Jordan School District
TO:
All Administrators
FROM:
Scott Thomas, Administrator of Auxiliary Services
Brandon Conti, Risk Management Coordinator
57% of fall victims were holding objects with one or both hands. Use a tool belt!
See the attached document for more ways to follow safe work practices when using a ladder.
TO:
All Licensed Administrators
FROM:
Cabinet
All licensed administrators are invited to complete this form by November 14, 2025. This formal process of gaining your input will serve as a conversation starter with your Administrator of Schools about work assignments for the coming school year (2026-27) in Jordan District. Personal preference is one of many factors considered when determining administrative assignments. This does not take the place of the need to sign up for a formal Principal interview.
TO:
School Principals
FROM:
Michelle Love-Day, Director of Language & Culture Services
All administrators are invited to one Zoom session next week, November 6th at 9:00 or November 7th at 2:00, to learn about facilitating conversations with students related to discriminatory language. Administrators will receive access to Nearpods and other resources that can be used with students in one-on-one settings to help teach them the impact of discriminatory language.
DATE:
October 3, 2025
TO:
All Administrators
All Office Staff
FROM:
Steffany Ellsworth, Manager - Information Systems
SUBJECT:
2025 Utah Skyward User Conference
Happy fall, y’all! With fall, comes the annual Utah Skyward User Conference. This year, it’s even more exciting as we’ll be previewing Skyward’s new Qmlativ Finance and Student systems! Join us on Thursday, November 6th at Canyons School District in their Support Services Center. Please see the agenda for the address and session times.
This conference is a great opportunity to learn directly from Skyward experts, as sessions are taught by their staff. This year’s lineup includes several outstanding sessions focused on Qmlativ. Many sessions offer a side-by-side comparison of Qmlativ and our current finance and student system, SMS.
Our district will be live on Qmlativ Finance on May 4th, 2026 (see Qmlativ JAM for more info), so this conference is a chance to preview how the system looks, operates, and can make your daily work easier. You’ll also find Skyward student sessions that will demonstrate how to use both SMS and Qmlativ, giving you a chance to compare processes in both systems.
During these sessions there will be an opportunity to ask questions. However, if you have an issue that may be more timely to resolve, we ask that you contact our helpdesk for assistance.
We hope this year’s conference will inspire you with new insights, practical tips, and a deeper understanding of what’s possibly in Skyward. There is no need to register in advance. For questions about attending the conference, please feel free to call the help desk at extension 88737.
TO:
School Principals
District Employees
Administrative Assistants
FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
In order to maintain a professional work atmosphere for students and staff members, respect staff time, and to avoid ethical and fraudulent conflicts of interest with vendors, building administrations are asked to abide by the following:
Vendors are not allowed into District schools/facilities to solicit business from employees during business hours. Building administrations may allow vendors to leave promotional materials (e.g. brochures, business cards, posters, etc.) with the front office and request these materials be placed in an area, such as the employee break room or bulletin board, so staff may view them and take one, if they so choose. Materials may not be placed in staff boxes. Vendors are not allowed to make sales pitches during faculty or staff meetings. Vendors are not to provide a snack, treat, or meal for employees in the break rooms while the vendor remains to solicit business. Building administrations may allow a vendor to leave a snack, treat, or meal along with promotional materials and a note indicating who brought the items and who employees should contact if more information is desired. Employees, including building and district leadership, should never feel like they are required to meet with vendors and hear their sales pitches.
Decision makers are advised to avoid gifts from vendors in order to guard against the appearance of misconduct. A vendor providing a gift or meal for the staff or large groups is a very nice gesture of thanks and support. A vendor providing a special, private gift or lunch to only the decision maker(s) can create an ethical conflict of interest that can influence decision making.
Vendors must follow the same protocol expected of all other visitors to District buildings by checking in at the front office and proceeding beyond the front office only after being invited to do so.
If an employee desires to meet with a vendor at a District location to discuss services the vendor may offer to them personally, the employee and vendor must meet outside of normal business hours for that building. For schools, this means no contact between one-half hour before school starts and one-half hour after school ends, including lunch time and prep time. These hours are considered work hours and must be respected by the employee and vendors.
The District’s finance system is not to be used to pay for employees’ personal business (e.g. mortgage payments, utility payments, insurance payments, donations to churches, credit card payments, etc.). Payroll deductions are not permitted for non-Jordan District purposes unless the funds are tax sheltered through a District-allowed plan (see #6 below). It is not appropriate for the District to engage in employee personal bill pay at taxpayer expense. Any payment arrangements made by employees with vendors should be done using the employees’ personal financial institution.
