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Category: High Schools

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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.

 

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The Jordan Ethnic Advisory Committee is pleased to announce a Parent, Guardian, and Student Open House event at JATC South, which will take place on March 1st, from 5 - 6:30 p.m. The purpose of this event is to provide a platform for families to share their ideas with administration and teachers, and to engage in meaningful dialogue about the challenges and opportunities facing our students.

Through this event, we hope to foster a sense of community and collaboration, and to work together to build a stronger, more inclusive school environment for all students.

To that end, we would like you to extend an invitation to school communities electronically, and to personally invite four families to participate in this open house. Principals will receive paper invitations in District mail.

We would be honored to have schools support in this initiative, and we believe that your participation will have a positive impact on our district as a whole.

Thank you for your time and consideration. If you have any questions or concerns, please email jeac@jordandistrict.org.

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KSL News Radio and Cyprus Credit Union are honoring Utah Teachers! Now more than ever, we recognize the incredible ways that educators go above and beyond every day.

Once each month, a lucky featured teacher will be picked at random to receive a:
$500 Visa gift card from Cyprus Credit Union
Season tickets to Hale Centre Theatre
$250 gift card to Harmon's

Nominate a teacher now by clicking on the Teacher Tribute Wall

CYPRUS CREDIT UNION - YOUR FUTURE IS OUR FUTURE - HARMONS NEIGHBORHOOD GROCER HALE CENTRE THEATRE KSL NEWSRADIO 102.7FM

 

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The final version of the 2023-2024 TSSA Plan is due to be completed in your School Planning folder by March 24, 2023. Your budget allocation can be found on the "TSSA Plan" tab.

The JSD Board’s TSSA Framework establishes three priorities schools are to use in developing a TSSA Plan. The priorities include coaching, professional development, and school-based initiatives.

Each school has a personally-created School Planning folder in Google Drive that includes both last year’s and this year’s plans. TSSA Plans and the School Planning Folder can be accessed from 2023-2024 School Planning Tools. Following the School Planning Tool will ensure compliance with TSSA requirements.

The first tab in the School Planning Tool labeled “TSSA Overview and Checklist” provides guidelines and a checklist for completing plans. A quick checklist is provided below. The actual plan is found in the tab labeled “TSSA Plan.” 2023-2024 allocations are pre-loaded into each school’s plan.

Quick TSSA Plan Checklist

  • Share planning tool if desired. (Currently only principals have editing access.)
  • Summarize 2022-2023 TSSA Plan. (Focus on implementation and growth if limited data is available.)
  • Review data. (Review data that is available.)
  • Determine school goal(s) for 2023-2024.
  • (TSI Schools) Complete TSI data review, identify needs, and create goal(s).
  • Record plans and action steps for instructional coaching, professional development, and school-based initiatives.
  • Complete budget.
  • Add in your approximate carry-over in the correct spot.

Reminder that both your School LAND Trust and the TSSA Plan needs to be completed by this date of March 24, 2023.

If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to your AOS.
If you have technical issues, please feel free to contact Chris Westra at 801-567-8657 or Nadine Page at 801-567-8182.

Please see the link below for everything you need to know about “TSSA”.

TSSA Program

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Please take note of the following MANDATORY deadline:

2023-24 School LAND Trust Upcoming School Plan

Completion Deadline: March 24, 2023

Your school's 2023-24 LAND Trust Allocation can be found on the State Website. When you click on the "Upcoming Plan" your "Estimated Distribution for 2023-2024" can be found in the box "Funding Estimates" on the 6th line down “Estimated Distribution for 2023-2024. Do not end up with a negative estimated carry-over to 2024-2025.

  • Under "Action Plan Steps and Expenditures", please click on the provided button to input the budget allocations for that goal.
  • Add in what you will do if you have "Funding Changes". There are new guidelines from the State Office regarding this portion. Please see the tips provided in the link below.
  • NEW FOR THIS YEAR! Districts are required to distribute their own signature pages. Signatures may be collected on paper or digitally and copies should be provided to LEA leadership prior to approving the School LAND Trust Plans. A copy will need to be sent to Nadine Page (nadine.page@jordandistrict.org) as there is not a way to upload the signature file. A template is provided below. You can either use the hard copy and have SCC members sign at your meeting or make a copy of this Google Doc to use electronically.

