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Category: Other Administrators

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Dear Principals,

As we have talked about reading classes and reading instruction, there has been interest from many schools in having teachers more fully trained in the Science of Reading, or LETRS training. 

Over the past month, Lexia (the company who provides the LETRS training) has released a new training geared specifically for students in grades 4-8, Lexia Aspire. (Lexia Aspire Website) There are several benefits to this training including:

  • The course is web based and self-directed
  • The suggested timeline is 29 weeks; however, it could be completed sooner depending on how fast the teacher works through the material
  • The cost for the training is $600 per teacher versus $800 + materials per teacher

The one drawback at this time is that we are unsure how Lexia Aspire will be integrated into the Secondary Literacy Interventionist Endorsement (the new Reading Endorsement). Together with other districts, we are working with USBE through this process; however, we won’t know the answer until later this year.

I have started the Lexia Aspire training, and it is something I wish I would have had as a Language Arts teacher. Not only does this program provide the foundational knowledge for why the Science of Reading is important; it also provides practical application that teachers can integrate into their instruction and classrooms now. 

Feel free to share this information with any Reading or Language Arts teachers who may be interested in the Lexia Aspire training. We’re hopeful that the training will be beneficial toward an endorsement but, at the very least, it is excellent reading instruction training. If you would like to consider paying for this training for your teachers, please contact me.  

Brandee Bergum
Secondary Language Arts Consultant
brandee.bergum@jordandistrict.org

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During the opening administrators conference in August, the Teaching and Learning administrators introduced the "Educator Contractual Responsibilities Yearly Checklist” as a tool to use with your teachers. This list of 20 responsibilities was generated from the essential functions and qualifications listed in the Jordan School District Licensed Job Description. To make this more meaningful as a growth tool for teachers and administrators, we are working on building scales for each responsibility that would help educators identify exactly what it means to successfully meet expectations.
I have included a link to a Google Form below. We would love to hear what administrators think each responsibility really means and what it looks like when educators successfully meet the intended expectation for each one. We know you are all busy, so we don’t expect you to provide feedback for each indicator. To help save you time, the responsibilities have been grouped into four categories, and we are asking that you click on at one category and just do as much as you can.
Please feel free to forward this email to your assistant principals. Since we are just gathering information at this point, we aren’t ready for coaches and teachers to start worrying about what this is and how it might be used, so we would appreciate it if you don’t forward this outside of you admin team.
We are grateful for any time you can give to this to help us develop a tool that helps all of us improve our practice in order to provide the best education for students and a working environment where every educator can thrive!
Thank you!!!

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March is here, which means St. Patrick's day, spring, and (hopefully) warmer temps. It is also Women's History Month, which began the week of March 8th, after President Jimmy Carter declared it Women's History Week. Then, in 1987 congress passed Public Law 100-9, designating March as “Women’s History Month.”

The full newsletter can be found at the link below. Stories include:

Culture Corner
St. Patrick's day is coming up. Remember that many of your ML students may not know the holiday or why they celebrate in class (if you plan on doing this). Teaching about the holiday, informing parents about your plans, and giving them some information about the day is incredibly helpful to those students and their families who have never celebrated.

Teaching Strategies Small Groups

  • Why? More time to talk encourages oral language growth (speaking & listening). It gives students a small, safe group to practice with Builds classroom community.
  • For Success - Teach students how to work in small groups. Assign roles so they know what to do. Give sentence stems for language support (bonus points for helping them practice saying those things out loud in the hallway). Guiding questions or printed out steps can help guide them.

Reflective Questions
At this point in the year, what have I learned about: my students’ lives, families, and past experiences? my colleagues? my school community? my local community? myself?

What more do I want to learn as we end 3rd quarter (March 24) and move into 4th?

ELLevation Tips and Tricks
You can use the Student List to make targeted instructional recommendations for students who meet specific criteria. To batch recommend Activities for multiple students at once from the Student List, found in the full newsletter below.

ELD Lead Celebration
Melanie Nixon is both the coach and ELD Lead at Mountain Point Elementary. She has established great relationships with both teachers and students. Not only does she know what is happening at her school, she knows students by name. She is a great resource for teachers who need language and culture support for MLs as she helps teachers with RtI, language strategies and data. Melanie is very organized and on top of things and the MLs at Mountain Point are lucky to have her as an advocate.

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We are moving closer to the launch date for the new Brightly/Asset Essential work order system which will be replacing Sprocket effective April 3rd, 2023, we ask that you continue to use Sprocket until that date.

