Category: Middle School Action Required

Principals,

All open special education paraprofessional positions that you have will be closed on Friday, March 24, 2023. You will have to reopen them on Monday, April 3, 2023. We need to close the current para positions so that we can post the new job descriptions and pay lane since our new salary schedule goes into effect on April 3, 2023.

Also, Teacher Specialists will be bringing your paraprofessionals’ individual letters and a progression pay chart around to each of you to give to your paraprofessionals. These letters have where each individual was on the past pay scale and where they will be moved to. There is a possibility that a few will not move based on time and experience or that they haven’t yet completed the training. Please feel free to give them to your folks as soon as possible. Hourly employees will see the effect of the increase on the May paycheck. Contracted employees will see the change on their April paycheck. 

Please let us know if you have questions.

Thanks,

 Kim Lloyd
Special Education Director
Jordan School District

Dear Principals,

We recently met with the State LAND Trust office to review findings from a recent audit review. Overall the district is doing very well and the report was complimentary of the great work you are doing with your School Community Councils and LAND Trust budgets. They also shared some recommendations based on best practices for you to consider implementing as you complete your 2023-24 LAND Trust Plans.

• Be specific in which area(s) you are targeting for each of your goals.
  • State a measurable goal. Measurable goals need to include a number; such as raise scores 3%.
• When a goal involves paying for an employee in a specific subject area, the budget must pay for an employee within the subject the goal addresses.
  • For example, if your plan includes hiring someone to help address a math goal, the LAND Trust budget must pay a math teacher or math assistant. It can be the lowest paid math teacher in your building, but it cannot pay for someone outside of the math area.
• If your goal is school-wide and you will be paying for a teacher, you can use your budget to pay for the least expensive teacher, but you must tie that teacher into the goal. 
  • For example, if you have a new PE teacher and want to pay them because they would cost less, you need to tie that teaching position into your goal and explain how they will support that specific goal.
• Mini-Grants – If your plan includes Mini Grants for teachers, your plan must include who is receiving the money and how it will support the goal. Consider the following two options:
  • Have the teachers pre-apply (now) and then include the specific awarded mini grants into your plan.
  • (Or) Once the mini grants come in and you have approved them, you will need to amend your plan to explain which grants were awarded and how they support that goal. The amendment must be approved by your AOS and the Board of Education.
• A main concern raised in the audit was regarding carryover amounts. To address these concerns please include a backup plan in case you are not able to purchase the equipment/supplies or hire the assistants/teachers you have put into your plan. 
  • In order to not have to do an amendment, use the “Funding Changes” portion of the plan. 
  • Consider putting language like, “If we are not able to hire (or purchase) as planned for goal #, we will… (insert plan here) to reach our goal”.
• Confirm that your 2023-24 plan does not show a carryover of more than 10% before you submit. It also may not show a negative balance.
• NEW FOR THIS YEAR! Districts are required to distribute their own signature pages. Signatures may be collected on paper or digitally and copies should be provided to LEA leadership prior to approving the School LAND Trust Plans. Send your signature pages to Nadine Page. A template is provided below. You can either use the hard copy and have SCC members sign at your meeting or make a copy of this Google Doc to use electronically.
• In an effort to not have more than 10% carryover, please review your current budget to be certain you are on track to spend your budget as intended.
  • If you are on track to have a carryover of more than 10%, contact Nadine or your AOS to determine ways to spend and/or move money in a way that supports your plan.

Template-for-an-LEA-Signature-Form

DATE:
March 13, 2023

TO:
All Jordan School District Principals (with bus route students)

FROM:
Scott Thomas, Administrator of Auxiliary Services
Paul Bergera, Director of Transportation
Kathy Jones, Transportation Trainer/Risk Coordinator

SUBJECT:
State Required Bus Evacuations and School Bus Safety 2022-2023

State required semi-annual school bus evacuations have been scheduled for this spring. This applies to those students that ride the bus daily to and from school.

