Category: Other Admin Info

DATE:
Thursday, September 8, 2022

TO:
All School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:
Research Project

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

Project Title: The Challenge of Peer Leadership

Applicant: Doug Stump, Southern Utah University

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 researcher is looking for first-year administrators who have been assigned to schools where they were also a teacher.

Thank you for your assistance.

Portable classroom ramps are very expensive and the District does not keep an inventory of extra ramps.

When there is a ramp request for a legitimate ADA accommodation, administrators should contact their AOS first, to discuss the specific circumstances. If the AOS deems the ramp necessary, they will then contact Facility Services to determine the best school to move a ramp from along with an appropriate timeline for the installation.

DATE:   
September 1, 2022

TO:  
District Administrators
School Administrators

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

SUBJECT: 
Content-Specific Opt-Out Requests

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Please see the attached memo.

School Administrators:

Please review next week’s JAM (September 8, 2022) for a summary of the FTE Audit process and required due dates. The FTE Audit is critical to ensure employees are paid correctly and from the correct budgets. The audit will be electronic again. However, if you would like assistance, you will have the option to schedule an appointment with HR to review your audit.

We appreciate your time in completing this essential task.

Please take note of the following clarification on the difference between "Grade Transmittal Days" and "Professional Development Days." This information is also being distributed to employees via JEM.

Grade Transmittal Days are scheduled three times per year (October 21, January 17, March 27) as required in District Policy D207 - Calendar Development. These days occur each year in the Jordan School District. Payment for these days is built into the base teacher salary. Students do not attend. In-person work by teachers is not required; however, schools are open and teachers may use time on this day for finalizing and submitting grades.

Professional Development Days are three days throughout the year (September 16, November 4, April 21) where the Board of Education and District Administration have converted a student instructional day to a professional development day, as allowed by Utah Code 53F-2-102(d). These days are authorized on a year-to-year basis. These days are included in the 187 days of the standard teacher contract. Students do not attend. Principals may use up to three hours of each day for required professional development activities. The remainder of the contract day is to be used by teachers for planning and preparation.

The level and teacher calendars have been updated to clarify this change:

• Elementary Calendar Packet
• Elementary Teacher Calendar
• Middle Calendar Packet
• Middle Teacher Calendar
• High Calendar Packet
• High Teacher Calendar

With the restructure of the Human Resource Department, which includes Brittany Bauer and Jane Olsen in their new assignments as HR Specialists, the HR Department has a new look. While Brittany and Jane will focus on NEW EMPLOYEES, Brent and June will focus on CURRENT EMPLOYEES for all employee groups. For additional details, please see the attached graphic. We look forward to continuing to serve you.

Please note the following changes to the Transportation Moratorium Field/Activity Trips Dates 2022-23. The 4th Grade Utah Symphony has been changed to November 14 and 15 at Abravanel Hall. November 16 is no longer a moratorium date. Please plan accordingly.

US Code 106 has declared September 17 as Constitution and Citizenship Day. All educational institutions are urged to “make plans for the proper observance of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day and for the complete instruction of citizens in their responsibilities and opportunities as citizens of the United States and of the State and locality in which they reside.”

This year September 17 is on a Saturday. Please find a way to celebrate this important document and citizenship with your students sometime during the week of September 12-16. UEN has provided some great resources for all grade levels which could be done in the social studies classrooms.  

Utah State Law and District Policy requires that all school personnel delegated to administer medication to students in schools must complete Medication Administration Training.

New employees who will be giving medication are required to attend the live training on Friday, September 16, 2022. Prior to this meeting, they need to view the online training, use this link and then select Medication Inservice (use a browser other than Firefox).

Employees who have attended this training and have a certificate of completion will not be required to attend this meeting. However, they will be required to recertify by viewing the online training video and completing the corresponding test available on the district website. (see above)

Please identify staff members that should receive medication administration training. This may include head administrative assistants, office assistants, cluster teachers or aides, counseling center personnel, and the principal if appropriate. Please inform all personnel that have the potential to administer medication to students at school of their responsibilities in this matter.

Medication Administration Training
Friday, September 16, 2022
9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
ASB PDC 101 & 102

Class size is limited. Please contact your school nurse if you are planning to attend. See attached nurse assignment list. Thank you for your responsiveness and support.

Jordan School District Nurses will be conducting this inservice on:

Friday, September 23, 2022
9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
ASB COMPUTER LAB D-112

This inservice is open to all office staff and administrators. It is not required that you attend; however, if you are involved with student registration, this inservice will be of benefit to you since immunization status is an important part of the registration process.

