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Category: Middle School Action Required

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A few housekeeping items for Land Trust:

At the February 2, 2021 Principal Meeting we are going to have Natalie Gordon, from the State Office, come and do training with all of you on how to make a concise Land Trust Plan. The plans need to be Student Centered, Measurable, and Academic. She's going to explain what needs to go into the different parts of the plan; Goal, Measurements, and Action Plan Steps. She will also be available to answer questions at the end.

The website is still under construction. When it comes back up the 2019-20 Final Reports will need to be completed.

Our Board of Education has asked that we verify that training with your School Community Councils has been completed prior to the 2021-22 plan being submitted. Completion of the training will be confirmed with your AOS. To help you with the training we are including some links and a Power Point as resources to provide this training.

This video gives a brief introduction of how Utah received trust lands at statehood, how the land creates revenue for schools, how that revenue is invested, and how earnings are distributed through the School LAND Trust program.
Utah School & Institutional Trust System  can be found on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/qlr0wFacsyk. 

School Community Council Training videos and more information can be found on the School Trust System on the website.
https://schools.utah.gov/schoollandtrust/training

A Jordan School District training video was recorded previously with Mike Anderson and Tracy Miller. That link can be found here:
https://jordandistrict.org/resources/communitycouncil/

Here is the PowerPoint that Mike Anderson has used in previous trainings.

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A new record, Method of Instruction, has been created in the Skyward student profile to track a student’s learning method, whether full-time In-Person, full-time Online, or Hybrid (both in-person and online). The Method of Instruction can be used in many reports, including attendance reports, scheduling reports and data mining.  In addition, an indicator will appear in the upper, right-hand corner of the student’s profile screen for Virtual and Hybrid students.  The indicator is a blue-green .  This will help to quickly identify the student’s instruction method.

Below are some key dates in regards to Method of Instruction:

  • On November 23, 2020, Information Systems pre-populated the Method of Instruction for all students.
  • Beginning January 4, 2021, schools will need to maintain the Method of Instruction record as they enroll new students.
  • Information Systems will again update the Method of Instruction on January 20, 2021. This will ensure accuracy after the semester change.
  • After January 20, 2021, schools will need to maintain the Method of Instruction record for all students going forward. There are 3 scenarios in which the Method of Instruction would need to be added/updated:
    1. New enrollment – Students would need a new Method of Instruction record created.
    2. Withdrawal – As students withdraw, the Method of Instruction record needs to have an end date entered.
    3. When a student changes their schedule in a manner that would change their learning method the Method of Instruction record would need to be updated.

A tutorial on how to add/update the Method of Instruction record can be found in the Information Systems Documentation Folder.  If you have any questions regarding Method of Instruction, please reference this tutorial or contact the help desk.

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DATE:    
December 8, 2020

TO:  
Secondary Principals

FROM:  
Chris Richards-Khong, Teaching and Learning Staff Assistant Administrator

SUBJECT:   
USBE Accreditation Waiver 2020-2021 and Deferment Notice Request

On December 7, 2020, the Utah State Board of Education voted in a Board Meeting to waive the accreditation requirement for the schools up for renewal or in their initial accreditation process due to the demands of COVID-19. Jordan District schools that are renewing their accreditation or seeking initial accreditation may wait until next year to go through the accreditation process. USBE staff will connect with Cognia to make them aware of the waiver decision. The official Board motion is referenced below.

If schools are scheduled for an accreditation review this year and wish to defer their accreditation review until next year, they are asked to contact Chris Richards-Khong via email. This notification will allow her to amend and defer the accreditation budget allocation for that school.

Important Note: This waiver will not alter the rotation of other schools anticipating accreditation beyond 2020-21.

USBE Board Motion 12/07/2020: 

1)    for a school renewing the school’s accreditation or a school in its first or second year of operation during the 2020-21 school year, waives the requirement in Section R277-410-3 for the school to obtain accreditation from a regional accrediting body and allow the school an additional year to obtain accreditation; and

2)    for a student enrolled in a school in the school’s first year of operation during the 2019-20 or the 2020-21 school year, waives the requirements of Subsection R277-410-3(2) and deems credit granted from a non-accredited school during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school year as credit earned from an accredited source.

