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Category: High School Info

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Spring has arrived, and with it comes a sense of renewal and hope for a brighter future. As we move into the month of May, we have much to look forward to in our schools and within our community. Enjoy our newsletter as you learn about Asian and Pacific Island Heritage Month, gain some teaching tools to assist students in reading in a different language other than their native language, and celebrate our bilingual psychologists with us.

The full newsletter can be found at the link below. Stories include:

Student Monitoring - After students score proficient on their WIDA test, they are monitored for four years. If you have any students in monitoring, you will be asked to complete a monitoring form each quarter for them. This quick check-in allows you to communicate any concerns you might have with students who have exited EL services but who continue to be monitored for four years after their exit date. When you log into ELLevation, you will see a red flag above the "Monitoring" tab on your screen. This tells you how many forms you need to complete, and when you click, it will take you to your unfinished forms. Make sure you complete these before the year ends!

Immersive Reader in Canvas - The Immersive Reader is an add-on in Canvas that students can set up to help them understand your Canvas content. Immersive Reader will do the following:

  • Translate text (show students how to do this--they'll have to adjust each time they open immersive reader) If they click a word, a picture will pop up
  • They can adjust font size, background color, and have it highlight line-by-line reading.
  • It will read text to them, can speed or slow audio, change audio to male/female voice, and has different dialects or accents students can choose.
  • Here are the instructions for students to add it the Immersive Reader button to their Canvas page. It might be helpful to walk them through it by doing it on your own:
  • Go to "Account" on left side of Canvas screen. Click "settings"
  • Scroll down to the list of "Feature Options"
  • Click the red X next to "Microsoft immersive reader," click "enabled," and turn it to a green check.
  • Bonus: Students can also turn on auto-captions for Canvas Media in the "Feature Options" list

Culture Corner - May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, a time to celebrate and recognize the contributions and achievements of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. This month is an opportunity to learn about the rich history, diverse cultures, and significant contributions that AAPI individuals and communities have made throughout our country's history. It's a time to reflect on the challenges faced by AAPI people, including discrimination and racism, and to promote inclusivity, understanding, and respect for all individuals, regardless of their background. As a district community, let's take this month to celebrate the AAPI heritage and continue to work towards a more inclusive and equitable society.

Reflective Questions - As we end the year, think about the following:

  • How can I build a stronger community that encourages and engages ALL students in my classroom?
  • What went well this year? What do I want to improve?
  • How can I use ELLevation in August to help me prepare for the new group of students I will teach?
  • What can I do for me this summer that helps me decompress and relax after my busy teaching year?
  • What can I plan for next year to help me support my and my student's social and emotional health as the year goes on?

Celebrating our Bilingual Psychs this year! - We have 747 ML's in our district who have IEP's. To help with testing, we have two wonderful bilingual psychologists working nonstop to help test our multilingual students throughout the district. Monica Amador and Angie Mar Velez Matias have had their busiest year yet trying to get students tested for special ed services.
They've tested nearly 300 students this year between the two of them. They do new student referrals and re-evals for students from out of district, state, or country. They are a valuable connection between Special Ed and Language and Culture, and we couldn't do it without them!

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DATE: 
Thursday, May 11, 2023

TO:  
All School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:  
State Testing Reminders

The following are friendly reminders from the state’s testing ethics policy:

  • “Utah LEAs and Licensed Utah educators may use a student’s score from a statewide assessment to improve the student’s academic grade for or demonstrate the student’s competency within a relevant course.”
  • “Licensed Utah educators shall ensure that:
    • “Students are not penalized who have been exempted by a parent from a statewide assessment
    • “Students aren’t provided a nonacademic award for participating in or performing well on a statewide assessment
    • “Students are provided an alternate learning activity if they are exempted by a parent from a statewide assessment”

The following additional guidance may help address specific questions that arise from the part of the state’s testing ethics policy quoted above:

  • Using a student’s score from a state assessment can only improve a student’s grade – not hurt it.
  • Educators may not use a student’s score on a state assessment to determine an overall grade for the course. It can be used in conjunction with other evidence to help determine a student’s overall grade.
  • Educators may not assign participation points on students’ grades for taking a state assessment.
  • The alternate learning activity for students whose parents have opted them out of taking the state assessment can be an alternate assessment. That said, using a student’s score on the alternate assessment or activity on a student’s grade can only improve the student’s grade – not hurt it.

