Category: Other Admin Info

DATE: 
February 15, 2024

TO: 
All Administrators

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

SUBJECT:  
Social and Emotional Skill Curriculum EXPO – Tuesday March 5^th!!

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School leaders and teams are invited to the Social and Emotional Skill Curriculum EXPO on March 5^th at JATC South Auditorium! 

The 2024 Social and Emotional Skill Curriculum Expo is a part of the 2024 Prevention Palooza. At the core of prevention are our intentional efforts to build students’ essential social, emotional, and life skills.

Implementing a Tier One, school-wide curriculum is an evidence-based approach to reducing problematic behavior, improving academic outcomes, and most importantly, enhancing student well-being!

There are Two Sessions on Tuesday March 5, 2024: 8:30-11:00, 12:30-3:00
This event is a hybrid of an open house and a vendor EXPO. There will be various vendors representing curriculum options hosting timed, round-table discussions to help you determine which program best fits your school’s needs. Come for an hour and visit a few tables you are interested in or stick around and explore several options! Information on each curriculum vendor will be shared beforehand including simple guides to key components of each of these curriculum vendors.

This format will allow school leaders to maximize their time and gather information with intention as they prepare for the upcoming school year! We intend to support school leaders and teams in meeting their unique social and emotional skill development goals.**Substitutes can be paid for upon request.

RSVP Here
Review the attached flyer and share with those who would benefit from attending. Please get in touch with McKinley Withers (mckinley.withers@jordandistrict.org) for additional information and questions.

Nominations are now open!

2024 Sorenson Legacy Awards. See the flyer below. The deadline to submit is Monday, March 11, 2024 by 5:00 pm.

LINK TO SUBMIT NOMINATION

In order to maintain a professional work atmosphere for students and staff members, respect staff time, and to avoid ethical and fraudulent conflicts of interest with vendors, building administrations are asked to abide by the following:

1. Vendors are not allowed into District schools/facilities to solicit business from employees during business hours. Building administrations may allow vendors to leave promotional materials (e.g. brochures, business cards, posters, etc.) with the front office and request these materials be placed in an area, such as the employee break room or bulletin board, so staff may view them and take one, if they so choose. Materials may not be placed in staff boxes. Vendors are not allowed to make sales pitches during faculty or staff meetings. Vendors are not to provide a snack, treat, or meal for employees in the break rooms while the vendor remains to solicit business. Building administrations may allow a vendor to leave a snack, treat, or meal along with promotional materials and a note indicating who brought the items and who employees should contact if more information is desired. Employees, including building and district leadership, should never feel like they are required to meet with vendors and hear their sales pitches.
2. Decision makers are advised to avoid gifts from vendors in order to guard against the appearance of misconduct. A vendor providing a gift or meal for the staff or large groups is a very nice gesture of thanks and support. A vendor providing a special, private gift or lunch to only the decision maker(s) can create an ethical conflict of interest that can influence decision making.
3. Vendors must follow the same protocol expected of all other visitors to District buildings by checking in at the front office and proceeding beyond the front office only after being invited to do so.
4. If an employee desires to meet with a vendor at a District location to discuss services the vendor may offer to them personally, the employee and vendor must meet outside of normal business hours for that building. For schools, this means no contact between one-half hour before school starts and one-half hour after school ends, including lunch time and prep time. These hours are considered work hours and must be respected by the employee and vendors.
5. The District’s finance system is not to be used to pay for employees’ personal business (e.g. mortgage payments, utility payments, insurance payments, donations to churches, credit card payments, etc.). Payroll deductions are not permitted for non-Jordan District purposes unless the funds are tax sheltered through a District-allowed plan (see #6 below). It is not appropriate for the District to engage in employee personal bill pay at taxpayer expense. Any payment arrangements made by employees with vendors should be done using the employees’ personal financial institution.
6. As a taxpayer funded subdivision of the State of Utah, Jordan School District participates in the Utah Retirement Systems (URS). While employees have the private option of authorizing financial advisers or others to manage their retirement funds, there are inherent risks associated with any investment strategy. Jordan School District and Utah Retirement Systems does not and has not endorsed, contracted out, authorized, advocated, recommended, sponsored, or vetted other entities, including 403b agents, to represent them in these matters. Instead, URS employs retirement advisors, with a URS email and phone number, who will meet with and advise JSD employees free of charge. URS is a nonprofit trust and their advisors never earn commissions. If you want help with URS questions, please contact URS and if you choose to go outside of URS, please compare commissions and fees.
7. As a taxpayer funded entity, Jordan School District, its departments and schools must only work with businesses that have first gone through the proper procurement process. Competing vendors are to be treated fairly without personal preference or bias.