CC:
Shelley Nordick, Ph.D., Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Brad Sorensen, Administrator of Schools
Cody Curtis, Administrator of Schools

CRK:cw

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Thank you all for your patience and understanding this year with your technology orders.  We have experienced unprecedented delays on the most popular models of Chromebooks, laptops, and even Apple laptops and iPads.

Here are a few updates and recommendations regarding these devices:

  • JSD’s Information Systems department has now asked that we purchase the Jamf School device management licenses for all Apple devices.  We’ve been buying these for the last year or two for the iPads, but this requirement now extends to iMacs, MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros, all iPad models, iPods, etc.  If you are requesting your own quotes from Apple, please ask the sales representative to include these on the quote for you.  You will need a license for each device.  These are ordered under Apple part# HL2M2LL/A, and run $17.50/each.
  • Apple iPads are now experiencing 6-8 week order lead times.  Please plan ahead for your purchases.
  • Other Apple devices are typically on 4-6 week order lead times.
  • Please be aware that Apple has recently discontinued models with Intel processors, and are being replaced with the new Apple processors.  If you have an old quote, we may need to update it to the new equivalent part number.   So far prices seem to be the same.
  • For your Chromebooks, for the most part these are on 16+ week order lead times, and the touchscreen models seem to be taking longer than the basic Chromebook.
  • Please check with Tonya Hodges in Purchasing if you need a rush order on the basic Chromebooks.  Occasionally we can find vendors that have them in stock, but at higher prices.  We can work with you on a case by case basis to see if we may make a purchasing exception to get you some stock right away for your immediate needs, but use the better pricing and longer lead times to get the remainder of your Chromebooks.
  • It is recommended to start planning now and place orders by the end of January 2021for Chromebooks you will need for the 2021-22 school year.  This would allow enough time to get the devices delivered by summer break and ready to go for the start of school in August.

Please contact Tonya Hodges in the Purchasing Department at tonya.hodges@jordandistrict.org or 801-567-8706 for assistance with your Technology orders.

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In anticipation of next year's planning and scheduling, we will be turning pre-transfers on earlier than we have in the past. We have scheduled this task for the afternoon of December 11th. You should then be able to start running reports and see your next year's students beginning December 14th.

A few reminders about pre-transfers:

  • A pre-transfer is an active student who is currently attending Jordan School District and will be attending next year at a different school within Jordan School District. The student’s record will pre-transfer to the student’s next year boundary school based on their current address.
  • Once pre-transfers are turned on the School Pathtab will show current year permits under Previous Reason Code and next year permits under Reason Code.
  • Current permits for 6thand 9th grade students will be removed for next year as of December 10th. This will allow these students to pre-transfer to their new entity for next year.

In addition to turning on pre-transfers, the course master will be rolled over on December 10th for next year scheduling preparation.

Please contact the help desk with any questions or concerns regarding the timing of the pre-transfer process.

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DATE:   
Thursday, December 3, 2020

TO: 
Middle School Principals
High School Principals

FROM: 
Shelley Nordick, Ph.D., Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT: 
Reading Inventory Updates

Reading Inventory

Reading Inventory (RI) is up and available for all secondary schools (grades 7-12). Please contact the teachers at your school to make sure they know that it is available and ready to use. All in-person teachers and virtual teachers should have access to the Reading Inventory test. If teachers are unable to login, please have them email kira.jensen@jordandistrict.org. Kira is now able to easily add any virtual classes that could not be added with the original upload.

Additionally, Teaching & Learning has just purchased more licenses so that all the students who qualify to use RI can test! This means no more shuffling licenses at your schools!

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Any and all websites that are domain specific to Weebly or Wix will be blocked by the JSD iBoss Filter on January 18, 2021. All Weebly or Wix sites content will need to be transferred to a JSD supported website. For assistance please contact your school Digital Coach and your school assigned Digital Learning Specialist, Contact Us.

