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Category: High School Info

Published on

DATE:   
Thursday, July 25, 2024

TO:  
High School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:  
ACT Changes and Enhancements

ACT recently announced changes to the ACT test for both national testing as well as the state-mandated 11th grade administration. The official announcement from ACT may be accessed in its entirety here. Following is a summary of the announced changes:

New National ACT Testing Options

The following ACT test enhancements for national testing will be rolled out starting the spring of 2025:

  • The ACT test enhancements are designed to offer more flexibility and choice for states, districts, and students.
  • The test sections of English, math, and reading will remain as the core sections of the ACT test that will result in a college-reportable composite score.
    • Science will be removed from the ACT test. However, students will have the option to take the ACT, the ACT + Science, the ACT + Writing, or the ACT + Science and Writing.
    • Students can choose to take the science and/or writing section, but they will not be included in the ACT composite score. If the science test is taken, it will be used to calculate a STEM score.
  • The test length will be reduced by up to one-third using shorter reading passages on the English and reading sections and fewer question items in all sections (44 fewer questions in all).
    • The new core test (without science) will take about two hours to complete.

State-mandated 11th Grade Administration

The ACT test enhancements for the 11th grade administration will be rolled out beginning in the spring of 2026 (no changes for the 2024-25 11th grade administration of the ACT):

  • The core ACT test sections of English, math, reading, and science will remain.
  • The test length will be reduced by using shorter passages in English and fewer question items in three of the four sections (44 fewer questions in all).
  • The science section will have the same number of items (40), but more time to complete them (45 minutes).
  • New science content has been added that will relate to the three-dimensional standards, thus helping it align better with the Utah SEED standards.
  • Utah will continue testing science on the 11th grade administration until the end of its contract with ACT in 2027.

For questions about these changes, please contact Ben Jameson in Assessment, Research & Accountability.

Published on

DATE:      
Thursday, July 25, 2024

TO: 
Elementary School Administrators
Middle School Administrators
High School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:     
Fall 2024 Testing Bulletin

Check out your level specific testing bulletin.

 

Published on

DATE: 
Thursday, July 25, 2024

TO:  
Middle and High School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:  
2023-24 AP Results Updated in Tableau

The AP Analysis Dashboard has been updated with 2023-24 AP exam data in Tableau. School administrators may access both district and school dashboards here.

School administrators will be able to view participation rates, pass rates, and a distribution of scores by school, discipline, and assessment from 2014 to 2024. In addition, the dashboard also contains scores by AP teacher and student.

Please contact Ben Jameson in Assessment, Research & Accountability with any questions about the AP Analysis Dashboard.

Published on

DATE:   
July 26, 2024

TO:
Secondary Principals
Secondary Media Specialists

FROM:  
Administrators of Schools
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning Department
Norman Emerson, Instructional Support Services Consultant

SUBJECT:
Networking Meetings for Secondary Library Media Specialists

To prepare and train secondary library media specialists (teacher-librarians) to effectively provide services to their schools and to build consistency across the District’s library programs, networking meetings have been scheduled for the 2024-25 school year. The participation of your school’s teacher-librarians in these meetings is appreciated.

The meetings will be held on the following dates:

  • September 11, 2024 (Riverton High) 8:00-11:00 a.m.
  • October 30, 2024 (Viridian Center) 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
  • November 13, 2024 (South Jordan Middle) 8:00-11:00 a.m.
  • January 8, 2025 (Copper Mountain Middle) 8:00-11:00 a.m
  • February 5, 2025 (Oquirrh Hills Middle) 8:00-11:00 a.m
  • March 2025 (UELMA Conference, Date TBD)
  • April 16, 2025 (South Hills Middle) 8:00-11:00 a.m
  • May 14, 2025 (ASB Auditorium) 8:00-11:00 a.m

Please share this information with your school’s teacher-librarian.

Please contact Norman Emerson (801-567-8364) if further information is needed. Thank you for your continued support of the library media programs in Jordan District.