The evacuations will be conducted during the week of:

Monday, April 10 through Friday, April 14, 2023

Your school’s regular bus drivers will perform this evacuation as they drop your students off in the morning, one day during that week. This drill will take place at the school and within the students’ regular bus drop off/pick up zone. All professional school bus drivers that transport students are required to perform evacuation procedures in case of an emergency. This year, bus evacuation will be through the side door, front door, back door or any combination of the three. Students will then, under the direction and supervision of the bus driver, evacuate and meet in a safe place approximately 100 feet away from the bus.

Your assistance is welcome but not mandatory to complete this required evacuation drill quickly, safely and effectively.

We appreciate all you do to help us safely transport your students.

State Required Bus Evacuations 2022-23

Schools should update current hiring totals for 2023-24 on their enrollment dashboards as soon as possible so that accurate districtwide data can be monitored and appropriate adjustments made. Hiring totals should be kept current with changes made throughout the summer as needed. Positions do not need to be filled to be counted (i.e., a position that is planned for next year but not yet filled should be recorded on your dashboard as FTE that has been used). Contact Planning & Enrollment with questions about updating staffing totals.

DATE:   
Thursday, February 23, 2023

TO: 
All School Administrators

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:   
2022-23 USBE School Climate Survey

HB 120 (53G-8-802) and R277-623 mandate the administration of a statewide school climate survey. For this year, the USBE School Climate Survey will be administered in place of the district’s Stakeholder Input Survey.

Please see the memo below for all the details.

USBE School Climate Survey 2022-23

The STEM Action Center Math Personalized Learning Grant has opened. This is an excellent opportunity to acquire digital math licenses for your students.

STEM Action Center Digital Software Grants

DATE:
Thursday, February 2, 2023

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

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 ensures that students’ civil right to an equitable education and the government has chosen to use the WIDA Access as a way to hold school districts accountable for doing so.

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? Basic procedures are outlined below:

• 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. Schools may use this Google tracking sheet for documentation or their school opt out log already available to school test coordinators.
• When testing is complete, the school will share the Google tracking sheet with JoLynn Snelgrove in Evaluation, Research & Accountability using this email address: snelgrove@jordandistrict.org. JoLynn will also check school opt out logs.

Please contact Ben Jameson in Evaluation, Research & Accountability with any questions or concerns regarding these procedures.

What to Do with WIDA Access Parent Exclusion Requests

Parent Talking Points for WIDA Access Test Administration

DATE:
Thursday, February 2, 2023

TO:
All School Administrators

FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
Michael Heaps, Director of Information Systems
David Bowman, Systems & Security Manager

SUBJECT:
Chromebooks with Expiring Hardware that Will Be Used for Testing

When Chromebooks are purchased, they come with a pre-defined time at which the vendors will stop giving updates to the software that makes the computers run. With Chromebooks this is almost always 5 years or a bit more.

This is called the Auto Update Expiration (AUE) Date.

When a Chromebook hits that date it may continue to work, but it stops getting updates from Google. Over time, this will decrease its functionality with the internet where things will stop working properly. Websites won’t load right; extensions and apps either work partially or won’t work at all.

This can become an issue when older Chromebooks won’t be able to update to the minimum device specifications outlined for a testing secure browser such as the RISE Secure Browser, TestNav (Utah Aspire Plus and ACT), DRC Insight (WIDA Access), etc. If the older testing device can’t update to the secure browser’s minimum specifications, it is possible that the testing platform will be glitchy or not work at all.

In some cases, more than 60% of a school’s Chromebooks are already expired. To see how many and what percentage of your school’s Chromebooks are expired, please click here.

As testing season approaches, school administrators will want to think about how to mitigate possible technology issues if the majority of the school’s Chromebooks that will be used for spring testing are expired. Also, school administrators are strongly encouraged to run an infrastructure test prior to ACT, RISE, and/or Utah Aspire Plus summative testing. If schools are unable to replace expired Chromebooks prior to spring testing and many of the school’s devices failed the infrastructure test, school administrators should develop a plan for rotating through newer devices to complete spring summative testing.

Expiring Chromebooks

Hello Principals,

The JEF Challenge Run is on for 2023!

A representative from the JEF Challenge Run Committee would like to meet with your faculty to discuss the Challenge Run sometime in the next 30 days.  We have a short 10-minute presentation we'd like to share at your next soonest faculty meeting.

