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DATE:
September 12, 2024

TO:
All Principals
All Special Education Staff
School Psychologists
Elementary School Counselors

FROM:
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Melanie Dawson, Program Administrator of Behavior

SUBJECT:
ASPEN Training For Special Education Personnel 2024-2025


ASPEN training is required for all licensed special education teachers, SLPs, school psychologists, elementary school counselors, as well as all Education Support Professionals (ESPs) in SEB and Autism self-contained support classrooms who do not have a current Mandt certification. Staff members working in any other special education setting may choose to attend ASPEN at the discretion of their building administrator and at the cost of their school.

Please see the attached memo for more information and class schedules and links.

DATE:
September 12, 2024

TO:
All Principals
All Special Education Teachers

FROM:
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Brian King, Assistant Director of Special Education

SUBJECT:
Changes to Assistive Technology Referrals and New Resource Guide


The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology, and Office of Special Education recently issued a memorandum that highlights the importance of the provision of assistive technology (AT) for students with disabilities. This communication emphasized that it is critical that IEP teams understand how to consider, procure, implement, and evaluate AT services for children with disabilities.

In response to this memorandum, the Jordan Utah Assistive Technology Team (UATT) has created an Assistive Technology Consideration and Resource Guide that will provide a framework to assist IEP teams in the AT consideration process. This resource will also provide examples of AT tools that can be used to support various areas of academic skills and tasks.

Additionally, the Jordan UATT has updated the AT referral process. UATT referrals will now be submitted in a digital format (Google form). In the past, UATT utilized one form to refer students for AT assessments, and another form that allowed special educators with experience supporting assistive technology to request specific tools without an AT assessment. The new digital format collapses those two forms into a single smart form.

Both of these resources can be found on the Jordan UATT webpage on the JSD Special Education website. Questions and inquiries for assistance regarding the Assistive Technology Consideration and Resource Guide, Jordan UATT Referral process, or any other topics related to assistive technology can be directed to the JSD assistive technology specialist, Cheri Blue at Cheri.Blue@jordandistrict.org.

TO:
Administrators
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Michelle Love-Day, Director of Language & Culture Services


Language & Culture Services wants to celebrate our 2024 WIDA graduates. Our students work hard and we want to celebrate their linguistic greatness in reaching level 4.2 overall and level 3.5 on the speaking section in WIDA. Please come out and celebrate with your students and their families. Each feeder system has a special date.

  • Sept. 23, Mountain Ridge High, 7 p.m.
  • Oct. 9, Bingham High, 7 p.m.
  • Oct. 30, Herriman High, 7 p.m.
  • Nov.7, West Jordan High, 7 p.m.
  • Nov. 21, Copper Hills High, 7 p.m.
  • Dec. 2, Riverton High, 7 p.m.

You can access your individual feeder system flyer using this link:

DATE:    
September 5, 2024

TO:  
Administrators
Administrative Assistants

FROM: 
June LeMaster, Administrator, Human Resources
Brent Burge, Human Resource Administrator, ESP

SUBJECT: 
2024 Fall Recess Annual-Personal Leave before-after Critical Day


If you are a contracted employee and need to take Annual/Personal Leave on a Critical Day before or after Fall Recess for any reason not listed in policy DP335NEG or DP335B, you must submit a request as follows:

How to Request
During the window, the employee must send the request through email. Please include your name, school, position, and the date you are requesting the leave. Requests left on voicemail or over the phone will NOT be accepted.

Licensed employees submit their request to licensedpersonalleave@jordandistrict.org
Education Support Professionals submit their request to classifiedpersonalleave@jordandistrict.org

The employee will receive an email confirmation within two working days after submitting the request. If the employee does not receive a confirmation email, then Human Resources has NOT received your request and your leave will not be approved.

School Holiday Date of Holiday Critical Days Window
Fall Recess
Licensed
October 21-25, 2024 Oct. 18 and 29, 2024 Sept. 7 – Sept. 17, 2024
Fall Recess
ESP
October 24-25, 2024 Oct. 18 and 29, 2024 Sept. 10 – Sept. 20, 2024

TO:  
All Administrators

FROM:
Jordan School District Cabinet Members


The Administrative Leadership Conference for administrators is scheduled for Tuesday, August 5, 2025 and Thursday, August 7, 2025. All administrators should plan to attend on both days.

