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Category: Middle School Action Required

Published on

DATE:
February 26, 2025

TO:
All Administrators

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

SUBJECT:
Prevention Plan Update 2025-26

School administrators and teams are expected to update prevention plans annually and post them on their school’s website. Prevention plans address overall prevention efforts and include suicide, bullying, and violence prevention information. Additional information on updating your school’s prevention plan can be found at wellness.jordandistrict.org/preventionplan.

The template for prevention plans has been updated and school administrators can use this link to make a copy and update their plan for 2025-26 by filling in the highlighted areas.

The Wellness Team would gladly visit your school (upon request) to attend a team meeting and support you in completing your prevention plan!

If you’d prefer to take time away from your building to complete your prevention plan with the wellness team present, reach out to request “office hours” and we will schedule time at a District conference room that works for your team. Contact McKinley Withers (88245, mckinley.withers@jordandistrict.org) to arrange for in-person support at your school or through District “office hours.”

Published on

TO:
All Administrators

FROM:
Administrators of Schools

As we plan both the June Administrator Training and the August Leadership Conference, we would like to identify specific training and professional development needs/wants that you may have. Please take a minute to complete the survey by choosing up to 3 topics of interest. If you have a topic that wasn't represented please feel free to add it to the short answer question (not required). Please complete this survey by March 24, 2025. 

If you already completed this survey at the Principal or AP meeting you do not need to repeat it.

LINK to Survey

Published on

DATE:
March 20, 2025

TO:
All Principals
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Administrators of Schools

SUBJECT:
Stipend for Department Chairs and Team Leaders

Stipends for Department Chairs and Team Leaders will be paid in May.

  • Elementary Schools may pay $300 for 8 Team Leaders.
  • Middle Schools may pay $500 for 12 Department Chairs or Team Leaders.
  • High Schools may pay $500 for 16 Department Chairs or Team Leaders.

A Google timesheet roster will be shared with principals and administrative assistants and should be completed by Friday, April 25, 2025. Department Chairs or Team Leaders will be paid out of the same program number from which their salary is paid. 

Kauri Sue, River’s Edge, South Valley, and JATC will be paid as middle schools. If a school houses an additional special education program (cluster or preschool program), it will have an additional team leader allocation.

Budget Code

10 xxx xxx 2216 131

10 xxx 7551 2216 131 (Special Education)

Published on

DATE: 
March 13, 2025

TO:  
Elementary and Middle School South Jordan City School Principals

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

SUBJECT:   
Safe Routes to School Meeting Sign Up (South Jordan Schools ONLY)

The City of South Jordan is prepared to meet with each administration to discuss your Safe Routes To School.

The meetings will be held on March 26th from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM over ZOOM. Each meeting will be held in 10-minute increments. Please select a time slot on the SIGN-UP sheet provided. Times are on a first come first served basis. Feel free to work with one another as needed.

If more time is required to discuss an issue in depth, then we will schedule another time with the city to do so.

Take a moment to review your district SRTS form and ensure it is accurate and complete as the city will need to review it.

For any additional assistance or clarification please contact Matt Alvernaz at matt.alvernaz@jordandistrict.org or by phone at 801-567-8623.

ZOOM Link

SIGN-UP Link

Published on

DATE:
March 5, 2025

TO:
Principals - City of West Jordan

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

SUBJECT:
Safe Routes To School Meeting Sign Up (West Jordan Schools ONLY)

 The City of West Jordan is prepared to meet with each administration to discuss your Safe Routes To School.

The meetings will be held on March 19th from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM over ZOOM.  Each meeting will be held in 10-minute increments.  Please select a time slot on the SIGN-UP sheet provided.  Times are on a first come first served basis.  Feel free to work with one another as needed.

If more time is required to discuss an issue in depth, then we will schedule another time with the city to do so. 

Take a moment to review your district SRTS form and ensure it is accurate and complete as the city will need to review it.

For any additional assistance or clarification please contact Matt Alvernaz at matt.alvernaz@jordandistrict.org or by phone at 801-567-8623.

ZOOM Link

SIGN-UP Link

Published on

TO:
Administrators

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

The USBE Digital Teaching and Learning (DTL) Grant provides opportunities and tools for teachers in Jordan School District to address and close student achievement gaps through the use of high quality instruction that integrates technology. This survey will help us determine technology training and hardware/software needs for the 2025-2026 school year. Use the links below to complete the end of year DTL Survey from USBE. Survey is due April 9, 2025.

