Jordan School District
Principals:
Please announce this and post in your school and on your website. Share with your School Community Council and PTA members.
Do You Know What's on Your Child's Smartphone?
Thursday, September 28, 2017
7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
West Jordan Middle School
Principals:
Please share the attached flyer with your School Community Council members. As a reminder, new principals and new chairs are required to attend one of these trainings. An online video will be provided for training all other members during a SCC meeting. Watch JAM for information of when the video will be available.
Administrators:
Please remember that all JSD schools are required to conduct a fire drill within the first 10 days of the start of school, and then again within the first 10 days after winter recess. Emergency drills are reported electronically and information compiled on the Compliance Report for our Administrators of Schools and the Risk Management Coordinator. Attached are instructions, including the link to the report form and also a review of the process and list of other emergency drills requirements.
The report can also be accessed in the shared Google Drive file: ASB - Website Doc and Forms, Safety/Security, Reports/Forms/Documents.
Below is the link to the Report of Emergency Drills:
https://goo.gl/forms/NAEiaB69QE5B9p712
For questions, please don't hesitate to contact Peggy Margetts at 801-567-8753 or at peggy.margetts@jordandistrict.org.
Please be reminded that each school, along with the School Community Council, must provide digital citizenship and internet safety training.
Please see attachment for information regarding the rules and regulations.
DATE:
August 24, 2017
TO:
All Principals
FROM:
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
SUBJECT:
Upcoming Changes to UTIPS
USBE has been working to update the UTIPS system to be aligned with the Utah Core. The item bank for English language arts is 100% updated and aligned with the core, the math item bank is 75% completed, and the science item bank will be updated later this fall.
Teachers will now need to check their assessments on UTIPS to be sure that they are aligned to the Utah Core as well. The standards bank in UTIPS will be updated in mid-September and all obsolete standards will be removed from the system. This will affect any teacher-created assessments that are not aligned to the current core.
We ask that all principals pass this information on to their faculties so that teachers may take the appropriate actions to ensure that they will still have access to their assessments on UTIPS and that those assessments are aligned to and assessing the current Utah Core.
If you have any questions, please contact Ben Jameson at 801-567-8243.
DATE:
August 24, 2017
TO:
All Principals
FROM:
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
SUBJECT:
2017 SAGE Data Release on USBE Data Gateway
Beginning August 25, 2017, the 2016-17 SAGE proficiency results will be released on USBE’s Data Gateway for principals, schools, and districts to review. The URL for the Data Gateway is https://datagateway.schools.utah.gov/. The login prompt is in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
We ask that principals log into the Data Gateway and review their school’s SAGE results for accuracy as soon after August 25th as possible. The intent of the review is to address any data errors before the mid-September public release date. Please report any concerns or inaccuracies to the Evaluation, Research & Accountability department at 801-567-8185.
It is anticipated that USBE will release accountability data and school report cards in mid-September for principals, schools and districts to review. While the release date is still tentative, schools will have an opportunity to review their accountability data prior to public release.
If you need assistance navigating the Data Gateway or logging in, please contact Ben Jameson at 801-567-8243.
DATE:
August 24, 2017
TO:
Secondary Principals
FROM:
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
Pam Su’a, Consultant, Social Studies
SUBJECT:
U.S. Civics Test and UTIPS
In order to facilitate record keeping more easily and lessen the burdens of social studies teachers, we will be administering the U.S. Civics test required for high school graduation (see Utah Code 53A-13-109.5 and Board Rule R277-700-8) via UTIPS.
The plan for administering the U.S. Civics test is as follows:
Social studies department chairs have already been trained on this updated process. Teachers have already received updated UTIPS accounts, with demo accounts, so that they can see what the student sees. They have also received the instructions and materials to administer the Civics test as needed.
Building principals will be receiving an individual email in the near future from the Evaluation, Research & Accountability department with individual UTIPS usernames and passwords. This account access for principals will allow for another level of completion tracking for this graduation requirement, at each principal’s discretion.
For more information on the Civics test administration, please visit the district’s assessment website under Assessments tab and US Civics Test: http://assessments.jordandistrict.org/assessments/citizenship-test/.
Please call the Evaluation, Research & Accountability department with any concerns or questions you may have at 801-567-8017.
