Category: Middle School Action Required

The Special Education FAQ sheet is regularly updated with information and guidance for supporting Special Education services during school dismissal. Updates and changes are color coded. Please bookmark the link below to easily find this document for questions you may experience as you support your special educators.

Special Education School Dismissal FAQs - https://docs.google.com/document/d/18cT9uNPVDT8WZHea_J6_TYxm5OVCmdo9l-qtcCHF1Hc/edit?usp=sharing

Although the Documentation Video is imbedded in the FAQ document, we've provided a direct link to this short video that was done to help explain what is and isn't required for documentation of special education services during dismissal. It also provides options for documenting required information but allows for other methods if teachers have already created tools that meet these same requirements.

Documentation Video - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1p1iTcHfcPwP-VE-xEn-qATAxbjvo3Gd0/view?usp=sharing

An email was sent to all Principals inviting them to participate in an "Open Mic Q & A" Zoom meeting on Friday, April 17th @ 2:00 p.m. with Kim Lloyd in the Special Education Department. This is a drop in and ask a question format, there will not be an agenda. If you did not receive that email please contact Kim Lloyd directly.

Opportunity to Work
Principals and Directors should work with employees to give them the opportunity to continue working if they choose.  If their current position is not available during the dismissal, they could opt to telework if possible, do online training from home, or to perform other job functions.

Record Leave Time
If contracted employees are not working during the school dismissal (March 16-TBD), they will still need to record their leave time in Skyward as the leave time occurs.  They do not need to apply for FMLA to use available personal, vacation, or no-pay days.  Employees are able to utilize all available personal leave days and vacation days.  Employees can also use no-pay days, and will not be terminated for using more than 15 during the dismissal.  These no-pay days will be docked from the employee’s paycheck(s).  Leave days used from March 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020 will not count against the Attendance Incentive.

Sick Days
Sick days may also still be used for employees if the reason is eligible as per sick leave policy.

Apply for FMLA
Employees will still need to apply for FMLA leave through Human Resources, as usual, if they or family members are having health issues for longer than five (5) consecutive days.

Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)
Employees may apply for leave due to COVID19 reasons through Human Resources.  Please refer to the attached notice for this paid leave and expanded family and medical leave.

Hello - Jordan School district employees, attached you will find a message from the USBE. We wanted to share with you the most recent information that has been shared with us. While there is a disruption to some of the normal processing that takes place in new hiring, renewals, and upgrades in teacher licensing there is still much that can be done with people working at home. If you are trying to do any of these things and are struggling to make progress please let us know and we will see what we can do to help you move forward. We would encourage you to make what progress you can because when all of these offices are up and running they will be inundated with people trying to get their licenses in good status. Thank you for your help in moving forward and we hope that you and your families are safe and well!!

DATE: 
Thursday, April 2, 2020

TO:  
All Principals

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

SUBJECT:  
End of Year State Testing Updates

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The Utah State Board of Education released the following updates for the various end-of-year state summative assessments:

Please see memo below.

Dear Administrators:

Once again, thank you for all the amazing work you are doing to help teachers and students during this trying time. In reviewing the needs for evaluations and also understanding the amount of stress administrators and teachers are under we will be making one more change to evaluations. Our hope is to be of help and to support you all the best way we can. Please make the necessary contact with your teachers to let them know what they will need to do.

ARL/APT/Interns/Provisional Psychologist/ Provisional Educators  

If the teacher has had at least one passing evaluation for the 2019-2020 school year, the teacher will now be considered complete and no further action will be required.

If no evaluations have been completed, then you will need to contact the teacher and instruct them to complete the educator interim on JPLS (or the provisional psychologist).

Note: If you have already completed and signed off on a teacher specialist evaluation for an ARL, APT, intern, or provisional teacher you will not need to have the teacher complete an interim.

Dear Administrators,

Thank you for your patience in regards to teacher evaluations during this time of change and uncertainty.  Many have asked what will be the next steps in the evaluation process.  In order to help relieve the stress for both administrators and teachers the following changes will be made, effective immediately.  Please contact Rebecca Lee with all questions and concerns at rebecca.lee@jordandistrict.org or (801) 567-8369.  Thank you for all your continued help and support.

Career Educators on Full – Not Completed Yet

Career educators who are a full cycle for the 2019-2020 school year and have not been through the evaluation process, or have begun but not finished one or more pieces of the process (missing an in classroom observation, interview), will be placed on an interim.

Action Required: Administrators will need to contact all career teachers and have them

complete the interim on JPLS.  This will include the beginning of the year activities and then the end of the year reflection.  What will need to be completed by the teacher: three goals, self-evaluation, reflection on all three goals. Lists will be updated to reflect the change.