Admin Link for Survey - https://www.metirisurveys.com/se/601EA2D53C7D99AC

Teacher Link for Survey - https://www.metirisurveys.com/se/601EA2D57A84FAFE

Published on

TO:
Secondary Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Amanda Bollinger, Associate Administrator, Teaching & Learning

On April 10, 2025, Middle School and High School Health teachers will work collaboratively on vertical alignment, pacing, and instructional strategies in Health. The district will provide funding for a substitute for ONE Health teacher per school, but all secondary Health teachers are welcome. Please share this information with your Health teachers.

Vertical Vision sign up link

Published on

TO:  
Principals - Cities of Riverton and Herriman

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

Schools located in the cities of Riverton and Herriman please use the corresponding link to sign up for a time slot to meet with the city. The date is March 12th with Riverton in the morning and Herriman in the afternoon (see sign up for times)

The three schools with a shared border between the cities have a set time to include both cities in the discussion. The times are already on the sign up. Contact Matt Alvernaz with any questions or if your school falls into this category.

Riverton Sign Up

Herriman Sign Up

Published on

DATE: 
February 27, 2025

TO:     
All School Administrators

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

SUBJECT: 
Parent Seminars in English and Spanish to Share!

Jordan District has partnered with the Cook Center for Human Connection to provide ongoing mental health education for parents and caregivers. This collaboration offers FREE access to live, virtual educational sessions covering various topics. A calendar for March sessions is attached. Sessions are offered in both English and Spanish. Previously recorded seminars can be accessed through a comprehensive library of sessions and resources for each topic. You can access the library of recorded sessions at any time by visiting this site: https://parentguidance.org/mhsindex.

For the month of March, we want to highlight the webinar titled What Parents Need to Know About Suicide Prevention. Suicide prevention is a critical subject, and we often receive requests from parents and stakeholders for more information and resources. We encourage you to share this vital information with your communities. This webinar takes place on Thursday, March 20th at 5 p.m. AND 7 p.m.

If parents register and can’t make it, they will have access to the recording. More information and the link to register can be found here.

Please share the attached fliers with your school community.

Should you have any questions please reach out to Angie Rasmussen at angie.rasmussen@jordandistrict.org

Published on

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Amanda Bollinger, Associate Administrator, Teaching & Learning

Spring Mentor Training will be available online through Canvas from March 31 to May 12. Training is provided to new mentors based on administrator recommendation. Complete the Google form for each mentor you wish to enroll. We have limited seats, first come first served. Teachers will be paid a $150 stipend for completing the mentor Canvas training.

Please confirm the following before completing this form:

  • Potential mentor has not already completed training
  • Potential mentor is willing to complete the training

The Google Form to submit names for mentor training is now open! Please submit your names by March 31st.

Published on

DATE:  
Thursday, February 6, 2025

TO: 
All Elementary and Middle School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:
RISE ELA and Math Cluster Questions

Principals are encouraged to share the following information with their RISE-tested ELA and math teachers.

Beginning with the 2025 summative assessments, RISE ELA and math question items will be presented to students in a cluster format, similar to the RISE Science assessment. Cluster questions will appear in summative assessments for all grade levels in both content areas. Beginning, February 18th, cluster questions will also be available on the RISE Benchmarks for both ELA and math.

For RISE ELA, students will be presented with reading passages and will be required to answer several sections or clusters of questions that are both related to the passages and to each other. For example, a student will be asked to identify a main idea from the story in one question. Then another question will ask students to select sentences from the passage that support their answer to the first question. In addition, students will be presented with a variety of question types, including multiple choice, multi-selection, sentence selections, drop-down menus, tables, timelines, etc.

Similarly for RISE math, students will be presented with a math task accompanied by several sections or clusters of questions. Question items may be multiple choice, multi-select, drop-down menus, inputting numbers or equations, drag and drop, graphing/plotting, etc.

For a sample of how question items will work, please refer to the Training Tests on the RISE Portal. Please see these step-by-step instructions for accessing the Training Tests.

Recommended next steps to prepare teachers and students for these format changes:

  • Communicate these changes to your teachers as soon as possible. Additional communications will be sent via JEM and directly to RISE-tested teachers.
  • Encourage teachers to view sample items on the Training Tests in the RISE Portal.
  • Encourage teachers to administer the Training Test to students before summative testing day.
  • Encourage teachers to further prepare students for RISE summative testing by administering RISE Benchmarks (see this video for how to administer a RISE benchmark). The benchmarks are aligned to the same standards and presented at the same rigor level as the summative assessments but are shorter. Teachers may preview benchmarks from the RISE Benchmark Previewing Module on the RISE Portal and use the RISE reporting suite to view student responses and aggregate results. The RISE Benchmarks are a great way to assess both student learning and help them learn how to adequately answer questions presented in a cluster format.

