Category: Middle School Info

DATE:
October 15, 2026

TO:
All Administrators and Administrative Assistants

FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Human Resources

SUBJECT:
Administrative Assignments

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The following are new administrative assignments:

New Assignments effective Oct. 20, 2026:

• Katie Mintiloglitis, Assistant Principal at Rivers Edge School, transferred as Consultant to the Special Education department.
• Becky West, Behavior Specialist in Granite School District, appointed Assistant Principal at Rivers Edge School.
• Keith Klein, teacher at Jordan Ridge Elementary, appointed Assistant Principal at Bluffdale Elementary.
• Polla Slade, Intern Assistant Principal at Foothills Elementary, transferred as Intern Assistant Principal at Aspen Elementary.

TO:
Principals

FROM:
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Brian King, Director of Special Education
Maddie Karanevich, Assistant Director of Special Education

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Attached is the Special Ed Newsletter for October 2026.

TO:
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Michelle Love-Day, Director of Language & Culture Services

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We have a few spots open for Spanish for Office Staff. Our goal is to provide tools and resources for office staff so that you can sharpen the Spanish skills, whether this is your first time being exposed to Spanish or you learned in high school, we encourage all office staff who have students that speak Spanish to take this 5 week course from our DLI educators. Please sign up here. 

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Michelle Love-Day, Director of Language and Culture Services

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Language & Culture Services wants to provide you with one place to find the information to support the language and culture in your school. In this newsletter you will find:

• We had an excellent turn out at our annual Multilingual Family Night! We celebrated multilingualism with great food, student performances, and by celebrating our MLs that tested proficient on WIDA last year! Thank you to our JSD employees that attended, Foothills Elementary DLI students, our other student speakers and performers, and all of you that support our Multilingual Learners!
• Strategy Highlight - ELLevation has a catalog of high-quality strategies that can be implemented into Tier 1 instruction. Each strategy also provides scaffolding suggestions for Multilingual Learners. You can find the Strategy Catalog by logging into ellevationeducation.com, then use the “Strategies” tab, and go to “Browse Catalog.”
  This month we’d like to highlight the following strategy: Vocabulary Rating - Benefits for Multilingual Learners Develop Academic Language with Weighted Words: Increased exposure to and meaningful practice with vocabulary words and phrases will support a deeper understanding of language at all levels. How To: Identify a list of vocabulary to focus on during the lesson and have students self-assess their vocabulary knowledge. Best used for: Hook/Intro of a lesson, as an Assessment
• Announcements - Reminder: ELLevation Tasks are due! Exit Letters: Any remaining letters left in “Not Started” should be printed & sent home. Exit Interviews: Interviews need to be conducted with parents/guardians of students that tested proficient last Spring. Quarter 1 Monitoring: Forms are due Oct. 16. For support, please reach out to your school’s ELD Lead, Admin over MLs, or Language Teacher Specialist!

• Culture & Diversity - Hispanic Heritage Month: Sept. 15 - Oct.15 | Recognize the history, culture, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans. Hispanic Heritage Month Information Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead): Nov. 1 -2  | a traditional Mexican holiday celebrated to honor, remember, and welcome back the spirits of deceased family and friends. Day of the Dead Resources.

TO:
All Employees

FROM:
Mike Anderson, Associate Superintendent

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The 6th annual Health and Wellness Day is back again, will be bigger than ever, and will be here before we know it! Employees can look forward to connecting with colleagues and prioritizing their well-being through a variety of wellness offers across the District. Mark your calendar because you won’t want to miss this!

DATE:
October 15, 2026

TO: 
All Administrators & Threat Assessment Teams

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Buddy Alger, Director of Student Services
Angie Rasmussen, CARE Team Specialist

SUBJECT:  
Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) Training

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CSTAG training consists of two (2) training levels, Level 1 and Level 2. Both levels must be completed by all administrators and threat assessment team members.  CSTAG Level 2 training is for all who have completed the Level 1 training (the web-based training from Navigate360). Level 2 training builds upon your knowledge of threat assessment by providing practical application and implementation of the CSTAG process in your school.

