Jordan School District
The 2023 Wellness Accelerator is an opportunity to learn from passionate educators like you. There will be a variety of topics covered through brief, prepared table-top discussions from educators around Jordan District on strategies for student and staff wellness. Plan on walking away with practical ways to enhance wellness for yourself and others!
See the flyer below for all the details.
DATE:
April 6, 2023
TO:
All Administrators & Threat Assessment Teams
FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
McKinley Withers, Health and Wellness
Angie Rasmussen, Student Safety & Wellness Specialist
SUBJECT:
Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) Level 2 Workshop
CSTAG training consists of two (2) training levels and both levels must be completed by all administrator’s and threat assessment team members. The CSTAG Level 2 workshop is for all who have completed the Level 1 training (the six (6) hour web-based training from Navigate360). This workshop will build upon your knowledge of threat assessment by providing practical application and implementation of the CSTAG process in your school. If you have already completed level 2, you are welcome to attend this training as a refresher.
The Level 2 workshop will;
An upcoming session for the level 2 workshop will be offered June 9, 2023. Select the link below to register for a session of CSTAG Level 2 training.
In-Person Training:
Friday, June 9th (In-Person)
JATC South Auditorium
10:00am-12:00pm Section # 117422
Please sign up using JPLS for the session you will be attending on JPLS
The course number is 101883.
If you are not certain about having completed the CSTAG Level 1 course or should you have any questions please reach out to Angie Rasmussen at angie.rasmussen@jordandistrict.org.
DELAYED - 2023- 24 Special Calendar Request Information – Licensed Only
Once approval is granted for the 2023-24 JORDAN SCHOOL DISTRICT Employee Calendars, the HR Department will provide Special Calendar request information to principals and licensed employees. Please continue to watch for information in JAM and JEM.
We want to make sure we are able to meet the needs of our growing Languages in our District. As our numbers grow, our procedure has to change to better utilize the staff we have. Please share this with your Administrative assistants and reach out to Nicole in LCS for any questions.
April showers will bring us May flowers (at least that's the hope)! A lot is happening in April -- testing season is upon us, we finish up the month of Ramadan, earth day, and Easter will soon be here. Our days are getting longer and we will soon see those flowers begin to crawl out from their winter hibernation. Hopefully, our very snowy winter will give our valley some much needed hydration and life this summer (without too much flooding). We at LCS hope you and your loved ones can enjoy the sun and the holidays this April!
The full newsletter can be found at the link below. Stories include:
ELLevation Tips and Tricks
Create your own dashboard or add a new tile to your current dashboard. Dashboards allow you to quickly access the most relevant and important data in Ellevation all in one place, and a Dashboard Tile is a bite-sized representation of key data about your ML students. When you first log in to ELLevation, you see our district's main dashboard, and all the different information squares are the tiles. You can create a Tile from any Student List configuration, and you can arrange one or more Tiles on a Dashboard to see relevant data points all in one place. You can customize your own ELLevation Dashboard with the Tiles of data that are relevant to you. Simply click the link or scan the QR code below for step-by-step instructions and videos to walk you through this process. Make sure you are logged into ELLevation before clicking or scanning so that it takes you straight to the help page!
Teaching Strategies Supporting Newcomers
As intimidating as it may be for teachers to have students new to the country with no English, imagine how scary it is for your new student. Here are a few things you can do to help your newcomers feel welcome:
Culture Corner
The "Racial Justice Challenge" organized by the YWCA begins April 17th. The challenge runs through the month of April to help raise awareness of systemic racism. It is "designed to create dedicated time and space to build more effective social justice habits, particularly those dealing with issues of race, power, privilege, and leadership. The Challenge works to foster personal reflection, encourage social responsibility, and motivate participants to identify and act on ways to dismantle racism and other forms of discrimination. Daily challenge activities (reading an article, listening to a podcast, reflecting on personal experience, etc.) are posted in the Challenge app and website, allowing participants to connect with one another, discover how racial and social injustice impact our community, and identify ways to dismantle racism and other forms of discrimination."
Reflective Questions
ELD Lead Celebration
April Winegar is a teacher and ELD lead at WJHS. She is passionate about teaching, and works hard to implement programs that support the MLs at her school. She started up a Task Force long before we began doing it district-wide. She has a New ELD Lead folder with great information that she shares with new ELD Leads to guide them in their role. She goes above and beyond to promote and recruit students for the Seal of Biliteracy, and she is always striving to improve the ELD culture school-wide. But most of all, her students know she cares. She is always smiling, always willing to help, and one of the kindest people you will ever meet.