For questions about the RISE assessment, please contact Ben Jameson or Kassidy Towery in Assessment, Research & Accountability.

Published on

DATE: 
January 29, 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 (SECURE)

Our monthly drill preparation will be held on February 5th at 3:00 PM with a second session at 3:30 PM. This month we will be covering SECURE. Each School Safety Specialist is expected to attend along with administrators assigned to oversee school safety. All other administrators 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 SECURE response protocol can be found in the Jordan School District Safety Manual on pages 8-11. 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.

Published on

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Human Resources

Following the release of the 2025-26 FTE V2.0 enrollment projections, the HR Department will provide training for all principals who may need to complete a Reduction in Staff (RIS).

See the document below for all the details and the LINK to sign up for the training.

 

Published on

DATE:    
January 16, 2025

TO:  
Principals
Special Education Staff

FROM:  
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Kristin Norris, Teacher Specialist-SLP/A, ESY Coordinator

SUBJECT:  
Extended School Year (ESY) Qualification Procedures and Timelines
Attached: ESY Eligibility Facts, Tips and Documentation

IDEA directs us to consider all students for Extended School Year (ESY) services. However, ESY services should only be provided if the IEP team determines that it is necessary for the provision of a free, appropriate public education (FAPE).

Please see the attached memo and information.

 

Published on

DATE:  
Thursday, January 9, 2025

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 preserves a student’s civil right to an equitable education and the federal government has chosen to use the WIDA Access as a way to hold school districts accountable for providing an equitable education to English learners.

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? USBE has provided the following guidance:

“Parents/guardians can elect to exclude students out of language services, but they cannot exclude students from WIDA ACCESS. LEAs must provide the student with the opportunity to test. LEAs should document everything if parents/guardians refuse to allow their student to test. Parents/guardians always have the ultimate right, but LEAs cannot provide parents/guardians a testing exclusion form to sign in order to opt the student out of testing. The only way a student can be deemed proficient and be reclassified as a former EL is by taking ACCESS.”

The following are the recommended procedures to follow when a parent/guardian wants to opt their student out of the WIDA Access:

  • 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 using their school opt out log already available to school test coordinators to note the parental exclusion.
  • Schools may accept a parental exclusion in writing, but they cannot provide an opt out form to exclude students from the WIDA Access.

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

Published on

DATE:     
January 9, 2025

TO:   
Principals
Assistant Principals
Panorama Survey Coordinators

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

SUBJECT:  
Winter Panorama Student Feedback Surveys

The winter Panorama Student Feedback Survey window is January 22, 2025 through February 21, 2025.

Panorama (Early Warning System) and social-emotional surveys may only be administered to students whose parents have opted-in. Parents are asked to opt-in to the student feedback survey during the registration process. When the online registration process closes on Oct. 1 schools will manually enter the opt-in information into Skyward. Student opt-in lists have been provided to Panorama already and a mid-window upload of students will also occur.

The following information is provided to inform and assist you as you administer student feedback surveys:

  • The list of students who may take the survey (opted-in) will be provided to Panorama prior to the administration of the survey by Student Services. Only opted-in students will be able to log in and take the survey.
  • Schools should print out the list of students who have opted-in and provide teachers with the list of students in their classes that have opted-in. The registration opt-in information can be accessed through Skyward using this data mining report.
  • Using the list provided to them by the main office, teachers will be able to manage the administration of the survey. Using the opt-in list, teachers will be able to identify why students may not be able to log in and take the survey.
  • If there are students wishing to take the survey and they are on the opted-in list, but are having log-in issues – the school survey coordinator should contact Panorama directly for assistance at support+utahjordan@panoramaed.com. Student Services does not have the ability to manage access to surveys.
  • Students may choose to not take the survey even though their parents have opted them into the survey. Student feedback surveys administered through Panorama are never required and are always optional.
  • Parents/Guardians should always be informed/notified regarding the administration of any survey.

Survey coordinators and administrators should view the Administering Panorama Survey presentation for information, instructions, and guidance regarding the student feedback surveys. Other Panorama information may be found on the Student Serves website here.