Published on

DATE:    
July 18, 2024

TO:  
Administrators
Administrative Assistants

FROM: 
June LeMaster, Administrator, Human Resources
Brent Burge, Human Resource Administrator, ESP

SUBJECT: 
Labor Day Annual-Personal Leave before-after Critical Day

If you are a contracted employee and need to take Annual/Personal Leave on a Critical Day before/after Labor Day for any reason not listed in policy DP335NEG or DP335B, you must submit a request as follows:  

How to Request
During the window, the employee must send the request through email. Please include your name, school, position, and the date you are requesting the leave. Requests left on voicemail or over the phone will NOT be accepted.

 The employee will receive an email confirmation within two working days after submitting the request. If the employee does not receive a confirmation email, then Human Resources has NOT received your request and your leave will not be approved.

School Holiday Date of Holiday Critical Days* Window
Labor Day Sept. 2, 2024 Aug. 30 and Sept. 3, 2024 July 20 – July 30, 2024

*Critical Days are the first student attendance days before or after a school holiday. If a non-student attendance day falls before or after a school holiday, the Critical Day is the day before or after that non-student attendance day when students are in attendance.

Published on

TO:
Administrators
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
June LeMaster, Administrator Human Resources
Rebecca Eastman, HR Generalist

A friendly reminder for the Employee-Funded Sick Bank Policy,

Employees are automatically enrolled in the sick bank each year through the annual donation of one (1) annual leave day to the sick bank. More information regarding the Employee-Funded Sick Bank can be found in policies, DP326NEG -Sick Leave-Educational Support Professionals and DP 324NEG -Sick Leave-Licensed.

For those who wish to opt out of participation in the Employee-Funded Sick Bank, keep an eye out for instructions starting in the July issues of JEM and JAM.

*First-year Educational Support Professionals and hourly employees are not eligible for sick bank, therefore, a sick bank day will not be deducted (if applicable).

Published on

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, 2024.

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 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).

Note: The Crucial Concerns and Policies review was significantly reduced for the 2024-25 contract year. See the table below.

2024-2025 Estimated Time Required
Administrator Lic. Time Required 2 HR 41 Min 16 Sec
Licensed Time Required 2 HR 37 Min 16 Sec
ESP Time Required 2 HR 4 Min 14 sec
Sub/Misc Time Required 1 HR 42 Min 48 sec

Published on

DATE:
July 18, 2024

TO:
School Administrators
Elementary Administrative Assistants
Secondary Attendance Secretaries
Secondary Registrars

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

SUBJECT:
Guidance on “Proof of Residency” Requirements

Inconsistencies districtwide in how parents/guardians have been asked to supply “proof of residency” documentation has led to difficulties in enrolling students and an unpredictable enrollment experience at different schools and levels. 

Effective immediately, all schools in Jordan School District will require TWO (2) proof of residency documents at the time of enrollment: One or two documents from Column A of the table below and no more than one document from Column B (the model document listing from the Utah State Board of Education has been used as a basis for this table):

 

Column A (1 or 2 documents)
 Column B (No more than 1 document)
  • Property deed. The deed must be for a primary residential property, not for investment or commercial property.
  • Mortgage statement from the most recent billing period.
  • Lease and payment record from the most recent billing period.
  • Government photo ID with current address.
  • Notarized Affidavit of Occupancy or Rental
  • Other documentation, as approved by Planning & Enrollment or School Administration
  • Pay stub
  • Bank or credit card statement
  • Utility bill
  • Vehicle registration
  • Voter registration
  • documentation
  • Church or religious records, including a notarized affidavit from a local congregation leader affirming that the parent resides within boundaries.
  • Other documentation, as approved by Planning & Enrollment or School Administration

If there are concerns with the provided documentation, a third document may be requested at the direction of school administration; however, requiring three documents should NOT be standard practice. Updated documentation can and should be requested when a parent/guardian submits a change of address request or when school administrators believe the family’s residency status has changed.

If the parent/guardian declares during enrollment that the family is homeless and qualifies for services under McKinney-Vento, the declaration covers BOTH residency document requirements. No further documentation can or should be requested from the parent or guardian and the student should be enrolled immediately. After enrollment, if there are concerns about eligibility for McKinney-Vento services, the school may coordinate with the district McKinney-Vento liaison for further assistance. 

