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Category: Middle Schools

Published on

DATE:    
March 12, 2019

TO: 
School Psychologists, Elementary Counselors, School Social Workers

FROM:   
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Fulvia Franco, Program Specialist – Guidance

SUBJECT:  
March Guidance Meeting

Our next Guidance meeting is scheduled for March 29, 2019 from 12:30 – 3:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Jordan School District Auxiliary Services Building (ASB) (7905 South Redwood Road) in the auditorium. Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education, and members of her staff will provide us with a presentation on the Combination RTI Discrepancy Model for determining eligibility of students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) that will be used throughout our district effective beginning in the Fall of 2019.

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

cc:
Principals

Published on

DATE:   
March 13, 2019

TO: 
Applicable School Principals and Administrative Assistants (Financial and Membership)
All Area Administrators of Schools and Administrative Assistants
Travis Hamblin, Planning and Student Services
Michael Heaps, Support Services Manager

FROM: 
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Daniel Ellis, Director of Accounting, Budgets and Audits
Jason Mott, Accountant/Internal Auditor

SUBJECT: 
External Audit Visits

Please see attached memo.

Published on

DATE:
March 12, 2019

TO: 
Principals
Assistant Principals
Attendance Secretaries
Financial Secretaries

FROM: 
Administrator of Schools
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Planning & Student Services

SUBJECT:
Accepting and/or Denying Late Enrollment Permit Applications

Permit applications submitted after the third (3rd) Friday of February for the following school year or any permit for the current school year, must be approved based on the “adjusted capacity” of the school. The adjusted capacity is the total number of students who could be served in a school if each teacher were to have a class size based on the staffing ratio for each grade level (§53G-6-401).  Late enrollment permit acceptance is determined by the staffing ratio as follows:

  • Elementary schools use the student-to-teacher ratio for each grade level to determine if there is space available.
  • Secondary schools use the student-to-teacher ratio for each core class within each grade level to determine if space is available.

Schools must use the following standards for accepting and/or rejecting an application (§53G-6-403):

The standards for accepting or rejecting an application for enrollment may include:

  1. For an elementary, the capacity of the grade level;
  2. Not offering, or having capacity in, an elementary or secondary special education or other special program the student requires;
  3. Maintenance of reduced class sizes (Title I, or school trust money used to reduce class sizes);
  4. Willingness of prospective students to comply with district policies; and
  5. Giving priority to intradistrict transfers over interdistrict transfers.

The standards for accepting or rejecting an application for enrollment may NOT include:

  1. Previous academic achievement;
  2. Athletic or other extracurricular ability;
  3. The fact that the student requires special education services for which space is available;
  4. Proficiency in the English language; or
  5. Previous disciplinary proceedings, except as follows:
    1. There has been a serious infraction of the law of school rules;
    2. The student has been guilty of chronic misbehavior which would, if it were to continue after the student was admitted:
      1. Endanger persons or property;
      2. Cause serious disruptions in the school; or
      3. Place unreasonable burdens on school staff.

Using the waitlist in PowerSchool and the standards listed above, permit applications are granted (seated) by the school on a first-come, first-served basis for the entire school year.

Please contact Travis at 88251 (801.567.8251) should you have any questions.

Published on

DATE:  
March 14, 2019

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

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

SUBJECT:  
State Required Bus Evacuations and School Bus Safety 2018-2019

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 22, 2019 thru Friday, April 26, 2019

Your school’s regular bus driver will perform this evacuation as they drop your students off in the morning, one day during that week.  This procedure takes place at your school and is located in your normal 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.  Bus evacuation will be through the rear door, side door, front door or a combination.  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.

 

Published on

DATE:
March 11, 2019

TO:  
High School Principals
Middle School Principals

FROM:  
C. Brad Sorensen, Administrator of Schools
Michael V. Anderson, Administrator of Schools

SUBJECT: 
Fee Schedule Preparation for 2019-20 School Year

The Board of Education is required to approve all charged fees and has requested all schools to list every fee charged to students (both required and optional) which will be posted on the website and included on the 2019-20 Fee Schedule. Fees may not be charged unless they are on the approved fee schedule. Each secondary school has compiled a list of proposed fees. Please review your list of proposed fees and consider the following:

