Category: Middle School Action Required

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

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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.

 

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

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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.

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

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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).

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

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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:

• K-3 Student Survey Results
• 4-6 Student Survey Results
• 7-12 Student Survey Results
• Elementary Parent Survey Results
• Secondary Parent Survey Results

For licensed support staff:

• 7-12 Student Survey Results
• Elementary Parent Survey Results
• Secondary Parent Survey Results
• Faculty Survey Results

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)

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

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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.

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)

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*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.

DATE:
Thursday, December 19, 2024

TO:
All School Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Assessment, Research and Accountability
Michelle Love-Day, Director of Language & Culture Services

SUBJECT:
WIDA ACCESS 2.0 Test Administration Training for Schools

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School administrators are asked to pass this information on to anyone who will be proctoring or coordinating the WIDA Access testing in your school this year.

As part of a federal requirement and the state’s accountability system, districts are required to administer the WIDA Access 2.0 annually to all ML students who have earned a Language Proficiency Level (LPL) of less than 4.2 and a Speaking score of less than 3.5. The 2024-25 WIDA test administration window begins on January 7 and ends on March 7, 2025.

All school personnel who will assist with WIDA Access test administration are asked to attend a mandatory test administration training. Participants may choose to attend any one of six training sessions, including one online training. Training participants will need to bring a device. Please note that if schools choose to send a classroom teacher, principals will need to cover the cost of the substitute teacher. Test pool hours may also be used for this.

Those who are to be trained to administer the WIDA should register in Canvas Catalog so that we may create their accounts in the testing and training platforms prior to their selected training date. Please see the dates and times in the attached memo.

Please contact Ben Jameson or JoLynn Snelgrove in Assessment, Research & Accountability with questions about the WIDA Access test administration and training.

DATE: 
Thursday, December 12, 2024

TO: 
All School Administrators

FROM: 
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Assessment, Research and Accountability
Brandee Bergum, Secondary Language Arts Consultant

SUBJECT: 
Star Reading Account Logins

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The Star Reading assessment, replacing the retired Growth Measure, is now up and running. The middle-of-year assessment window opened on December 2^nd and will close on February 14, 2025. This assessment is optional for students. However, Star Reading is a required assessment for 6^th grade students in the middle-of-year window as the results are used with other assessment results to determine 7^th grade reading placement. 6^th grade testing should be completed no later than January 10, 2025.

Teachers and students may login to Star Reading using their Google waffle. They should look for this Renaissance tile (see the memo below for a picture of the Renaissance tile).

School administrators and other non-teaching staff may login here. For the first time logging in, users will enter the following Renaissance ID: 252187-11TN. The username is the firstname.lastname part of district email addresses. Then users will need to go through the Forgot Password procedure to set up a new password. After the first time logging in, return users will only need to enter their firstname.lastname and their password to login.

For more information on the Star Reading assessment, take a look at the Star Reading Quick Start Guide.

For any other questions about Star Reading, please contact Kassidy Towery in Assessment, Research & Accountability or Brandee Bergum in Teaching & Learning.

DATE:
November 21, 2024

TO:
Principals
Assistant Principals
Elementary Administrative Assistants
Secondary Registrars
Secondary Attendance Secretaries

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

SUBJECT:
School Choice Permit Allocations and Procedures

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The open enrollment permit window opened on Friday, November 15, 2024. Permit seat totals can be found on each school’s Enrollment Dashboard. Open the “2025-26” tab and scroll down to the permit section.

ACTION REQUIRED: Principals should review the individuals listed on their dashboard in the “Permit” section and ensure that permissions are marked appropriately. Planning & Enrollment will defer to the permissions marked for various staff members when requests for additional seats are made. Please ensure that staff information is updated by December 6, 2024.