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Southpointe Adult High School is also offering a summer session to provide opportunities for seniors unable to graduate with the class of 2023 due to credit deficiencies. Students may complete coursework at Southpointe during June & July (and beyond, if needed) to complete their diploma. Program options include:

1. A 24-credit Southpointe Adult High School Diploma
2. A 27-credit diploma from the JSD high school attended during their senior year

NOTE: To earn the diploma from the JSD high school, all required credits must be completed and diploma awarded within the timeframe allowed by the state of Utah. Southpointe encourages students to complete coursework by the end of the summer session if they are seeking the 27-credit diploma from their high school. Exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis.

* Southpointe will send the transcript to the student’s 2023 JSD high school to have the high school’s approval that credits earned meet their graduation requirements before Southpointe awards the 27-credit diploma.
* Southpointe will award a diploma.
* The student will bring the Southpointe diploma to exchange it for their high school’s diploma.

3. Prepare for and take the GED

Additional information and forms are available in Google Drive. Click HERE

 

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Beginning July 2023, Skylert will have an updated look! From the new interface you can create templates, view the success rate of recent broadcasts, quickly access favorite broadcasts, and create one message to go out via phone, email, and text. Take a sneak peek at the new Skylert!

Skylert: New User Interface

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DATE:  
May 5, 2023

TO:  
All Principals and Directors

FROM:   
June LeMaster, Ph.D., Administrator of Human Resources
Brent Burge, Human Resource Administrator

SUBJECT: 
Education Support Professionals (Non-Exempt) Employee Overtime Reminder

Please see the memo below.

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DATE:  
May 5, 2023

TO:  
High School Principals

FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
June LeMaster, Administrator, Human Resources
Brad Sorensen, Administrator of Schools
Brent Burge, Human Resource Administrator

SUBJECT:  
Additional Summer Pool Hour Request -High Schools

This is a reminder to all HS principals of the additional 100 summer pool hours previously approved. The following guidelines are to be followed to ensure consistency and proper use of the additional pool hours:

  • The HS Principal may choose the School Administrative Assistant-Attendance and/or the School Administrative Clerk to use the additional summer pool hours.
  • There is a maximum of 100 hours that may only be used after the 206 contract ends June 13, 2023 and before the contract begins July 26, 2023. The employee may not exceed 40 hours in any week and any time not used will be forfeited.
  • No other assistant (full or part time) may use these pool hours.
  • These hours must be reported through TrueTime under the heading of “Contract Pool Hours” and will be charged to 10-E-xxx-0050-2483-152.

We hope these additional summer pool hours will help you provide adequate coverage for the students and patrons you serve. Please contact Human Resources if you have any questions.

Cc:
Cabinet
Payroll

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Beginning May 22, 2023, the Custodial Department will be launching a new process to both hire and train sweepers for every school. A comprehensive training on the new process will be held at 8:30 am on May 17, 2023 at the Transportation facility. It is essential that Head Custodians attend this training to become familiar with this new and improved process. Without this training, schools will not be able to hire sweepers until the Head Custodian has completed the training.

Your Support is very much appreciated.

Steven Peart
Director of Custodial/Energy Services

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The administration of the Jordan School District, in consultation with the Board of Education and employee groups, is pleased to begin observance of the official state holiday for the Juneteenth National Freedom Day. This year, Juneteenth National Freedom Day will be observed on Monday, June 19, 2023. District offices and locations will be closed on this day. This change will impact the current year calendar for contracted and hourly employees on 242- and 245-day contracts, as well as CTE Coordinators on 207-day contracts.