  • Review all items listed on jordandistrict.org to ensure everything is included.
  • Identify and label items considered “optional” for each listed program. (these items may have been previously identified as “spirit pack” items)
  • List every item on the fee schedule that will be receipted in the main office.
  • Confirm the cost of the cap and gown with Jostens for accuracy. (HS Only)
  • Every fee requested must be submitted to, and approved by, the principal on the fee approval form with detailed information and kept on file for auditing purposes.
  • Overnight Travel and Camps & Clinics are identified on the district fee schedule and do not need to be listed under the individual group category. These functions have guidelines and rules that each group must adhere to in order to travel or run a Camp & Clinic activity.
  • Any additions or changes need to be submitted to Brad Sorensen/Cari Minnesota or Mike Anderson/Nadine Page no later than April 12, 2019.
  • The Board of Education is planning to officially review the school fee proposal on April 23, 2019.
  • If something is not listed, you must request a change through an individual fee approval process by submitting your request to the Administrator of Schools. The individual request will be reviewed by cabinet and submitted to the Board of Education for final approval before the fee may be charged.

Published on

DATE: 
March 14, 2019

TO:   
Principals
2019 Graduating Interns

FROM: 
June LeMaster, Ph.D., Human Resource Administrator
Anthony Godfrey, Ed.D., Associate Superintendent

SUBJECT: 
Intern Graduations 2019

It is a long-standing practice in Jordan School District to allow full time, in state partnership university teacher interns to take one (1) day leave to attend either their own university commencement or convocation, without penalty.  This year, this practice is expanded to allow all full time university interns including teacher interns, school psychologists and counselor interns, etc., the same privilege.  Interns attending both in state and out of state university commencement ceremonies are allowed one (1) day; therefore, some interns may need to choose between commencement and convocation.

If a substitute is needed for coverage, the intern is responsible for requesting a substitute through Frontline (formerly known as AESOP).  The absence reason entered should be “other” and in the blue “notes to administrator box”, the intern should add the following information “District excused 0050 - personal graduation”.  For additional assistance, please contact Juli Martin at 801-567-8219.

See dates for the in state 2019 University Commencement and Convocation Ceremonies on the attached memo.

 

 

Published on

DATE:  
February 22, 2019

TO:  
Principals
Special Education Staff
School Secretaries

FROM:
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education

SUBJECT: 
Special Education Budget Closeout for the 2018-19 School Year

Please note that Special Education purchase orders/requisitions for the 2018-19 school year must be received by Friday, April 12, 2019 @ 5:00 p.m. Please remember the following:

  • Budgets are not carried over from one year to the next.
  • Remember to deduct any previously submitted amounts from your Special Education budget (so that you know your balance) before submitting new orders. This includes reimbursements submitted through your school. No orders will be processed that exceed your budgeted allocation.
  • Please check with your school secretary to make sure all Special Education reimbursements have been submitted to the Special Education Department by the April 12th deadline. We have provided each secretary with a spreadsheet of currently recorded purchases/reimbursements for the total special education department at your school up through February 22, 2019.
  • When ordering supplies, follow Skyward procedures.
  • Be sure to follow the ordering guidelines outlined in the attached budget information page, as you close out your current year budgets.

Staff will be notified of the new budget allocation amount prior to the start of the new school year.  Keep in mind that new purchase orders/requisitions will not be processed until mid-July when all of the current year’s budgets have been closed out.

As you close out your budgets for the current school year, please note the following:

  1. All purchase orders/requisitions should be routed to Debbie Fairbourn in the Special Education Department.
  2. Use the following codes for purchase orders/requisitions and NPOs submitted through the year.

Coding for Purchase Orders/Requisitions and NPO’s:

FUND TYPE LOCATION PROGRAM FUNCTION OBJECT
10 E (School #) 1295 1090 Use object code

If you have questions regarding your Special Education budget, please call Debbie Fairbourn at
(801) 567-8177.

Published on

Secondary Principals:

The funding for USTAR is contingent upon the results of the legislative session. Right now it is part of the base budget, but there is a chance that it could be reduced or taken away. The legislative session will end in mid-March.

USTAR funding decisions will be finalized as soon as possible after the close of the legislative session. The application to request 7th period classes is available by following this link: https://goo.gl/forms/pn2SuroC9Pg57pzC2.

Published on

DATE: 
Thursday, February 28, 2019

TO:   
All Principals

FROM: 
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:    
Research Project - Trauma-Informed Teaching: How Teachers Conceptualize and Operationalize Trauma Theory

The Research Review Committee has reviewed a research project in which your school has been asked to participate.

Project Title:     Trauma-Informed Teaching: How Teachers Conceptualize and Operationalize Trauma Theory

Applicant:     Daniel Harnsberger, University of Utah

The project has been approved by the District Research Review Committee.  The applicant has been directed to contact you to discuss the extent of the project and to obtain your permission to conduct the study at your school.  Participation in the study is at your discretion.  If you have questions or concerns relating to participation, please contact Ben Jameson at 801-567-8243.

