Skip to content

Category: Middle School Info

Published on

DATE: 
May 16, 2024

TO:  
Principals
Assistant Principals

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Stacee Worthen, Counselor Consultant

SUBJECT:    
Ensuring Confidentiality in School Counseling

School counselors provide a safe environment for students to address emotional concerns, academic challenges, and personal struggles. To effectively fulfill this role, school counselors require a dedicated, confidential, and private workspace that fosters open communication and protects student confidentiality.

Dedicated, confidential, and private workspaces:

  • Comply with federal laws, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), mandating schools protect student privacy
  • Supports awareness of school counselors’ ethical standards and legal mandates regarding student confidentiality
  • Increase student trust and openness
  • Improve counseling effectiveness

Counselor workspaces must include the necessary equipment to ensure a continuation of work and confidentiality. Required workspace equipment must include (but is not limited to):

  • A wired internet connection
  • A dedicated phone
  • Lockable file storage

The following websites provide more information about creating dedicated counseling spaces and best practices for student confidentiality:

Ensuring a dedicated, confidential, and private counseling workspace creates a stronger support system for students and staff through confidentiality. If you have any questions or concerns about this requirement, please reach out to Stacee Worthen, Counselor Consultant, at (801)567-8309.

Published on

DATE:  
May 16, 2024

TO:  
Principals
Special Education Teachers (Preschool and School Age)
Speech-Language Pathologists

FROM:  
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education

SUBJECT:   
Extended Year for Special Educator Stipend Days 2023-24

The number of days and stipend amount are based upon the educators assigned FTE equivalent. Eligible staff that have days left to work, and did not work all of their allotted days in the fall, are required to complete an online survey to be paid for those days. After you have completed working the days, simply click on the link in the memo to start the survey. Days worked must be full or half days and not a combination of assorted hours and must be worked in your assigned building(s). The days available for you to work are: June 4-7th, 10-14th, and 18th. Please remember that June 3rd is the last contract day and June 17th is a holiday. These days do not count toward Extended Year Days.

It is important to remember: Use the link to submit the days after you have worked. When asked for the approver for your submission do not put your principal or LEA. Please put amanda.hamblin@jordandistrict.org so that the submission can be approved through the Special Education office and be sent to the State Office for payment. If you list your building supervisor as the approver, your request will not be submitted for payment.

See attached memo for additional information.

Published on

DATE:    
May 13, 2024

TO:  
Middle School Principals

FROM:   
Scott Thomas, Administrator of Auxiliary Services
Paul Bergera, Director of Transportation
Sula Bearden, Field Trip Coordinator

SUBJECT:  
Lagoon Day – Wednesday, May 29, 2024

 We are looking forward to helping you provide an exciting, successful, and safe experience for your students this year. Following the same procedure as last year, it is okay to load the first bus at your school and let it depart without waiting for the other buses to arrive. As each bus is loaded and a chaperone is on board, please let it depart for Lagoon. Your assistance with this process last year helped alleviate some of the waiting on the bus and congestion at the ticket gates.

Your driver may ask you to verify the condition of the bus before boarding students, then again at Lagoon and when it returns back to the school. This is to ensure nobody or nothing is left on the bus. Please take everything off the bus. It is very likely that you will not be on the same bus at the end of the day.

This year, buses will arrive at Lagoon at approximately 5:00 p.m. For the safety of everyone involved, please ask the individuals you’ve designated as chaperones to report to their assigned school bus loading area at 4:45 p.m. Students will load at 5:00 p.m. All buses will depart by 5:15 p.m.

As a reminder, there will be instructions and signs posted on the north side of Lagoon in the employee area. Look for your school sign, which will be placed on a large cone at the same location where buses unloaded students at Lagoon during the morning drop off. Similar to last year, a hand-held paddle will be issued to a school advisor. When at least 50 students and one advisor are ready to board, they will be the next to board. As students and the advisor are asked to board, the advisor will then pass the paddle to the next advisor.

Published on

DATE:  
May 16, 2024

TO:   
Principals
Assistant Principals

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Michelle Reyes, Truancy/Attendance Prevention Specialist

SUBJECT: 
Memorial Day Attendance Resources and End of the Year Attendance Resources

The end of another school year is rapidly approaching. Thank you for all of your amazing work surrounding attendance this year. We have one final school holiday before we reach the end of the year. Attached is a social media resource to remind families there will be no school on Monday, May 27.

Attendance works, a national non-profit attendance initiative directed by Hedy Chang, suggests some important things we can do now, throughout the summer, and into the fall with the potential to boost attendance (What to do When: At a Glance). Best practices include acknowledging student success, communicating the importance of good attendance through the last weeks of school, reviewing attendance data, and pinpointing chronically absent students in need of extra support for summer learning opportunities and a successful start to school in the fall.

