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Category: High Schools

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Dear Principals,

As we have talked about reading classes and reading instruction, there has been interest from many schools in having teachers more fully trained in the Science of Reading, or LETRS training. 

Over the past month, Lexia (the company who provides the LETRS training) has released a new training geared specifically for students in grades 4-8, Lexia Aspire. (Lexia Aspire Website) There are several benefits to this training including:

  • The course is web based and self-directed
  • The suggested timeline is 29 weeks; however, it could be completed sooner depending on how fast the teacher works through the material
  • The cost for the training is $600 per teacher versus $800 + materials per teacher

The one drawback at this time is that we are unsure how Lexia Aspire will be integrated into the Secondary Literacy Interventionist Endorsement (the new Reading Endorsement). Together with other districts, we are working with USBE through this process; however, we won’t know the answer until later this year.

I have started the Lexia Aspire training, and it is something I wish I would have had as a Language Arts teacher. Not only does this program provide the foundational knowledge for why the Science of Reading is important; it also provides practical application that teachers can integrate into their instruction and classrooms now. 

Feel free to share this information with any Reading or Language Arts teachers who may be interested in the Lexia Aspire training. We’re hopeful that the training will be beneficial toward an endorsement but, at the very least, it is excellent reading instruction training. If you would like to consider paying for this training for your teachers, please contact me.  

Brandee Bergum
Secondary Language Arts Consultant
brandee.bergum@jordandistrict.org

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During the opening administrators conference in August, the Teaching and Learning administrators introduced the "Educator Contractual Responsibilities Yearly Checklist” as a tool to use with your teachers. This list of 20 responsibilities was generated from the essential functions and qualifications listed in the Jordan School District Licensed Job Description. To make this more meaningful as a growth tool for teachers and administrators, we are working on building scales for each responsibility that would help educators identify exactly what it means to successfully meet expectations.
I have included a link to a Google Form below. We would love to hear what administrators think each responsibility really means and what it looks like when educators successfully meet the intended expectation for each one. We know you are all busy, so we don’t expect you to provide feedback for each indicator. To help save you time, the responsibilities have been grouped into four categories, and we are asking that you click on at one category and just do as much as you can.
Please feel free to forward this email to your assistant principals. Since we are just gathering information at this point, we aren’t ready for coaches and teachers to start worrying about what this is and how it might be used, so we would appreciate it if you don’t forward this outside of you admin team.
We are grateful for any time you can give to this to help us develop a tool that helps all of us improve our practice in order to provide the best education for students and a working environment where every educator can thrive!
Thank you!!!

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DATE: 
March 9, 2023

TO:  
Principals
Assistant Principals

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

SUBJECT: 
Spring Panorama SEL Surveys

The spring Panorama SEL Survey window will be open for four (4) weeks beginning Monday, April 24th and remain open until Friday, May 19th. Survey coordinators and school administrators will receive instructions, materials, and other resources on Monday, April 10th – two (2) weeks prior to the survey window opening.

As a reminder, schools should notify patrons prior to administering the survey. Student participation in the survey should never be a part of any academic requirement and is always optional. Schools should feel free to share the survey questions or other resources when requested. Survey questions will be included in the April 10th resources email mentioned above.

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March is here, which means St. Patrick's day, spring, and (hopefully) warmer temps. It is also Women's History Month, which began the week of March 8th, after President Jimmy Carter declared it Women's History Week. Then, in 1987 congress passed Public Law 100-9, designating March as “Women’s History Month.”

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

Culture Corner
St. Patrick's day is coming up. Remember that many of your ML students may not know the holiday or why they celebrate in class (if you plan on doing this). Teaching about the holiday, informing parents about your plans, and giving them some information about the day is incredibly helpful to those students and their families who have never celebrated.

Teaching Strategies Small Groups

  • Why? More time to talk encourages oral language growth (speaking & listening). It gives students a small, safe group to practice with Builds classroom community.
  • For Success - Teach students how to work in small groups. Assign roles so they know what to do. Give sentence stems for language support (bonus points for helping them practice saying those things out loud in the hallway). Guiding questions or printed out steps can help guide them.

Reflective Questions
At this point in the year, what have I learned about: my students’ lives, families, and past experiences? my colleagues? my school community? my local community? myself?

What more do I want to learn as we end 3rd quarter (March 24) and move into 4th?

ELLevation Tips and Tricks
You can use the Student List to make targeted instructional recommendations for students who meet specific criteria. To batch recommend Activities for multiple students at once from the Student List, found in the full newsletter below.