The project will involve principals, or their designee, sending out an email to licensed faculty with a link for teachers to take a voluntary online survey.

Thank you for your assistance.

Published on

For nomination form and scoring rubric click here:   www.jordaneducationfoundation.org

Submission Deadline: Monday, March 25, 2019

See attached flyer for more details.

Published on

DATE:  
Thursday, February 28, 2019

TO: 
All Principals

FROM:  
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability

SUBJECT:  
2019 UEPC School Climate Survey Reminder

We are half way through the 2019 UEPC School Climate Survey administration window.  The survey window is scheduled to close on Friday, March 15, 2019.  Many schools have had great response rates thus far, but there are still some who have not notified parents of the survey and have not given students or faculty/staff an opportunity to take the survey.

Principals are asked to do the following, if they have not already done so:

  • Please notify parents of the school climate survey as soon as possible. Send out a link with the attached sample parent letter (please edit as you see appropriate) via Skylert and post the link on your school’s website.  You may need to send out several reminders between now and the close of the survey window.  In the past, the district’s response rate from parents has reached only 12%.  In order for us to get a healthy response rate from parents, they need as much notice as possible with a few friendly reminders to take the survey for schools.
  • Please schedule a time in which your faculty and staff can take the survey, perhaps during a faculty meeting.
  • Please work with your teachers to ensure that every student second grade and up has a time scheduled during the school day in which they may take the survey.

Principals may check their response rates for each stakeholder survey by clicking on the links below.  Please see the response rates as of Monday, February 25, 2019, attached with this memo.

Response Rate Links:

Faculty/Staff Responses:

https://uepc.co1.qualtrics.com/results/public/dWVwYy1VUl85TnN2ZTc5NE1MNUJZUUEtNWMwYWQ5MDIyNmNjZGIwMDEzNzU0MTY3 - /pages/Page_7ed374a9-bc68-4d7d-b2e2-306bbc1b8a33

Parent Responses:

https://uepc.co1.qualtrics.com/results/public/dWVwYy1VUl85TnN2ZTc5NE1MNUJZUUEtNWM2MmViMjc0ZjBkNWIwMDEzODliYmUz - /pages/Page_932e5fd6-d0b3-4b85-99ba-52154455f84d

Student Responses:

https://uepc.co1.qualtrics.com/results/public/dWVwYy1VUl85TnN2ZTc5NE1MNUJZUUEtNWM2MmVlMTZjMzdmNDQwMDBkZDc3ZDAy - /pages/Page_7205b01b-4d07-4bb9-8f89-4a3d6d6f3108

Published on

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) posted a rule in the Federal Register requiring small drone owners to display the FAA-issued registration number on an outside surface of the aircraft. Owners and operators may no longer place or write registration numbers in an interior compartment. The rule is effective on February 25. The markings must be in place for any flight after that date.

When the FAA first required registration of small drones in 2015, the agency mandated that the registration marking be readily accessible and maintained in readable condition. The rule granted some flexibility by permitting the marking to be placed in an enclosed compartment, such as a battery case, if it could be accessed without the use of tools.

Subsequently, law enforcement officials and the FAA’s interagency security partners have expressed concerns about the risk a concealed explosive device might pose to first responders upon opening a compartment to find a drone’s registration number. The FAA believes this action will enhance safety and security by allowing a person to view the unique identifier directly without handling the drone.

This interim final rule does not change the original acceptable methods of external marking, nor does it specify a particular external surface on which the registration number must be placed. The requirement is that it can be seen upon visual inspection of the aircraft’s exterior.

The FAA has issued this requirement as an Interim Final Rule—a rule that takes effect while also inviting public comment. The FAA issues interim final rules when delaying implementation of the rule would be impractical, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. In this case, the agency has determined the importance of mitigating the risk to first responders outweighs the minimal inconvenience this change may impose on small drone owners, and justifies implementation without a prior public comment period.

The FAA will consider comments from the public on this Interim Final Rule, and will then review any submissions to determine if the provisions of the ultimate Final Rule should be changed. The 30-day comment period will end on March 15, 2019. To submit comments, go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for “RIN 2120-AL32.”

As Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao promised last month, the FAA also posted proposed new rules to let drones fly routinely at night and over people, and to further integrate them safely into the nation’s airspace. The comment period for these proposals is now open and ends on April 15.