Other survey information including the Spring survey window may be found here.

Should you have any questions please reach out to Travis Hamblin (travis.hamblin@jordandistrict.org) or Michelle Reyes (michelle.reyes@jordandistrict.org).

Published on

DATE:  
Thursday, January 9, 2025

TO:  
All School Principals

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

SUBJECT: 
Stakeholder Input Survey Effectiveness Rating Reports

2024-25 Stakeholder Input Survey results may be found in Tableau here or by navigating to the Explore menu in your Tableau account: Explore>Surveys>Stakeholder Input Survey.

As a reminder, 53G-11-506 requires that stakeholder input be included as a component of educator evaluation. For this purpose, educator effectiveness ratings have been calculated for each school, principal, assistant principal, classroom teacher, and licensed support professional for whom at least 10 parents or students responded in the Stakeholder Input Survey. Effectiveness ratings were not calculated for personnel with less than 10 survey respondents. Educators have the option to include their effectiveness rating report in their JPAS portfolio.

Effectiveness rating reports may be accessed by clicking on the applicable school below (see next page). Only school principals have access to the effectiveness rating reports, but they may share access with other school administrators as they deem necessary. A hard copy of the reports addressed to principals will be sent via district mail and should arrive within a day or two of the date of this memo. These hard copy reports should be distributed to all personnel.

It is recommended that school administrators meet with each educator and go over their effectiveness rating report as well as the survey response data for that educator available in Tableau:

For classroom teachers:

For licensed support staff:

For questions about the Stakeholder Input Survey or the effectiveness rating reports, please contact Ben Jameson in Assessment, Research & Accountability.

(See the memo below which has the links provided on page 2)

Published on

DATE:      
January 9, 2025

TO:   
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Safety Specialists

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

SUBJECT:   
School Safety and Support Grant

On January 6, 2025 USBE sent out a notification regarding the availability of the 2025 School Safety and Support Grant. This is grant is not completed by each school and you should disregard the School Safety Support Grant email from USBE. This grant will be completed at the district level for all schools according to the safety needs assessments that were conducted at each school. Individual schools do not apply for this grant.

Published on

DATE:     
December 19, 2024

TO:     
Principals
School Safety Administrators
School Safety Specialists

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

SUBJECT:  
January Drill Preparation (Fire)

*DRILL MUST BE CONDUCTED WITHIN THE FIRST 10 DAYS AFTER BREAK*

Our monthly drill preparation will be held on January 8th at 3:00 PM with a second session at 3:30 PM. This month we will be covering FIRE. 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. Most of you will have likely already completed this drill prior to the training so it will be more of a debrief and clarification as needed.

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 FIRE response protocol can be found in the Jordan School District Safety Manual on pages 32-33. 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.

Published on

DATE:     
December 19, 2024

TO:   
Elementary Principals
Middle School Principals

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

SUBJECT:  
Annual Safe Routes to School Updates

Last year, Safe Routes Utah created a new website https://saferoutes.utah.gov/school-mapping/. If any schools need help getting log in information, contact Kristen Hoschouer at khoschouer@utah.gov to request what you need. If there is a new contact at your school, then explain that in the email so it can be updated on their end.

All maps will need to be approved by the district on the new site after submission by the school. The system is still undergoing statewide issues on their end so the maps may or may not reflect what you have submitted. Consider saving a screenshot of your map for your record.

The mapping process on the site has been updated as well. Instructions given to us state that schools should:

  1. Identify your Safe Routes Committee
  2. Create/update your Safe Routes Map and submit for district approval
  3. Create/update your Safe Routes plan report

All of this information, including guides and video tutorials, can be found on the new state website as you scroll down.

Separately, the District Safe Routes to School (SRTS) forms from last year have been updated and placed in a shared drive by the corresponding city (below). Follow the appropriate link below and find your school. You will see last year’s information entered by the school still on it for reference and convenience. Make updates to the form as needed and complete the “SURVEY” indicating it is done.

Once they have all been completed, these same forms will be shared with city governments for review and response. With it being shared, you will be able to see the city’s responses to better prepare for our meetings (DATES TBD). The due date for completion is Wednesday, February 19, 2025 but the sooner the better. If you have any questions please contact the district School Safety Coordinator, Matt Alvernaz at matt.alvernaz@jordandistrict.org

West Jordan Schools    South Jordan Schools

Herriman Schools       Riverton Schools

Bluffdale Schools