DATE:
August 23, 2017
TO:
All Principals
FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum & Staff Development
Ron Bird, Director of Information Systems
Michael Heaps, Support Services Manager, Information Systems
Mark Sowa, Instructional Technology Consultant
SUBJECT:
Canvas Licenses
Many of you may have heard that Canvas licenses have been purchased by the State for all students in Utah public schools. This is accurate. However, funding has only been committed for the current school year. There is no current plan or guarantee that the State will pay for licenses after this school year.
If you are interested in using Canvas at your school under the current free licensing, please contact Michael Heaps or Steffany Ellsworth in Information Systems (801-567-8140) for more information and instructions on how to begin this process.
You will also want to consider a professional development component to implementation. To discuss this further, please contact your respective Instructional Technology Teacher Specialist.
Salt Lake County has decided to eliminate 9th grade girls and boys basketball program. Further discussion will be held at the September level meeting.
DATE:
July 1, 2017
TO:
Principals
Head/Financial Secretaries
Special Education Teachers (Resource and Cluster)
Speech-Language Pathologists
FROM:
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curric./Staff Development & Special Programs
Lisa Robinson, Director of Special Education
Julie Brown, Program Specialist
SUBJECT:
Special Education Budget Allocations 2017-18
See attached memo and budget guidelines.
JPLS Reminder:
Administrators, please remind all administrative assistants to not create default accounts for new teachers on JPLS. New teacher accounts are created on JPLS within a week of HR updating information on Skyward. If you have questions please contact the JES office at (801) 5f67-8239 or (801) 567-8369. Thank you.
In compliance with our Employee Immunization policy (DP377) and State Health Regulation #38 (attached), many schools have arranged for Community Nursing Services (CNS) to come to their schools to provide immunizations for their staff. Attached is a list of dates, locations, and times for employee immunization clinics in our district. You may attend a clinic at a location other than your own.
If you are planning to attend, please bring your insurance card with you. You may want to bring proof of immunizations that you have already received, as well. CNS will enter them into the State website for you. These are not immunization clinics for students. If you have questions, contact Educational Support Services for additional information.
The solar eclipse is an incredible event that many may want to witness. However, because of the dangers involved in viewing it, we have secured guidelines from the National School Nurse Association and from State Risk Management. If you, your classes, or your families plan to view the eclipse, please read and share the information in the two attached documents.
DATE:
July 15, 2017
TO:
All Principals
Elementary Administrative Assistants
Registrars
Attendance Secretaries
FROM:
Administrators of Schools
Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Planning and Student Services
SUBJECT:
Enrollment 2017-18
This memo is a reminder of the issues you may face when enrolling students for the upcoming school year. This should help when assisting patrons in enrollment.
Kindergarten: The student must be at least 5 years of age on or before September 1,
2017 to enroll in Kindergarten. Utah State Law 53A-3-402 which states: (6) Except as provided in Section 53A-1-1001, a board may enroll children in school who are at least five years of age before September 2 of the year in which admission is sought. Active military children are an exception.
Legal Guardians: Please make sure the child is enrolling with their Legal Guardian. Check the birth certificate and Identification to make sure the enrolling adult belongs to the enrolling child. If they are not their legal guardian, either a Durable Power of Attorney needs to accompany the paperwork or legal guardianship through the courts.
Custodial Parents: Please make sure you obtain legal documentation (signed by a judge) in divorce situations when necessary. The Court orders parents’ behavior in their enrollment decisions, not schools.
Foreign Exchange: Students coming from other countries without a legal guardian need to be referred to the Planning & Student Services Department for enrollment.
Please be consistent in your enrollment process with all students. Ask questions to determine individual situations, show patience and understanding and contact Planning & Student Services for any issues you may need help in resolving. We know this is a busy time for you and we are here ready to help with individual situations.
DATE:
August 3, 2017
TO:
All Principals
FROM:
Administrators of Schools
Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Planning and Student Services
SUBJECT:
FTE and Enrollment Counts
FTE and staffing enrollment counts for the 2017-18 school year will occur on the dates listed below. As a reminder, student enrollment will be taken from Skyward and manual student counts are not needed for this process.
