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Category: Middle School Info

Published on

DATE: 
October 3, 2024

TO: 
All Administrators

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

SUBJECT:  
Parent Mental Health Series Offering

Administrators,

Jordan District has partnered with the Cook Center for Human Connection to offer ongoing mental health education for parents and caregivers. This partnership includes FREE access to frequent live, virtual educational sessions on rotating topics. It also includes access to a library of recorded sessions and resources for each topic that is covered. Sessions are offered in both Spanish and English at 5pm and 7pm.

Parents and caregivers can register to attend ANY of the 30+ mental health topic live sessions or access the content asynchronously.

We invite you to share the attached October Session Calendar with your school community and to review the session descriptions.

We hope that this can be a helpful resource for your schools and communities!

 

Published on

TO:
All Administrators
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Brian King, Ph.D., Assistant Director of Special Education
Mike Trimmell, Ed.D., Special Education Administrator

Please see the attached newsletter.

Published on

DATE:   
October 1, 2024

TO:    
Principals
Special Education Providers

FROM:      
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Mike Trimmell, Ed.D., Special Education Administrator

SUBJECT:   
Transcription Services for the Visually Impaired

We have three amazing transcriptionists that support teachers that have students who are visually impaired. Their main role is to transcribe assignments into braille and enlarge text for general education and special education teachers that have visually impaired students in their classrooms.

To be able to support transcription services we ask that assignments be given to the transcriptionists 2 weeks in advance. This is the minimum time needed to transcribe work. Some assignments may take longer depending on the amount of graphics, which require a lot of reproducing and labeling. As an example, a language arts assignment with no graphics may only take 1 to 2 hours to transcribe, where a science or history assignment may take up to 10 hours to transcribe if there are maps or graphics.

The process of transcribing an assignment includes typing the assignment into a braille program, proofreading it, formatting it according to braille rules, embossing it, and then adding tactile graphics and labels if needed. Please note that a due date is also required for the transcriptionists to begin working on the assignment. To provide FAPE, students with visual impairments are guaranteed to have their assignments the same time as the rest of the class, which requires careful planning on both the part of the teacher and the transcriber.

Please contact Suzanne Miller for all braille transcription at Suzanne.miller@jordandistrict or 801-567-8662.

Published on

DATE:     
October 1, 2024

TO:  
School Psychologists and School Psychology Interns

FROM:  
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Fulvia Franco, Program Specialist – Guidance

SUBJECT:  
October School Psychologist Guidance Meeting

A meeting for school psychologists and school psychology interns has been scheduled for Friday, October 11, 2024 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Auxiliary Services Building (7905 South Redwood Road). Brad Lundahl, Ph.D., Associate Professor at the University of Utah in the Department of Social Work, will provide us with a presentation on Motivational Interviewing.

Part-time Staff:  I would appreciate it if you could adjust your schedules in order to attend this meeting.

cc:
Principals

Published on

The following are new administrative assignments:

Assignments effective October 7, 2024:

  • Kimberly Andersen, assistant principal at Westland Elementary appointed principal at Butterfield Canyon Elementary.
  • Lauren Nalder, teacher specialist in Teaching & Learning appointed assistant principal at Westland Elementary.

Published on

TO:
All Administrators
All Office Staff

FROM:
Steffany Ellsworth, Support Services Manager

We are excited to announce our annual Utah Skyward User Conference! The conference is scheduled for Wednesday, November 6th at Jordan School District Auxiliary Services Building. Please see the attached agenda for additional details.

This conference is an opportunity to learn about Skyward directly from the source as most sessions are presented by Skyward staff. There are some fantastic sessions being offered this year, including Data Mining for Beginners, Data Mining for Advanced Users, Admin Bootcamp, Skyward Tips & Tricks, Grade Analysis, and Qmlativ Business sessions.

During these sessions, you’re welcome to ask questions. However, if you have an issue that may take more time to resolve, we suggest you call our help desk for additional support.

We hope you make the most out of this year's conference by discovering fresh insights, learning valuable tips and tricks, getting your questions answered, and exploring new possibilities within Skyward. If you have any questions about attending the conference, please feel free to call the help desk at ext. 88737.

Published on

TO: 
Principals

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Teaching and Learning Administrator
Chris Richards-Khong, Teaching and Learning Staff Assistant Administrator

The Jordan School District is excited to announce the School-Based Associates (SBA) program for the 24-25 school year. For many years, past Associate participants have asked about bringing the powerful learning experiences within Associates back to their colleagues in the classroom. School-Based Associates will now make that desire a possibility!

The district approved mini-grant application is a streamlined Google form. Administrators or teachers can initiate this grant. Use the application guide to help you keep things simple. Call Chris Richards-Khong with questions 801-567-8158.