An “explainer document” (in English and Spanish) to show to parents is attached to this memo. Additional information can be found in the Planning & Enrollment Manual at https://planning.jordandistrict.org/manual/enrollment/#ResProof 

Published on

TO:
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Mike Heaps, Director of Information Systems
Jeri Gamble, Customer Support in Information Systems

21 Fund Summary Budgetary Data Mining Report: If you run the 21 Fund Summary report during July, the balances will not be correct until after Accounting has rolled June balances over to 2023-24 later this month.

Cash Receipts and Journal Entries: Make sure you are selecting 2024-25 when you add cash receipts and journal entries. You will continue to see the option for 2023-24 until October, which is when we will close out the 2023-24 year. Please review your cash receipts and journal entries that are in batch or WIP status. If any cash receipts are in 2023-24, then please edit them and change the year to 2024-25. The fiscal year cannot be changed on journal entries, so you’ll need to delete the 2023-24 journal entries that are in batch, submitted or WIP status and re-enter them.

Published on

The following are new administrative assignments:

New Assignments effective July 1, 2024:

  • Raimee Jensen, assistant principal at West Jordan Middle appointed principal at West Jordan Middle.
  • Ethan Walsh, administrative intern at Sunset Ridge Middle and West Jordan Middle appointed assistant principal at West Jordan Middle.

Published on

DATE:        
June 26, 2024

TO:
All Principals, Directors and Supervisors

FROM:    
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Sarah Palmer, Director of Payroll

SUBJECT:  
DP375 – Vacation Schedule for Administrative Personnel

Clarification of administrator vacation days carryover:

  • Administrators receive 20 frontloaded vacation days on July 1st of each year. These frontloaded days are earned throughout that current year.
  • Administrators may carryover up to 20 earned vacation days from the previous year. Any earned days over 20 not used by December 31st of each year will be forfeited.

Therefore, as of December 31, 2024, any unused vacation days above 40 days will be forfeited. These 40 days consist of the 20 days that will be frontloaded on July 1, 2024 for the 2024-25 year, as well as up to 20 unused earned days that are allowed to be carried over from the previous 2023-24 year.

Published on

DATE:
June 27, 2024

TO:   
Principals
Administrative Assistants

FROM:   
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent

SUBJECT:  
Fee Waiver Materials 2024-25

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 February 2024. 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:
Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning

Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, Teaching & Learning will no longer have AV equipment for check-out. Schools may wish to purchase these items for a small fee to use at your own school. Please review the link to see the materials available (microphones, mic mixers, speakers, etc).

LINK to view materials

 

Published on

DATE:      
Thursday, June 27, 2024

TO:   
All Administrators

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

SUBJECT:   
2023-24 Assessment Results Now in Tableau

All state assessment results for the 2023-24 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:

AAPPL for DLI

Acadience Math

Acadience Reading

ACT 11th grade administration

6th grade CogAT

Growth Measure

RISE (growth scores will be available in the fall)

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 15th). 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 20, 2024

TO:  
Principals and Administrative Assistants

FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator

SUBJECT:
Classroom Supplies Appropriation - Payments and Reports

The State Legislature approved HB105 recently, which changed Classroom Supply funding qualifications and amounts for the 2024-25 school year. As previously explained in JAM, only Classroom Teachers will receive legislative supply funds, however the District will provide School Counselors with $175 “legislative funds” for one more year (2024-25). After this year, School Counselors will not receive these funds.

Please note that Legislative Funds (for teacher supplies and materials) have increased this year as follows:

  • Full-time Pre-Kindergarten through 6th grade teachers will receive $500
  • Full-time 7th through 12th grade teachers will receive $250
  • School Counselors will receive $175 for this school year only
  • These amounts will be adjusted, based on FTE percentage, for teachers who work part-time

In late September, ACH deposits will be completed to the licensed employees that qualify for legislative supply funds. At that time, schools will also receive a disbursement and FTE report with instructions and helpful information about legislative supply money.

If you have questions, please contact my administrative assistant, Lisa LeStarge, at 801-567-8120 or via email: lisa.lestarge@jordandistrict.org.

 

 

 

jl/ll