Skip to content

Urgent Message for Schools

Please remember that it is  illegal to gather citizenship status information per the Office of Civil Rights in both the Department of Education and Department of Justice and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1982 (Plyler vs.Doe - 457 U.S. 202). Please see the attached document from the Utah State Board of Education.

DATE:
August 16, 2017

TO:
District Administration

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

SUBJECT:
1st Day Enrollment vs. the Estimate
Year-round schools, Tracks A, B, C & D
(August 16, 2017 count)


See attached memo.

DATE:
July 1, 2017

TO:    
Principals
Head/Financial Secretaries
Special Education Teachers (Resource and Cluster)
Speech-Language Pathologists

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

SUBJECT:  
Special Education Budget Allocations 2017-18


See attached memo and budget guidelines.

JPLS Reminder:

Administrators, please remind all administrative assistants to not create default accounts for new teachers on JPLS.  New teacher accounts are created on JPLS within a week of HR updating information on Skyward. If you have questions please contact the JES office at (801) 5f67-8239 or (801) 567-8369. Thank you.

In compliance with our Employee Immunization policy (DP377) and State Health Regulation #38 (attached), many schools have arranged for Community Nursing Services (CNS) to come to their schools to provide immunizations for their staff. Attached is a list of dates, locations, and times for employee immunization clinics in our district. You may attend a clinic at a location other than your own.

If you are planning to attend, please bring your insurance card with you. You may want to bring proof of immunizations that you have already received, as well. CNS will enter them into the State website for you. These are not immunization clinics for students. If you have questions, contact Educational Support Services for additional information.

The solar eclipse is an incredible event that many may want to witness. However, because of the dangers involved in viewing it, we have secured guidelines from the National School Nurse Association and from State Risk Management. If you, your classes, or your families plan to view the eclipse, please read and share the information in the two attached documents.

DATE:
August 14, 2017

TO:
Principals
New Special Educators

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

SUBJECT:
Special Education New Teacher Induction Training


The Special Education Department has scheduled a series of trainings for special educators that are new to Jordan School District. Attendance is at the principal’s discretion. Special Education will cover the substitute costs for trainings that occur during the school day (Budget code: 1292). If the training occurs after school, the special educators will be paid at inservice rate.

Please see the attached training schedule for details on dates, locations, and registration information.

For more information, please contact Michelle Chavez at michelle.chavez@jordandistrict.org or 801-567-8295.

DATE:  
July 15, 2017

TO:    
All Principals
Elementary Administrative Assistants
Registrars
Attendance Secretaries

FROM:   
Administrators of Schools
Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Planning and Student Services

SUBJECT:  
Enrollment 2017-18


This memo is a reminder of the issues you may face when enrolling students for the upcoming school year.  This should help when assisting patrons in enrollment.

Kindergarten:  The student must be at least 5 years of age on or before September 1,

2017 to enroll in Kindergarten.  Utah State Law 53A-3-402 which states: (6) Except as provided in Section 53A-1-1001, a board may enroll children in school who are at least five years of age before September 2 of the year in which admission is sought.  Active military children are an exception.

Legal Guardians:  Please make sure the child is enrolling with their Legal Guardian.  Check the birth certificate and Identification to make sure the enrolling adult belongs to the enrolling child.  If they are not their legal guardian, either a Durable Power of Attorney needs to accompany the paperwork or legal guardianship through the courts.

Custodial Parents:  Please make sure you obtain legal documentation (signed by a judge) in divorce situations when necessary.  The Court orders parents’ behavior in their enrollment decisions, not schools.

Foreign Exchange:  Students coming from other countries without a legal guardian need to be referred to the Planning & Student Services Department for enrollment.

Please be consistent in your enrollment process with all students.  Ask questions to determine individual situations, show patience and understanding and contact Planning & Student Services for any issues you may need help in resolving.  We know this is a busy time for you and we are here ready to help with individual situations.

DATE:   
August 3, 2017

TO:  
All Principals

FROM: 
Administrators of Schools
Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Planning and Student Services

SUBJECT:  
FTE and Enrollment Counts


FTE and staffing enrollment counts for the 2017-18 school year will occur on the dates listed below. As a reminder, student enrollment will be taken from Skyward and manual student counts are not needed for this process.