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• Guidelines For Vendors Soliciting Sales From Jordan District Employees

Positions considered Critical Need/Hard to Fill are eligible to begin posting immediately.

Remember to complete the Date Position Available field on your Requisition to assist us in accurately identifying positions available for 2024-2025 school year and support our upcoming recruitment efforts nationwide.

Reminder: For tutorials to assist you with completing requisitions and all things Frontline, there is a link on your Frontline Message Board. If you have any questions, please contact your HR Recruiting Team.

Please see the attached newsletter.

Through the month of FEBRUARY, current JSD licensed teachers and/or educators may view transfer opportunities for the 2024-25 school year. If you are interested in a transfer to another school location in the District for the 2024-25 school year, you must submit a transfer request through the Teacher/Educator Transfer Request located in Skyward Employee Access and/or attend the Teacher/Educator Transfer Fair on Feb. 12, 2024. A Teacher/Educator Transfer Request Report listing all interested licensed teachers and/or educators is emailed to Principals each Monday during the month of February with the names of those teachers/educators who are requesting a transfer to a new location for the 2024-25 school year.

On March 1, current JSD teachers/educators may view openings for the 2024-25 school year at employment.jordandistrict.org and must apply in Frontline. Transfer requests will be accepted through August 1, 2024.

• Policy DP304 NEG – Teacher Transfers

Check out all you need and want to know regarding "Signs"!

Please see the attached newsletter.

DATE:  
February 1, 2024

TO:      
Principals
Assistant Principals

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

SUBJECT:  
Safety Training Opportunity

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Webinar: The Role of Principals in School Safety Efforts

The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Safe and Supportive Schools and its Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance (TA) Center will host a webinar on Thursday, February 8, 2024, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.  This webinar will focus on the role that principals play in preventing, protecting the school community from, mitigating, responding to, and recovering from threats and hazards.

The objectives of this 60-minute webinar are to

• Highlight the importance of establishing a collaborative planning team for school emergency operations plan (EOP) development, as outlined in Step 1 of the Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans.
• Reinforce how principals can contribute to EOP development and ensure school safety, security, emergency management, and preparedness.
• Share relevant resources to be used by principals and core planning teams.

Register on Zoom to participate in the Webinar.

Guest Panelists

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida

• Ty Thompson, former Principal

Ocali Charter High School in Ocala, Florida

• Elizabeth Brown, Principal

Hudson High School in Hudson, Ohio

• Michael Sedlak, Unit Principal

Sandy Hook Elementary School

• Kathy Gombos, Principal

Panel Moderator
Janelle Hughes, Project Director, REMS TA Center

Please see the attached newsletter.

Please take note of this revised document.

DATE:     
January 24, 2024

TO:   
All Administrators

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

SUBJECT:   
Wellness Day 2024 Updates

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Our District’s third annual Wellness Day is right around the corner! Here are some reminders and updates for school and District leaders:

• Parents and students have received a Skylert from the District with information about how to access instructional content along with a reminder about the day.
• A direct email will go out to all employees with information about opportunities available and will include instructions about how and when to sign up for wellness day opportunities.
• As much as possible, please allow for flexibility for employees to make the most of their wellness day.