Most of our custodians and administrative assistants have had the opportunity to attend a training for the new system.

Please notify those who were unable to attend any of the scheduled trainings of these additional opportunities.

3/14/2023   
Principal Meeting – time certain during breakout sessions

3/21/2023  
Make up Training Date – ASB Presentation Room    2-4 pm
Open to Custodian and Administrative Assistants

3/28/2023 
Make up Training Date – ASB Presentation Room    9-11 am
Open to Custodian and Administrative Assistants

We appreciate your support as we work toward a smooth transition. If you have any question please reach out to our Brightly Team:

Teresa Lyon  :  801-567-8876  :  teresa.lyon@jordandistrict.org
Judy Bird  :  801-567-8625  :  judy.bird@jordandistrict.org
Jeff Beesley  :  801-567-8876  :  jeffrey.beesley@jordandistrict.org

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Greetings!

We are anticipating a HIGH volume of substitute requests for the following dates: March 22nd, March 23rd, and March 24th. To increase coverage for those absences we ask that teachers who will be absent any of the above listed dates, enter their absences AS SOON AS POSSIBLE in Skyward and Frontline.

Thanks!

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March 1, 2023

Clearing out & Closing School EARS Budgets (program 5336)

School Administrators:

As you are aware the EARS grant is not a guarantee and is determined on a year to year basis. Please take some time to review your school’s spending, for the 2023/24 school year, to ensure you are covered using all of your other funding sources.

The following information will help you finalize your EARS funding for the current school year: 

CLEARING OUT:
ALL teachers and aides that are being paid for through your 5336 EARS budget will need to be moved to another program for next school year.

  • It will be your responsibility to transition them over to another program after their final paycheck for this school year.
  • Your options could be School Land trust or TSSA

CLOSING:
Program 5336 will have a NO MORE NEW/ADDITIONAL SPENDING date of April 15, 2023. (Personnel already being paid will continue until the end of the 2022-23 school year.)

  • It will be your responsibility to make sure that all your purchases will be cleared by this time. Do NOT open a PO on April 14th to secure $$ for spending.
  • It will also be your responsibility to MOVE MONEY to program 5336, from one of your other programs, if you have overspent.

We hope to procure this money next year to help you continue supporting our “At Risk” students. More information regarding this funding will be available during the early months of next school year and will be disseminated in a timely manner.

Thank you,

Michelle Love-Day

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If you are a contracted employee and need to take Annual/Personal Leave before or after the mid-spring 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 Window
Mid-Spring Recess April 24, 2023 Mar. 10 – Mar. 20, 2023

Annual/Personal Leave Taken Before or After a Holiday 2022-2023

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DATE: 
February 27, 2023

TO:  
School Psychologists and School Psychology Interns

FROM:  
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Fulvia Franco, Program Specialist – Guidance

SUBJECT:  
March School Psychologist and School Psychology Interns Meeting

A school psychologist meeting has been scheduled for Friday, March 10, 2023, from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the auditorium at the Jordan School District Auxiliary Services Building (7905 South Redwood Road). Terisa Gabrielsen, Ph.D., BYU professor, will provide us with a presentation on Demystifying Identification of Nuanced Autism in Females in School Settings.

Part-time Staff: I would appreciate it if you could adjust your schedules in order to attend this meeting.

cc:       Principals

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JORDAN SCHOOL DISTRICT is offering Elementary and Secondary paid administrative internship openings for the 2023-24 academic year. Applications are open now through February 28, 2023 at midnight.

Please refer to the details below:

  • Applicants must select level of preference (elementary, middle or high) and submit only one application.
  • Selected applicants will be interviewed.
  • Assignments are for 1-year only, with no guarantee of a permanent administrative position.
  • Internal applicants, if selected, will be treated as an employee on a leave of absence for the current school year. Internal applicants chosen as an administrative intern will have the right to return to a comparable licensed position at the end of the internship.
  • Applicants must:
    • 1) be enrolled in a university administrative/leadership program, OR
    • 2) have a current in state or out-of-state administrative license, OR
    • 3) be in the JSD Administrative Pool
  • Administrative Interns are paid on a teacher salary schedule – 187-day contract plus 20 additional days for elementary and 10 additional days for secondary. A night stipend will be added according to level assignments.
  • Assignment locations are to be determined.

If you are interested in a full time, paid Administrative Internship Position, click HERE to apply!

Click HERE for a Frontline application tutorial.

