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DATE:
December 2, 2024

TO:
All Principals

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

SUBJECT:
Professional Development Opportunities for January and February


Attached is a listing of all the professional development opportunities for Special Education Licensed Staff for January and February. A link to sign up for each training will be sent to all Special Education Licensed Staff Members.

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Jared Covili, Consultant in Teaching & Learning


Check out the links below for the latest updates from Teaching & Learning for December. Learn Tips and Tricks, Sign Up for Upcoming PD, and Learn about Important Updates from the T & L team.

TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Steffany Ellsworth, Support Services Manager, Information Systems


In anticipation of next year's enrollment planning and scheduling, Information Systems will be turning on pre-transfers the afternoon of December 16th. You will be able to start running reports and see your next year's students at that time.

Below are a few reminders about pre-transfers:

  • A pre-transfer is an active student who is currently attending Jordan School District and will be attending next year at a different school within Jordan School District. The student's record will pre-transfer to the student's next year boundary school based on their current address.
  • Once pre-transfers are turned on, the School Path tab shows the current year permits under Previous Reason Code and next year permits under Reason Code.
  • Current permits for 6th and 9th grade students will be removed for next year as of December 16th. This will allow these students to pre-transfer to their new entity for next year.
  • In addition to turning on pre-transfers, the course master will be rolled over for next year's scheduling preparation.

Please contact the help desk (ext. 88737) with any questions or concerns regarding the pre-transfer process.

DATE:  
Thursday, December 5, 2024

TO:  
High School Administrators

FROM:   
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Assessment, 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: A World Language Survey

Applicant: Kimberly Chen-Pace, Brigham Young University

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. Participation in the study is at your discretion. If you have questions or concerns relating to participation, please contact Ben Jameson at 801-567-8243.

The researcher would like to distribute a brief survey to students to better understand the motivations behind enrollment in world language classes. The survey will be administered to world language students by their high school world language teachers.

Thank you for your assistance.

DATE:  
December 3, 2024

TO:  
Principals and Assistant Principals

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Michelle Reyes, Attendance/Prevention Specialist, Student Services

SUBJECT:   
Attendance Awareness Winter Recess Resources


Keeping Attendance Top of Mind: Sense of Belonging is Vital

Sense of belonging is feeling valued, accepted, and included in a group or community, where you feel connected, you matter, and feel you are part of something bigger (the feeling of “fitting in”). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs lists belonging and being valued as one of the five key things every human needs to survive. Adults can enlist small and simple actions, such as greeting students at the door with a smile, to help students in your community feel a stronger sense of belonging. Belonging has been linked to greater student well being and stronger academic achievement. This intentional investment of attention on the adult’s part can have meaningful impacts for the academics and attendance of students. Find key points on how you can help students’ sense of belonging here.

Raising Awareness-Quick Links and Ideas

  • Short Motivational Video-Share a short motivational video on morning announcements starring the sports legend-Magic Johnson about the importance of Attendance.
  • Social Media/Website/Newsletter Posts-Consistently share the importance of attendance with all stakeholders. Ready-made social media post in English and Spanish.
  • Holiday Letter-Improve attendance around the winter recess by sending a letter to families encouraging good attendance. This letter template can be used in English and Spanish.
  • Communicate Dates for the Break-Make sure families know the dates school will be out for the break and when it resumes. Use the prepared resources below to post on parent square, social media, in school and teacher newsletters, on your school website, and to advertise around your school.

Attendance Awareness Resource-Winter Recess:
English-
Winter Recess Reminder

Facebook Post

Instagram Post

Spanish-
Winter Recess Reminder

Facebook Post

Instagram Post

Questions? Contact Michelle Reyes at michelle.reyes@jordandistrict.org or 801-567-8205.

Whedon, S. (2024, March 18). Why students need to feel a sense of belonging and how to create it. Panorama Education. https://www.panoramaed.com/blog/student-sense-of-belonging

TO:
Principals
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Dan Ellis, Director of Accounting
Natalie Grange, Accounting Administrator


Please submit all school allocation budget transfer forms to Natalie.Grange@jordandistrict.org, no later than January 31, 2025.

Budget transfers for this school year cannot be made after January 31. The budget transfer form is attached.

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Amanda Bollinger, Associate Administrator, Teaching & Learning
Jared Covili, Consultant in Teaching & Learning
Amy Kinder, K-12 Math Consultant, Teaching & Learning


Administrators, please share this information with your teachers.

Many of your teachers are pursuing a STEM endorsement (see our EIP website for a full list of endorsements). USBE WILL REIMBURSE THEM FOR THEIR COLLEGE CLASSES! This is called the STEM Endorsement Incentive Program (EIP) and it has been funded again for the 2024-25 school year. See the attached flyer and link to our EIP website for more information.

Applications for reimbursement are now being accepted for teachers who completed STEM courses after June 1, 2024. The next round of reimbursements applications is due December 17, 2024 for teachers who completed STEM courses in Summer/Fall 2024.

If you have any questions, please reach out to the content consultant. We would love to talk to you!