I can't stress this enough------please use the correct categories for the expenditures as you add them to your goals. They need to be distributed correctly. Don't put everything under salaries/benefits. Call Nadine Page (x88182) if you have questions of what category it should go under. 

Last Reminder: The 2023-24 TSSA Plan will also be due on March 24, 2023. Your TSSA Plan Link can be found HERE.

Please see the link below for everything you need to know about “Land Trust”.

School Land Trust Program

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The School LAND Trust program Final Report for 2021-2022 is now available for entry on the State website. Reports must be submitted on the School LAND Trust reporting site no later than Wednesday, February 28, 2023.

Final Report Expenditures will not be entered by the principal but will be displayed for response and explanation by the principal.

The 2023-24 Upcoming Plan cannot be submitted until the final report is completed, submitted, and finalized by the District Office. We will finalize reports as quickly as possible as you submit them.

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Teachers and other educators whose educator license will expire on June 30, 2023, are encouraged to begin the license renewal process by going to the USBE website. You may begin reviewing the videos and completing your renewal form; however, the following information has been given to us by USBE regarding licensure renewal:

We have discovered that the renewal feature of USIMS that was released this week is not working properly. We have turned off the feature and are working to remedy the situation as quickly as possible. We hope to have renewals up and running early next week.

Please refrain from directing your educators to renew until the feature is confirmed to be working properly and turned back on. We have updated the notification banner on USIMS.

We apologize for the inconvenience; we know that educators are anxious to complete this important task. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

The District HR Department will send you reminders in November, January, and March. A FINAL reminder will be sent to you in April as a 4th and FINAL NOTICE & NOTICE OF TERMINATION should you not receive your license renewal certification in CACTUS by June 30, 2023.

DON’T DELAY – START THE PROCESS NOW!

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Prior to the TEACHER TRANSFER FAIR on February 13th, principals may post available positions for the 2023-24 school year on a Google Form. Please click here to advertise your transfer openings for teachers and other licensed employees. This will allow teachers to view your postings prior to the Teacher Transfer Fair.

Teacher Transfer Fair Link 

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Licensed employees resigning/retiring at the end of the current contract year, who give official early notification in SKYWARD – EMPLOYEE ACCESS, will be eligible for a tiered incentive. To qualify, notification must be submitted on or before the following dates:

  • February 15, 2023 $200.00

The incentive will be paid on the last regular paycheck. Notifications of resignation/retirement received after the dates listed above will not qualify for an incentive. The official District “Notice of Resignation” form is found in Skyward under “Employee Access”. Please see District policy DP318 for more detailed information regarding resignations. If you do not know your Skyward username or password please contact the Help Desk at 801-567-8737.

Licensed employees who do not submit an official “Notice of Resignation” form in Skyward “Employee Access” with at least thirty (30) calendar days’ written notice WILL BE FINED $500, which will be deducted from their final check. Informing your principal/school administrator either verbally or in writing is not sufficient. See District Policy DP318 – Resignations - Licensed.

School/District Administrators must submit an official “Notice of Resignation” form in Skyward “Employee Access” with at least sixty (60) calendar days’ written notice WILL BE FINED $500 in accordance with District Policy DP318A – Resignations-Administrators.

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School level budgets were established in program 5336, object 610 at the beginning of the fiscal year. In December IT rolls current year contracts in Skyward, which creates budgets in salary and benefit categories. This HR process does not reduce your 610 allocation by the budgets created for salaries and benefits.

Schools with contract employees charged to 5336 experienced an artificial increase to their budgets for the month of January. Correcting this is a manual process that was completed on February 6, 2023. Please use budget reports that were created AFTER 2/6/2023 to determine what is remaining from your 5336 allocation.