 

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The Jordan Ethnic Advisory Committee is pleased to announce a Parent, Guardian, and Student Open House event at JATC South, which will take place on March 1st, from 5 - 6:30 p.m. The purpose of this event is to provide a platform for families to share their ideas with administration and teachers, and to engage in meaningful dialogue about the challenges and opportunities facing our students.

Through this event, we hope to foster a sense of community and collaboration, and to work together to build a stronger, more inclusive school environment for all students.

To that end, we would like you to extend an invitation to school communities electronically, and to personally invite four families to participate in this open house. Principals will receive paper invitations in District mail.

We would be honored to have schools support in this initiative, and we believe that your participation will have a positive impact on our district as a whole.

Thank you for your time and consideration. If you have any questions or concerns, please email jeac@jordandistrict.org.

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KSL News Radio and Cyprus Credit Union are honoring Utah Teachers! Now more than ever, we recognize the incredible ways that educators go above and beyond every day.

Once each month, a lucky featured teacher will be picked at random to receive a:
$500 Visa gift card from Cyprus Credit Union
Season tickets to Hale Centre Theatre
$250 gift card to Harmon's

Nominate a teacher now by clicking on the Teacher Tribute Wall

CYPRUS CREDIT UNION - YOUR FUTURE IS OUR FUTURE - HARMONS NEIGHBORHOOD GROCER HALE CENTRE THEATRE KSL NEWSRADIO 102.7FM

 

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Teachers and other educators whose educator license will expire on June 30, 2023, are encouraged to begin the license renewal process by going to the USBE website. You may begin reviewing the videos and completing your renewal form; however, the following information has been given to us by USBE regarding licensure renewal:

We have discovered that the renewal feature of USIMS that was released this week is not working properly. We have turned off the feature and are working to remedy the situation as quickly as possible. We hope to have renewals up and running early next week.

Please refrain from directing your educators to renew until the feature is confirmed to be working properly and turned back on. We have updated the notification banner on USIMS.

We apologize for the inconvenience; we know that educators are anxious to complete this important task. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

The District HR Department will send you reminders in November, January, and March. A FINAL reminder will be sent to you in April as a 4th and FINAL NOTICE & NOTICE OF TERMINATION should you not receive your license renewal certification in CACTUS by June 30, 2023.

DON’T DELAY – START THE PROCESS NOW!

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Prior to the TEACHER TRANSFER FAIR on February 13th, principals may post available positions for the 2023-24 school year on a Google Form. Please click here to advertise your transfer openings for teachers and other licensed employees. This will allow teachers to view your postings prior to the Teacher Transfer Fair.

Teacher Transfer Fair Link 

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Licensed employees resigning/retiring at the end of the current contract year, who give official early notification in SKYWARD – EMPLOYEE ACCESS, will be eligible for a tiered incentive. To qualify, notification must be submitted on or before the following dates:

  • February 15, 2023 $200.00

The incentive will be paid on the last regular paycheck. Notifications of resignation/retirement received after the dates listed above will not qualify for an incentive. The official District “Notice of Resignation” form is found in Skyward under “Employee Access”. Please see District policy DP318 for more detailed information regarding resignations. If you do not know your Skyward username or password please contact the Help Desk at 801-567-8737.

Licensed employees who do not submit an official “Notice of Resignation” form in Skyward “Employee Access” with at least thirty (30) calendar days’ written notice WILL BE FINED $500, which will be deducted from their final check. Informing your principal/school administrator either verbally or in writing is not sufficient. See District Policy DP318 – Resignations - Licensed.

School/District Administrators must submit an official “Notice of Resignation” form in Skyward “Employee Access” with at least sixty (60) calendar days’ written notice WILL BE FINED $500 in accordance with District Policy DP318A – Resignations-Administrators.

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The full newsletter can be found at the link below. Stories include:

Celebrate Black History Month!
Taking a month out of the year to celebrate and recognize Black History, does not mean it's not important the other 11 months of the year. February is given to us to truly reach out and learn something new that we hadn’t known before. American and World history is so vast that as Dr. John Henrik Clarke states, “What we call Black history truly is the missing pages of world history.” The fact that many countries celebrate Black History demonstrates the many perspectives that should be honored when sharing pieces of the story in the History books. I always find myself in the habit of reading a historical story and wondering, “I wonder what was happening with the rest of the country during this time? What were the families from other cultures doing during that time? People suddenly don’t disappear when the Great Depression happened, but the schoolbooks certainly omitted a lot of people.”

