Skip to content

Category: Middle Schools

Published on

TO:
New Principals within Jordan District

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent

The following has been sent by the State LAND Trust office. Please review the information.

School LAND Trust Training for NEW Principals

The School Children’s Trust (SCT) team has developed a new training resource specifically designed for principals in their first year of implementing the School LAND Trust (SLT) Program. The training covers the following topics:

  • Trust System Overview
  • School Community Council (SCC) Responsibilities
  • Council Membership Requirements
  • Council Election Requirements
  • Rules of Order & Procedure
  • General Program Timeline
  • SLT Reporting Website Account Setup

COURSE LINK

Published on

DATE:   
August 1, 2025

TO:  
Principals
All Special Educators and Service Providers

FROM: 
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education

SUBJECT:     
SCRAM for 2025-26 School Year- October 1 Count

Special Education Team Leaders will be receiving a SCRAM report via District Mail of all students who should be receiving services through your school’s special education program(s) at the beginning of the 2025-26 school year. Please read this Memo carefully as several items have been modified/updated to include new procedures implemented with our new Embrace program. Once you have read through the memo, use the process you have in place at your school to include all service providers to share the report and make the necessary corrections. It is important to verify every student on the report. Each team member must initial the report confirming they reviewed it.

SCRAM reports with corrections are due no later than Friday, September 5, 2025.

Published on

TO:
All Principals
All Admin Assistants

FROM:
Kurt Prusse, Director of Purchasing

As the new school year begins, we would like to inform you about several new items in the Central Warehouse. You can find them in the Storehouse Catalog on the Purchasing Website.

They include the following:

Microphones & Battery Pack
5600500 (EA)  AUDIO ENHANCEMENT LI-ION BATTERY PACK 3.7V 700 MA FOR XD MIC AUDIO   ENH-XD-5001   $22.88
5600505 (EA)  AUDIO ENHANCEMENT XD HANDHELD MIC BUNDLE FOR XD TEACHER BOX AUDIO   ENH-ST-XD-9052   $246.88
5600510 (EA)  AUDIO ENHANCEMENT XD TEACHER BOX W/TEACHER PENDANT MIC AUDIO   ENH-ST-XD-9025    $244.60

Golf Sized Pencils
5106945 (BX)  PENCIL GOLF SIZED   72 PER BOX     $6.80

Traffic & PE Cones
5400381 (EA)  CONE TRAFFIC ORANGE 28" WITH REFLECTIVE COLLAR, 3 LB    $19.00
5400382 (EA)  CONE TRAFFIC ORANGE 12", 2 LB  (P.E. RELATED)                          $7.90

Epson Ink & Maintenance Box
5600100 (EA)  EPSON C6000/5000 INK BLACK                                   T08C120       $106.00
5600110 (EA)  EPSON AM-C6000/5000 INK CYAN                               T08C220       $150.00
5600120 (EA)  EPSON AM-C6000/5000 INK MAGENTA                      T08C320       $150.00
5600130 (EA)  EPSON AM-C6000/5000 INK YELLOW                          T08C420       $150.00
5600150 (EA)  EPSON MAINTENANCE BOX AM-C4000/5000/6000   C12C937181   $69.00
5600200 (EA)  EPSON AM-C4000 INK BLACK                                      T08D120      $114.00
5600210 (EA)  EPSON AM-C4000 INK CYAN                                        T08D220       $172.00
5600220 (EA)  EPSON AM-C4000 INK MAGENTA                               T08D320       $172.00
5600230 (EA)  EPSON AM-C4000 INK YELLOW                                   T08D420       $172.00
5600250 (EA)  EPSON C21000 INK BLACK                                           T02Y120         $84.00
5600260 (EA)  EPSON C21000 INK CYAN                                            T02Y220       $192.00
5600270 (EA)  EPSON C21000 INK MAGENTA                                    T02Y320       $192.00
5600280 (EA)  EPSON C21000 INK YELLOW                                       T02Y420       $192.00

Published on

DATE:    
August 7, 2025

TO: 
Principals
Assistant Principals

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

SUBJECT:  
School Safety Update – Internal Classroom Door Locks

The Department of Public Safety recently updated the School Safety Administrative Rule (R698-13) regarding internal classroom and instructional area doors. The rule now reads (new/updated language is underlined):

R698-13-6 Internal Clasroom Door Locks.