Class size is limited. Please contact your school nurse if you are planning to attend. See attached nurse assignment list for 2022-23.

The 2022-23 School allocations have been provided for your review.  Budget adjustments can be submitted using the attached form to Natalie.Grange@jordandistrict.org.

School allocations will be updated in November after the October 1 headcounts are finalized by the State.

If you have questions please contact Natalie Grange at 88312 or at Natalie.Grange@jordandistrict.org.

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Dear JSD Principals,

The wellness team is excited to announce two programs designed to support teacher and student health and wellness this school year: 1) Educator Wellness Representatives and 2) Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Teacher Leaders.

The Educator Wellness Representatives will primarily be responsible for supporting faculty/staff wellness efforts at your school while the primary role of the SEL Teacher Leader is to support student-focused social and emotional learning efforts for our District. Please refer to the table below for specifics of each position.

Educator Wellness Representatives Each school nominates one

Social Emotional Learning Teacher Leaders 10 per level (elementary, middle, high)

Support teacher wellness Must be a licensed, non-administrative staff member. Nominated by a principal using this form Will attend our Educator Wellness Kickoff event on September 20, 2022 @ JATC South *Sub will be provided for workday *A stipend will be offered to representatives data collected in the spring regarding their efforts Duties include: lead and support faculty/staff wellness efforts at your school throughout the year, maintain contact with District SEL Specialists, model educator wellness for the school community How are they selected? Principal nominates ONE educator wellness representative for each school using this form.

Support student social and emotional learning Teachers apply by completing this form Will meet quarterly with District SEL Specialists (meeting times TBD) *Sub will be provided for workday meetings Duties include: consult on social and emotional learning implementation districtwide, develop website content, review curriculum options, support classroom lesson planning How are they selected? Teachers are invited to apply by completing this form! 10 teacher leaders will be selected for each level.

Action Items for administrators:

• Please nominate your Educator Wellness Representative by August 26, 2022.
• Please invite teachers who would be good social and emotional learning leaders to apply.

The 2022-23 enrollment for all schools on the 1st day for traditional schools is 58,605.

The enrollment (K-12 + Special Education) is 832 more than the 2022-23 estimate of 57,773, an increase of 1.44%.

DATE: Thursday, August 18, 2022
TO: All School Administrators and District Department Directors/Consultants
FROM: Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning, Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
SUBJECT: 2022-23 Required Testing Ethics Professional Development Procedures for Education Support Professionals

Licensed teachers will do their testing ethics training as part of their annual crucial policies and procedures review.  School administrators do not need to train their teachers on testing ethics for the 2022-23 school year; however, administrators will need to conduct a training for any education support professionals (classified employees) who will assist with district, state or federally-mandated testing.  This will include computer lab assistants who function as the school’s test coordinator, any classroom aides that assist with testing, literacy aides who assist with Acadience Reading testing or progress monitoring, or any office staff that assist test coordinators with district, state or federally-mandated testing.

The three required procedures for completing this testing ethics professional development are listed on the “2022-23 Principal’s Testing Ethics Checklist for ESPs” form, which is due to the Evaluation, Research & Accountability Department by Friday, Sept. 16, 2022.

As has been done in the past, administrators may provide in-person training on testing ethics using the pdf slide deck attached with this memo.  Alternatively, administrators may refer education support personnel to the YouTube video that provides the same ethics training.  Once education support personnel have been trained, either in-person or using the video, they are required to sign the “2022-23 Standard Test Administration and Testing Ethics Policy Training Signature Form.”  Administrators are asked to keep these signed forms on file at the school.

There are several materials attached with this memo for your use:

• 2022-23 Principal’s Testing Ethics Checklist or ESPs – This form needs to be filled out and sent to Evaluation, Research & Accountability by Friday, Sept. 16, 2022.
• Testing Ethics Presentation, 2022-23 – This is the slide deck if principals choose to present the training in-person.
• 2022-23 Standard Test Administration and Testing Ethics Policy – This document should be distributed to every Education Support Professional that assists with state or federally-mandated testing.
• ESP Testing Ethics Video – This is the training video that may be used in lieu of in-person training. The video may also be found at this link:
• Standard Test Administration and Testing Ethics Training Signature Form, 2022-23 – Administrators should retain a signed copy of this form for all Education Support Professionals who assist with district, state or federally-mandated testing.

Please contact Ben Jameson or Gaylene Miller in Evaluation, Research & Accountability with any questions.

See the memo for this new assessment and how to help your teachers get started with test administration.