New Administrators and Administrative Interns are encouraged to attend.

Select the link to register for a session of CSTAG Level 2 training.

In-Person CSTAG Level Two Training:
Friday, November 13th (In-Person) 1-3PM
District Office Room 129
Registration Link

Other important CSTAG reminders: If your school wants to train a staff member or threat assessment team member that is not an administrator in CSTAG level 1, please email angie.rassumussen@jordandistrict.org the request with the person’s name, title, and email address. CSTAG Level 1 is web-based through Navigate 360 and costs $100 per person. A request for reimbursement will be sent to the school after the staff member has been added.

To access CSTAG documents and resources use this link: CSTAG Resources

We look forward to learning more about your school's violence prevention initiatives and CSTAG implementation, or assisting you with customized training needs. To schedule a meeting, please contact Angie Rasmussen at angie.rasmussen@jordandistrict.org.

TO:
JSD Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Curtis Jenson, Assistant Director of Teaching & Learning

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We had the chance in this week’s Principal meeting to spend the day with Jan Hoegh talking about how our work over the past year with Proficiency Scales translates into next steps with assessment and reporting. While we do that work, we have the unique chance to participate in a book study with Jan this spring using her book Planning & Teaching in the Standards-Based Classroom.

 The book study will happen during three 75-minute virtual sessions with Jan Hoegh. While dates are still being finalized, they will occur in February, March and April of 2027. We will provide all participants with a copy of the book to use throughout the book study and beyond. All JSD administrators are invited to participate in this optional book study.

Interested? Let us know here and we’ll get you a copy of the book.

We’ll keep you posted on exact dates and times for the book study. We just want it to be on your radar while it’s fresh. It’s unusual to get the chance to talk in this setting with the leading expert in the field while we’re actually doing the things she’s writing about. If you’re interested, let us know and we’ll get the book for you. If the final dates for the book study don’t work for you, at least you have access to the source material.

TO:
All Administrators

FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Human Resources
McKinley Withers, Administrator of Employee Experience and Wellness

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Administrators,

You’re invited to a special 30-minute mindfulness session created FOR YOU, the hard-working leaders of our schools and district. The Employee Experience & Wellness Team is offering a quick virtual mindfulness reset for Administrators once per month throughout the school year, come once or come every month. Each session will be led by Anna Smyth and will occur live, virtually, from 12:30-1:00 on the dates listed below.

We acknowledge that there isn’t an easy time for administrators to attend to their own wellness, but we hope that you can carve out 30-minutes one time per month to center on your needs. If multiple administrators would like to attend from a school site, we suggest rotating supervision obligations to accommodate attendance on different months. We hope to see you sometime this year!

Use this link to add October’s session to your Google Calendar.

Come as you are! No experience necessary. Zoom information and future dates are pasted below: 

Mindful Leadership: A Monthly Reset

Give yourself 30 minutes to pause, recharge, and reconnect with how you want to lead. These monthly drop-in Zoom sessions offer school and district administrators a space to rest, reset, and gather practical tools for navigating challenges with greater clarity, steadiness, and compassion.

 Anna Smyth is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Mindful Leadership: A Monthly Reset
Time: Oct 14, 2026 12:30 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

 Join Zoom Meeting
https://slcc-edu.zoom.us/j/89897030325?pwd=DLw8BU3IIb9BUpJlqO1aeiB4adtABt.1

 Meeting ID: 898 9703 0325
Passcode: 990803

October 14, 2026 @ 12:30-1:00	February 17, 2027
November 11, 2026	March 17, 2027
December 9, 2026	April 21, 2027
January 13, 2027	May 19, 2027

 

TO:
All Administrators

FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Human Resources
Brittany Bauer, Administrator of Data & Operations

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Administrators who are resigning or retiring effective at the end of the current contract or calendar year may be eligible for a tiered early-notification incentive. To qualify, administrators must submit their official resignation or retirement notification online on or before the applicable deadline listed below.

The incentive amount will be based on the date the official online notification is received.