Published on

DATE:
May 16, 2024

TO:
Principals
Assistant Principals

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services

SUBJECT: 
Panorama – Wrapping up the current year

What to expect over the summer:
Shortly after the end of the current school year, Panorama will “freeze” the data in the platform to show the final data from the 2023-2024 school year. Our nightly downloads stop a few weeks after the last day of school to account for the data in your SIS being finalized. If you are running school or district professional development over the summer, you’ll be able to review data from 2023-2024 and revise support notes. Please note that the platform does not support summer school sessions and that data will not appear in Student Success.

Best practices to wrap up the current year:
This article on Panorama Academy contains recommendations and guidance for how you and your users can effectively wrap up the 2023-2024 school year.

Back to School:
This article on Panorama Academy will help you prepare for back-to-school in Panorama. On or about August 14th Panorama will begin downloading student data, after that date, rosters will be displayed. At the beginning of the year rosters will change frequently.

Have questions?
Find answers to frequently asked questions related to our process to close out the school year and prepare for the new one here. And of course, you can always reach out to your Panorama team with any additional questions!

As a reminder:
Panorama operates on FERPA. Therefore, students graduating, moving schools, or withdrawing will not be in Panorama in the fall. To ensure that you have all the data you feel like you need it is strongly suggested that you save/print your current years data on or before June 12, 2024.

Resources:

Please note: You will need to log into Panorama in order to access the information linked above.

Please reach out to Travis Hamblin @ travis.hamblin@jordandistrict.org for any training or program needs.

Published on

DATE:  
May 16, 2024

TO:    
All Administrators, Administrative Assistants, and P-card holders

FROM:  
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Dan Ellis, Director of Accounting, Budgets, and Audits
Kurt Prusse, Director of Purchasing

SUBJECT:  
P-Card Descriptions

The Board’s internal audit team recently completed an audit of our p-card system. As a result, there was a recommendation to provide better descriptions within the US Bank system to identify the purpose and content of transactions.

It is requested that descriptions include not only a brief description of the items, but also the purpose. For example, “makeup for dance team” or “custodial cleaning supplies”. As a reminder, these descriptions and any allocations must be made within the US Bank system by the 19th of each month, otherwise US Bank locks the system and will not allow for changes.

This will provide better detail when reviewing reports within Skyward and address the recommendation by the Boards internal audit team. Please provide a copy of this memo to all p-card holders you supervise so they are aware of this request. If you have questions or need assistance, please call Dan Ellis at (801) 567-8389.

Thank you.

Published on

DATE:
May 9, 2024

TO:
All Principals
All Certified and ESPs

FROM:
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Melanie Dawson, Program Administrator of Behavior

SUBJECT:
ETT: Cultivating Classroom Management Skills

This course is geared towards teachers who are ready to hone their Tier 1 classroom management approaches. Seats are limited and fill quickly, so learners need to register on JPLS as soon as possible. Pacing is flexible in this online course, so learners will be able to complete the content even with summer vacations.

 

Published on

Years of Service Pins websiteTO:
Administrators
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Department of Communications

Jordan School District takes great pride in your work and the role you play in education. We are pleased to continue honoring you for your time spent working in the District with “Years of Service Pins.”

As you reach your next employee milestone, please visit the Years of Service Pins website to request the pin representing your completed years of service. Employees can receive a different pin for every five years of service up to 50 years. Remember to include part-time and full-time years!

All employees can request their next pin using the link below.  Here are the guidelines:

  • Full or part time employee years are eligible, but not as a volunteer or a student.
  • Every employee can request a first pin after they are hired. As you complete every five years of service, you are eligible to receive another pin.
  • If you have problems with the form, please send an e-mail to pins@jordandistrict.org.

Published on

DATE:
May 9, 2024

TO:
School Principals and Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Administrators of Schools

SUBJECT:
Principal Year-end Checkout Materials for 2023-24

Attached is the list of all forms and items to be completed for principal checkout.

  • Items highlighted in yellow will be reviewed at check out with your Administrator of Schools.
  • Items highlighted in green require you to bring the requested items to your checkout.
  • Forms provided by the district for principal checkout are included with this JAM.
  • You should turn in one completed copy of each form and keep a copy on file in your school for easy reference as you prepare the checkout for the next school year.

If you have any questions, please contact your Administrator of Schools’ administrative assistant.

Published on

TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Kurt Prusse, Director of Purchasing

Each Amazon vendor assigns their items a UNSPSC code that reflects what product category it falls under. The vendor-assigned code is often correct . . . but not always. When you encounter a block, the message at the top will give a brief explanation. Please check the Central Warehouse Catalog for office supplies (pencils, staplers, paper, etc.) before requesting the block be removed. When you select a blocked Amazon item, copy the URL link at the top of your web browser and send it to the buyer over that commodity (see below). If you do not know which buyer is over the item, send the link to Kris Wishart or Rachel Mariano and they will get the request sent to the correct buyer. Please allow a little time for these emails to be answered. You will receive an email stating the block has been removed. All unblocked Amazon orders must be made within a couple of hours of you being notified. Purchasing leaves the office at 4:00 p.m. and all blocks will be reinstated at that time, if not earlier.