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DATE: Thursday, August 18, 2022
TO: All School Administrators
FROM: Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching and Learning, Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability, Brandee Bergum, Consultant, Secondary Language Arts
SUBJECT: New Reading Assessment Growth Measures Replaces Reading Inventory

Beginning with the 2022-23 school year, Jordan School District will be moving to a new reading assessment called Growth Measure.  This new reading test is the replacement for Reading Inventory, which has been discontinued by Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt (HMH).  Growth Measure is similar in many ways to Reading Inventory.  Growth Measure will take around 30 minutes for students to complete and it will be available to students in grades 4-12.  Scores will still be reported as Lexiles.  Growth Measure will still be required for 6^th graders for reading placement as they transition into 7^th grade.  Growth Measure will remain optional for grades 4-5 and 7-12.

Growth Measure should be administered to students three times a year:

• Beginning-of-year window: August 17 – October 14
• Middle-of-year window: December 1 – February 15
• End-of-year window: April 3 – June 30

After each testing window HMH will set up meetings with each school's administration to review the school data for the previous testing window. HMH has also set up online office hours to answer any questions about Growth Measure and its reports.  Teachers and administrators are invited to attend and ask questions.  Here are the office hours with HMH personnel:

• September 2: 8:00-9:00 am
• October 7: 8:00 – 9:00 am

Each school has been assigned an admin account. To login and view scores for your school, administrators will need to follow these steps:

Look for an invitation email sent to school principals:

• Click on this link: https://www.hmhco.com/ui/login
• Enter your school's Username: gmadmin[your school’s number](For example, Aspen's Username is gmadmin179)
• Click Forgot Password to set up your new password

If you need someone else at your school to have an admin account, please contact Kira Jensen in Evaluation, Research & Accountability and let her know who needs access at your school. Grades 4-6 teachers, secondary language arts teachers, and students in grades 4-12 are already rostered and set up with accounts in the assessment management system.  Here are the login credentials they will need to use:

Teacher Login Information

• Username: firstname.lastname
• Password: Click on “Forgot Password” to create a new password

Student Login Information

• Username: Student Skyward ID #
• Password: Student Skyward ID #

For more information on the assessment, please visit our Growth Measure page. We will be adding instructional videos and FAQs in the next few weeks. Teachers will need to visit this page for instructions on how to login and how to assign the test to their students.

Please contact Kira Jensen in Evaluation, Research & Accountability with any questions you may have or to arrange a training for your teachers.

Please see the document below.

Jordan School District (JSD) is committed to finding, hiring and retaining the very best employees possible. We are looking for bus drivers, custodians, nutrition service workers and certain Facilities positions! Historically, some of our top talent is found through referrals from people who already work in the JSD. JSD currently has several positions that need to be filled. We would like to encourage JSD employees to share information about employment opportunities and at the same time reward employees for doing so.

The Employee Referral Program is one in which we hope all district employees will participate. The goal of this program is to help hire staff in “hard to fill” ESP positions effective February 1, 2022. For information about this program, please visit the following website.

JSD Employee Referral Bonus

 

Please see the documents below for information regarding JPAS LITE.

The Human Resource Department is pleased to announce the addition of the following new positions.

• Brittany Bauer, Licensing Specialist appointed Recruiting, Licensing, & Hiring Specialist. Brittany has a Masters Degree in Management & Leadership from Western Governors University.
• Jane Olsen, Data Analyst appointed Recruiting, Licensing, & Hiring Specialist. Jane has a degree in Science in Human Resources from Utah State University.

School/District administrators and administrative assistants are directed to the following HR reference guide when requesting HR assistance.

Please contact Brittany Bauer and Melinda McAnally for secondary questions and Jane Olsen and Stacy Krahenbuhl for elementary questions regarding all recruitment, hiring and placement of new licensed, ESP, and miscellaneous candidates. In addition, they will assist with the following HR related tasks:

• Recruitment
• Job Postings
• Frontline Support
• Onboarding – Hiring Approvals & Initial Placements
• Licensing
• New Teacher Induction
• CANVAS HR Trainings
• Social Media
• Substitutes

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Brittany Bauer
brittany.bauer@jordandistrict.org
801-567-8214

Jane Olsen
jane.olsen@jordandistrict.org
801-567-8217

Stacy Krahenbuhl
stacy.krahenbuhl@jordandistrict.org
801-567-8221

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June LeMaster
June.lemaster@jordandistrict.org
801-567-8222

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The two current HR administrative vacancies and the positions currently held by Brittany and Jane will not be filled at this time.