Below is a Google Link.  Would you please select a date and time in the next 30 days that would work for you?  Thank you!

https://forms.gle/7VVHvz3zdpsDP4Yo6

Dear Administrators,

During 2021-22 and continuing through the 2022-23 year, schools were given the option to hire benefit-eligible substitutes for which the school paid half the cost (including benefits) and the District paid half.  This position was originally intended to be temporary through 2022-23.

GREAT NEWS!  As this option has shown to be a benefit to schools, it will now be available going forward.

CURRENT SUBSTITUTES
For schools who are currently taking advantage of the benefit-eligible substitute position, the following information will apply:

• The position will continue for the 2023-24 and future years. You will not need to submit a change form unless you need to change the budget codes.
• If your current benefit-eligible substitute resigns, you have the option to repost the position. Please follow the job posting steps below.
• If your funding availability changes in the future, the substitute position will be subject to a Reduction in Force. Please contact Brent Burge to work through this process.

POSITION INFORMATION

• Benefit-eligible substitutes will be contracted to work 180 days per year.
• Pay is equivalent to the ESP Lane 4 Step 1 at eight hours per day ($18.52/hour or $148.16/day for the 2022-23 year). (The District may modify this amount as needed) The contract will be paid over 10 months, September to June.
• This position is eligible for benefits, including insurance, leave time and Retirement.
• The benefit-eligible substitute is expected to arrive 15 minutes prior to students arriving and stay 15 minutes after students leave. These benefit-eligible substitutes will be paid full days on Fridays/shortened days as long as they stay 15 minutes after students leave.
• This position must be posted in Frontline and the schools must follow all hiring procedures established for Contract ESP positions, including:
  • Requisition submitted
  • Position posted for a minimum of five working days
  • All applicants must be screened by the administration to determine interview eligibility
  • Interviews conducted following best practices
  • Recommendation for hire submitted, prior to any job offer, including submitting all interview notes
  • Minimum of two references complete. One must be with the current/most recent supervisor

Please contact a Human Resource Administrator or Recruiter if you have questions regarding this position.

Are you interested in or currently pursuing a STEM endorsement? Let USBE PAY FOR YOUR EDUCATION! This is called the STEM Endorsement Incentive Program (EIP).  See our EIP website for a full list of endorsements.

Reimbursement applications for courses completed in Fall/Winter 2022 will be reviewed after the January 27, 2023 deadline. Another round of reimbursements will be available for classes taken in Spring 2023.

See the attached flyer and link to our EIP website for more information. If you have any questions, please reach out to your content consultant. We would love to talk to you!

STEM EIP Flyer

DATE:
Thursday, January 12, 2023

TO:
All School Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:
CSI/TSI Calculations Released by USBE for All Schools

________________________________________________________________________________

Targeted School Improvement (TSI) and Comprehensive School Improvement (CSI) are two school designations under the state’s ESSA plan and are part of the state’s school accountability system. The purpose of these two school improvement programs is to help schools identify and support student groups that are struggling academically.

Schools are designated as TSI if one or more of its student groups’ total school report card points earned is in the bottom 5% statewide for two consecutive years.

Schools are designated as CSI if one of the following conditions are met:

• They are a high school with a low graduation rate in the year CSI was calculated (every three years).
• They are a Title I school that has one or more student groups identified as TSI that haven’t exited after four years.
• They are a Title I school where the total student population’s school report card points earned is in the bottom 5% of Title I schools statewide in the year CSI was calculated (every three years).

For your information, CSI was calculated for the 2021-22 school year.

USBE has recently released the school report card calculation data for TSI designations, and the results may be accessed in school administrator Tableau accounts. School administrators may use this information to identify student groups that are close to being designated as TSI, or in other words, student groups that have one year below the state’s 5% threshold of the two consecutive years required. The 2021-22 TSI Calculations for All Schools Statewide dashboard may be accessed here.

Title I schools may also see a similar view for CSI calculations for their total student population here. Using this dashboard, school principals will be able to see how close to the 5% threshold their student population came to being designated as CSI for each of the school report card indicators.

For questions about TSI, CSI, school report cards, or the state’s school accountability system, please contact Ben Jameson in Evaluation, Research & Accountability.

TSI-CSI Calculations for All Schools