ELD Lead Celebration
Melanie Nixon is both the coach and ELD Lead at Mountain Point Elementary. She has established great relationships with both teachers and students. Not only does she know what is happening at her school, she knows students by name. She is a great resource for teachers who need language and culture support for MLs as she helps teachers with RtI, language strategies and data. Melanie is very organized and on top of things and the MLs at Mountain Point are lucky to have her as an advocate.

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DATE:   
March 9, 2023

TO:
High School Principals
High School Assistant Principals

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Brad Sorensen, Administrator of Schools
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Sharon Jensen, Student Support Consultant

SUBJECT: 
Teen Center Grant

Student Support Services has been awarded a grant to fund Teen Center efforts in each high school and is immediately available for schools to use. The bulk of the grant money will go to one high school to create a fully-functioning teen center. The funding includes a 0.50 FTE salary match for a classified employee to staff the teen center. This year Herriman High School has been awarded the bulk of the grant funds to establish a fully-functioning Teen Center operational in Fall 2023. All other high schools were awarded $8,000 to supplement their existing Principals Pantry and supports for homeless/at-risk students.

Please see the memo below for all of the details!

 

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DATE:
Thursday, March 9, 2023

TO: 
High School Administrators

FROM: 
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
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: Noyce Professional Engagement for Educators in Math and Science

Applicant: Max Longhurst, Utah Valley University and Utah State 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 project will involve Noyce scholars who are student teachers or interns in your building.

Thank you for your assistance.

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DATE:   
March 3, 2023

TO:  
Principals
Assistant Principals

FROM:   
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Sharon Jensen, Consultant Student Support Services
Michelle Reyes, Prevention Specialist, Student Support Services

SUBJECT: 
March Attendance Newsletter

As we approach Spring and into the final quarter of the year, you are encouraged to take a moment and reflect on student attendance at your school. Many students are struggling to get to school, on time or at all. Sometimes attendance lags because of issues the family is having at home. The newsletter this month asks families in your community what challenges they are facing and lists some resources that may help them find solutions to these challenges. It addresses possible issues with transportation to or from school, affordable childcare and mental health. Wrap around support can play a role in improving student attendance at school.

Spring recess is at the end of March. Trends show that attendance drops before and following a big break from school. In the days and weeks leading up to Spring Break, schools have the opportunity to communicate with parents about the importance of attending. A best practice to increase attendance is planning a school activity immediately following a break. This encourages students to attend when school resumes.

Included is the March Attendance Newsletter. It is being sent out to parents in Peach Jar in both English and Spanish. This is a great resource send out with your attendance letters as well.

Should you have questions about attendance please contact Michelle Reyes at (michelle.reyes@jordandistrict.org) or 801.567.8205.

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We are moving closer to the launch date for the new Brightly/Asset Essential work order system which will be replacing Sprocket effective April 3rd, 2023, we ask that you continue to use Sprocket until that date.

Most of our custodians and administrative assistants have had the opportunity to attend a training for the new system.

Please notify those who were unable to attend any of the scheduled trainings of these additional opportunities.

3/14/2023   
Principal Meeting – time certain during breakout sessions

3/21/2023  
Make up Training Date – ASB Presentation Room    2-4 pm
Open to Custodian and Administrative Assistants

3/28/2023 
Make up Training Date – ASB Presentation Room    9-11 am
Open to Custodian and Administrative Assistants

We appreciate your support as we work toward a smooth transition. If you have any question please reach out to our Brightly Team:

Teresa Lyon  :  801-567-8876  :  teresa.lyon@jordandistrict.org
Judy Bird  :  801-567-8625  :  judy.bird@jordandistrict.org
Jeff Beesley  :  801-567-8876  :  jeffrey.beesley@jordandistrict.org

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Greetings!

We are anticipating a HIGH volume of substitute requests for the following dates: March 22nd, March 23rd, and March 24th. To increase coverage for those absences we ask that teachers who will be absent any of the above listed dates, enter their absences AS SOON AS POSSIBLE in Skyward and Frontline.

Thanks!

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March 1, 2023

Clearing out & Closing School EARS Budgets (program 5336)

School Administrators:

As you are aware the EARS grant is not a guarantee and is determined on a year to year basis. Please take some time to review your school’s spending, for the 2023/24 school year, to ensure you are covered using all of your other funding sources.

The following information will help you finalize your EARS funding for the current school year: 

CLEARING OUT:
ALL teachers and aides that are being paid for through your 5336 EARS budget will need to be moved to another program for next school year.

  • It will be your responsibility to transition them over to another program after their final paycheck for this school year.
  • Your options could be School Land trust or TSSA

CLOSING:
Program 5336 will have a NO MORE NEW/ADDITIONAL SPENDING date of April 15, 2023. (Personnel already being paid will continue until the end of the 2022-23 school year.)