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If your building has extra PPE that is going unused or if your building desires extra PPE currently located at another building, please let Kris Wishart in Purchasing (x88708) know. She will try to match up any existing surplus with existing desires across the District.

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Administrators: Please encourage your Educational Support Professional employees to attend this fun event. They do not need to be off contract time.

We invite you to join us as we celebrate Educational Support Professionals Day with the help of Utah Jazz star Thurl Bailey.

Mr. Bailey will share his inspirational story during a special event honoring Jordan School District ESPs for their hard work and dedication supporting students and education.

Please RSVP for one of four sessions at 8:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 18 or Friday, December 4 at Copper Hills High School.

You can RSVP at the link below:

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Dear Principals,

Sign templates are available for schools to print:

  • To create hallway traffic flow patterns
  • To encourage proper handwashing
  • To encourage proper use of face coverings

Attached below is a PDF package containing the templates.  New signs were added on Nov. 12, 2020.

If you would like them customized with your school logo and colors please contact Chad Margetts in the Office of Communications. 801-567-8201.

The Instructional Support Center is available to print traffic flow signs for those who would like to purchase through ISC.

 

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Attention Administrators,

The deadline for employees to complete the Crucial Policy review is fast approaching. As of today, 79% of administrators, 83% of licensed employees and 79% of ESP employees have completed the required Crucial Policies review, which includes the new required Title IX and Human Trafficking training. However, only 34% of miscellaneous employees have completed the Crucial Policy Review. The Crucial Policy review is required of all employees, with the exception of minor sweepers/student assistants. The Crucial Policies Review is accessed in Skyward Employee Access.

Administrators and Administrative Assistants may access the Crucial Policy Review Report for their location by following the instructions below:

Website link:  https://is.jordan.k12.ut.usOpens in a new window

Click: Documentation
Click: Human Resources
Click: Crucial Policy Review Report Instructions

Please run your report and notify each employee of this requirement. The HR Department is tasked with monitoring these reports for compliance and will be contacting principals as needed. If any employee listed in this report is no longer employed, please email your HR feeder assistant.

Employees needing assistance in accessing Skyward Employee Access are directed to contact the Help Desk at 801-567-8737.

Regards,

Human Resources

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DATE:   
Thursday, October 22, 2020

TO: 
All Principals

FROM:    
Shelley Nordick, Ph.D., Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:   
WIDA ACCESS 2.0 Test Administration Training for Schools

Please see memo below regarding the mandatory training to be provided and who should attend.

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Dear Administrators,

A populated copy of your Compliance and Assurances Report will be sent to you by the Teacher Specialist assigned to your school. Due dates are Dec. 17 and April 15. A couple of things to keep in mind:

1. The document is current as of Nov., 2020. As new EL students enroll in your school, you will need to add those students to the report. You can check your monthly language proficiency report to determine who the new students are.

2.  There will be virtual administrative workshop times where the ELS team will be available to offer support in report completion. Please bring a list of ESL endorsed teachers at your school.  We will be looking up student information with you.

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Dear Administrators,

The ELS department would like to continue to support our students who are distance learning and provide an opportunity for them to get a free student desk and chair from the warehouse surplus. Supplies are limited and should be reserved for students participating in distant learning. Please have your secretaries, parent liaisons, ELD leads and anyone else who works with our online students reach out to get a school total. Once you have a total, send the request over to Steven Oldham over at the warehouse. Steve can have the desk delivered to your school or patrons can pick up a desk from the warehouse at the ASB. Know that supplies are limited and on a first come first serve basis.

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DATE:  
Thursday, October 15, 2020

TO:  
All Principals

FROM:  
Shelley Nordick, Ph.D., Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT: 
Reading Inventory (formerly SRI) Update

Principals are asked to pass this information on to their teachers who will be using Reading Inventory.

We are very happy to announce that Teaching & Learning has now completed the purchase process for SRI, and it will be available to teachers this week. SRI is no longer run by Scholastic, and is now just Reading Inventory, or RI.  It is a product of Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt.