If you have questions or concerns please contact Nicole.Woodburn@jordandistrict.org in Language and Culture Services or Natalie.Grange@jordandistrict.org, in accounting.

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

Celebrate Black History Month!
Taking a month out of the year to celebrate and recognize Black History, does not mean it's not important the other 11 months of the year. February is given to us to truly reach out and learn something new that we hadn’t known before. American and World history is so vast that as Dr. John Henrik Clarke states, “What we call Black history truly is the missing pages of world history.” The fact that many countries celebrate Black History demonstrates the many perspectives that should be honored when sharing pieces of the story in the History books. I always find myself in the habit of reading a historical story and wondering, “I wonder what was happening with the rest of the country during this time? What were the families from other cultures doing during that time? People suddenly don’t disappear when the Great Depression happened, but the schoolbooks certainly omitted a lot of people.”

Black History Month isn’t just for Black People to learn and engage with information. It’s for everyone. Half of the things we interact daily with were and are created by Black People: gas masks, protective mailboxes, the stoplight, automatic elevator doors, blood banks, home security systems, refrigerated trucks, the super soaker, tissue holders, clothes dryer, folding chairs, golf tea…. I could go on, Google can help you finish this exhaustive list. Because of that fact, everyone should take the time to learn about the people and culture behind the inventions.

The one thing I do each year is find an area that I want to learn more about surrounding Black History. The information is so vast, and I always received the Civil Rights information in school that I wanted to learn more beyond the struggle of gaining our alienable rights that were already bestowed upon Americans. Each year, I find a focus: famous Black poets, Black entrepreneurs, eras like the Harlem Renaissance or Motown.. each time I learn something new. I challenge everyone to do this. What do you not know too much about? With the amount of information on Google and YouTube, the possibilities are endless. If it still overwhelms you, simply go through the National Museum of African American History and Cultures website. This national treasure that is seated in DC has a plethora of information. Learn, grow, and know Black History is American History.

Culture Corner Set up a culture consultation!
Contact our Culture, Diversity, and Parent Outreach specialists to set up a consultation for you, your PLC, or your school. The CDO team can support you in the following ways:

  • Support for critical conversations (You are planning on a lesson that you anticipate will include critical conversations)
  • Training on critical conversation facilitation
  • Have the culture and diversity team come teach a lesson
  • Small group pull-out (no more than 10)

ELLevation Tips & Tricks
Teachers can easily add Activities to their Favorites folder for future viewing and lesson planning. There are two ways to favorite an Activity:

  1. While browsing: click the Favorite button located at the bottom left of each Activity card.
  2. In an Activity: click the Favorite button found on the left of the top bar.

After an Activity has been favored, you can access it by clicking on the left navigation slide-out menu.

ELD Lead Celebration
This month we are highlighting Angie Larson with Kelsey Peak Virtual Middle school! She is in her first year as an ELD lead and has done an excellent job of creating online content accessible to all students. She makes sure every student at the virtual middle school is getting the support they need to find success through their online learning. Thank you, Angie for being such a great example to your students and to our district!

Reflective Questions

  • What helps my students feel cared for and appreciated?
  • What can I do to show them how they are cared about?
  • How are my students represented in my curriculum and classroom?
  • How do I celebrate my student's diverse backgrounds?

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The District has recently conducted a bid for HP & Canon OEM Ink, Toner and Supplies. Effective immediately, 5 vendors have been awarded for HP supplies, and 5 vendors for Canon Supplies. This bid will be good for 5 years.

The following vendors should be used for your HP & Canon ink, toner and supplies moving forward:

HP OEM Supplies
Associated Business Technologies
Fisher’s Technology
Les Olson Company
Pacific Office Automation
Innovative Print Consulting

Canon OEM Supplies
Associated Business Technologies
Canon Solutions America-Supplies
Fisher’s Technology
Innovative Print Consulting
Pacific Office Automation

Here is a link to contact information for each vendor:
Vendor Contact Information

Please note that this contract is for OEM supplies only. This does not cover compatible inks and toners. We highly recommend using OEM ink and toners in your machines, especially in the Canon copiers. Some compatibles have caused damage to both HP and Canon machines in the past. We are also starting to see situations where some new HP printers are rejecting any compatibles and will only allow OEM toner to be installed. This is also happening on occasion when older printer models receive an update. Buying OEM supplies is the safest and best way to ensure that your machine runs optimally and that warranties are not voided.

