Elementary Principals:
Please pass this information to your 5th-grade teachers so they will be aware and can get involved if they choose to do so. Questions can be directed to Norma Villar at 801-567-8187.
Jordan School District
DATE:
December 3, 2015
TO:
Elementary Principals and Secretaries
FROM:
Administrators of Schools
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent of Schools
Luann Leavitt, Consultant, Planning and Student Services
SUBJECT:
Guidelines to Establish the Kindergarten Enrollment for 2016-17
As per the past several years, it will be the responsibility of each school principal to obtain a kindergarten roster for the 2016-17 school year. It is from this roster that the kindergarten estimate is created. The estimate is the basis for the number of kindergarten teachers required and the budget allowed for supplies and materials. Therefore, it is important that the roster be as accurate as possible.
Please follow guidelines 1-5 below. The other options are ideas you may want to use. It is very important for staffing your kindergarten that the count be as accurate as possible.
Optional:
Please be diligent in recruiting the kindergarten students within your school boundary. It will be important to have accurate up to the minute kindergarten numbers as we do the estimates in the upcoming weeks. Please submit the TOTAL number of kindergarten students to Planning and Student Services by Friday, January 15, 2016. You may call Luann at 801-567-8251 or fax to 801-567-8061.
DATE:
December 1, 2015
TO:
Middle School Principals
FROM:
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum and Staff Development
Nancy Ward, Coordinator of Educational Support
District Nurses
SUBJECT:
Scoliosis Screening of Seventh and Eighth Grade Students
This is a friendly reminder about completing scoliosis screening for the 7th and 8th grade students in your P.E. classes.
We have included updated forms and information.
Schools must show the video “Catch a Curve” to students in 7th & 8th grade, which explains the procedure prior to sending home the permission letters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-9A0OuEr14
Screeners must also review the enclosed handout titled “Screening for Scoliosis” (enclosed).
Additionally, all of these forms will be available to you on the Jordan District website, Departments/Educational Support/Nursing Services/Documents and forms.
Thank you for your support in making sure this screening is accomplished.
Please contact your school nurse if you have any questions.
Per Utah State Law 53A-2-207:
Open enrollment begins on December 1, 2015 and goes through Friday, February 19, 2016. Any individual interested in completing a permit for the 2015-16 school year may obtain a permit from the school they wish to attend and begin turning them in on Monday, December 1, 2015, to the desired school.
Permit approval is on a first-come, first-served basis. The school shall notify any permit applicant within six weeks after receipt of the application by the district or by March 31, whichever is later, for applications submitted during the early enrollment period.
Reminder: School Improvement Committee for Secondary Schools will take place Friday, November 20, and Tuesday, November 24, in the ASB Auditorium beginning at 8:00 AM. Please plan on attending one of these sessions.
Make up day for secondary and elementary schools will be November 30, 8:00 AM, in the ASB Auditorium.
Title I elementary schools and secondary schools participating in accreditation do not need to attend a session.
DATE:
November 10, 2015
TO:
All Principals
All Special Education Staff
FROM:
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curric./Staff Development & Special Programs
Lisa Robinson, Director of Special Education
Julie Brown, Program Specialist
SUBJECT:
Training for Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM)
The Special Education Department will provide training to special educators in preparation for the upcoming Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) assessment. There are additional required components that the special educator must complete prior to giving the assessment. Since Utah will be utilizing the Integrated Model of DLM beginning this fall, there will be 2 testing windows. The first window start date has been postponed from opening on October 7, 2015 to November 16, 2015. The first window will be open from November 16, 2015 - February 29, 2016.
