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DATE:  
August 10, 2023

TO:  
Principals
Assistant Principals

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

SUBJECT:  
School Safety Specialist


HB61 requires that each school have a designated Safety Specialist. This person will work with the assigned administrator over safety and serve on the school’s safety committee and is to be selected by the school principal. Administrators should thoughtfully and carefully select a willing individual to be the School Safety Specialist. The School Safety Specialist:

  • Should be a full-time employee
  • Can be from any employee group or type (licensed or educational support)
  • Will receive a stipend for the 23-24’ school year ($3,000 for a full-time employee before benefits/taxes)
  • Serves as a co-chair/backup to the administrator assigned school safety on the school’s safety committee
  • Will be trained and provide training and leadership to school staff regarding school safety
  • Will be trained and a part of your school’s threat assessment team.
    • They will need to be trained in Comprehensive Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG). This training is $85 per person paid for by the school. (Student Services will set up/pay for the training and work with your administrative assistant for reimbursement through a journal entry)
    • It is recommended that all school safety committee members be trained in CSTAG.
  • Will assist with safety assurances and compliance

Identify the administrator assigned to school safety and the School Safety Specialist using this form (also shared with principals via Google Sheets on 8.7.2023) as soon as reasonably possible.

Generally, the administrator assigned to school safety should serve as the school’s safety committee chairperson with the safety specialist serving as the co- or vice-chair. The school committee should meet regularly to discuss, implement, plan, and implement required school safety practices.

The District Safety Specialist will facilitate ongoing training and support. Questions regarding the School Safety Specialist should be directed to Travis Hamblin at travis.hamblin@jordandistrict.org or 801.567.8439.

Did you know the most common type of auto claim is also the most avoidable? From FY2014 - FY2020, the Risk Fund had 2,150 claims reported where the driver carelessly struck a stationary object or vehicle. This accounts for roughly 28% of all auto claims reported to Risk Management! All of these are avoidable accidents that typically happen because the driver is in a hurry or distracted. The attached flyer outline some tips to help avoid them.

 

Fall Mentor Training will be available online through Canvas July 31 - September 5, 2023. Mentor Training will be provided to new mentors based on administrator recommendation. After checking with potential mentors, please complete the Google Form by Friday, August 11th to add names of mentors you would like to have complete mentor training. We have a limited number of seats. Educators will be added first come, first served. You may add up to three mentors per form. Teachers will get paid $150 stipend for completing the mentor Canvas training.

You can access a list of currently trained mentors on your school’s mentor list shared with you via Google sheets. If you need help accessing your mentor list, please contact Michelle Williams in Teaching and Learning: 801-567-8365.

Fall 2023 Mentor Training Request Google Form Link

DATE:    
March 28, 2023

TO: 
All Principals and All Counselors

FROM:   
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Stacee Worthen, Secondary Counselor Consultant

SUBJECT:  
2023-2024 Comprehensive School Counseling Program (CSCP) Calendar


CSCP dates are planned in advance so that individual counseling teams will include them in their school and CSCP calendars. It is essential that counselors are allowed to prioritize CSCP meetings as they work to perform their other duties and tasks assigned to them.

Please see the memo below for all dates.

The Annual Jordan School District Administrative Leadership Conference is this Tuesday, August 1st, 2023 at JATC-South 12723 Park Ave, Riverton, UT 84065. The conference agenda is attached.

Please take note of the following items:
*A light breakfast will be served at 7:30 a.m.
*Bring a fully charged electronic device in order to access conference materials and level specific items.
*In addition to the main parking in front of the building, the side parking lot will be opened to allow for additional space.  We would encourage teams to carpool as they are able.

 

For the Admin Assistants: Training for the new Digital English Learner Identification process has been scheduled for Friday, July 28th, from 9:00 - 11:00 am in the Presentation Room at the ASB.

Space will be limited to one in person attendee per school with any additional requests attending via Zoom. Register HERE to receive training documents and access to the zoom link.

We will be available at the end of training for questions and any one on one assistance.

The Leadership in Personalized and Digital Learning (LPDL) Academy is designed specifically for administrators to lead schools toward personalized and digital learning through research-based content and job-embedded experiences. Sign up today for the 2023-2024 cohort. Open to principals and assistant principals. For questions contact Jared Covili, 801-567-8191.

Cohort 5 Leadership in Personalized and Digital Learning - Link to Register

Due to an increase in the rate of fuel costs as determined by USBE and an increase to this year's salary schedule, there has been a slight revision to the mileage fee and a revised labor fee. This will take effect August 1, 2023. Please plan accordingly.

DATE:    
July 27, 2023

TO:   
High School Administrators

FROM:   
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Brad Sorensen, Administrator of Schools
Caleb Olson, Enrollment Consultant

SUBJECT:  
High School Calendar Change


The March ACT testing date for high schools has changed to accommodate the testing window. The new date is:

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

In addition to the change to the test date, this change will also impact the A/B rotation and work schedules for some hourly employees.

Calendars have been updated to reflect the change; however, due to the caching practices of web browsers, individuals who have previously viewed a calendar may still see the old version. A refresh (or clearing your browser’s cache) should address this issue.

Please ensure that all staff members are made aware of the change.

The following are new administrative assignments:

  • New Assignments effective July 1, 2023:
    • Julianna Wing, administrative intern at Bingham High appointed assistant principal at Copper Hills High.
    • Sharra Palmer, teacher at Hayden Peak Elementary assigned administrative intern at Copper Mountain Middle and Mountain Creek Middle.
    • Karen Moore, administrative intern at Joel P. Jensen Middle assigned administrative intern at Joel P. Jensen Middle and South Jordan Middle.
    • Jacob Rollins, teacher at Copper Hills High assigned administrative intern at Bingham High.

