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In preparation for upcoming presentations to the Board and making projections for future school years, Planning & Enrollment needs to update records of how rooms are being used at school sites. This is not a formal walkthrough and room-by-room count; this is a verification of how rooms are being used during the current school year. The update will require a brief (10-15 minutes) visit with a principal, assistant principal, or administrative assistant who can answer questions about how rooms are being used. Given the short turnaround time for this project, we will be unable to schedule appointments with schools and ask for your cooperation and time as we make these visits over the next few weeks.

Moving forward, we anticipate a similar verification visit with each school in late summer or early fall each year, with a formal walkthrough and room count occurring every 2-3 years.

If there is a significant conflict in the next few weeks or if you have additional questions or concerns, please reach out to Planning & Enrollment:

• Scott Festin, x88370
• Caleb Olson, x88251

DATE:    
February 8, 2024

TO: 
Principals
Assistant Principals

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

SUBJECT: 
2024 Prevention Funds Available for Your School!


Jordan District is focused on supporting each student’s well-being. As a part of this ongoing effort, there are funds available for each school’s prevention efforts. Please review the following information:

*As a reminder, each school is required to maintain and update prevention plans annually. These funds and upcoming workshops are meant to support each school’s prevention plan.

Positive Behaviors Plan 2023-2024
E-cigarette and Nicotine Prevention Funds 

Prevention Block Grant Funds

  • $2,000 towards the evidence-based social and emotional skill-building curriculum of your choosing for the 2024-25 school year as part of your school’s prevention plan.
  • Instructions and support for accessing these funds will be offered through the upcoming SEL Expo (3/5) and Prevention Planning Workshops throughout March as part of the Prevention Palooza (See Prevention Palooza JAM for details)!
  • Prevention Plans must be updated to include these funds by March 22nd to receive reimbursement. Unspent funds will be redistributed to schools that have submitted plans after that deadline. Again, instructions and support will be provided in the Prevention Planning Workshops throughout March. 

Annual Suicide Prevention Grant Funds

  • $1,000 towards training staff and students on preventing suicide, which can be part of an evidence-based suicide prevention program (Sources of Strength, HopeSquad, etc.)

If you are looking for support in coordinating and streamlining prevention efforts around common goals, attend the 2024 Prevention Palooza in March!

For questions and more information on these available funds and updating or enhancing your school’s prevention plan, contact McKinley Withers, 88245, mckinley.withers@jordandistrict.org

DATE:
February 8, 2024

TO:   
Principals
Assistant Principals

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

SUBJECT:  
2024 Prevention Palooza–Workshops and Support Available!


Jordan District is focused on supporting each student’s well-being. As a part of this ongoing effort there will be several opportunities throughout Spring 2024 to enhance and expand each school’s prevention program during the Prevention Palooza! Save the date for the following events:

Social and Emotional Skill Curriculum Expo
Tuesday, March 5th
JATC South in the Auditorium
Two Sessions: 8:30-11:00, 12:30-3:00
Interested in learning more about what curriculum options are out there that support your school’s social and emotional skill development goals? This upcoming event presents a valuable opportunity to explore several Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum options that may fit your school's needs. The event will feature various vendors who will take the time to answer questions and preview their evidence-based curriculum in an open-table discussion format. Administrators who attend will be able to spend time exploring the curriculum that best fits their needs.

Prevention Planning Workshops
Dates Available: March 6, 11, 14 (pm only), 15, & 18
ASB Presentation Room (entrance C)
Two sessions Each Day (pm session only on the 14th): 8:30-11:00, 12:30-3:00
Choose a workshop time to update and enhance your school’s prevention plan. There will also be targeted support for accessing grant funds that are available for your school’s unique prevention efforts. Substitute costs can be covered so a full team can attend!

More information on times and sign ups to come!

Positions considered Critical Need/Hard to Fill are eligible to begin posting immediately.

Remember to complete the Date Position Available field on your Requisition to assist us in accurately identifying positions available for 2024-2025 school year and support our upcoming recruitment efforts nationwide.

Reminder: For tutorials to assist you with completing requisitions and all things Frontline, there is a link on your Frontline Message Board. If you have any questions, please contact your HR Recruiting Team.

Through the month of FEBRUARY, current JSD licensed teachers and/or educators may view transfer opportunities for the 2024-25 school year. If you are interested in a transfer to another school location in the District for the 2024-25 school year, you must submit a transfer request through the Teacher/Educator Transfer Request located in Skyward Employee Access and/or attend the Teacher/Educator Transfer Fair on Feb. 12, 2024. A Teacher/Educator Transfer Request Report listing all interested licensed teachers and/or educators is emailed to Principals each Monday during the month of February with the names of those teachers/educators who are requesting a transfer to a new location for the 2024-25 school year.

On March 1, current JSD teachers/educators may view openings for the 2024-25 school year at employment.jordandistrict.org and must apply in Frontline. Transfer requests will be accepted through August 1, 2024.

DATE:
February 1, 2024

TO:
Principals and Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Cody Curtis, Middle School Level AOS
Brad Sorensen, High School Level AOS

SUBJECT:
Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences for Secondary Schools


The dates for Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences for secondary schools are Tuesday, February 13, 2024 and Thursday, February 15, 2024, from 4:00 pm until 7:30 pm.