Utah Code 63G-1-301(1)(f) outlines the scheduling of Juneteenth in Utah:
(f)(i) The Juneteenth National Freedom Day holiday is on June 19, if that day is a Monday.
(ii) If June 19 is on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, the Juneteenth National Freedom Day holiday is on the immediately preceding Monday.
(iii) If June 19 is on a Saturday or Sunday, the Juneteenth National Freedom Day holiday is on the immediately following Monday.

Updated employee calendars may be accessed at https://planning.jordandistrict.org/calendars/. Employees should direct questions to their immediate supervisors.

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DATE:
Thursday, May 4, 2023

TO:
All School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:
2023 Raw WIDA Access Results Available in WIDA AMS

________________________________________________________________________________

The 2023 WIDA Access raw results are now available in DRC Insight. These reports are based on students who completed WIDA testing in your school this year, but they do not include students who will be enrolled in schools for the 2023-24 school year (i.e., incoming 7th and 10th graders). Many schools need these results as soon as possible so that they can finish building their ESL Study Skills classes into their master schedule. Evaluation, Research & Accountability is working to provide this information, based on your projected enrollment for the 2023-24 school year.

In the meantime, school administrators with accounts (contact JoLynn Snelgrove if you need an account at jolynn.snelgrove@jordandistrict.org) and test coordinators may access 2023 WIDA Access results for students who tested in your school using the following steps:

  1. Login to DRC Insight (WIDA AMS): https://www.drcedirect.com/all/eca-portal-v2-ui/ - /login/WIDA
  2. Click on the My Applications tab on the top left. Then click on Report Delivery under Scoring and Reporting: 
  3. Click on the Test Results tab:
  4. Click on each drop-down menu so that it looks like the screenshot below (make sure your school name appears under the School drop-down menu), then click Download Reports:
  5. Confirm your reports download by clicking on Download Reports again:

The report will download an Excel CSV file. Columns H and I contain the student names. Columns AY-BE contain the language proficiency level.

Validated and cleaned results will be published on Tableau viewer accounts in the next week or two. Printed individual student reports (ISRs) will be delivered to schools when they become available later in May.

Please contact JoLynn Snelgrove or Ben Jameson in Evaluation, Research & Accountability with any questions.

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National School Nurse Day was established to foster a better understanding of the role of school nurses in the educational setting.

Administrators: How do you celebrate National School Nurses Day? Please help our School Nurses know that they are loved and appreciated for all they do for you and our students!

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22,000 students responded to the winter Panorama SEL Survey and reflected on belonging, self-management, social awareness, emotion regulation, and self-efficacy. The attached document highlights the results for the District. You may access your school's results directly in the Panorama dashboard. See the District highlights attached. 

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Effective May 3, 2023, Utah law now prohibits individuals convicted of child abuse or who have pled guilty or no contest to child abuse from submitting an affidavit for home school to an LEA. In order to comply with this update to the law, a revision to the District's home school affidavit has been prepared and is attached. While schools should not process home school affidavits, any school who keeps copies of the affidavit on hand for patrons should discard previous versions.

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"A Better Understanding of Your Native American Students"- An interactive PD opportunity for our teachers and administrators to learn about Native Communities and Cultures, Cultural Appropriation, and insight on teaching sensitive historical topics.

Wednesday, May 10, 2023, from 4:30-6:00 p.m. in the ASB Presentation Room. Please scan the QR code on the flyer to RSVP.

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DATE:
April 27, 2023

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

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

SUBJECT:
Utah’s “Safe at Home” Program & School Enrollment

The State of Utah has created a confidential address program for victims of abuse, domestic violence, human trafficking, stalking, or sexual assault. The program, now called “Safe at Home,” is authorized by Utah Code 77-38. 