Zoom Link Q & A Drop-in Sessions Available 

Oct 1, 2024
10:40 - 11:40 AM
2:30 - 3:50 PM
Oct 3, 2024
12:15 - 12:50 PM
2:30 -3:50 PM
Oct 4, 2024
12:30 - 1:30 PM

 

Published on

DATE:
September 23, 2024

TO:
Principals and Assistant Principals

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

SUBJECT:
Fall Break Resources to Aid Communication, Engagement & Attendance

Family Engagement, Communication, & Attendance
Family engagement has been found to have a big impact on improved student attendance. One of the ways we can promote family engagement is through communication. “Strong relationships (and trust) are built on successful communication.… Positive communication is perhaps the most powerful tool that you can use with families. Effective communication helps to inform, reassure, and engage families, which all helps establish and build a strong partnership between staff and families.” Communicating with families about upcoming school events and holidays can help prevent unwanted absences from school.

Begin communicating with families early about our upcoming fall break, clearly stating when students will not come to school and when school resumes following the holiday. Utilize a variety of methods to get the word out including email, social media, school and teacher newsletters, and Parent Square. Parent Square lends us the opportunity to communicate with families in their preferred language. Consider using personalized messages with families who are struggling with attendance to help strengthen relationships.

Premade Resources to Communicate with Families about Fall Break

English-
Fall Break Reminder
Facebook Post
Instagram Post

Spanish-
Fall Break Reminder
Facebook Post
Instagram Post

Questions? Contact Michelle Reyes at michelle.reyes@jordandistrict.org or 801-567-8205.

Published on

TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Steffany Ellsworth, Support Services Manager

The Skyward finance system will be unavailable for yearly maintenance on Wednesday, October 2, at 4:00 pm. This process will log you out of Web Finance and you will not be able to log in while we are running these year-end processes. If you have access to PaC, please logout before 4:00 pm. This process is expected to take one hour, at which time the system will be restored.

Published on

The following are new administrative assignments:

New Assignment effective Sept. 17, 2024:
Megan Daly, administrative intern at Mountain Ridge High, transferred as administrative intern at Copper Canyon Elementary.

New Assignment effective Oct. 28, 2024:
Jacob Rollins, teacher at Copper Hills High, appointed assistant principal at Mountain Ridge High, replacing Megan Daly

Published on

TO:
Administrators

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

Yearly Exit Interviews should be completed each fall. They are only conducted for students who tested proficient on WIDA the previous Spring (overall composite of at least 4.2 and a speaking score of at least 3.5). Exit Interviews are only completed once for a student and are done to move students into monitoring after testing proficient on WIDA. Please see this form for steps on how to print the forms on ELLevation.

Published on

DATE:
September 17, 2024

TO:
Principals and Assistant Principals

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

SUBJECT:
Making the Most of Parent-Teacher Conferences & Attendance

Tailoring Conversations to Students’ Attendance Status

Parent-teacher conferences, or student-led conferences, can be an ideal time for teachers to talk about the importance and benefits of regular school attendance. Teachers can use this one-on-one time with families or caregivers to update them on their student’s attendance and emphasize the benefits of daily attendance such as opportunities for students to connect with their peers and caring adults, participate in hands on learning, and remain on track academically. Holding parent teacher conferences twice a year provides an opportunity to establish and maintain two-way communication with families and integrate attendance into planned meetings without adding a new activity.

A Step-By-Step Guide for Teachers to Make the Most of Parent Teacher Conferences

Attendance Works, a national non-profit attendance initiative, has produced a step-by-step guide for teachers to use at parent teacher conferences to build trusting relationships with families/caregivers and learn how to partner together to help support their student.

Questions? Contact Michelle Reyes at michelle.reyes@jordandistrict.org or 801-567-8205.

Published on

TO:
Principals
Administrative Assistants

FROM:  
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Natalie Grange, Accountant/CPA

As was discussed in principals meeting, all classroom, school, and district grants must have a Cabinet sponsor. Please use the grant pre-approval process in Skyward before anyone applies for a grant. Only Admin Assistants can start the Skyward pre-approval process. Instructions are attached. The only current exception to the grant pre-approval process are applications for classroom grants through JEF and Donors Choose.

Published on

DATE:
September 12, 2024

TO:
All Principals

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director, Student Services
Scott Festin, Planning Consultant, Planning & Enrollment
Caleb Olson, Enrollment Consultant, Planning & Enrollment

SUBJECT:
10th Day Enrollment vs. the Estimate for All Schools

The 2024-25 enrollment for all schools on the tenth day is 57,136. See the attached memo for more details.

Published on

DATE:
Thursday, September 19, 2024

TO:
All School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:
2024-25 Parental Exclusion Forms

2024-25 Parental Exclusion from State Assessments forms have been released by the state. Elementary and secondary versions may be found attached with this memo (including Spanish versions for each level). In addition, the forms may be found on the Assessment, Research & Accountability website.

Parents must notify schools of their desire to opt their student out of a state-mandated assessment on an annual basis. Parental exclusions should be recorded on your school’s opt out log so that both school and district personnel have one source of truth for all parental exclusions. Schools are discouraged from keeping parental exclusion lists that are separate or different from the opt out log received from Assessment, Research & Accountability.

Please direct questions about parental exclusions to Ben Jameson in Assessment, Research & Accountability.