  • School classrooms and other instruction areas must have doors equipped with locks that allow them to be securely locked when occupied by students.
  • A school shall install an internal lock on each classroom or instructional area door that complies with the International Fire Code Section 1010.2.8. Locking arrangements in educational occupancies, as incorporated as part of the State Fire Code in Section 15A-5-103.
  • A classroom or instructional area door, shall remain locked, in a closed or fully open position, while school is in session.
  • Magnets or other methods to circumvent door locks may not be used to prevent the door from being locked and latched while school is in session.

Please direct any questions you may have to Matt Alvernaz (matt.alvernaz@jordandistrict.org) or ext. 88623.

Published on

DATE:    
August 7, 2025

TO:   
All School Administrators

FROM:    
Mike Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
McKinley Withers, Health and Wellness Consultant

SUBJECT:  
2025-2026 Clinical Support Specialist Calendar

Please be aware of the Clinical Support Specialist (CSS) meeting dates listed below. It is essential that school-based clinicians are allowed to prioritize these meetings to be current on best practices relevant to their role.

CSS Clinical Trainings (1pm-3pm)

  • October 10, 2025
  • January 23, 2026
  • March 13, 2026
  • May 1, 2026

PLC Meetings (730am-830am)
Purpose of PLC’s: Case staffing and professional consultation

  • September 19, 2025
  • November 14, 2025
  • December 5, 2025
  • February 20, 2026
  • March 13, 2026
  • April 10, 2026

Mental Health Screenings (3pm-8pm

  • October 7, 2025
  • January 28, 2026
  • March 24, 2026

Should you have any questions please reach out to McKinley Withers at mckinley.withers@jordandistrict.org

Published on

DATE:  
July 28, 2025

TO:  
Secondary Principals
Secondary Media Specialists

FROM:  
Administrators of Schools
Carolyn Gough, Administrator, Teaching and Learning Department
Norman Emerson, Instructional Support Services Consultant

SUBJECT:  
Networking Meetings for Secondary Library Media Specialists

To ensure that secondary library media specialists (teacher-librarians) are equipped to continue delivering excellent services and to promote uniformity throughout the District’s library programs, a series of networking meetings has been arranged for the 2025-26 school year. We greatly appreciate the participation of your school’s teacher-librarians in these meetings.

Scheduled Meeting Dates:

  • September 26, 2025 (USLA Conference)
  • October 15, 2025 (Mountain Creek Middle) 8:00-11:00 a.m.
  • November 19, 2025 (Herriman High) 8:00-11:00 a.m.
  • January 21, 2026 (Viridian Center) 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
  • February 4, 2026 (West Jordan High) 8:00-11:00 a.m.
  • March 11, 2026 (Joel P. Jensen Middle) 8:00-11:00 a.m.
  • April 15, 2026 (Hidden Valley Middle) 8:00-11:00 a.m.
  • May 13, 2026 (Valley High) 8:00-11:00 a.m.

Please ensure this information is shared with your school’s teacher-librarian. For any additional details, feel free to contact Norman Emerson at 801-567-8364. Thank you for your continued dedication to supporting the library media programs in Jordan District.

Published on

TO:
All Administrators

FROM:
Scott Thomas, Administrator of Auxiliary Services
Brandon Conti, Risk Management Coordinator

Safety cans, as their name suggests, provide a safe means to store and dispense small quanti-ties of flammable and combustible liquids. In the college or university setting, they are most likely to be found in science laboratories. But, they are also used to store solvents and cleaning agents in the main-tenance shop and to store fuels for small powered equipment, such as lawn mowers and leaf blowers used by the grounds keeping crew. Please see tips and hints below.

Published on

DATE:        
August 7, 2025

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

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

SUBJECT: 
Annual Reminder of Memos from Planning & Enrollment

School staff are requested to review the following memos that contain reminders of time-sensitive information from Planning & Enrollment. The content of these memos has not changed and remains applicable to schools.