Black History Month isn’t just for Black People to learn and engage with information. It’s for everyone. Half of the things we interact daily with were and are created by Black People: gas masks, protective mailboxes, the stoplight, automatic elevator doors, blood banks, home security systems, refrigerated trucks, the super soaker, tissue holders, clothes dryer, folding chairs, golf tea…. I could go on, Google can help you finish this exhaustive list. Because of that fact, everyone should take the time to learn about the people and culture behind the inventions.

The one thing I do each year is find an area that I want to learn more about surrounding Black History. The information is so vast, and I always received the Civil Rights information in school that I wanted to learn more beyond the struggle of gaining our alienable rights that were already bestowed upon Americans. Each year, I find a focus: famous Black poets, Black entrepreneurs, eras like the Harlem Renaissance or Motown.. each time I learn something new. I challenge everyone to do this. What do you not know too much about? With the amount of information on Google and YouTube, the possibilities are endless. If it still overwhelms you, simply go through the National Museum of African American History and Cultures website. This national treasure that is seated in DC has a plethora of information. Learn, grow, and know Black History is American History.

Culture Corner Set up a culture consultation!
Contact our Culture, Diversity, and Parent Outreach specialists to set up a consultation for you, your PLC, or your school. The CDO team can support you in the following ways:

  • Support for critical conversations (You are planning on a lesson that you anticipate will include critical conversations)
  • Training on critical conversation facilitation
  • Have the culture and diversity team come teach a lesson
  • Small group pull-out (no more than 10)

ELLevation Tips & Tricks
Teachers can easily add Activities to their Favorites folder for future viewing and lesson planning. There are two ways to favorite an Activity:

  1. While browsing: click the Favorite button located at the bottom left of each Activity card.
  2. In an Activity: click the Favorite button found on the left of the top bar.

After an Activity has been favored, you can access it by clicking on the left navigation slide-out menu.

ELD Lead Celebration
This month we are highlighting Angie Larson with Kelsey Peak Virtual Middle school! She is in her first year as an ELD lead and has done an excellent job of creating online content accessible to all students. She makes sure every student at the virtual middle school is getting the support they need to find success through their online learning. Thank you, Angie for being such a great example to your students and to our district!

Reflective Questions

  • What helps my students feel cared for and appreciated?
  • What can I do to show them how they are cared about?
  • How are my students represented in my curriculum and classroom?
  • How do I celebrate my student's diverse backgrounds?

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The District has recently conducted a bid for HP & Canon OEM Ink, Toner and Supplies. Effective immediately, 5 vendors have been awarded for HP supplies, and 5 vendors for Canon Supplies. This bid will be good for 5 years.

The following vendors should be used for your HP & Canon ink, toner and supplies moving forward:

HP OEM Supplies
Associated Business Technologies
Fisher’s Technology
Les Olson Company
Pacific Office Automation
Innovative Print Consulting

Canon OEM Supplies
Associated Business Technologies
Canon Solutions America-Supplies
Fisher’s Technology
Innovative Print Consulting
Pacific Office Automation

Here is a link to contact information for each vendor:
Vendor Contact Information

Please note that this contract is for OEM supplies only. This does not cover compatible inks and toners. We highly recommend using OEM ink and toners in your machines, especially in the Canon copiers. Some compatibles have caused damage to both HP and Canon machines in the past. We are also starting to see situations where some new HP printers are rejecting any compatibles and will only allow OEM toner to be installed. This is also happening on occasion when older printer models receive an update. Buying OEM supplies is the safest and best way to ensure that your machine runs optimally and that warranties are not voided.

If you have old machines that you are still using that HP and Canon are no longer manufacturing ink and toner for, then you can request compatibles when making your purchase. Please be aware that this contract cannot be referenced for these orders. If your order exceeds the $5,000 small dollar purchase threshold, you would need to get 3 quotes for your purchase.

We are asking that any existing open purchase orders for ink, toner and supplies be closed, even if the vendor is listed above. New open purchase orders will need to be created with additional language and referencing the new contract, or P-Cards can be used for your orders. Please fill out a Purchase Order Change/Delete Form for each open PO that needs to be closed. Please note “Close PO- New Contract”.

Please return the forms to Tonya Hodges in Purchasing at tonya.hodges@jordandistrict.org , or contact her if you need assistance with your orders.

 

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Principals:

We have scheduled two separate training sessions on the operation of the school’s security camera and software. The training will include the use of the software, saving of camera footage and the transferring of that footage to the appropriate device. We receive many requests for help in this area.