Mid-Year Resignation (December) Notification:

• August 15, 2026 $1,000.00
• September 15, 2026 $600.00
• October 15, 2026 $200.00

End of Contract Year Resignation (June) Notification:

• December 1, 2026 $1,000.00
• January 15, 2026 $600.00
• February 15, 2026 $200.00

The incentive will be paid on the last regular paycheck. Notifications of resignation or retirement received after the dates listed above will not qualify for an incentive. The official District resignation/retirement notification form is found in Qmlativ under “Employee Access”. Please see District policy DP318 or DP319 for more detailed information regarding resignations and/or retirements. If you do not know your Qmlativ username or password, please contact the Help Desk at 801-567-8737.

TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants

FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator of HR
Rebecca Eastman, HR Generalist

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If you are a contracted employee and need to take Annual/Personal Leave before or after Thanksgiving on a “Critical Day” for any reason not listed in policy DP335NEG or DP335B, you must submit a request as follows:

How to Request

During the window, the employee must send the request through email. Please include your name, school, position, and the date you are requesting the leave. Requests left on voicemail or over the phone will NOT be accepted.

Licensed employees submit their request to licensedpersonalleave@jordandistrict.org

Education Support Professionals submit their request to classifiedpersonalleave@jordandistrict.org

The employee will receive an email confirmation within two working days after submitting the request. If the employee does not receive a confirmation email, then Human Resources has NOT received your request and your leave will not be approved.

*Critical Days are the first student attendance days before or after a school holiday. If a non-student attendance day falls before or after a school holiday, the Critical Day is the day before or after that non-student attendance day when students are in attendance.

Licensed
Licensed Annual/Personal Leave Taken on a Critical Day 26-27

ESP
ESP Annual/Personal Leave Taken on a Critical Day 26-27

DATE: 
October 8, 2026

TO:
Principals and Assistant Principals

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Buddy Alger, Director of Student Services
Matt Alvernaz, School Safety Coordinator

SUBJECT:  
Wearable Emergency Alert Devices

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2026 Utah H.B. 84 requires silent wearable alert devices in schools. The District has elected to work with Centegix for the new wearable emergency alert devices. We want to make you aware that as part of the grant process, individual school administrators were listed as points of contact per the form requirements. However, this grant and rollout will be handled at the district level through Student Services, Facilities, and Information Systems. More information regarding the rollout, training, and implementation of the devices will be coming in the future. No action on the part of the schools is required at this time.

If you are contacted by Centegix or USBE directly, please refer them to Matt Alvernaz, School Safety Coordinator, or Buddy Alger, Director of Student Services.

For questions or concerns, contact the School Safety Coordinator, Matt Alvernaz, at matt.alvernaz@jordandistrict.org or by phone at (801) 567-8623.

TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Sarah Palmer, Director Payroll

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The 2026-27 Loaded Salary Worksheet has been updated and is available on the Payroll website in the Admin Assistant Resources tab.

DATE:
October 1, 2026

TO:
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Safety Specialists

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Buddy Alger, Director of Student Services
Matt Alvernaz, School Safety Coordinator

SUBJECT:
Monthly Drill Preparation (LOCKDOWN)

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Our monthly drill preparation meeting will be held on October 7th at 2:40 PM, 3:10 PM, and again at 3:40 PM. Each session will last about 20 minutes. This month we will be covering LOCKDOWN.  Each School Safety Specialist is expected to attend along with administrators assigned to oversee school safety.  All other administrators are welcomed to attend as well. The meeting is also open to any staff who may be interested.

After each monthly training, all school staff should be trained by the administrator over school safety and the School Safety Specialist. After being trained each month, teachers should educate their students on each safety drill. Additionally, schools should communicate with their patrons regarding Standard Response Protocol(s) (SRP) and the drill being conducted each month. Videos, handouts, and other resources can be found at the link(s) below.

Information regarding the LOCKDOWN response protocol can be found in the Jordan School District Safety Manual on pages 12-14.  We will discuss how to implement and execute the drill.  This will be an opportunity to ask questions and share ideas amongst the schools.

We will be holding this meeting over ZOOM so please join using this link.