  • 1st Day A, B, C Tracks               Wednesday, July 26, 2017
  • 10th Day A, B, C Tracks               Monday, August 8, 2017
  • 1st Day D Track (A,B,C included)               Wednesday, August 16, 2017
  • 1st Day High School               Tuesday, August 22, 2017
  • 6th Day D Track (A,B,C included),               Wednesday, August 23, 2017
    1st Day Traditional (Elem. & MS)
  • 14th Day Traditional (all schools)               Tuesday, September 12, 2017
    All 10 day/no shows must be entered in by this date.
  • October 2, 2017
  • January 3, 2018

If there have been any changes to your FTE Staffing and Enrollment spreadsheet, please send an updated spreadsheet to Travis Hamblin in Planning and Student Services. Your staffing report and attendance combine to determine your FTE eligibility.

Questions regarding FTE and/or enrollment should be directed to Travis Hamblin or your Administrator of Schools.

Please staff conservatively.

DATE:
August 8, 2017

TO:
All Principals

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

SUBJECT:
Year-round Schools 10th Day Enrollment, Tracks A, B, C vs. the Estimate (based on August 8, 2017 count)


See attached memo.

DATE:
July 26, 2017

TO:
District Administration

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

SUBJECT:
1st Day Enrollment vs. the Estimate
Year-round Schools, Tracks A, B, C
(Based on July 26, 2017 Count)


See attached memo.

The process for SLOs and Stakeholder input have changed slightly this year. Instead of reporting SLOs, stakeholder input, and performance as three different weighted components, SLOs and stakeholder input will be included within the JPAS evaluation.  In an effort to add structure to the process, teachers are asked to complete a form as part of their SLOs. A copy of the form, along with a set of instructions is included. Ideally, planning for SLOs will take place with teams as part of the PLC process. Using PLC time will also provide an opportunity for you to approve the SLOs.

Attached is a PDF of Superintendent Johnson's PowerPoint. If you would like the PowerPoint version please contact Roxane Siggard at 801-567-8180 or roxane.siggard@jordandistrict.org after August 23rd.

DATE:  
Wednesday, August 9, 2017

TO:     
Middle and High School Principals

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

SUBJECT: 
Research Project


The Research Review Committee has reviewed a research project in which your school has been asked to participate.

Project Title:     “Self-Regulation, Threat Perception, and Perceived Parental Support: An fMRI Investigation of Children with ADHD”

Applicant:     Erin Kaseda

The project has been approved by the District Research Review Committee.  The applicant has been directed to contact you to discuss the extent of the project and to obtain your permission to conduct the study at your school.  If you have questions or concerns relating to participation, please contact Ben Jameson at 801-567-8243.

The project will involve the posting of fliers on Peachjar and to hang fliers on the community bulletin board in order to recruit participants for the study.

Thank you for your assistance.

 

Attached are all forms and documents distributed at the annual Administrative Leadership Conference held August 3-4, 2017

DATE:
August 9, 2017

TO:  
Secondary School Principals

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

SUBJECT: 
State Mandated Summative Testing for 9th and 10th-Graders


On August 4, 2017, the Utah State Board of Education voted to reverse their previous decision to use the ACT Aspire as the end-of-year summative test for the 9th and 10th grades. We will now be administering the SAGE to grades 3-10 and 12. 11th graders will continue taking the ACT as their EOY summative test. It is unclear at this time how this decision will effect school accountability reporting, but we expect more information to come at a future date.

The Board cited the following as the reasons for reversing their decision (see attached flier from USBE in JAMs):

  • Board staff discovered in May that ACT Aspire offers the same test for both 9th and 10th grade, changing and limiting the way meaningful growth scores can be calculated. It would be difficult for the same assessment to align substantively to the state-adopted 9th and 10th grade standards.
  • This summer, Board attorneys identified potential legal issues that could come as a result of offering a sole-source contract to ACT. Language in Utah Code 53A-1-611.5 does not meet the strict sole source procurement code required to proceed with an ACT sole source.
  • Independent studies have produced evidence that other tests are equally or more “predictive” of a student’s college readiness. SAGE results in 9th and 10th grade will include student reports with predictive data that includes college readiness (predictive of potential ACT score).

If you have any questions, please contact Ben Jameson at 801-567-8243.