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DATE:    
Thursday, October 15, 2020

TO:   
All Principals
All District Department Heads and Directors

FROM:  
Shelley Nordick, Ph.D., Administrator of Teaching and Learning
Ben Jameson, Director of Evaluation, Research and Accountability
Kurt Prusse, Director of Purchasing
Michael Heaps, Director of Information Systems

SUBJECT:
Student Data Privacy Updates and Reminders


Principals are asked to read and then communicate the following information to their faculty.

We cannot buy or use websites, apps, or software without checking into how they collect, manage, and use student data. If we do, we run the risk of breaking state and federal laws. Because of this, we are asking that all purchases related to website subscriptions, apps, or software go through Purchasing. This includes purchases made with teacher money and p-cards.

We cannot let children under 13 use websites or apps that collect their data without parent notification. This can be done in disclosure documents, emails to parents or other means of communication. Some websites, software, and apps do not allow children under 13 to use their services even with parent permission. These are prohibited by the district for grades K-7. Some websites, software, and apps do not allow children under 18 to use their services. These are prohibited by the district for all students.

Current processes for purchasing websites, apps, and software: 2020-2021

  • The school submits the requisition for the purchase of an app or program to Purchasing.
  • Website, app, or software is vetted for student data privacy.
  • Purchasing will send the district’s data privacy agreement (DPA) to the vendor to sign if needed.
  • Once the vendor signs the DPA, the purchasing process is completed.
  • If a vendor chooses not to sign or does not respond, the purchase of the app or program is halted and Information Systems is asked to block the website or application. There are currently two apps that have been blocked because of student data privacy reasons:
    • Quizlet
    • Beano

At a later date, Evaluation, Research & Accountability will be contacting digital teaching and learning coaches at each building in order to train them on vetting apps and programs. In addition, together with Teaching & Learning, we are working to develop an interactive website where schools and teachers may go to see what apps and programs have been approved and denied.

Please email the district student data privacy managers if you have any questions.
Holly L. Allen: holly.allen@jordandistrict.org
Steven Harwood: steven.harwood@jordandistrict.org

 

Due to the District Office closing for Fall Recess at the end of the day on Thursday, Oct. 22, and not returning until Monday, Oct. 26, the Payroll Department is making the following recommendations:

  1. If you need to close your bank account, please call Payroll immediately.
  2. If you are a True Time employee, make sure your time is submitted. If you are a True Time approver, please make sure all time is approved.
  3. Paychecks are available for viewing in Employee Access on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
    Please review your pay check and call Payroll immediately with any questions or concerns.  (801) 567-8155.
    If you need help logging into your Employee Access, call the help desk at 801-567-8737.
  4. Payday is on Oct. 22nd.

The Payroll Department will resume work on Oct. 26, 2020 and will be available if you have any questions.

Thank you for your efforts in assisting Payroll.

Trauma can have a detrimental impact on students' functioning in the school setting. Educators need tools to identify and support students who may have experienced or are currently experiencing traumatic stress. Please see the attachment below for helpful information and strategies.

In order to ensure that your District mail is properly delivered, please include the following on all items:

  • First and last names
  • Full school or department name
  • Full building name (for items not delivered to schools)

Thanks! This will help ensure that all of your items are delivered quickly to the proper location.

This course will be a review of the Jordan School District Incident Command System Action Plans and roles for responding to a critical incident. The course is available for school/location administration and anyone else that has a key response position, as to be determined by the administrator. It is recommended that new administrators attend.

The course is being repeated on 4 different dates, and will be led by JSD Emergency Operations Manager Lance Everill.

Auxiliary Services Building, Auditorium – Entrance A

  • Wed., Oct. 28, 2020, 8:30am-10:00am
  • Thurs., Oct. 29, 2020, 8:30am-10:00am
  • Wed., Nov. 4, 2020, 1:30-3:00pm
  • Thurs., Nov. 5, 2020, 1:30-3:00pm

Register on JPLS
50-person capacity for each class
Masks required
Social distancing will be observed

Please use the following links to access the State COVID-19 Manual in a multitude of languages, along with other flyers and information sheets produced the the State Health Department.

ENGLISH: https://jam.jordandistrict.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/COVID-19-School-Manual-FINAL.pdf

SPANISH: https://coronavirus-download.utah.gov/International-Language-Resources/Spanish/Es_COVID-19_School_Manual_FIN.pdf

OTHER LANGUAGE RESOURCES for COVID-19 are available here. The COVID-19 Manual is translated into Arabic, Farsi, French, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Thai, and Vietnamese. Portuguese is coming soon. This site also has many of the other COVID flyers and information sheets produced by the State Health Department: https://coronavirus.utah.gov/multilingual-resources/

 

A revised agenda for the optional training sessions for office and administrative staff of schools and District departments is attached.  The October 1st and 15th sessions will be held in the morning and the October 5th session in the afternoon (same information presented at each session).  If you would like to participate in one of the sessions, please send an email to Jeri Clayton at jeri.clayton@jordandistrict.org and let her know which date you would like to sign-up to attend.  Attendees of each session will receive an email the day prior to the training with instructions for connecting to the Zoom meeting.

The District ordered and has now received 1,000 Chromebooks for the purpose loaning these Chromebooks out to schools for short-term needs. Primarily the purpose of the short-term loan of the Chromebooks is for students in quarantine to use when the school does not have sufficient numbers for quarantined student use.

If your school has such a need for a temporary short-term use of additional Chromebooks, please call Mark Sowa at 801.567.8392 (x88392) to make arrangements. With only 1,000 Chromebooks to loan out, it is imperative that every school return the loaned Chromebooks as soon as possible with the intent of not being out longer than one month so we can assist other schools experiencing temporary increases in demand due to quarantines. Any device not returned will need to be reimbursed to the loaner program.

For those who will be having a "Say Book to the Flu" event this year, please see the attached flyer. Note that the flyer provides an active link allowing the recipient to view current Say Boo schedules by District. Thank you for your patience as we have adapted our process from individual District flyers in an attempt to respond to changing needs within your buildings.

Instructional Coaching Institute (ICI)
and
Supports for Administrators

The Instructional Coaching Institute is intended to create a united vision and purpose in Jordan School District in order to better support teachers. Meetings are held weekly at the ASB from 11:00-1:30 with the exception of a few that will be held virtually due to limited space availability. All district and school instructional leaders are considered part of the Instructional Coaching Institute and attend meetings. This includes:

  • Instructional Coaches
  • Title I Coaches
  • BYU/UVU Facilitators
  • T&L Specialists
  • T&L Consultants

This weekly communication is intended to inform you about topics and discussions that will be covered in the weekly meetings as well as on updates from Teaching and Learning. If you would like to attend and receive the information alongside your coach(es) you are welcome to do so or can join virtually. Parts of the meetings will be recorded and available after the meeting as well. Links to join virtually or to watch the recordings can be found inside the link below.

Helpful Links

  • Weekly Agenda/Zoom Link/Recording
  • Weekly T&L Updates
    • Assessment
    • Online Program
    • Literacy
    • Math
    • Science
    • GT
    • ELS
    • Other