The training opportunities will consist of instructional time blocks as well as drop in Help blocks. Each 2-hour session will be made up of 4–30 minute blocks. The 30-minute blocks will start on the hour and half hour. The first 3 blocks will be step-by-step instructions and the fourth block will be for drop-in help. For example, the 2:00 p. m. - 2:30 p. m., 2:30 p. m. – 3:00 p. m. and 3:00 p. m. – 3:30 p. m. will be instructional blocks and 3:30 p. m. – 4:00 p. m. will be for drop-in help. Below are the dates, times, and locations of the sessions:
November 16, 2015 2:00 p. m. - 4:00 p. m. District Office, room 129
November 18, 2015 2:00 p. m. - 4:00 p. m. ASB PDC 101
November 20, 2015 7:00 a. m. - 9:00 a. m. ASB PDC 113
November 23, 2015 2:00 p. m. - 4:00 p. m. District Office, room 129
DATE:
November 9, 2015
TO:
Principals and Directors
FROM:
June LeMaster, Ph.D., Administrator, Human Resources
Herb Jensen, Director, Transportation Services
Brent Burge, Human Resource Administrator-Classified
SUBJECT:
Opportunity for Part-time Classified Employees to Drive School Buses
In an effort to meet the District’s need for additional bus drivers (AM & PM), part-time classified employees are now able to work additional hours as substitute bus drivers.
Allowed Hours
Employees currently working part-time at your location are now allowed to work up to 27 hours per week as follows:
Transportation is required to monitor and limit driver hours based on their maximum allowable hours provided by Human Resources when they are hired. Monthly audits will also be conducted.
Application
Interested current part-time employees must submit an online application through Skyward to be considered. A specific posting for current employees is currently available through Employee Access. Employees must be at least 21 years old to drive a bus.
Training
Employees are required to complete the required training, including CDL training, prior to driving. Training classes are scheduled monthly throughout the year. See the attached employee notification for training details.
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The attached announcement will be emailed to eligible employees in November notifying each of this opportunity, along with the training requirements. We also ask for your assistance in communicating this information to current eligible part-time employees.
The Payroll Department is asking insulin nurses to use their insulin log as their timesheet. At the end of each month, the insulin nurse at your school should give the head administrative assistant their insulin log/timesheet. Please have the principal or head administrative assistant sign at the bottom of the insulin log/timesheet approving that insulin shots were administered as indicated.
The insulin log/timesheets must be included with the schools payroll and brought to Payroll on the second working day of each month. Payroll will not accept timesheets (insulin logs) from employees.
DATE:
November 4, 2015
TO:
Elementary Principals
FROM:
Administrators of Schools
Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Associate Superintendent of Schools
Luann Leavitt, Consultant for Planning and Student Services
SUBJECT:
Attendance Reporting on Elementary Report Cards
When the elementary report card calculates attendance it is pulling any attendance that has been entered for a student. To better clarify, the absence field reports a number if any portion of the day was missed whether it was excused or unexcused. It is always helpful when a time is entered into the comment section as the student checks in/out of school to provide more accurate information to the families.
The most accurate attendance is always available within Skyward Family Access and will provide a better picture and detailed explanation for parents. These reports may be printed at any time at the parents request or they may access the information through their individual login and password.
Please share this information with faculty, staff and patrons as they navigate through the report card information.
Thank you.
NOTE: Attached is page 2 of the Planning & Student Services Manual has detailed Guidance on Attendance Accounting in the Elementary. Please review this information with your office staff.
Updated to using Skyward - (No longer using Attendance Cards)
The Jordan School District Skyward Attendance Program is the official procedure for attendance accounting.
The Skyward attendance program shall be made for every student who enrolls at your school.
Absences will be recorded by the office on Skyward as follows:
P&SS Manual 2015-16 – June 30, 2015
DATE:
November 11, 2015
TO:
Principals
Assistant Principals
FROM:
Laura Finlinson, Administrator of Curriculum/Staff Development & Special Programs
Lisa Robinson, Director of Special Education
Julie Brown, Program Specialist
SUBJECT:
LEA Training Part 2 – Special Education Law and Practices
The next Special Education training opportunity for Principals and Assistant Principals will be held on January 20, 2016. Sessions will be held in the District Office Room 129. We will be discussing Special Education Law and Practices related to IEP Implementation and Disciplinary Removal of students with disabilities. Please plan to attend one of the two sessions offered.