DATE:
Thursday, September 5, 2024

TO:
Administrators
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Steffany Ellsworth, Support Services Manager in Information Systems
David Bowman, Systems and Security Manager


Information Systems is excited to announce that on September 12th, we'll be implementing a new email security system to enhance your online safety. This upgrade will reduce the amount of spam and scams you receive. As we fine-tune the system, some emails will have "SPAM?" in the subject line.

If you're expecting an email that hasn't arrived, please don't hesitate to contact the Information Systems help desk at (801) 567-8737. We're committed to providing you with the best possible email experience.

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator of Teaching & Learning
Jared Covili, Consultant in Teaching & Learning


Check out the links below for the latest updates from Teaching & Learning for September. Learn Tips and Tricks, Sign Up for Upcoming PD, and Learn about Important Updates from the T & L team.

TO:
All Administrators
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Brian King, Ph.D., Assistant Director of Special Education
Mike Trimmell, Ed.D., Special Education Administrator


Please see the attached newsletter.

TO:
All Administrators

FROM:
Scott Thomas, Administrator of Auxiliary Services
Brandon Conti, Risk Management Coordinator


Many workers are injured or killed on aerial lifts each year. Please see the attached fact sheet from OSHA which provides information to help employers and workers recognize and avoid safety hazards they may encounter when they use aerial lifts.

DATE:
September 5th, 2024

TO:
All Administrators

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

SUBJECT:
Employee Wellness Rep Training 9/18 & Last Call!


As a reminder, each school or department is invited to select an employee wellness representative! The Employee Wellness Representatives will support faculty/staff wellness efforts within your school or department. If you haven’t already, please nominate your Employee Wellness Representative for the 24-25 school year!

The first of two trainings for Employee Wellness Representatives will occur on 9/18 where each rep will be able to benefit from the following:

  • Time to plan the year with support from other Wellness Reps
  • Collect information about critical District resources to support your staff
  • Engage in personal wellness
  • Lunch will be served!

Please forward the attached invitation to your selected Employee Wellness Representative.

As a reminder, the cost of substitutes is covered by the school. One substitute is a worthwhile investment for improving wellness in your school or department!

DATE:
Thursday, September 5, 2024

TO:
All School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:
Record of August 13th Professional Learning Day Attendees
________________________________________________________________________________
School administrators may access a Tableau dashboard that contains a record of all educators who signed in using the QR codes for both the morning keynote sessions and the afternoon breakout sessions during the August 13th professional learning day. The dashboard may be accessed here. Administrators may also filter the list by conference location.

For questions about this dashboard, please refer to Ben Jameson in Assessment, Research & Accountability.

TO:
All Administrators
Finance Departments
School and Department Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Steffany Ellsworth, Support Services Manager, Information Systems


We are excited to announce that we will implement Google as a convenient and secure way for users to access our Skyward systems on September 6, 2024. This new method will streamline your login process and enhance the overall security of your Skyward account. 

In the Skyward Finance system, logging in with Google will be REQUIRED for departments, administrators, and school office staff, and optional for employee access users. In the Skyward Student system, logging in with Google will be optional for all staff. 

Two Easy Methods to Login to Skyward Using Google

  • Navigate to the Skyward login screen and select the “Staff Login with Google” button. If you are already logged in to your JSD Google account, you will be immediately logged in to Skyward. If you are not already logged in to your JSD Google account, you will be taken to a Google login screen where you will need to login to your JSD Google account.

  • After logging in to your JSD Google account, click the waffle menu in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Scroll down and select “Skyward Finance” or “Skyward Student”.

Benefits of Using Google for Skyward

  • Enhanced Security: Google provides a more secure login process by eliminating the need to remember and manage multiple passwords. Also, because you are logging in to your JSD Google account, you will be using multi-factor authentication.

  • Convenience: With Google, you can access Skyward with a single click, saving you time and effort. 

If you encounter any issues accessing Skyward with your Google account or have questions, please contact the Information Systems help desk at (801) 567-8737.

DATE:
August 29, 2024

TO:
Secondary Principals
Elementary Principals

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Administrator, Teaching and Learning Department
Norman Emerson, Fine Arts Consultant

SUBJECT:
Ballet West 2024-25 Student In-Theater Presentations


Ballet West is again providing free presentations of the following ballets in the Capitol Theater:

  • Pictures At An Exhibition (Grades 4-12)
  • The Nutcracker (Grades 1-12)
  • Cinderella (Grades 2-12)
  • Fairy Tale Theater: Alladin (Grades 1-12)
  • The Rite of Spring (Grades 5-12)
  • Works From Within (Grades 5-12)

 Each program begins with an educational introduction and is followed by a portion of the repertoire currently being performed for the general public.