  • It will be your responsibility to make sure that all your purchases will be cleared by this time. Do NOT open a PO on April 14th to secure $$ for spending.
  • It will also be your responsibility to MOVE MONEY to program 5336, from one of your other programs, if you have overspent.

We hope to procure this money next year to help you continue supporting our “At Risk” students. More information regarding this funding will be available during the early months of next school year and will be disseminated in a timely manner.

Thank you,

Michelle Love-Day

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If you are a contracted employee and need to take Annual/Personal Leave before or after the mid-spring 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 Window
Mid-Spring Recess April 24, 2023 Mar. 10 – Mar. 20, 2023

Annual/Personal Leave Taken Before or After a Holiday 2022-2023

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Schools should update current hiring totals for 2023-24 on their enrollment dashboards as soon as possible so that accurate districtwide data can be monitored and appropriate adjustments made. Hiring totals should be kept current with changes made throughout the summer as needed. Positions do not need to be filled to be counted (i.e., a position that is planned for next year but not yet filled should be recorded on your dashboard as FTE that has been used). Contact Planning & Enrollment with questions about updating staffing totals.

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DATE: 
February 27, 2023

TO:  
School Psychologists and School Psychology Interns

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

SUBJECT:  
March School Psychologist and School Psychology Interns Meeting

A school psychologist meeting has been scheduled for Friday, March 10, 2023, from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the auditorium at the Jordan School District Auxiliary Services Building (7905 South Redwood Road). Terisa Gabrielsen, Ph.D., BYU professor, will provide us with a presentation on Demystifying Identification of Nuanced Autism in Females in School Settings.

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

cc:       Principals

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The March Assistant Principal meetings will be held on March 16 (8:00-11:00am) and March 21 (8:00-11:00am). All meetings will be held in-person at the JATC-S. All assistant principals and intern assistant principals are invited. A beverage service will be provided, beginning at 7:30 am at each of the meetings. As a reminder you only need to attend one of the sessions offered per month. Both sessions will provide the same information. Please CLICK HERE and it will take you to the Google Doc to sign up for which day you would like to attend. If you have any questions please call Nadine Page at 801-567-8182 (x88182). Thank you!

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DATE:   
Thursday, February 23, 2023

TO: 
All School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:   
2022-23 USBE School Climate Survey

HB 120 (53G-8-802) and R277-623 mandate the administration of a statewide school climate survey. For this year, the USBE School Climate Survey will be administered in place of the district’s Stakeholder Input Survey.

Please see the memo below for all the details.

Published on

DATE:  
Thursday, February 23, 2023

TO:   
All High School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:  
Tableau Dashboards for School LAND Trust and TSSA Planning and Reporting

The following Tableau dashboards may be helpful to school administrators as they plan for the 2023-24 school year LAND Trust and TSSA plans. As you look at each of these dashboards, please remember to change the School Name filter to your school.

Assessments:
ACT (11th Grade Administration)

Utah Aspire Plus English/ELA Proficiency, Growth and Predicted ACT Scores

tah Aspire Plus Reading Proficiency and Predicted ACT Scores

Utah Aspire Plus Math Proficiency, Growth and Predicted ACT Scores

Utah Aspire Plus Science/STEM Proficiency, Growth and Predicted ACT Scores

WIDA Access Overall Composite Scores
WIDA Access Language Domain Scores

AP Distribution of Scores and Pass Rates

Growth Measure (beginning of year only)

School Accountability:
2021-22 TSI Calculations for All Schools and All Demographics

Breakdown of TSI Identification Data (for TSI schools only)

Other Relevant Data
Advanced Course Taking

Attendance

Behavior & Discipline

Demographics

Grades

Graduation and Dropout Rates

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JORDAN SCHOOL DISTRICT is offering Elementary and Secondary paid administrative internship openings for the 2023-24 academic year. Applications are open now through February 28, 2023 at midnight.

Please refer to the details below:

  • Applicants must select level of preference (elementary, middle or high) and submit only one application.
  • Selected applicants will be interviewed.
  • Assignments are for 1-year only, with no guarantee of a permanent administrative position.
  • Internal applicants, if selected, will be treated as an employee on a leave of absence for the current school year. Internal applicants chosen as an administrative intern will have the right to return to a comparable licensed position at the end of the internship.
  • Applicants must:
    • 1) be enrolled in a university administrative/leadership program, OR
    • 2) have a current in state or out-of-state administrative license, OR
    • 3) be in the JSD Administrative Pool
  • Administrative Interns are paid on a teacher salary schedule – 187-day contract plus 20 additional days for elementary and 10 additional days for secondary. A night stipend will be added according to level assignments.
  • Assignment locations are to be determined.

If you are interested in a full time, paid Administrative Internship Position, click HERE to apply!

Click HERE for a Frontline application tutorial.