TO:
All Principals
All Administrative Assistants 

As a reminder, the attached form, Educator-Directed Paid Professional Hours PLAN is due from your eligible licensed personnel on or before the fifth day of instruction. 

In addition, the Educator-Directed Paid Professional Hours Time Log has been revised to reflect a change in the due date. Please make your eligible employees aware of the new April 1, 2024 due date for their log/timesheet to be turned in. The LOG/TIMESHEET must be turned in no later than April 1, 2024 so that amounts may be paid in the May 2024 paycheck. If employees have already turned in their plan they do not need to fill out a new one. 

The attached instructions and background information are to help you in compiling the timesheets that will be coming to you from your licensed personnel. 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Utah State Legislature passed HB 489 in the 2023 session which allocates up to 32 hours of educator-directed paid time to each school-based educator for the 2023-24 school year.

PRINCIPAL/ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT INSTRUCTIONS 

Principals and administrative assistants have six assignments:

  1. Assign a designated person to oversee this program
  2. Make sure the plans are turned in on or before the fifth day of instruction
  3. All plans must be logged (with the date received), by the designated person, no later than Sept 15 on the provided Google Sheet
  4. Provide time for eligible staff to complete the plan
  5. Gather and track the timesheets
  6. Make sure teachers follow through

Eligible licensed personnel must turn in their plan to the principal or administrative assistant (designated person) on or before the fifth day of instruction.

August 25 – 7th grade, High School
August 28 – Elementary grades 1-6, Middle School grades 8-9
September 6 – Kindergarten

Principals are asked to give time in a meeting at the beginning of the year for eligible staff to fill out the Professional Hours Plan and turn it in.

The designated person will complete the Google Sheet with all received plans by September 15. Schools will keep the copies of the Plan on file at the school for auditing purposes.

If you are a contracted employee and need to take Annual/Personal Leave on a Critical Day before/after Labor Day 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
Labor Day September 4, 2023 Sept. 1 and 5, 2023 July 21 – July 31, 2023

*Critical Days are the first student attendance days before or after a school holiday. If a non-student attendance day falls before or after a school holiday, the Critical Day is the day before or after that non-student attendance day when students are in attendance.

Licensed Annual/Personal Leave Taken on a Critical Day 2023-2024

ESP Annual/Personal Leave Taken on a Critical Day 2023-2024

Student Services will be offering two trainings for administrators on discipline logging:

• Discipline Logging 101: An introduction to entering discipline offenses in Skyward. Session will cover the basic elements of the discipline system of Skyward and best practices for entering discipline offenses. New assistant principals, administrative interns, and new-to-JSD administrators are STRONGLY encouraged to attend; any other administrator wanting a review may also register.

• Discipline Logging 201: Session will include a quick review of best practices in discipline logging and will cover common mistakes and errors. Main focus will be on the “Office Visit” module of Skyward Discipline, which can be used to track and create logs of non-discipline events for students. For new assistant principals, administrative interns, and new-to-JSD administrators, participation in Discipline Logging 101 is recommended prior to taking this training.

Courses will be at the District Office and ASB; see the information on each tab for specifics on dates, locations, and times.

If you would like to sign up to attend, please visit the link below and type your name/school in the tab for the appropriate training. Once all lines on a sheet are full, the training is full; however, there is a "waitlist" tab for each training so that we can gauge interest/need for additional sessions.

Sign Up LINK

As of August 4th, 2023 all administrators will be required to enroll in 2-Factor Authentication for their Google accounts. After this date, you will be prompted to enroll in 2-Factor Authentication the first time you login to your Google account.

Attached are step-by-step instructions to enroll in Google 2-Factor authentication. For further assistance contact the Information Systems help desk at Ext. 88737.

Health Special Risk, Inc. is offering two options for supplemental accident insurance, at-school coverage and 24-hour coverage. See attached flyer for additional information. Please consider including the information in your school packets.
See the Insurance Services website for more details on student accident insurance.

As per the requirement of Senate Bill 55, Jordan School District is pleased to invite teachers and administrators of grades kindergarten through sixth grade to an open house to review the Wit and Wisdom language arts curriculum that is being considered for adoption. The intent of the adoption is to provide teachers and students with a strong curriculum that will help students build strong vocabularies, deep thinking skills, literacy knowledge and to become fluent writers and communicators. It is necessary for a new curriculum to be considered due to the current Journeys curriculum being out of print. 

The open house will be held on the following dates:

Tuesday, July 11, 2023
8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Wednesday, July 12, 2023
8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Jordan School District Auxiliary Building (Entrance D)
7905 S. Redwood Road
West Jordan, Utah 

The Jordan District School Board may make final decisions regarding this proposed curriculum in the August 8, 2023 board meeting. Public comment in person or via email will be taken at the July 18th and August 8th board meetings at 6:30 pm at JATC South. Public comment may also be emailed to board members. Email contact information may be found at jordandistrict.org.

School/Department Administrators and Administrative Assistants:

Are you a new administrator or administrative assistant and need Frontline Recruiting/Hiring training? Would you like a refresher course? Human Resources will be providing additional Frontline Recruiting/Hiring training classes in July to prepare you for next year.

All in-person trainings will be at the District office room #129. Please bring your laptop. As an option, a few of these trainings will also be on Zoom. Zoom links will be sent to those who register for this option. For available dates/times and to schedule a training session, visit the link below.

Frontline Training Schedule for Appointments

Also available on  HRConnections and HRAdminOnly are the training videos and tutorials. Contact Brent Burge at #88224 or Brittany Bauer at #88214 if you have any questions.