Skip to content

DATE:
May 31, 2016

TO: 
All Special Educators
All Principals

FROM: 
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curric./Staff Development & Special Programs
Lisa Robinson, Director of Special Education
Julie Brown, Program Specialist

SUBJECT:
Woodcock Johnson IV Training


Jordan School District has purchased the Woodcock Johnson IV Test of Achievement to replace the Woodcock Johnson III, which will no longer be on the approved list for achievement testing for the 2016-2017 school year. All special educators must attend this mandatory training.  Special educators must have completed all aspects of training before they will be able to conduct achievement testing with students. Registration is available through JPLS (course number 101079). The schedule of training dates is attached.

Special educators will either be paid at inservice rate, or if you are on contract, may request a substitute using budget code 1292.

DATE:
May 20, 2016

TO:
All Principals
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Administrators of Schools
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent of Schools
Luann Leavitt, Consultant for Planning and Student Services

SUBJECT:
Student Residency Questionnaire


Enclosed is a copy of the Student Residency Questionnaire form in English and Spanish.  This questionnaire has been developed to assist in the process of enrolling homeless students and to keep the district in compliance with the McKinney-Vento Act.  This notification must be included with the 2016-17 registration materials that you send to all parents/students.  Please send both a copy in English and a copy in Spanish. 

The forms will be included in the elementary, middle and high school registration information and the Skyward online registration materials.  Please make sure that the forms are returned with other registration materials.  The form isn’t optional.  All students are required to complete and return the questionnaire.

Please make additional copies of both the English and Spanish versions. (The two versions may be run back-to-back.)  These copies should then be given to the registrar, attendance office, and/or counselors to give to those students entering your school during the school year who did not receive the initial registration materials.  It is imperative that the parents of every student who attends your school, anytime during the school year, complete this residency questionnaire.

At the bottom of the questionnaire are instructions for the parents and the school.  If the school has any of the questionnaires returned that indicate a temporary residence, please forward the forms to the Jordan School District Homeless Liaison (Hilda Lloyd) in Alternative Language Services or call Hilda at 567-8308 or 567-8116.

Thank you for your help.

Enclosures

 

DATE:  
May 20, 2016

TO:  
All Principals
Administrative Assistants

FROM:  
Administrators of Schools
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent of Schools
Luann Leavitt, Consultant for Planning and Student Services

SUBJECT: 
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Notification
The attached Annual Notification was revised in 2016-17


Enclosed is a copy of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act Annual Notification and Directory Information disclosure.  Please note that the notification has been revised to include language concerning release of information when a student poses an articulable health or safety threat.  By law we are required to annually notify eligible students and parents of their rights under this act.

This revised notification must be included with the 2016-17 registration materials that you send to parents/students.  Please send both a copy in English and a copy in Spanish.  (The two versions may be run back-to-back.)  The forms will be included in the elementary, middle, and high school registration materials and the school online registration materials.

Please make additional copies of both the English and Spanish versions.  These copies could then be given to the registrar, attendance office, and/or counselors to give to those students entering your school during the school year who did not receive the initial registration materials.  It is imperative that the parents of every student who attends your school, anytime during the school year, be given a copy of this notification.

You must notify me immediately if you receive written notification from a parent or eligible student indicating they refuse to let the school disclose any or all of the information designated as “Directory Information.”   All requests for student information from any branches of the military or from other outside agencies must be processed through Planning & Student Services. Please do not release information from your school.

Merely stating that the student does not want to be listed in the school directory does not qualify as written notification for FERPA purposes and does not need to be sent to this office.

Thank you for your help.

Enclosures

DATE:
April 28, 2016

TO:
All Principals, Directors and Coordinators

FROM:
June LeMaster, Ph.D., Administrator, Human Resources
Brent Burge, Human Resource Administrator - Classified

SUBJECT:
Classified Assistant Employment Evaluations for the 2015–2016 School Year


As the end of the school year is fast approaching, it is time to complete employee performance evaluations for all part-time assistants.  The evaluation documents are crucial in justifying employee terminations or unemployment claims.

All forms are available on the HR website on the “Admin Only” or the “Secretary Connections” page under the “Part Time Classified Evaluations” link.

You will find the following forms:

  • Part-Time Classified Assistant Evaluations Guideline -outlining the procedure for evaluating part time employees in your school/department.
  • Assistants-Employment Review/Status form

It is important you meet with each assistant for his/her evaluation. In each evaluation, the employee must be informed of his/her employment status for the upcoming year and the employee’s signature is required.

As part of your meeting with each assistant, please remind them that part-time employees with Jordan School District are considered "at will". That is, either the employee or Jordan School District may end the employment relationship at any time, for any reason, or for no reason.  There is no expectation of continued or guaranteed employment.

If you have any questions or if you need additional help, review the evaluation guideline on the website or you may contact our office at 801-567-8224.

Thank you for your assistance.

All Principals (K-12):

Please share the flyer, Workshops Presentations for Teachers and Students with all of your teachers.   This is put on by SHIFT, a program of the Utah Film Center that offers educators high-quality professional development on the filmmaking process (digital storytelling) and how to integrate it into the core areas.
Workshops and instructional materials provide comprehensive, standards-linked lesson plans to guide educators on how to produce documentaries, public service announcements (PSAs), instructional videos, personal narratives, and other short film projects with their students.  There is a strong emphasis on writing.
*There is a FREE 2-day workshop on Filmmaking in the Classroom on Feb. 19 & 20 at Thanksgiving Point.  You may find registration information in the attached flyer. 