Schools should verify all outstanding applications prior to leaving for Winter Recess and verify any applications received during Winter Recess as soon as possible in the morning on Tuesday, January 3, 2023, so that the lottery can be run that afternoon. Once the lottery has been run, schools may immediately begin offering seats (if available). Seats not accepted within two weeks should be revoked (after attempting communication with the parent) and reoffered to the next student in line on the waitlist. At least weekly, schools should verify applications in the 2025-26 school year workspace and prepare them to be processed and moved to the waitlist. At least monthly, schools should verify applications in the 2024-25 school year workspace and prepare them to be processed and moved to the waitlist.

During the early enrollment window (now through February 7), the availability of permit seats is governed by BUILDING CAPACITY. Schools that are the most full will have the least available seats. Adding seats is governed by rules of the tier system established by the Board of Education and, in all instances, requires conversation with the Administrator of Schools for the building. In the late enrollment window (after February 7 and 2.0 allocations are released), schools may request additional seats from their Administrator of Schools. Available seats in this window will be determined by the availability of space, by grade, in the teacher allocation based on current enrollment figures.

One final reminder: the early enrollment window (now through February 7) requires schools to seat students if permit seats are available. Schools MUST follow the waitlist order when offering seats. It is inappropriate – and potentially illegal – for a school to modify the waitlist order so that students who listed the school as a “first choice” are placed before others, regardless of their lottery priority. Schools who follow this practice may lose the ability to seat permit applications themselves. School administrators with concerns over this guideline may raise the issue with their Administrator of Schools.

DATE:  
11/5/2024

TO:  
Principals
Special Education Teachers (Resource & Cluster)

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

SUBJECT:  
Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) Testing Checklist

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Attached is the DLM checklist for all special education teachers who are administering the DLM assessment to any of their students for the 2024-25 school year. You are required to complete and return the checklist to Jen Birrell for all Elementary teachers and Mikaylee Krebs for all Secondary teachers at the District Office by Friday, December 20, 2024. This form is also available online at specialed.jordandistrict.org/staff/forms on the Special Education website.

Please direct any questions or concerns to Jen Birrell for Elementary Teachers and Mikaylee Krebs for Secondary teachers.

Jen Birrell: 801-567-8905 or jennifer.birrell@jordandistrict.org

Mikaylee Krebs: 801-567-8356 or mikaylee.krebs@jordandistrict.org

 

TO:
Principals

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Brandee Bergum, Consultant in Teaching & Learning

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To prepare for using the Star Reading assessment as our new district-wide reading screener, we are offering training for two educators from each school to become school-based guides on the assessment.

These guides will assist their ELA departments or grade-level teams in accessing, administering, and understanding the reports from the assessment. We will provide multiple virtual training sessions, starting with the first session on November 8, from 1:00 to 3:00 PM. Additional sessions will be available before or after school in November and December. Educators will be compensated at their hourly rate for attending.

Please submit the names of your two educators or have them contact Brandee Bergum, x88152 or brandee.bergum@jordandistrict.org,  to receive the link for the November 8 training.

DATE:  
October 10, 2024

TO:  
School-based Administrators

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

SUBJECT:  
Bullying Action Plans & Required Training

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As per State requirements outlined in H.B. 84, Jordan District has created a “Bullying Action Plan” to support a caring, proactive response to bullying incidents.

Training on the Bullying Action Plan will occur through in-person, 2-hour sessions of each school-based administrator’s choosing. All school-based administrators are required to attend one training session.

All training will take place at JATC-South on the following days and times:

November 12
Session One: 8:30-10:30 – Register HERE
Session Two: 11:00-1:00 – Register HERE

November 20
Session One: 8:30-10:30 – Register HERE
Session Two: 1:00-3:00- Register HERE

December 3
Session One: 8:30-10:30 – Register HERE
Session Two: 1:00-3:00 – Register HERE

January 7
Session One: 8:30-10:30 – Register HERE
Session Two: 1:00-3:00 – Register HERE

Register for your session through Canvas at pd.jordandistrict.org

Note: Training for school mental health staff members who support bullying intervention will be arranged through Student Services at already scheduled training meetings.