Here is the schedule that the schools will follow:

  • Middle Schools:
    • Tuesday, February 13, 2024 - Virtual
    • Thursday, February 15, 2024 - In Person
  • High Schools:
    • Tuesday, February 13, 2024 - In person
    • Thursday, February 15, 2024 - Virtual

Intermountain AP Summer Institute is the only institute of its kind held in the state of Utah. 2024 marks the 14th year of operation as a College Board endorsed training. APSI offers the highest quality professional development in 18 content areas. Make the most of your AP dollars by speaking with Chris Richards-Khong in the Teaching & Learning Department about how you can help sponsor registration and stipends for AP teachers.

DATE:
February 1, 2024

TO:
Middle School Administrators
High School Administrators

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Stacee Worthen, School Counselor Consultant

SUBJECT:  
2023-24/2024-25 Approved Course Requests


For your information, the attached memo is an updated list of courses approved over the last two academic school years. All courses have been added to the Jordan School District Course Catalog.

DATE:  
February 1, 2024

TO:      
Principals
Assistant Principals

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

SUBJECT:  
Safety Training Opportunity


Webinar: The Role of Principals in School Safety Efforts

The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Safe and Supportive Schools and its Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance (TA) Center will host a webinar on Thursday, February 8, 2024, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.  This webinar will focus on the role that principals play in preventing, protecting the school community from, mitigating, responding to, and recovering from threats and hazards.

The objectives of this 60-minute webinar are to

  • Highlight the importance of establishing a collaborative planning team for school emergency operations plan (EOP) development, as outlined in Step 1 of the Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans.
  • Reinforce how principals can contribute to EOP development and ensure school safety, security, emergency management, and preparedness.
  • Share relevant resources to be used by principals and core planning teams.

Register on Zoom to participate in the Webinar.

Guest Panelists

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida

  • Ty Thompson, former Principal

Ocali Charter High School in Ocala, Florida

  • Elizabeth Brown, Principal

Hudson High School in Hudson, Ohio

  • Michael Sedlak, Unit Principal

Sandy Hook Elementary School

  • Kathy Gombos, Principal

Panel Moderator
Janelle Hughes, Project Director, REMS TA Center

First, the "Discipline Notes" released in previous memos have been consolidated into a single document, available at this link: Discipline Notes

Second, there are four new "Discipline Notes" entries based on items identified in recent discipline review committee meetings. The new entries are:

• "Targeted" Offenses
• Fighting / Mutual Altercation
• Commentary in Log Entries
• Actions in Offense Comments

DATE:     
January 24, 2024

TO:   
All Administrators

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

SUBJECT:   
Wellness Day 2024 Updates


Our District’s third annual Wellness Day is right around the corner! Here are some reminders and updates for school and District leaders:

  • Parents and students have received a Skylert from the District with information about how to access instructional content along with a reminder about the day.
  • A direct email will go out to all employees with information about opportunities available and will include instructions about how and when to sign up for wellness day opportunities.
  • As much as possible, please allow for flexibility for employees to make the most of their wellness day.

Looking to promote wellness day and engage your school community? Use this link for some ideas, posters, and posts you can use: wellness.jordandistrict.org/wellnessiseasy

DATE:  
January 22, 2024

TO:   
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Safety Specialists

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

SUBJECT: 
United States Secret Service Live Virtual Training Event Opportunities


The U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) offers live recurring virtual training events on violence prevention to community safety stakeholders throughout the year. In these trainings, experts and researchers will present findings from NTAC’s research on targeted violence and discuss strategies for preventing acts of violence in our communities. More information about these events and how to register are below.

Enhancing School Safety Using Behavioral Threat Assessment

Description: In this virtual training event, NTAC researchers highlight the key findings and implications from our research on school violence prevention. In this training, you will learn about the background, thinking, and behavior of school attackers and how some schools discovered and stopped plots before violence occurred. This training will provide guidance on how schools may develop or improve existing violence prevention programs utilizing a behavioral threat assessment model.

Intended Audience: School teachers, administrators, counsellors, mental health professionals, school resource officers (SROs), law enforcement officers, and other school safety stakeholders.

Register Here

Preventing Mass Attacks in Our Communities

Description: In this virtual training event, NTAC researchers discuss important findings from our research on mass attacks perpetrated in public and semi-public spaces, including businesses, restaurants, bars, retail outlets, houses of worship, schools, open spaces, and more. This training will provide guidance on how communities may develop or improve existing violence prevention programs utilizing a behavioral threat assessment model.

Intended Audience: Law enforcement, corporate security, mental health professionals, faith-based community leaders, university faculty, threat assessment team members, and other community safety stakeholders.

Register Here

DATE:    
January 22, 2024

TO:  
School Psychologists & School Psychology Interns

FROM:  
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Fulvia Franco, Program Specialist – Guidance

SUBJECT:  
February School Psychologists & School Psychology Interns Meeting


A meeting for school psychologists and school psychology interns has been scheduled for Friday, February 2, 2024, from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Julien Smith, Ph.D., Wasatch Pediatric Neuropsychology, Inc., will provide us with a presentation on psychological assessment with neurodiverse populations.

Part-time Staff: I would appreciate it if you could adjust your schedules in order to attend this meeting.

cc:
Principals