As a taxpayer funded subdivision of the State of Utah, Jordan School District participates in the Utah Retirement Systems (URS). While employees have the private option of authorizing financial advisers or others to manage their retirement funds, there are inherent risks associated with any investment strategy. Jordan School District and Utah Retirement Systems does not and has not endorsed, contracted out, authorized, advocated, recommended, sponsored, or vetted other entities, including 403b agents, to represent them in these matters. Instead, URS employs retirement advisors, with a URS email and phone number, who will meet with and advise JSD employees free of charge. URS is a nonprofit trust and their advisors never earn commissions. If you want help with URS questions, please contact URS and if you choose to go outside of URS, please compare commissions and fees.
As a taxpayer funded entity, Jordan School District, its departments and schools must only work with businesses that have first gone through the proper procurement process. Competing vendors are to be treated fairly without personal preference or bias.
TO:
All Administrators
All Admin Assistants
FROM:
Jordan District Cabinet Members
We are excited to announce and provide a method for employees to pay their school meal balances remotely without going to the front office. Please see the attached instructions on how to set this up. Employees can also set up recurring payments and low balance notifications similar to parents.
Additionally, we want to remind employees that they should avoid having a negative balance on their meal account. Employees may not have a negative balance greater than $10.00.
DATE:
October 9, 2025
TO:
Principals
All Special Educators and Related Service Providers
FROM:
Lisa Robinson, Administrator of Schools
Kim Lloyd, Director of Special Education
SUBJECT:
Important Deadline--Please Read Immediately
SCRAM Data Due by the end of day Wednesday, November 05, 2025
Updating SCRAM for December 1 Funding Count
We are fast approaching our December 1 SCRAM count deadline. Special Education Resource and SCSC Team Leaders will soon receive a SCRAM report via District Mail with all students who are currently receiving services through your school’s special education program(s). Please read this Memo carefully as several items have been modified/updated to include new procedures implemented with our new Embrace program. Once you have read through the memo, use the process you have in place at your school to include all service providers to share the report and make the necessary corrections.
Funding Implications
Special education funding and, therefore, school staffing/assistant allocations, etc. are contingent upon the accuracy of this data. Your timely and accurate response is critical!
All Corrections and SCRAM reports are Due:
By 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 5, 2025
TO:
All Administrators
FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Human Resources
Rebecca Lee, HR Administrator, Evaluations
The Beginning of the Year Interim is due by October 31, 2025. Remember that this includes a self-evaluation, three required goals, and administrator approval.
Please see the attached flyer.
TO:
All Administrators
All Administrative Assistants
FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Human Resources
Rebecca Eastman, HR Generalist
If you are a contracted employee and need to take Annual/Personal Leave before or after Thanksgiving on a “Critical 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 |
| Thanksgiving Recess
(Licensed) |
Nov. 26-28, 2025 | Nov. 25 and Dec. 1, 2025 | Oct. 12 – Oct. 22, 2025 |
| Thanksgiving Recess
(ESP) |
Nov. 27-28, 2025 | Nov. 25 and Dec. 1, 2025 | Oct. 13 – Oct. 23, 2025 |
*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 2025-2026
TO:
Administrators
Teachers and Staff
FROM:
Michelle Love-Day, Director of Language and Culture Services
Language & Culture Services wants to celebrate our 2025 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.
Come and watch our students receive awards and see them perform. Find out about parent resources, information about WIDA and get a free dinner.
Please come out and celebrate with your students and their families.
TO:
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
Attached is the Special Ed Newsletter for October 2025.
DATE:
October 1, 2025
TO:
Administrators
Licensed Personnel
FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Human Resources
Brittany Bauer, HR Specialist
SUBJECT:
Transition from CACTUS to USIMS
Dear Educators,
Starting November 30th, 2025, educators will no longer be able to access the CACTUS (Educator Licensing) platform. Instead, all licensing information will be available in the new USIMS platform.
To ensure a smooth transition, it is essential that you take the following steps:
For detailed instructions and support on setting up your USIMS profile and managing the transition, please visit the following link: USIMS Support and Instructions.
We understand that changes in systems can be challenging, and we are committed to supporting you throughout this process. Should you have any questions or require further assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Brittany Bauer
HR Specialist, Licensing
801-567-8214
brittany.bauer@jordandistrict.org
TO:
Directors
Principals
Administrative Assistants
FROM:
April Gaydosh, Administrator of Human Resources
Rebecca Eastman, HR Generalist, Leave Benefits
Please see the attached overviews for Administrative, Licensed and Educational Support Professionals leave policies.