To access the SAM server to view student scores and run reports, go to this link: https://h100005970.education.scholastic.com/

As schools begin to use RI, Information Systems would like you to remember the following information:

For Chromebooks, IS has pushed the link https://h100005970.education.scholastic.com/ to the Chromebooks. It will show as RI.  Schools that want to use RI on non-Chrome devices will need to see if their tech can put the link above on whatever device will be used.  They’ll need to be aware to use that exact link and not the redirect.

If you find any missing courses, cannot log in, or have other problems, please contact Kira Jensen at kira.jensen@jordandistrict.org. As so many students change enrollments at the beginning of the year, Info Systems will upload another round of rosters at the beginning of each quarter.

Students and rosters can be managed manually as well. For more information on how to manage class rosters, add students, and view reports in RI, please use the video tutorials:

Additional information about RI may be found on the Evaluation, Research & Accountability website:
https://assessments.jordandistrict.org/assessments/ri/

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Dear Administrators,

The Utah Department of Health, under the direction of Governor Herbert, has approved adjustments to the 14-day quarantine. Students and employees who have been quarantined due to an in-school exposure, while wearing a mask, may return to school if they are symptom-free, and have a negative test result after day 7 of quarantine. The test may be taken on day 7. State officials and medical experts indicate that this new guidance aligns with the best medical practice. 

The following are key points provided by the State:

  • Masks are effective at preventing transmission in classroom settings
  • This only applies to mask on mask exposure
  • Only applies to exposures that occurred in school
  • % of individuals who will develop symptoms do so on: 
    • Day 7 -75%, 
    • Day 9 - 90% 
    • Day 11- 95%
    • Testing picks up positive cases two days before symptoms onset; therefore, testing on day 7 means there is less than a 10% chance that an individual will contract after day 7
  • This is for individual exposures, and does not pertain to the threshold recommendations for classroom or school virtual learning 

The COVID-19 School Manual will be updated to reflect this change but the change takes effect immediately. 

Please carefully read the attached Low Risk Test and Return guidance document found below.  

More information will be forthcoming as it becomes available.  

 

 

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Administrators, Special Education teachers, those that work with building access, those that deal with 504's, and other compliance issues please take special note of this document.

The document below is from the Officer for Civil Rights and is regarding K-12 public schools in relation to meeting the needs of all students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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DATE:  
October 1, 2020

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

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

SUBJECT:
2021-22 Permit Updates and Trainings

It is time to begin preparation for the out-of-boundary permit application season. As a reminder, the open enrollment window runs from December 1 to the third Friday in February (February 19, 2021). Permits will again be accepted and processed through PowerSchool.

Please see memo below for information regarding training opportunities.

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The Board of Education has approved $4 million for the Educator Grant program.  Please make your faculty aware that all licensed educators can now apply for pandemic and innovative work grants.

As part of the pandemic work grant application, Principals will need to verify the pandemic work completed in the Spring of 2020, so we want you to be aware of this process:

1)    The individual applies for a Pandemic Work grant.

2)    They must request Principal Confirmation of work completed.

3)    This form in the grant application will automatically send you an email to verify their work. You will be able to click on a link to a description of the work and then click to confirm that the work was completed within the Pandemic work period.
The deadline for Principal Confirmation is October 30, 2020. We ask that you complete these quickly, as applicants will not receive a pandemic award if there is no verification by this date.

4)    If you are not the Principal that was working with this individual during the Spring of 2020, please forward this Principal Confirmation email to the correct Principal.

For more information please see the memo below.

 

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Administrators, we appreciate all that you are doing as lead learners in your buildings. Thank you!! We are opening up some additional times for support with FTE audits. In addition, USBE has extended the funding deadline allowing us to extend the FTE audit deadline to October 9, 2020. If you would like to schedule a Zoom meeting for support with your audit please click in the link below. If none of these times work for you please reach out to one of the Human Resource administrators below.

Schedule an FTE meeting

Brent Burge  Kim Gibson  Wyatt Bentley