Published on

DATE:  
August 7, 2025

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

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

SUBJECT:   
Third Party Information Release Opt-Out

Parents (and students over the age of 18) have the right to opt-out of the release of their student’s directory information to third parties. This right is communicated to parents annually in the FERPA, PPRA, and Directory Information notices in the online “Registration for Schools” process.

Please see the memo below for all the details.

Published on

DATE:      
Thursday, August 7, 2025

TO:  
All Middle and 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: Perspectives from the Classroom: A Qualitative Analysis of the Helping and Hindering Incidents Associated with Implementing Effective Classroom Management Strategies

Applicant: Ellie Young and Rachel Seminario, Brigham Young University-Provo

The project has been approved by the District Research Review Committee. The research team will email potential participants directly to recruit them for the study. Special education teachers will be asked to participate in a brief online interview. Their 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.

 

Published on

DATE: 
Thursday, August 7, 2025

TO:     
Middle and High School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:  
Fall 2025 Assessment Updates

There are several assessment updates of which middle and high school administrators should be aware:

RISE ELA and Writing Scores, School Report Card, and TSI/ATSI/CSI Designation Delays
The RISE ELA assessment was updated to match the new ELA core recently approved by the USBE. Whenever an assessment is changed, it must go through a standard setting process. USBE is currently conducting that standard setting process, which will delay the release of RISE ELA and writing scores until sometime in September or October. The delayed score release will also delay the release of school report cards and new TSI/ATSI/CSI designations and exits until January 2026.

Currently designated TSI/ATSI/CSI schools should continue implementing their school improvement plans for the duration of the 2025-26 school year.

Grades 9-10 Summative Assessment
SB 39 was passed in the 2025 legislative session, which mandates the transition back to a standards assessment for grades 9-10. This means that the Utah Aspire Plus will be administered for the last time in the spring of 2026 and then will be retired.

Cambium Assessment (CAI), the current RISE grades 3-8 vendor, won the RFP for the new standards assessment for grades 9-10, which means middle and high schools will now participate in a grades 3-10 RISE summative assessment using a single testing platform. Student participation on the RISE assessment will be based on course enrollment rather than grade, similar to the way it was done when we had SAGE. Actual tested courses in 9th and 10th grades are still being determined.

Grades 9-10 RISE summative testing will begin in the spring of 2027. RISE Benchmarks and Interims for grades 9-10 will also be developed but will likely not be available during the 2026-27 school year.

Civics Exam Graduation Requirement
With the passing of HB 381, which took effect on July 1, 2025, students no longer have to take and pass a civics exam to graduate from high school. Instead, students will need to take and pass a US government and citizenship course. While the removal of the requirement to take a civics exam goes into effect beginning with the 2025-26 school year, the required government and citizenship course applies to the freshman class of 2026-27 to give USBE time to develop course standards and schools time to hire personnel. Thus, the classes of 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2029 do not have to pass the civics exam nor take the government and citizenship class to graduate. The new government and citizenship course requirement will apply first to the class of 2030.

USBE is still working on this issue; thus, more updates will be released as they become available.

RISE ELA and Writing Benchmarks
The RISE ELA and writing benchmarks based on the new ELA core for grades 3-8 will be available beginning November 4, 2025, except for the 7th grade informational writing benchmark, which will not be available for the 2025-26 school year. The 7th grade informational writing benchmark pilot did not receive enough responses to validate its usage.

RISE math and science benchmarks are currently available.

New DLI Assessment
The state’s contract with LTI and its AAPPL assessment for DLI classes ended with the 2024-25 school year. Avant’s STAMP assessment won the new contract and will be implemented beginning with the 2025-26 school year. Assessment, Research & Accountability will release additional updates as we receive them from USBE.

Please note that AAPPL for world language testing in the spring will continue as in years past.

For questions or concerns about any of these changes, please contact Ben Jameson in Assessment, Research & Accountability.