Provisional Educators

All provisional educators that have already had one full evaluation will be considered complete. If you have a provisional educator that has not yet received a full evaluation we will place them on a full Teacher Specialist evaluation on JPLS to complete the one full required evaluation. Lists will be updated to reflect this change.

Action Required: Notify any provisional that have not been through one cycle and let them know they need to complete the teacher specialist online.  Note: Teacher Specialist evaluations will need to be manually added and may take until Monday, March 30^th to appear.

Educators Currently on an Interim

Educators currently on an interim will have no change.  Please remind these teachers to complete their reflection piece so that they may be acknowledged by the assigned administrator.

Action Required:  Send out reminder emails to teachers on interims reminding them to complete the reflection piece of the interim.

Note:  Each administrator will receive an email with a list of changes for their schools by Monday, March 30, 2020. It will indicate who they need to contact in regards to the above changes. 

 

Please see instructions regarding another way for teachers to communicate with their students. Please forward this to your teachers.

Paychecks

All paychecks that are not direct deposited will temporarily be mailed to your address on file in Skyward. This will take effect today, March 13th, until further notice.

To avoid possible delays in receiving your paycheck, please log in to your Skyward Employee Access to verify that your address is correct, or to make any changes to your address.

  

1 - Log in to Skyward Employee Access (call 801-567-8737 for login assistance if needed)
2 - EMPLOYEE INFORMATION tab
3 - PERSONAL INFORMATION (under Employee Information heading)

Address
View and/or change your address online:

• ADDRESS (under Demographic heading)

View and/or change your address by telephone:

• Call Human Resources at 801-567-8150

Direct Deposit
View and/or change your direct deposit online:

• DIRECT DEPOSIT (under Payroll heading)

Paper Direct Deposit Authorization form:

• Call the Payroll Department at 801-567-8154, or email carolyn.bevan@jordandistrict.org
• Do NOT email your completed Direct Deposit authorization

W-4
View your W4 information online (you cannot change your W-4 online):

• W4 INFORMATION (under Payroll heading)

Paper W4 Form:

• Call the Payroll Department at 801-567-8154, or email bevan@jordandistrict.org
• Search for 2020 W-4 Form online
• Do NOT email your completed W4

W-2
View your W2 online

• W2 INFORMATION (under Payroll heading)
• VIEW W2 FORM button

Paper Copy of W2:

• Call the Payroll Department at 801-567-8154

Please continue to work with your staff members who desire to work from home. Direct any questions or concerns to your Administrator of Schools.

• • State officials will make any decisions regarding any change to the state-wide school dismissal.

Administrators: Please post and share with those in your building.

Youth Mental Health First Aid USA is an 8-hour training for adults to teach how to help adolescents and young adults who may be developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. The evidence behind the program demonstrates that it helps trainees identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. See flyer below for details on how to register.

Saturday, March 21, 2020
7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Jordan School District Auxiliary Services Building
Room 113

All administrators are invited to attend our first SEL Accelerator! We ask that administrators also invite individuals at their schools who would benefit from attending and who you'd like to have learned more about implementing social and emotional learning. For questions, contact McKinley Withers at x88245. See flyer below for details.

Many of us love our Apple devices, anything ranging from an iPad, to a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, or your iMac or Apple TV. We are purchasing and seeing more and more of these devices in our offices and classrooms, and they help our students grow and learn, and allow the rest of us to do our jobs efficiently.

We encourage you to keep purchasing Apple products for your classrooms and offices. However, any Apple device needs to be purchased from Apple Computer through the purchase order process for educational usage per the State of Utah contract. We may not always get the correct discounted price when purchased from the Apple Store or other retailers such as Best Buy or Costco. It also causes problems for our Information Systems department to get the devices in the Device Enrollment Program (DEP) and the Mobile Device Management (MDM) for tracking and updates. When purchased elsewhere, iPads are not getting engraved with the school district's name (we get this free through Apple on the state contract), and the device management licenses are not being purchased with them.

The District's Amazon Business account will no longer allow purchases of these products, and P-Cards are not to be used for computer/technology devices.

When you need to purchase Apple devices, please contact Tonya Hodges in the Purchasing Department, and she can assist you with quotes from Apple for the devices you need. No additional quotes are required for your purchase! Simply enter a requisition in Skyward with the Apple quote attached, and you are ready to go. Tonya can be reached at 567-8706 or at tonya.hodges@jordandistrict.org .

Teacher Transfer Fair for elementary and secondary will be held on February 19th from 4:00-6:30 pm at Elk Ridge Middle School. Please share the attached flyer with your licensed staff.