Special Education Law and Practices:
IEP Implementation and Disciplinary Removal
January 20, 2016
District Office Room 129
Session 1: 9:00 AM
Session 2: 1:00 PM
Parental Exclusions from State Assessments (Opt-Out) Procedures 2015-16
USOE has created an opt-out form for parents who do not want their student to participate in state-mandated assessments. The USOE opt-out form is titled 2015-16 Parental Exclusion from State Assessments. A link to the form has been posted on the Evaluation, Research, and Accountability Department’s webpage: http://assessments.jordandistrict.org/ . An additional link to the opt-out form has been placed on the Jordan School District’s webpage in the “General Information” section under the “Parents and Students” tab. The General Information link is titled “Parental Exclusion (Opt-Out)”. http://jordandistrict.org/parents-students/generalinfo/.
Parents or guardians who choose to not have their student participate in one or more state-mandated assessments can download the 2015-16 Parental Exclusion from State Assessments form from either of the above links, complete and sign the form, and return the completed form to the school principal. The completed form needs to be submitted to the principal before the date scheduled for the state-mandated assessment(s).
A parent’s use of the 2015-16 Parental Exclusion from State Assessments form is not mandatory. If a parent or guardian chooses to not complete, sign and submit the form, or if the parent/guardian submits a different opt-out document, the principal should contact the parent or guardian to determine which 2015-16 state-mandated assessment(s) the parent does not want their student to participate in. The principal should then mark the assessment(s) on a 2015-16 Parental Exclusion from State Assessments form. The principal should make a notation on the form of their conversation with the parent and indicate that the parent chose to not complete and/or sign the 2015-16 Parental Exclusion from State Assessments form. The principal should attach any applicable documents or email communications from the parent to the 2015-16 Parental Exclusion from State Assessments form and maintain a folder of the completed forms and documents.
Finally, principals need to provide a copy of the completed 2015-16 Parental Exclusion from State Assessments form to the school’s testing coordinator. The testing coordinator should be directed to 1) make necessary changes in the SAGE TIDE system and 2) inform the Evaluation, Research, and Accountability Department, using the established Google Docs procedure, that the student is being opted out of the specified state-mandated assessment(s). If the testing coordinator needs help with this Google Docs procedure, she/he can reference the two videos posted on the Evaluation, Research, and Accountability Department’s webpage under the “Testing Coordinators” tab: http://assessments.jordandistrict.org/testing-coordinators/.
Elementary Principals:
Teachers are eager for the following information; please be sure to share with them.
The testing window for SLO pre-tests will close November 13. All teachers, except those who have chosen to take their Spring 2015 SAGE MGP for their student growth component, will need to have SLO pre-tests administered by November 13. Student growth is a yearly component teachers must demonstrate as part of the total educator effectiveness score.
Fellow High School Assistant Principals:
We have been notified by the courts that any 18 year old
cannot be referred to juvenile court for tobacco possessions. They must be
referred to Justice court. Please note that we have added a new citation
to the forms. This one reads "Referral to Justice Court". You will fill
that one out for any 18 yr old. Thank you for all your hard work. Please
let Norma Villar (801-567-8187) know if you have questions or if she can be of assistance.
DATE:
October 27, 2015
TO:
School Principals
FROM:
John Larsen, Business Administrator
SUBJECT:
Donation Acknowledgments
As a reminder, the District has a procedure for acknowledging receipt of funds from individuals or groups who donate money to benefit various school programs (see pages 44-47 of the Financial Accounting Manual). When a school receives a monetary donation of $250 or more, please notify me so that a letter can be prepared and sent to the individual or group to acknowledge receipt of the funds. A copy of the acknowledgement letter will be sent to you for your files.
To help with the preparation of the letter, please provide me with the following:
Thank you for your assistance.