Published on

DATE:   
Thursday, August 7, 2025

TO:   
Middle School Administrators

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

SUBJECT: 
Fall 2025 Testing Bulletin

School administrators may view the most up-to-date testing bulletin, complete with test administration and survey administration windows, by clicking on ‘Middle School’ under the heading Testing Bulletins on the front page of the website for Assessment, Research & Accountability. See the memo for the link and all the details.

 

Published on

DATE:   
Thursday, August 7, 2025

TO:  
All School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:   
2025-26 Parental Exclusion Forms

2025-26 Parental Exclusion from State Assessments forms have been released by the state. Elementary and secondary versions may be found attached with this memo (including Spanish versions for each level). In addition, the forms may be found on the Assessment, Research & Accountability website.

Parents must notify schools of their desire to opt their student out of a state-mandated assessment on an annual basis. Parental exclusions should be recorded on your school’s opt out log so that both school and district personnel have one source of truth for all parental exclusions. Schools are discouraged from keeping parental exclusion lists that are separate or different from the opt out log received from Assessment, Research & Accountability.

Please direct questions about parental exclusions to Ben Jameson in Assessment, Research & Accountability.

Published on

DATE:  
Thursday, August 7, 2025

TO:  
All 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: Online Mental Health Training to Improve Physiological Stress Outcomes in Schoolteachers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Applicant: Katelyn Jackman, Brigham Young University-Provo

The project has been approved by the District Research Review Committee. The applicant will contact teachers via email directly to invite them to participate in the research project. The applicant has been directed to contact principals to discuss the extent of the project and arrange a private area in which to meet with teachers. 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.

Published on

TO:
Building & District Administrators
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Caleb Olson, Consultant, Planning & Enrollment

The 2025-26 updates of the “Assistant Principal Directory” have been finalized and are available below.

These links will be valid all year and any updates will be saved to these locations.

If changes or corrections need to be made, you may contact Caleb Olson in Student Services or make the changes on the web version of the directories at the link below.

Link to the Web Version of the Directory to make changes

 

Published on

TO:
All Principals
All Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Nadine Page, Administrative Assistant

The following instructions are to help you in compiling the timesheets that will be coming to you from your licensed personnel. The complete list of instructions is attached to this JAM.

PRINCIPAL/ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT INSTRUCTIONS 

Principals and administrative assistants have 11 assignments:

  1. Assign a designated person to oversee this program. Add their name to the google sheet.
  2. Make sure the plans are turned in on or before September 30, 2025.
  3. All plans must be logged (with the date received), by the designated person, no later than October 31, 2025 on the provided google sheet.
  4. Provide time for eligible staff to complete the plan.
  5. Gather and track the timesheets as licensed employees complete them.
  6. Make sure teachers follow through.
  7. Add the actual number of hours the employee worked, (up to a maximum of 32 hours, which is determined by the FTE of the employee) after you receive the timesheet.
  8. Verify that all employees, that are eligible, have turned in their timesheet on or before April 10, 2026.
  9. If an employee works at multiple sites, the school listed as the check location is to track the timesheet for that employee.
  10. If an employee changes locations during the school year, the administrative assistant for the new location must collect the timesheet and log it by the April 10, 2026 deadline.
  11. Keep the plans and timesheets on file at your location for auditing purposes.

Eligible licensed personnel must turn in their plan to the principal or administrative assistant (designated person) on or before September 30, 2025.

Principals are asked to give time in a meeting at the beginning of the year for eligible staff to fill out the Professional Hours Plan and turn it in.

A google doc (school name – Educator Directed 32 Hours 2025-26) will be shared to each individual school to be used in tracking the plan as well as the timesheet. Please use this original google doc to track the hours. Do not create your own form. 

    • Administrative assistants, or other designed person will add 
      • the school location, 
      • names of the employees, 
      • employee ID (six digit #), 
      • FTE of the employee (the awarded amount is determined by the FTE of the employee; 1 FTE = 32 hours, .5 FTE = 16 hours,
  • ***the items above will be prefilled. Please double check to make sure all employees are listed correctly for your school, 
    • date that you received the plan, 
    • finally, the date when you have received the timesheet and the hours to be paid (once you have received the final hours worked).