If you have old machines that you are still using that HP and Canon are no longer manufacturing ink and toner for, then you can request compatibles when making your purchase. Please be aware that this contract cannot be referenced for these orders. If your order exceeds the $5,000 small dollar purchase threshold, you would need to get 3 quotes for your purchase.

We are asking that any existing open purchase orders for ink, toner and supplies be closed, even if the vendor is listed above. New open purchase orders will need to be created with additional language and referencing the new contract, or P-Cards can be used for your orders. Please fill out a Purchase Order Change/Delete Form for each open PO that needs to be closed. Please note “Close PO- New Contract”.

Please return the forms to Tonya Hodges in Purchasing at tonya.hodges@jordandistrict.org , or contact her if you need assistance with your orders.

 

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Principals:

We have scheduled two separate training sessions on the operation of the school’s security camera and software. The training will include the use of the software, saving of camera footage and the transferring of that footage to the appropriate device. We receive many requests for help in this area.

The training will be held on March 1, 2023.

Session 1:  9:00-10:00 am
Session 2:  1:00-2:00 pm

Both sessions will be held at the Auxiliary Service Building in the Presentation Room, enter at Entrance C. It is recommended that at least one administrator per building attend one of the sessions and if possible send one hall monitor to each session.

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The following are new administrative assignments:

New Assignment effective January 3, 2023:

  • Katie Jarvis, administrative intern at River’s Edge appointed assistant principal at River’s Edge.

New Assignments effective as soon as possible:

  • Steffany Ellsworth, Support Services Lead in Information Systems appointed Support Services Manager in Information Systems.

New Assignments effective February 21, 2023:

  • Derek Bennett, administrative intern at Mountain Ridge High appointed assistant principal at West Jordan High, replacing Howard Griffith who is retiring.
  • Curtis Hagen, Staff Assistant at Auxiliary Services appointed assistant principal at Mountain Ridge High, replacing Derek Bennett.
  • Tim McConnell, retired administrator in Park City School District appointed assistant principal at Ridge View Elementary.

New Assignments effective July 1, 2023:

  • Michael Hutchings, assistant principal at West Jordan High appointed principal at West Jordan High, replacing James Birch who is retiring.
  • Rachel Hill, administrative intern at West Jordan High appointed assistant principal at West Jordan High, replacing Michael Hutchings.
  • Tamara Rajczyk, consultant in Special Education appointed principal at South Valley, replacing Rita Bouillon who is retiring.
  • Jennifer Ludlow, principal at West Jordan Elementary appointed principal at Oquirrh Elementary, replacing Shauna Worthington who is approved for a Sabbatical leave.
  • Abram Yospe, principal at Columbia Elementary appointed principal at Foothills Elementary, replacing Cherie Wilson who is retiring.
  • Keith Klein, principal at Etna Elementary in Lincoln County School District in Afton, WY appointed principal at Columbia Elementary, replacing Abram Yospe.
  • Vaega Toilolo, administrative intern at Bingham High appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.
  • Russell Stephenson, administrative intern at Joel P. Jensen Middle and Oquirrh Hills Middle appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.
  • Jessica Wilson, administrative intern at South Hills Middle and South Valley appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.
  • Jessica Hayes, administrative intern at Child Development Center appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.
  • Thyme Meleisea-Vea, administrative intern at Oak Leaf Elementary appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.
  • Angela Solum, assistant principal at Riley Elementary in Salt Lake School District appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.
  • Janae Young, administrative intern at Aspen Elementary appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.