Further information may be found at Ballet West Student In-Theatre Performances and in this flyer.

If any of your teachers are interested in having their classes attend any of the performances, please have them contact Sydney Hamblin at sydney.hamblin@jordandistrict.org or 801-567-8296. Seating is limited and performance slots will be filled on a first come first serve basis.

Transportation fees and bus scheduling are to be taken care of by individual schools. Neither Ballet West nor the Teaching and Learning Department will cover transportation costs.

TO:
Administrators

FROM:
Michelle Love-Day, Director of Language & Culture Services


We are excited for our annual Fall Family Fair on Thursday, Sept. 5 from 4 - 7 p.m. at the the Viridian Event Center in West Jordan. All Jordan District students and their families are invited to come celebrate back to school with us and become familiar with the District and the Community.

Special music guests, "Superintendents of Rock", featuring our very own Dr. Godfrey, will be performing. Come out with your family, enjoy snacks from the food trucks, win prizes, and get to know the district community.

DATE:
August 29, 2024

TO:
Principals
Assistant Principals
School Safety Specialists

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Matt Alvernaz, School Safety Coordinator

SUBJECT:
Monthly Drill Preparation (SECURE)


Our monthly drill preparation will be held on September 4th at 3:00 PM with a second session at 3:30 PM. This month we will be covering SECURE.  Each School Safety Specialist is expected to attend along with administrators assigned to oversee school safety.  All other administrators are welcomed to attend as well. The meeting is also opened to any staff who may be interested.

After each monthly training all school staff should be trained by the administrator over school safety and the School Safety Specialist. After being trained each month, teachers should educate their students on each safety drill. Additionally, schools should communicate with their patrons regarding Standard Response Protocol(s) (SRP) and the drill being conducted each month. Videos, handouts, and other resources can be found at the link(s) below.

Information regarding the SECURE response protocol can be found in the Jordan School District Safety Manual on pages 8-11.  We will discuss how to implement and execute the drill.  This will be an opportunity to ask questions and share ideas amongst the schools.

We will be holding this meeting over ZOOM so please join using this link.

DATE:
August 16, 2024

TO:
All Principals

FROM:
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
Brian King, Ph.D., Assistant Director of Special Education
Mike Trimmell, Ed.D., Special Education Administrator

SUBJECT:
Professional Development Opportunities for September and October


Below is a listing of all the professional development opportunities for Special Education Licensed Staff for September and October. A link to sign up for each training will be sent to all Special Education Licensed Staff Members.

 

TO:
All Employees

FROM:
Sarah Palmer, Director of Payroll


URS doesn’t discourage members from using third-party advisors. However, be cautious of any non-URS advisor or financial planner who claims to represent URS or have expertise in URS benefits. URS does not contract with or otherwise outsource investment advising to any third-party for any reason.

DATE:
August 22, 2024

TO:
All Principals, Jordan School District
Administrative Assistants

FROM:
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Jordan District Nurses

SUBJECT:  
CPR/First Aid/AED Certification


Jordan School District requires that at least 3 full-time employees in each building be certified in CPR, First Aid, and AED. Most certifications are valid for 2 years. It is also recommended that employees who will have direct responsibility for student health and safety be CPR/First Aid/AED certified. This may include front office staff, playground aides, hall monitors, P.E. teachers, etc. It is also recommended that you keep a list of current CPR/First Aid/AED certified staff members by all main phone lines where calls for emergency help may originate. A template is attached.

CPR, First Aid, and AED training and certification is now available to district employees in an online format through the National Safety Council (NSC). The attached document will outline the steps necessary to complete the online portion of the course. Information can also be accessed by going here: CPR & First Aid. The cost of the course is $29.95 and should be paid by the employee at the time of registration. Schools may provide reimbursement for the course, if funds are available, by following appropriate pre-approval and reimbursement procedures.

Once the online course is completed, employees may sign up to complete their certification by attending a 2 hour skills check session with our district nurses. To sign up for a skill check, you will need to register at Jordan Digital Learning under CPR Alert Course. All skill checks must be completed within 90 days of sign-up for the online course. The dates and times for the skill check sessions are listed on the attached flyer.

Please complete the attached CPR/First Aid/AED certification form and return it to the Nursing Services office (Nadine Page) by November 15, 2024.