TO:
All Administrators
FROM:
Curtis Jenson, Administrator at South Jordan Middle
BYU CITIES School Partnership
Centering Student Joy: Stop Surviving, Start Thriving
Don't miss the Learning Edge Annual Administrator Conference, themed "Centering Student Joy: Helping Them Thrive, Not Just Survive". This essential professional development opportunity for Elementary, Secondary, District Administrators, Teachers, Teacher Leaders, and Student Support Providers is designed to provide actionable strategies for educators.
The conference is scheduled for November 11, 2025, from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the Provo Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.
You'll hear from keynote speakers including:
Registration is only $99 per person, and includes both breakfast and lunch. Register today, and bring a few teachers with you! The conference is a collaborative event held by the Center for the Improvement of Teacher Education and Schooling (CITES) at Brigham Young University, and features some of our own JSD all-stars like Jared Covili, Marianne Johansen, and Melanie Dawson.
TO:
All Administrators
FROM:
Scott Thomas, Administrator of Auxiliary Services
Brandon Conti, Risk Management Coordinator
What are some facts you should know about extension cord use and limitations? Check out the document below for all the details!
TO:
Administrators
Administrative Assistants
FROM:
Sarah Palmer, Director of Payroll
Please see the document below.
TO:
Administrators
FROM:
Jared Covili, Digital Teaching and Learning
As previously mentioned, in order to make the most of the available features in our district-wide Canva deployment, we are migrating to a new Canva structure on Friday 9/26. No content has been lost; as part of this migration you have been added to one or more new Canva teams, corresponding to the school(s) with which you’re associated (or a “Staff & Admin” team, for staff not based at a school).
Here’s what you need to know:
We have re-labeled our existing district team to “Archive: Jordan School District”. You’ll always be able to access this content by toggling between teams. You’ll also be able to access your new school-based team by toggling in the same way. See attached guide for information on switching between teams.
We recommend you copy your content from this Archive team over to your new school-based team. You’ll get the best Canva features in these new teams, and will best able to collaborate in your school team with the students and staff associated with that school. View attached guide for instructions on how to copy Canva content to your new team.
District-wide staff: you may not have been automatically added to your new Staff & Admin team. Please log out and log back in to Canva in order to be added to this team.
If you encounter any other issues with Canva, please contact our Digital Teaching and Learning Team or the Canva Support team.
TO:
Administrators
FROM:
Carolyn Gough, Director Teaching & Learning
Kaye Rizzuto, Social Studies Consultant
As we approach America 250, the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, we have a unique opportunity to engage students in meaningful learning and memorable celebrations throughout the 2025-2026 school year.
Activities and Engagement
We encourage each school to incorporate America 250 into the curriculum and school culture, making this milestone year unforgettable for all students.
Student Award Opportunity
Students also have the option to participate in a special America 250 Award program, designed to recognize student engagement, research, and creativity related to the anniversary. Details and how to participate can be found HERE.
Let’s work together to make America 250 a vibrant and inclusive celebration in every school. Thank you for your leadership and support in creating memorable learning experiences for our students.
If you have questions or want to share your school’s plans, please reach out.
Kaye Rizzuto
Social Studies Consultant
Carolyn Gough
Director Teaching & Learning
TO:
Office and Administrative staff of schools and District departments
FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
The agenda for the optional Zoom training session for office and administrative staff of schools and District departments is attached. The October 9 session will be held from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. via Zoom. This meeting is a refresher course that will go over any changes in district departments this year, offer clarification on broad-based issues, and general reminders.
If you would like to participate, please send an email to Lisa LeStarge at lisa.lestarge@jordandistrict.org. Attendees of each session will receive an email the day prior to the training with instructions for connecting to the Zoom meeting.
TO:
New Administrators and anyone who wants a complete overview of Business and Auxiliary Services department information
FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
Training will be provided by the Business and Auxiliary Services Departments on October 7, 2025 from 8:00 a.m. to noon at the Auxiliary Services Building Presentation Room. This training opportunity is for school or department personnel including principals, assistant principals, administrative assistants, clerks, aides or others with responsibilities correlating with the Business or Auxiliary Services Departments. The draft agenda is attached.
If you would like to participate in this session, please send an email to Lisa LeStarge, at lisa.lestarge@jordandistrict.org. The total number of participants in this session will be capped at 60 (plus presenters). Attendees will be provided with a link to hand-outs provided by the presenters so they can be viewed during the training or downloaded for future use.
We hope you will take advantage of this training opportunity.