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DATE:
Thursday, February 9, 2023

TO: 
All 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: Retaining State-Qualified Teachers: An Exploratory Case Study

Applicant: Amanda Bollinger, University of Phoenix

The project has been approved by the District Research Review Committee. The researcher will send out a recruitment email inviting educators to participate in a research survey. Employee participation in the study is at your discretion. Survey participants who meet study criteria will be invited to participate in interviews or focus groups. If you have questions or concerns relating to participation, please contact Ben Jameson at 801-567-8243.

Thank you for your assistance.

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DATE:  
Thursday, February 9, 2023

TO: 
All 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: Cross-Cultural Development and Psychometric Validation of the Beliefs about Behavior Scale in the U.S. and Taiwan

Applicant: Howard Fan, Idaho State University

The project has been approved by the District Research Review Committee. The researcher will send out a recruitment email inviting educators to participate in a research survey. Employee 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.

Thank you for your assistance.

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DATE:
Thursday, February 2, 2023

TO:
All School Administrators

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
Michelle Love-Day, Director of Language & Culture Services

SUBJECT:
Navigating Parental Exclusion Requests with the WIDA Access

The annual administration of the WIDA Access is mandated by the federal government, which uses this assessment to hold schools accountable for providing an equitable education for multi-language learners. This accountability stems from the 1974 Supreme Court case Lau v. Nichols where a California school district was sued because it was not providing language services to many of its ML students. This Supreme Court case essentially ensures that students’ civil right to an equitable education and the government has chosen to use the WIDA Access as a way to hold school districts accountable for doing so.

The WIDA Access is federally mandated, which means that parents cannot opt their students out of taking the test. Because of the part this assessment plays in a student’s educational rights, parents do not have the power to revoke a student’s civil right to take the WIDA Access. Thus, the state was required to remove the WIDA Access from the parental exclusion form a few years ago.

So, what happens when a parent insists that their child not take the WIDA Access? Basic procedures are outlined below:

  • The school administration should discuss any or all of the attached talking points with the student’s parent.
  • If the parent still insists that their child not participate in the WIDA Access, then the school should document the parent’s refusal. Schools may use this Google tracking sheet for documentation or their school opt out log already available to school test coordinators.
  • When testing is complete, the school will share the Google tracking sheet with JoLynn Snelgrove in Evaluation, Research & Accountability using this email address: snelgrove@jordandistrict.org. JoLynn will also check school opt out logs.

Please contact Ben Jameson in Evaluation, Research & Accountability with any questions or concerns regarding these procedures.

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DATE:
Thursday, February 2, 2023

TO:
All School Administrators

FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
Michael Heaps, Director of Information Systems
David Bowman, Systems & Security Manager

SUBJECT:
Chromebooks with Expiring Hardware that Will Be Used for Testing

When Chromebooks are purchased, they come with a pre-defined time at which the vendors will stop giving updates to the software that makes the computers run. With Chromebooks this is almost always 5 years or a bit more.

This is called the Auto Update Expiration (AUE) Date.

When a Chromebook hits that date it may continue to work, but it stops getting updates from Google. Over time, this will decrease its functionality with the internet where things will stop working properly. Websites won’t load right; extensions and apps either work partially or won’t work at all.

This can become an issue when older Chromebooks won’t be able to update to the minimum device specifications outlined for a testing secure browser such as the RISE Secure Browser, TestNav (Utah Aspire Plus and ACT), DRC Insight (WIDA Access), etc. If the older testing device can’t update to the secure browser’s minimum specifications, it is possible that the testing platform will be glitchy or not work at all.

In some cases, more than 60% of a school’s Chromebooks are already expired. To see how many and what percentage of your school’s Chromebooks are expired, please click here.

As testing season approaches, school administrators will want to think about how to mitigate possible technology issues if the majority of the school’s Chromebooks that will be used for spring testing are expired. Also, school administrators are strongly encouraged to run an infrastructure test prior to ACT, RISE, and/or Utah Aspire Plus summative testing. If schools are unable to replace expired Chromebooks prior to spring testing and many of the school’s devices failed the infrastructure test, school administrators should develop a plan for rotating through newer devices to complete spring summative testing.