High School and Middle School Principals:

Any dance teacher that is teaching Ballroom Dance is invited to attend a Ballroom Dance Inservice on Feb. 9th from 7:00-2:00 p.m. in the JATC South Auditorium. Elaine Crane, former BYU Ballroom instructor, will be providing instruction from 7:00-11:00 a.m. with 11:00-2:00 teacher collaboration and planning to determine how this curriculum will be taught in JSD. Curriculum will pay for subs.Have teachers enter sub code as 5413. Please have your teachers email Mary Ann Erdmann, maryann.erdmann@jordandistrict.org, to let her know that they will be in attendance.

DATE:  
January 15, 2016

TO: 
Principals
Elementary and Middle School Resource Team Leaders
High School Special Education Team Leaders

FROM:
Laura Finlinson, Admin. of Curriculum/Staff Development & Special Programs
Lisa Robinson, Director of Special Education
Julie Brown, Program Specialist

SUBJECT:
Projected Caseload Data and Staffing Needs Survey for 2016-17


Middle School Principals: See attached memo.

 

DATE:
January 4, 2016

TO:   
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator

SUBJECT: 
January 11 and 22 Business Meeting for Administrative Assistants


This is a reminder about the business meeting for administrative assistants that will be held at the District Office in Room 129 on the following dates:

Monday, January 11, 2016 – 1:00-3:00 p.m.

Friday, January 22, 2016 – 9:00-11:00 a.m.

Meeting attendance is voluntary and not required; however, we hope you will take advantage of this specialized training.  A copy of the agenda is attached.  While the topics that will be discussed in these sessions are geared more towards school-related matters, District administrative assistants are welcome to participate.  The meetings are also open to administrators and/or others that may benefit from the topics being presented.

If you haven’t already provided Jeri with the date you plan to attend, please choose one of the two dates that will work best with your schedule and send an email to Jeri Clayton (jeri.clayton@jordandistrict.org) to let her know which date you will attend so that we can plan for the number of attendees at each session.  You can also call Jeri at 801-567-8120.

We look forward to seeing you.

/jc
Attachment

DATE:    
January 6, 2016

TO: 
Principals

FROM:
Administrators of Schools
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Clyde Mason, Director of Evaluation, Research, and Accountability

SUBJECT:
2016 Summative SAGE School Administrator and Test Coordinators’ Training, Feb. 23 and 24, 2016

School Testing Coordinators and Administrators preparation training for the 2016 Summative SAGE assessments is scheduled for February 23, 2016 (secondary) and February 24, 2016 (elementary).  Two sections of training are being provided on each date.  Registration for this training is required through JPLS.  If you, or your assigned school administrator, and your 2016 SAGE Test Coordinator have not yet registered for this training, please do so through JPLS: https://jpls.truenorthlogic.com/U/P/Channel/-/Guest/Login  utilizing the JPLS course and section information provided in the table below:

SAGE-Training-Course

Principals, please note the following:

  • School testing coordinators are required to attend.  Please make sure they attend even if they cannot sign up through JPLS.
  • Testing coordinators and administrators will be expected to train school faculty members and other school personnel who will be administering 2016 Summative SAGE assessments.
  • Training materials will be made available online at http://assessments.jordandistrict.org/

 

Again, principals please make sure that your SAGE test coordinator and you, or your school administrator assigned to oversee 2016 Summative SAGE Assessments, register for, and attend one of the above SAGE training sections.  Please direct any questions regarding this training to Brooke Anderson, 801-567-8393 brooke.anderson@jordandistrict.org.


 

Principals:

The 2016 School Climate Surveys will be administered between February 1, 2016 and March 18, 2016.  The attached communication contains links to the 2016 student, faculty/staff, and parent school climate surveys.  Please review and verify the accuracy of assistant principals, teachers, and certificated support staff listed in each of your school’s surveys (student, faculty/staff, parent) prior to January 22, 2016.  If there are any names that need to be changed, please let Alyssa Messina at UEPC know byJanuary 22, 2016 what changes are needed.  She can be reached at alyssa.messina@utah.edu.

Kaurie Sue Hamilton School and Preschool are listed under "Elementary Schools".  River's Edge School and South Valley School are listed under "High Schools".

You may share the survey links with your school's assistant principals but do NOT share the links with students, teachers, staff, or parents until Feb. 1, 2016.  Feel free to visit, and mark, each of the surveys as often as you would like prior to January 22, 2016Collection of actual data from the student, faculty/staff, and parent school climate surveys will begin on February 1, 2016 at 8:00 a.m. MST.

Please contact Clyde Mason if you have questions about needed preparations for the 2016 School Climate Surveys.

Success with SAGE
For Secondary Language Arts Teachers

This learning opportunity will give teachers time to explore the SAGE assessment and its tools.  Participants will get the chance to take a practice test and plan activities to help their students better understand the testing tools available.

Curriculum and Staff Development will pay for ½ day subs for those attending sessions during the day.  Teachers attending the evening classes will be paid at the in-service rate for their time in class.

There are seven sessions scheduled:

Thursday, February 4 – 8:00-11:00
Thursday, February 4 – 12:00-3:00
Monday, February 8 – 8:00-11:00
Monday, February 8 – 12:00-3:00
Monday, February 8 – 3:30-6:30
Wednesday, February 10 – 12:00-3:00
Wednesday, February 10 – 3:30-6:30

JPLS course #100998

Facilitator – Donna Hunter, Secondary English Arts, Curriculum and Staff Development.