Commodity Quick Reference

  • Tonya Hodges — furniture, technology, and computer-related purchases.
  • Brenda Veldevere — office supplies and small office equipment such as laminators, binding, or cutting machines (including Cricut).
  • Lisa Cook — CTE supplies (ice machines, ice cream machines, microwaves, etc.), custodial supplies, and dancewear.
  • David Burbridge — tools of any kind for CTE or Maintenance.

Published on

TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Kurt Prusse, Director of Purchasing

All P-cards should be reconciled and reports signed (by both the P-card holder and their supervisor) by the 19th of each month. The P-card statement and receipts should be sent to Kaylei Jones in Accounting, not Purchasing. During reconciliation, please enter a detailed description — such as “pens, paper, and Post-Its,” not just “office supplies” (if you have put the accounting object code as 610, we already know it’s for supplies). The detailed description helps us know exactly what you bought and will eliminate audit calls from Purchasing.

Please remember that fixed assets, software not on the Learn Platform, and any travel (hotels, airfare, shuttles) are not permitted on your P-card. The only travel items allowed on P-cards are Uber/Lyft fees (only from airport to hotel and hotel to airport), standard baggage fees, and airport parking fees.

If you have any questions regarding your P-card or how to reconcile it, contact Kris Wishart for help!

Published on

TO:
All Principals

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Nadine Page, Administrative Assistant

Take note of the following monthly newsletters with important communication about the School LAND Trust (SLT) Program.

Please share the March newsletter with your school community council members.

The newsletters are also accessible online on the USBE Website with different language options.

Published on

TO:
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Safety Specialists

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

The School Safety Center (SSC) is excited to share that we are hosting the 2024 Utah School Safety Conference. This will be the conference to attend! We have created a unique conference experience for Utah. Registration is now open.

WHO: School Safety & Security Specialists, School Building Administrators, Crisis-Response Team Members, School-Based Mental Health Professionals, School Resource Officers (SROs) and Law Enforcement, and other school employees who support school safety.

WHAT: 2024 Utah School Safety Conference

WHEN: Thursday and Friday, June 13-14, 2024 | 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM each day

WHERE: Riverton, Utah

ACTION: REGISTER HERE  *Registration is free of charge

MORE INFORMATION: See the attached flyer

Please direct all questions to schoolsafetyprograms@schools.utah.gov.

Published on

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
Michelle Love-Day, Director of Language & Culture Services

Registration for the Fall 2024 ESL endorsement class will be open on May 6th on the LCS website. Registration will close when full, so sign up quickly. These classes will be asynchronous. For additional questions, please contact Language and Culture Services.

Published on

TO:
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Safety Specialists

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

Please see the attachments for information on the S4K Connects Comprehensive School Safety Conference on  July 29th, 30th & 31st at the Larry H. Miller Conference Center in Sandy.

Published on

DATE:  
May 2, 2024

TO:  
All School Administrators

FROM:  
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
McKinley Withers, Health and Wellness Consultant
Angie Rasmussen, Student Safety Specialist

SUBJECT:  
May is Mental Health Awareness Month! Resources to Share

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and an opportunity to promote mental health resources to support student, staff, and family wellness.

May is a great time to foster open conversations about mental health through community events, sharing information, and highlighting resources available to your students and families at your schools. Here are some events and resources that educators may benefit from being aware of:

Resources

Events

  • Bingham Walk 4 Hope
    May 4 at 9am
    Help Bingham High School’s Hope Squad promote healthy minds, healthy bodies, and to highlight the fact that together we are “A Force of 1”!
    Start at Bingham High and will make a loop with stops at SoJo Middle and Jordan Ridge Elementary. Resource tables with information about mental and physical health will be available for families at each stop.
  • NAMIWALKS — A WALK TO FUEL MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS
    Saturday May 18th, 2024
    Veterans Memorial Park
    1985 W. 7800 S
    West Jordan, UT 84088
    https://www.nami.org/Get-Involved/Awareness-Events/Mental-Health-Awareness-Month/
  • SafeUT and HMHI Offerings (and recordings!)
    Click Here for more information
    ● SAFEUT: SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES DURING “ANY SIZE CRISIS”
    May 5 | 12:00 - 1:00 pm (via Zoom)
    ● CHILDREN, TEENS, AND MENTAL HEALTH: WHERE AND WHEN TO SEEK HELP
    Thursday, May 12 | 12:00 - 1:00 pm (via Zoom)
    ● HEALING OUT LOUD: UNMASKING MENTAL HEALTH STIGMA
    Thursday, May 19 | 6:00 - 7:30 pm (via Zoom)