TO:  
Administrators
Administrative Assistants

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


If you are a contracted employee and need to take Annual/Personal Leave on a Critical Day before or after the MLK recess 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.

Licensed employees submit their request to licensedpersonalleave@jordandistrict.org

Education Support Professionals submit their request to classifiedpersonalleave@jordandistrict.org

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
Martin Luther King

 Licensed & ESP

January 20, 2025 Jan. 17 and 22, 2025 Dec. 7 – Dec. 17, 2024

Licensed Annual/Personal Leave Taken on a Critical Day 2024-2025

ESP Annual/Personal Leave Taken on a Critical Day 2024-2025

DATE:  
November 26, 2024

TO: 
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Counselors

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

SUBJECT:  
December School Counselor Training & Professional Development


The December school counselor’s training and professional development opportunities can be found on the document below. Please ensure that your school’s counselor(s) are able to attend their respective meetings. Please contact Stacee Worthen if there are any questions.

DATE:   
November 26, 2024

TO: 
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Safety Specialists

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

SUBJECT: 
Monthly Drill Preparation (HOLD)


Our monthly drill preparation will be held on December 4th at 3:00 PM with a second session at 3:30 PM. This month we will be covering HOLD. Each School Safety Specialist is expected to attend along with administrators assigned to oversee school safety. All other administrations are welcomed to attend as well. The meeting is also opened to any staff who may be interested.

After each monthly training all school staff should be trained by the administrator over school safety and the School Safety Specialist. After being trained each month, teachers should educate their students on each safety drill. Additionally, schools should communicate with their patrons regarding Standard Response Protocol(s) (SRP) and the drill being conducted each month. Videos, handouts, and other resources can be found at the link(s) below.

Information regarding the HOLD response protocol can be found in the Jordan School District Safety Manual on pages 5-7. We will discuss how to implement and execute the drill. This will be an opportunity to ask questions and share ideas amongst the schools.

We will be holding this meeting over Zoom so please join using this link.

TO:
Administrators
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Sarah Palmer, Director of Payroll


Due to the last working day at the District Office, Payroll changed payday to Dec 20th.

Because of this change, we also need to change the Frontline Deadline.

Sub Pay Period -  Dec 1-13, 2024

Schools and Dept Deadline - Dec 13 - 5:00 p.m.

Payroll will pay what is in Frontline on Dec 13 @ 5:00 p.m.

Any changes afterwards - an Absence Management Form will need to be submitted.

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Chris Richards-Khong, Associate Administrator of Teaching and Learning


Hiring instructors of asynchronous virtual courses for original credit, grade replacement credit, and credit recovery. Number of instructors will be based on fluctuating student enrollment. See complete Frontline listing for more details (JobID: 11096). Applicants must start an application profile and state they are current employees before they will be able to see the posting.

Date applications close: 12/11/2024

Date positions begin: January 2025

TO:
All Administrators

FROM:
Scott Thomas, Administrator of Auxiliary Services


Holiday decorations add a joyous and festive mood to the holiday season, but when holiday decorations are not used properly they can turn from festive to fiery in a split second.

Jordan School District would like everyone to follow a few safety tips when decorating to avoid a tragic holiday and keep everyone safe.

See the flyer below for more information.

DATE:
November 21, 2024

TO:
Administrators of Locations with Employees Paid with Federal Dollars

FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Dan Ellis, Director of Accounting
Natalie Grange, Accounting Administrator

SUBJECT:
Federal Program Work Certification


Federal Regulations require the district to certify the payroll of any employee being paid with federal funds. Accounting identifies employees that meet this federal criteria and prepares certification forms by location. Principals and department heads please review the attached instruction memo and look for your payroll certification email the week of November 18, 2024. Certifications are due Friday, December 6, 2024.

Please review your certification ASAP and contact Natalie Grange if you have any questions or concerns. natalie.grange@jordandistrict.org, ext. 88312

TO:
All Administrators

FROM:
Bonnie Brennan, Director of Insurance Services


The safety of our students, teachers, and staff is our #1 priority.  These few slides will remind all of us to slow down, be aware of our surroundings, and how we can all do our part in making the district a safe place to work.

Please take a minute in one of your upcoming staff meetings to review this information with your staff.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Bonnie Brennan, Director of Insurance Services at 801-567-8285.

TO:
All Administrators

FROM:
Garett York, JAESP Committee Member


Join UEASP's Assistant/Aspiring Principal Conference coming up on December 5th from 8:30-3:00 at the Viridian Event Center in West Jordan featuring Andrew Marotta and Hank Smith. You do not have to be a member of UAESP to attend. Register for the event at ueasp.org

.

 

DATE:
November 20, 2024

TO:
All Principals

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

SUBJECT:
Guidelines for Hiring Paraeducators Working in Special Education


Please see the attached document. The document will be emailed to all administrative assistants.

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Chris Richards-Khong, Associate Administrator of Teaching and Learning


Were you thinking about a mini grant option for your school but were not sure how to fit it into the schedule? We have some creative schools that are doing some fun, flexible things with scheduling their sessions. We would like to share their ideas with you.