Looking to promote wellness day and engage your school community? Use this link for some ideas, posters, and posts you can use: wellness.jordandistrict.org/wellnessiseasy

DATE:  
January 22, 2024

TO:   
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Safety Specialists

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

SUBJECT: 
United States Secret Service Live Virtual Training Event Opportunities

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The U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) offers live recurring virtual training events on violence prevention to community safety stakeholders throughout the year. In these trainings, experts and researchers will present findings from NTAC’s research on targeted violence and discuss strategies for preventing acts of violence in our communities. More information about these events and how to register are below.

Enhancing School Safety Using Behavioral Threat Assessment

Description: In this virtual training event, NTAC researchers highlight the key findings and implications from our research on school violence prevention. In this training, you will learn about the background, thinking, and behavior of school attackers and how some schools discovered and stopped plots before violence occurred. This training will provide guidance on how schools may develop or improve existing violence prevention programs utilizing a behavioral threat assessment model.

Intended Audience: School teachers, administrators, counsellors, mental health professionals, school resource officers (SROs), law enforcement officers, and other school safety stakeholders.

Register Here

Preventing Mass Attacks in Our Communities

Description: In this virtual training event, NTAC researchers discuss important findings from our research on mass attacks perpetrated in public and semi-public spaces, including businesses, restaurants, bars, retail outlets, houses of worship, schools, open spaces, and more. This training will provide guidance on how communities may develop or improve existing violence prevention programs utilizing a behavioral threat assessment model.

Intended Audience: Law enforcement, corporate security, mental health professionals, faith-based community leaders, university faculty, threat assessment team members, and other community safety stakeholders.

Register Here

DATE:    
January 22, 2024

TO:  
School Psychologists & School Psychology Interns

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

SUBJECT:  
February School Psychologists & School Psychology Interns Meeting

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A meeting for school psychologists and school psychology interns has been scheduled for Friday, February 2, 2024, from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Julien Smith, Ph.D., Wasatch Pediatric Neuropsychology, Inc., will provide us with a presentation on psychological assessment with neurodiverse populations.

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

cc:
Principals

The 2023-24 Assistant Principal Directory may be accessed at the links below. You must be logged into your Jordandistrict.org account to access the file.

• Elementary Assistant Principal Directory
• Middle Assistant Principal Directory
• High Assistant Principal Directory

If updates or changes are needed, please send them directly to Caleb Olson via email. The updates will be made in the files at the links above, so the link will always take you to the most recent copy.

DATE:    
January 11, 2024

TO:   
All School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:   
CSTAG Updates January 2024

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Please be aware of the following updates regarding Comprehensive School Threat Assessment (CSTAG) in Jordan District. See the memo below.

The following are new administrative assignments:

• New Appointments effective January 2, 2024:
  • Holly Bagley, administrative intern at Silver Crest Elementary appointed assistant principal at Silver Crest Elementary.
  • Kasey Dahl, administrative intern at Ridge View Elementary appointed assistant principal at Ridge View Elementary.
• New Appointments and Transfers effective January 16, 2024:
  • Kaleb Yates, principal at Jordan Hills Elementary appointed principal at the New Herriman Elementary.
  • Baylee Lansford, assistant principal at Rose Creek Elementary appointed principal at Jordan Hills Elementary.
  • Josh Brothers, assistant principal at Terra Linda Elementary appointed assistant principal at Rose Creek Elementary.
  • Kirt Davis, administrative intern at West Jordan High appointed assistant principal at Terra Linda Elementary.
  • Katelyn Jenson, administrative intern at Copper Hills High appointed assistant principal at Southland Elementary.
  • Samantha Robinson, administrative intern at Oquirrh Hills Middle and West Hills Middle appointed assistant principal at Aspen Elementary.
  • Betsy Lopez, administrative intern at Aspen Elementary assigned administrative intern at Oquirrh Hills Middle and West Hills Middle.

Please see the attached newsletter.