Slips, trips, and falls can result in a wide range of serious injuries and account for approximately 20% of all work-related injuries. This is second only to auto accidents.
See the flyer below for tips on how to minimize slips, trips, and falls.
On Thursday, April 20, 2023, at 10:15 a.m. a million Utahns will “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” in the annual Great Utah ShakeOut Earthquake Drill.
All schools are encouraged to participate in this drill, or to conduct an earthquake drill sometime in the month of April. This is an opportunity to incorporate emergency preparedness in classroom lessons and to include proper ways to protect oneself during an earthquake.
Schools can register to participate in the Great Utah ShakeOut, at: www.ShakeOut.org/Utah. After registering your school, you can also review the “PLAN YOUR DRILL” section at the bottom left of the Webpage.
Please review the Jordan School District Incident Command Manual - Earthquake Action Plan and Standard Operating Guidelines for planning, drilling and responding to an earthquake. The manual is located in the JSD Incident Command Folder on Google Drive, link: Incident Command Folder. Bookmark for future reference.
Please plan and prepare to take part in this statewide earthquake drill. Remember to report your drill and related meetings using the Jordan School District, link: 2022-23 REPORT EMERGENCY - DRILLS, ACTUAL EVENTS, or MEETINGS on Google Drive. Bookmark for future reporting.
Please contact the JSD Emergency Operations Manager Lance Everill with questions, etc.: Office 801-567-8623, lance.everill@jordandistrict.org
The following are new administrative assignments:
New Assignments effective July 1, 2023:
Every student deserves to be taught by an accomplished teacher. National Board Certification was designed to develop, retain and recognize accomplished teachers and to generate ongoing improvement in schools nationwide. It’s the highest certification a teacher may obtain in addition to being the most respected one.
Perks for teachers:
Teachers who have gone through the Board certification process say that it is the most valuable and transformative professional development they have ever received. The opportunity to connect professional learning with classroom practice brings to life a teacher’s experience, helping them reflect on individual student learning needs.
Contact Amy Wood with questions: amy.wood@jordandistrict.org
The Leading School Summit will include administrators from across the state who are looking to strengthen the impact of digital learning and PCBL in their schools. This is a FREE conference, so sign up today!
Click HERE for more information and to register.
DATE:
March 9, 2023
TO:
All Administrators
FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
McKinley Withers, Health and Wellness
SUBJECT:
Wellness Accelerator Event
You and your staff are invited to a Wellness Accelerator Event at JATC South Auditorium on April 14th, from 1:30-3:30.
The 2023 Wellness Accelerator is an opportunity to learn from passionate educators like you. There will be a variety of topics covered through brief, prepared table-top discussions from educators around Jordan District on strategies for student and staff wellness. Participants should plan on walking away with practical ways to enhance wellness for yourself and others!
Who should attend? You! Jordan School District administrators, school leaders, and staff committed to SEL/wellness initiatives (substitutes can be provided upon request) are invited to attend.
Review the attached flyer and share with those that would benefit from attending.
Please contact McKinley Withers (mckinley.withers@jordandistrict.org) for additional information and questions.
Please advertise this event so all students and families will attend.
We are excited to announce our in-person, Jordan School District Special Education Transition Fair for 2023 and would love for you to join us! There will be over twenty community resources attending to help answer any post-secondary questions for our students and families.
The Transition Fair will be held on Monday, April 10, 2023 from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. at the Jordan School District Auxiliary Services building (7905 South Redwood Road, West Jordan, UT 84088).
We hope that you will be able to attend! For questions please contact Ashley Calhoun Transition Specialist at 801-567-8208 or ashley.calhoun@jordandistrict.org,
Please see four helpful hints for improving building inspections in the document below.
Criminals are getting more and more creative and bold and are finding new ways to try to steal freight from our schools.
One of our schools had an incident recently after receiving several boxes through UPS from Apple Computers. The boxes legitimately belonged to the school, and all shipping labels had the school name on them. An unidentified woman came in shortly after the delivery claiming she was instructed by the freight company to pick up her items from the school. She had a printout of tracking numbers that matched the computers! Long story short, the school did not give her their computers even after she threatened to get the police involved. If this ever happens at one of your schools or locations, yes, call the police!
Please watch for this or similar situations to happen at your location. The picture below is what the fraudster tried to provide to the school as “proof” the boxes were hers. Note that she is not showing the “entire email”, and there is no reference to Apple or UPS with a legitimate looking email address.