Published on

DATE:   
February 4, 2019

TO:  
Principals
Resource Team Leaders

FROM: 
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education

SUBJECT:  
Projected Caseload Process for 2019-2020 Resource Allocations

Based on administrative recommendations, the hiring window has been moved up to meet the increasing demands caused by teacher shortages, particularly in specific job categories. To address this advanced timeline, the Special Education Department will be creating a 1.5 allocation until updated data can be ascertained. Projections and staffing allocations will be made similar to what was done last year. This method should make the workload on special education teachers and team leaders much easier. Please read through this information carefully. Based on updated information, data may be updated by the end of February. If you have any questions, please contact your assigned teacher specialist.

Caseload Information

  • No mid-year SCRAM report will be required. Please continue to send in SCRAM changes as they occur throughout the year. You will still be completing an End-of-Year SCRAM report.
  • Your December 1 SCRAM report will be used as the baseline for next year’s caseload estimate.
  • A 3-year average of incoming students to your school has been calculated to provide an estimate of incoming students in the youngest grade at your school. This number was added to your December 1 SCRAM numbers.
  • The number of students leaving your school in the exiting grade has been calculated. This number was subtracted from your December 1 SCRAM numbers.
  • Finally, we’ve maintained a trend line (for some schools since the 2002-03 SY) that shows estimated caseload versus actual caseloads on Oct. 1 and Dec. 1 SCRAM. We will use this trend line to make adjustments to estimates as needed.
  • All allocations will be conservative and may be re-evaluated at the end of this school year or after the Oct. 1 2019 count has been finalized.

Timeline

  • Initial allocations of certified special education FTE will be provided to the Human Resources Department in time for your 2.0 FTE Allocation.
  • Each Principal will receive a letter outlining their estimated caseload numbers for 2019-20 and the projected resource FTE allocation for 2019-20.
  • We will only be sending the allocation letter to each school’s principal.

Requests for Resource Instructional Assistants

In April, we will send a packet of information to each Resource and Support Class team to request instructional assistants for 2019-20. This will include a regular resource assistant allocation and the information needed to request Critical Needs Instructional Assistants. This timeline should allow your teams to have a better idea of which students with additional staffing needs will be attending your school for 2019-20.

Published on

DATE:  
February 14, 2019

TO: 
Secondary Principals
Secondary Media Specialists

FROM: 
Administrators of Schools
Dr. Shelley Nordick, Administrator, Curriculum/Staff Development
Norman Emerson, Instructional Support Services/Fine Arts Consultant

SUBJECT:
Networking Meetings for Secondary Media Specialists

In order to prepare and train secondary library media specialists to effectively provide services to their schools and to build consistency across the District’s library programs, several networking meetings have been scheduled for the 2019-20 school year. The participation of your media specialists in these meetings is appreciated.

The meetings will be held on the following dates from 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.:

  • September 18, 2019 (ASB PD Classroom)
  • October 16, 2019 (Viridian Center)
  • November 20, 2019 (Location TBD)
  • January 15, 2020 (Location TBD)
  • February 19, 2020 (Location TBD)
  • March 2020 (UELMA Conference)
  • April 15, 2020 (Location TBD)
  • May 13, 2020 (ASB PD Classroom)

Please feel free to contact Norman Emerson (801-567-8364) if further information is needed. Thank you for your continued support of the library media programs in Jordan District.

Published on

DATE:  
February 7, 2019

TO: 
School Psychologists, Elementary Counselors, and Social Workers

FROM:  
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Fulvia Franco, Program Specialist – Guidance

SUBJECT: 
February Guidance Meeting

A Guidance meeting has been scheduled for Friday, February 22 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Jordan School District Auxiliary Services Building Auditorium (7905 South Redwood Road). Douglas Goldsmith, Ph.D., Psychologist in Independent Practice, will provide us with a presentation on “Parents Behaving Badly: Working with Children Experiencing Trauma and High Conflict Divorce.”

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

cc:
Principals

Published on

Please see the parent brochure (available in English and Spanish) regarding the Utah Aspire Plus test for 9-10th graders. School administrators are encouraged to distribute these flyers in whatever appropriate manner you deem necessary.

Published on

Principals:  Please take note - I will be out of the office on Friday, March 29th for a family wedding. I won't be available to help you on that last day when Land Trust plans are due. Please plan accordingly so I can help you, if needed, before the due date. Thanks! Nadine

 

Due Friday, March 29, 2019

  • 2018-19 Midyear Progress Report - this needs to be opened and completed first. Once you open it you can see the allocation for 2019-20. Principals of the new schools, your schools should be uploaded into the system by the end of this week.
  • 2019-20 School Land Trust Plan
  • 2019-20 School Community Council/Land Trust Signature Form

Thanks for all you do to keep us in compliance with our Land Trust! Attached are the guidelines to help you with accounting codes.