Participants in the program are issued a legal substitute address that they may use for any purpose, including receiving mail and school registration, to keep their actual address confidential. The substitute address is the address of a state office building and includes an “apartment number” unique to each participant. It is anticipated that this program will begin in late summer or fall of 2023.

Participants in the program are issued an authorization card that will include their name, substitute address, and contact information for the Safe at Home program. Schools are required under Utah Code 77-38-611 to accept this address and use it for school enrollment. When presented with a card, school staff should call the number of the Safe at Home program on the card. Program staffers will verify for the school that the individual lives within the boundaries of the school but will not release the actual address. School staff should then enter the substitute address as the legal address for the family in Skyward. It will likely be necessary for schools to manually add the “H” permit code to the student’s record to avoid Skyward flagging the student as living outside the school’s boundary. School staff MAY NOT ask or require the program participant to reveal their actual address.

At enrollment, schools may ask if the family lives in the bus eligible areas of the school boundary, when applicable. If the family is bus eligible, the school may assist the family in identifying nearby bus stops, either using a map of current bus stops or by identifying stops by a landmark or other location in the vicinity of the family’s address. 

Schools may not see large numbers of participants in the program, but should prepare all those who process new enrollments to be aware of the program so they can respond appropriately.

Additional information on Safe at Home can be found at https://crimevictim.utah.gov/safe-at-home/

 

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DATE:
April 20, 2023

TO:
All Administrators & Threat Assessment Teams

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
McKinley Withers, Health and Wellness
Angie Rasmussen, Student Safety & Wellness Specialist

SUBJECT:
Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) Level 1 Workshop Opportunity

Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) is a school violence prevention program. Training consists of two (2) levels and both levels must be completed by all administrators and is recommended for school threat assessment team members.

Structure:  The CSTAG Level 1 training consists of six (6) hour web-based training from Navigate360. 

Target Audience: In addition to administrators, this workshop will benefit teachers, mental health clinicians, school psychologists, school resources officers, and counselors, or any school employee who serves on the school’s threat assessment multidisciplinary team.  

Content: CSTAG level 1 can assist in developing an awareness of threat assessments and use of the CSTAG model at your school. Here are specific descriptions of the six modules that will be taught in the training.

Why: This workshop will increase awareness about school violence prevention, provide procedures/methodology for determining threat levels, assist in determining responses to threats, and will give your school trained educators to include on a threat assessment team. 

Registration: If you are interested in having any staff trained in CSTAG Level 1, please direct them to complete this form. Student services will be funding the tuition for each participant as long as they are registered by the end of this school year. Once registered, the participant will receive an email with information about how to access the training. Those who complete level 1 before June 9th can then register for CSTAG Level 2. 

An upcoming session for the level 2 workshop will be offered as an in-person training on June 9, 2023.  Select the link for JPLS to register for a session of CSTAG Level 2 training. The course number is 101883. Section # 117422

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

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As we approach the end of the 2022-23 school year, it is important to make sure your location has reported all drills, actual emergencies, and related planning and debrief meetings for this school year using the Google Form, link: 2022-23 REPORT EMERGENCY - DRILLS, ACTUAL EVENTS, or MEETINGS.  Please include all related details.  

The Board of Education has asked to receive quarterly reports on all drills and actual emergencies throughout the district.  Information submitted using the report form will be used for this purpose. 

For help or questions, contact Facility Operations at Auxiliary Services:
Judy Bird, Administrative Assistant: 801-567-8625, judy.bird@jordandistrict.org
Teresa Lyon, Administrative Assistant: 801-567-8626, teresa.lyon@jordandistrict.org
Jeff Beesley, Risk Management Coordinator: 801-567-8876, jeffrey.beesley@jordandistrict.org
Lance Everill, Emergency Operations Manager: 801-567-8623, lance.everill@jordandistrict.org