utility to update students not receiving a GR, we will notify you when it has been completed. For those students, you will need to remove the graduation status and date from their profile screen and make sure the drop down next to Graduated is set to “No”.

Every senior needs to have a grad status and here are the possibilities:

GQ – Regular Diploma with Math Competency
GP – Students who have not met graduation requirements at the end of the school year, but plan to complete graduation requirements by October 1, 2026, including adult diplomas.
DO – Students who have not met graduation requirements at the end of the school year and do not intend to do so.
GA – Special Ed students who completed the graduation requirements for an alternate diploma, as reported to you by the Special Ed department.
RT – Special Ed students who will be attending South Valley or Kauri Sue, as reported to you by the Special Ed department.
GC – Students who have already earned the Carnegie unit diploma.
GG – Students who have earned their GED.

If the student has completed the math requirements to receive a diploma with math competency, you will need to change the code to GQ.

As soon as a student that has been identified as GP has completed the graduation requirements, the code will need to be changed to GR or GQ as appropriate, and the graduation date will be the date the student has completed coursework. The GP status should also be used for students that are still enrolled at the end of the school year and intend to receive an adult diploma.

For students who previously withdrew intending to receive an adult diploma: If they earn the Carnegie unit diploma enter a Grad/Dipl Status of GC. If they earn their GED enter a code of GG. For these students you should leave the Graduated field set to “No” but enter the date they earned the diploma.

For Special Ed students, if the student has completed the requirements to receive an alternate diploma the code is GA. Do not mark students as GA without being instructed by Special Ed that the student has completed the necessary requirements. If the Special Ed student is a retained senior going to South Valley or Kauri Sue, the code to use is RT. Please note, it is possible for a special ed student to earn the alternate diploma and still enroll in South Valley or Kauri Sue for next year. These students should receive the GA code not the RT code. Again, do not mark students as GA without being instructed by Special Ed whether they are continuing next year or not.

We are aware that many of your Foreign Exchange students will be leaving the country before the transcripts are posted and uploaded to Parchment. I have spoken to Parchment and foreign exchange students can order their transcripts through Parchment after they have been posted. Transcripts will be posted to Parchment by June 17.

Please contact the IS Helpdesk at 801-567-8737 if you have any questions.