If in doubt, please contact Purchasing, as we may have additional shipping or tracking information from the vendors or can help you obtain it to verify that a shipment belongs to your school or department and not a person coming in off the street. We also recommend locking unopened freight in a room until it can be opened or distributed, and not in easy reach of those coming into the building.
Stay aware and stay safe! Please contact Purchasing if you need assistance or have questions on receiving freight or if you need help legitimizing claims such as this.
The date for the Jordan School District High School Graduation exercises is Thursday, June 1, 2023. Valley High School graduation exercises are scheduled for Wednesday, May 31, 2023. School graduation plans and times will vary from school to school.
Principals and Directors are encouraged to provide flexibility to parents or grandparents requesting the opportunity to attend the graduation ceremonies of family members.
Licensed employees are responsible for requesting a substitute through the Frontline Absence Management System, if applicable. In the blue “Notes to Administrator” box, the employee should add “graduation” along with his/her relationship to the graduate.
For additional assistance, please contact the Sub Office at 801-567-8219.
If you have 2023 graduating interns assigned to your location, please see the attached document.
Dear Principals,
As we have talked about reading classes and reading instruction, there has been interest from many schools in having teachers more fully trained in the Science of Reading, or LETRS training.
Over the past month, Lexia (the company who provides the LETRS training) has released a new training geared specifically for students in grades 4-8, Lexia Aspire. (Lexia Aspire Website) There are several benefits to this training including:
The one drawback at this time is that we are unsure how Lexia Aspire will be integrated into the Secondary Literacy Interventionist Endorsement (the new Reading Endorsement). Together with other districts, we are working with USBE through this process; however, we won’t know the answer until later this year.
I have started the Lexia Aspire training, and it is something I wish I would have had as a Language Arts teacher. Not only does this program provide the foundational knowledge for why the Science of Reading is important; it also provides practical application that teachers can integrate into their instruction and classrooms now.
Feel free to share this information with any Reading or Language Arts teachers who may be interested in the Lexia Aspire training. We’re hopeful that the training will be beneficial toward an endorsement but, at the very least, it is excellent reading instruction training. If you would like to consider paying for this training for your teachers, please contact me.
Brandee Bergum
Secondary Language Arts Consultant
brandee.bergum@jordandistrict.org
March is here, which means St. Patrick's day, spring, and (hopefully) warmer temps. It is also Women's History Month, which began the week of March 8th, after President Jimmy Carter declared it Women's History Week. Then, in 1987 congress passed Public Law 100-9, designating March as “Women’s History Month.”
The full newsletter can be found at the link below. Stories include:
Culture Corner
St. Patrick's day is coming up. Remember that many of your ML students may not know the holiday or why they celebrate in class (if you plan on doing this). Teaching about the holiday, informing parents about your plans, and giving them some information about the day is incredibly helpful to those students and their families who have never celebrated.
Teaching Strategies Small Groups
Reflective Questions
At this point in the year, what have I learned about: my students’ lives, families, and past experiences? my colleagues? my school community? my local community? myself?
What more do I want to learn as we end 3rd quarter (March 24) and move into 4th?
ELLevation Tips and Tricks
You can use the Student List to make targeted instructional recommendations for students who meet specific criteria. To batch recommend Activities for multiple students at once from the Student List, found in the full newsletter below.
ELD Lead Celebration
Melanie Nixon is both the coach and ELD Lead at Mountain Point Elementary. She has established great relationships with both teachers and students. Not only does she know what is happening at her school, she knows students by name. She is a great resource for teachers who need language and culture support for MLs as she helps teachers with RtI, language strategies and data. Melanie is very organized and on top of things and the MLs at Mountain Point are lucky to have her as an advocate.
We are moving closer to the launch date for the new Brightly/Asset Essential work order system which will be replacing Sprocket effective April 3rd, 2023, we ask that you continue to use Sprocket until that date.
Most of our custodians and administrative assistants have had the opportunity to attend a training for the new system.
Please notify those who were unable to attend any of the scheduled trainings of these additional opportunities.
3/14/2023
Principal Meeting – time certain during breakout sessions
3/21/2023
Make up Training Date – ASB Presentation Room 2-4 pm
Open to Custodian and Administrative Assistants
3/28/2023
Make up Training Date – ASB Presentation Room 9-11 am
Open to Custodian and Administrative Assistants
We appreciate your support as we work toward a smooth transition. If you have any question please reach out to our Brightly Team:
Teresa Lyon : 801-567-8876 : teresa.lyon@jordandistrict.org
Judy Bird : 801-567-8625 : judy.bird@jordandistrict.org
Jeff Beesley : 801-567-8876 : jeffrey.beesley@jordandistrict.org