If there have been any changes to your FTE Staffing and Enrollment spreadsheet, please send an updated spreadsheet to Travis Hamblin in Planning and Student Services. Your staffing report and attendance combine to determine your FTE eligibility.
Questions regarding FTE and/or enrollment should be directed to Travis Hamblin or your Administrator of Schools.
Please staff conservatively.
The process for SLOs and Stakeholder input have changed slightly this year. Instead of reporting SLOs, stakeholder input, and performance as three different weighted components, SLOs and stakeholder input will be included within the JPAS evaluation. In an effort to add structure to the process, teachers are asked to complete a form as part of their SLOs. A copy of the form, along with a set of instructions is included. Ideally, planning for SLOs will take place with teams as part of the PLC process. Using PLC time will also provide an opportunity for you to approve the SLOs.
Beginning this new school year, the Payroll Department will no longer accept paper time sheets for current True Time employees. Using True Time for all of their pay (even for one hour) will:
Please email keelee.leuluai@jordandistrict.org (preferred), or call Payroll to set up the proper pay code(s) for True Time. Time sheets received in Payroll for current True Time employees during the school year will be returned, and Payroll will assist and train the employees on how to enter the information from the time sheet into True Time (pool hours, testing, playground, etc).
Please let all current True Time employees at your location know of these changes.
Due to reporting requirements, the following currently do not use True Time: insulin shots, Home & Hospital, USTAR, athletic and activity differentials, and Camps & Clinics (high schools).
Please contact Payroll if you have concerns so we can better accommodate your needs.
We appreciate your ongoing support and assistance in paying Jordan District employees.
Secondary Principals:
A mistake was found on the principal checklist that was included in JAM last week. It has been corrected and replaced within that edition of JAM and a revised form can also be found below.
Please take note that when you send in the fee waiver forms to Mike Anderson or Nadine Troxel there are two different forms that need to come in, the Principal Checklist and 2 (two) copies of the Certificate of Compliance.
Thank you!
DATE:
June 16, 2017
TO:
Principals
FROM:
Administrators of Schools
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
SUBJECT:
2017-18 Required Testing Ethics Professional Development Procedures
Instructions, materials, and documentation forms for the required 2017-18 Testing Ethics professional development are being sent to schools via the Jordan Administrative Memo (JAM). These materials will also be available online at http://assessments.jordandistrict.org/ethics/ . The four required procedures for completing this testing ethics professional development are listed on the “2017-18 Principal’s Test Ethics Checklist” form provided in the materials.
It is important that all school leaders and teachers be reminded that the professional testing ethics required for all State-mandated assessments such as SAGE, ACT, and WIDA Access, also apply to all District-mandated assessments such as benchmark tests, SLO assessments, and other District-created assessments including MasteryConnect® assessments. Students must not be given secured assessment questions as homework or discussion items. Any use of secured assessment questions for instruction, discussion, or homework compromises the validity and integrity of the assessment questions and constitutes a violation of professional testing ethics protocol.
Principals are to make sure that teachers understand that professional testing ethics must be followed when working with District-mandated as well as State-mandated assessments. Principals are also to remind teachers that any potential disciplinary action specified for violating professional testing ethics on State-mandated assessments, also applies to any violation of professional testing ethics on District-mandated assessments.
DATE:
June 15, 2017
TO:
All School Principals
All School Financial Secretaries
FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Heather Ellingson, Director of Accounting, Budgets and Audits
Daniel Ellis, Accountant/Internal Auditor
SUBJECT:
School Bank Account Balances for June 30, 2017
Please send the following information for each bank account balance as of June 30, 2017 to Accounting by July 28, 2017. If you have multiple bank accounts, please list each account separately. For elementary schools who have completely closed their separate accounts please indicate so on the form.
School Name
Name of Bank
Type of Account (checking, savings, money market)
Account Balance
The balance requested is the balance from your June bank statements, not Skyward. This information is required annually and will be used to complete reporting requirements for Utah Money Management Council.
If you have questions or need assistance, please call Dan Ellis at (801)567-8389.
Thank you.
Cc:
Michael Anderson, Administrator of Schools
Jill Durrant, Administrator of Schools
Anthony Godfrey, Administrator of Schools
Brad Sorensen, Administrator of Schools
Teri Timpson, Administrator of Schools