The training will be held on March 1, 2023.

Session 1:  9:00-10:00 am
Session 2:  1:00-2:00 pm

Both sessions will be held at the Auxiliary Service Building in the Presentation Room, enter at Entrance C. It is recommended that at least one administrator per building attend one of the sessions and if possible send one hall monitor to each session.

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The following are new administrative assignments:

New Assignment effective January 3, 2023:

  • Katie Jarvis, administrative intern at River’s Edge appointed assistant principal at River’s Edge.

New Assignments effective as soon as possible:

  • Steffany Ellsworth, Support Services Lead in Information Systems appointed Support Services Manager in Information Systems.

New Assignments effective February 21, 2023:

  • Derek Bennett, administrative intern at Mountain Ridge High appointed assistant principal at West Jordan High, replacing Howard Griffith who is retiring.
  • Curtis Hagen, Staff Assistant at Auxiliary Services appointed assistant principal at Mountain Ridge High, replacing Derek Bennett.
  • Tim McConnell, retired administrator in Park City School District appointed assistant principal at Ridge View Elementary.

New Assignments effective July 1, 2023:

  • Michael Hutchings, assistant principal at West Jordan High appointed principal at West Jordan High, replacing James Birch who is retiring.
  • Rachel Hill, administrative intern at West Jordan High appointed assistant principal at West Jordan High, replacing Michael Hutchings.
  • Tamara Rajczyk, consultant in Special Education appointed principal at South Valley, replacing Rita Bouillon who is retiring.
  • Jennifer Ludlow, principal at West Jordan Elementary appointed principal at Oquirrh Elementary, replacing Shauna Worthington who is approved for a Sabbatical leave.
  • Abram Yospe, principal at Columbia Elementary appointed principal at Foothills Elementary, replacing Cherie Wilson who is retiring.
  • Keith Klein, principal at Etna Elementary in Lincoln County School District in Afton, WY appointed principal at Columbia Elementary, replacing Abram Yospe.
  • Vaega Toilolo, administrative intern at Bingham High appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.
  • Russell Stephenson, administrative intern at Joel P. Jensen Middle and Oquirrh Hills Middle appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.
  • Jessica Wilson, administrative intern at South Hills Middle and South Valley appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.
  • Jessica Hayes, administrative intern at Child Development Center appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.
  • Thyme Meleisea-Vea, administrative intern at Oak Leaf Elementary appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.
  • Angela Solum, assistant principal at Riley Elementary in Salt Lake School District appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.
  • Janae Young, administrative intern at Aspen Elementary appointed assistant principal at an assignment TBD.

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Valued Licensed Employees:

The Human Resource Department is contacting you with important information regarding upcoming events and opportunities.

LICENSE RENEWAL
Teachers and other educators whose educator license will expire on June 30, 2023, are encouraged to begin the license renewal process starting February 1st by going to the USBE website.  You may begin reviewing the videos; however, license renewals cannot be submitted to the USBE before January 2023. The District HR Department will send you reminders in November, January, and March.  A FINAL reminder will be sent to you in April as a 4th and FINAL NOTICE & NOTICE OF TERMINATION should you not receive your license renewal certification in CACTUS by June 30, 2023.
DON’T DELAY – START THE PROCESS NOW!

LICENSED EARLY NOTIFICATION (Resignation or Retirement)
Licensed employees resigning/retiring at the end of the current contract year, who give official early notification in SKYWARD – EMPLOYEE ACCESS, will be eligible for a tiered incentive. To qualify, notification must be submitted on or before the following dates:

  • February 15, 2023        $200.00

 The incentive will be paid on the last regular paycheck. Notifications of resignation/retirement received after the dates listed above will not qualify for an incentive. The official District “Notice of Resignation” form is found in Skyward under “Employee Access”. Please see District policy DP318 for more detailed information regarding resignations. If you do not know your Skyward username or password please contact the Help Desk at 801-567-8737.

Licensed employees who do not submit an official “Notice of Resignation” form in Skyward “Employee Access” with at least thirty (30) calendar days’ written notice WILL BE FINED $500, which will be deducted from their final check.  Informing your principal/school administrator either verbally or in writing is not sufficient.  See District Policy DP318 – Resignations - Licensed.

School/District Administrators must submit an official “Notice of Resignation” form in Skyward “Employee Access” with at least sixty (60) calendar days’ written notice WILL BE FINED $500 in accordance with District Policy DP318A – Resignations-Administrators.