Thank you for your help in making sure all eligible employees receive the correct pay.

Published on

TO:
All District Administration

FROM:
Anthony Godfrey, Superintendent
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent

Please take the time to fill out the requested survey. See the information and links below regarding the facts for this survey.

What: The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) is conducting a brief survey of local education agency (LEA) school and district administrators to assess the Utah Educational Leadership Standards and determine whether a revision process should be considered.

Who: District Superintendents, Charter School Directors, appropriate District Directors, Principal Supervisors, and school-based administrators, including Principals, Assistant Principals and Administrative Interns.

When: The survey will be open for responses through August 8th, 2025.

Information: 

As required by state code, it is noted that this survey response is being requested to seek input on the Utah Educational Leadership Standards, but it is not a survey that is required by federal or state code. The information being requested is not available elsewhere.

For more information, please reach out to Julie Lundell, the USBE School Leadership and Improvement Specialist.

Published on

DATE:
July 31, 2025

TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants

FROM:
John Larsen, Business Adminhistrator
Daniel Ellis, Director of Accounting and Audits
Natalie Grange, Accounting Administrator

SUBJECT:
2025-2026 School Allocations

The 2025-2026 School allocations have been provided for your review. See attached file for allocations, your carryover balances, and estimated headcounts. An explanation of changes to supplies budgets and staff appreciation and PD meals being moved to to in lieu are included in the memo.

School allocations will be updated in November after the October 1 headcounts are finalized by the State. Budgets will not be adjusted for the virtual schools.

Budget transfers can be submitted, using the attached form, to Natalie.Grange@jordandistrict.org.

If you have questions please contact Natalie Grange at 88312 or at Natalie.Grange@jordandistrict.org.

Published on

DATE:
July 31 2025

TO:
All Administrators
All Admin Assistants

FROM:
Steffany Ellsworth, Support Services Manager, Information Systems

SUBJECT: 
Exciting News! Introducing Our Enhanced Point of Sale System

We are thrilled to launch a new and enhanced Point of Sale (POS) system in your school offices! This upgrade brings a host of fantastic new features designed to make managing lunch and fee payments smoother and more efficient for everyone.

What this means for parents:

  • Low Lunch Balance Notifications - Parents can now set up alerts to notify them when their student’s lunch balance is running low, helping to ensure their students account is funded.
  • Recurring Lunch Payments - Say goodbye to forgotten payments! Parents will have the option to set up recurring lunch payments.
  • Convenient Office Payments - For those who prefer to pay in person, the ability to process lunch payments directly in the school office is a new, convenient option.
  • Step-by-Step Guide for Parents - Feel free to download and share this step-by-step guide (written in both English & Spanish) with parents. This guide directs parents how to update their account on the new eFunds site and set up recurring payments or save credit card information. It has also been included in the annual Registration for Schools.

Key Benefits for Our Schools:

  • Modern Payment Options - You can now accept a wider range of payments, including tap payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and chip reader transactions for added security.
  • Automated Receipt Entry - A huge-time saver! You’ll no longer need to manually enter receipts for payments taken in eFunds into Skyward Fee Management. The new system handles this automatically, streamlining your administrative tasks.

Training and Support:

Training on the upgraded POS interface was provided in early July. If your office staff missed this training, please call to schedule training with Information Systems. If you have any questions, or require assistance getting your school up and running with the new interface, please don’t hesitate to contact our office at (801) 567-8737 or extension 88737.

Published on

DATE:   
August 1, 2025

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

FROM:  
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education

SUBJECT:    
Special Education Budget Allocations 2025-26

Welcome back! Listed below are the special education budget allocations for Resource, Self-Contained Teachers and Speech-Language Pathologists/Technicians for the 2025-26 school year. (Cluster Leaders and school psychologists do not receive a Special Education budget.) Remember that special education monies must be spent in ways that provide the most benefit to special education students with the goal to improve student achievement and performance.

Please review the attached Memo for instructions on spending the allocated budgets and guidelines for what the money can be spent on.