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Published on

DATE:   
Thursday, September 15, 2022

TO:  
All School Administrators

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

SUBJECT: 
Earbud Orders for State Testing

Students will have the option to have text read to them on the RISE Summative and Utah Aspire Plus Summative testing systems once again this year. For students in grades 3-6, the Acadience Reading Daze test will also have audio functions. Principals or their designee are encouraged to place an order for student earbuds. Please place your order by Friday, October 14th.

To place an order, please click here.

Earbuds may be used for other district- or state-mandated tests, but schools will need to create a system by which the same student uses the same earbuds throughout the year as there is no additional funding to purchase more than one pair of earbuds per student in grades 3-10.

If schools wish to purchase additional earbuds for other uses, school administrators are welcome to contact Gaylene Miller in Evaluation, Research & Accountability at 801-567-8185 who can share the purchasing information and quotes used to acquire these earbuds.

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If you are a contracted employee and need to take Annual/Personal Leave 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 Window
Fall Recess

(All 242, 245 Contracts)

 October 27-28, 2022 Sept. 12 – Sept. 22, 2022
Fall Recess

(180, 184, 187, 207, 206 Contracts)

 October 24-28, 2022 Sept. 9 – Sept. 19, 2022

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

 

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School Administrators:

The School FTE Audit process is critical in ensuring employees are paid accurately and out of the appropriate budgets. Like last year, the FTE Audit will be electronic. Below is the process we will follow for the audits:

Electronic FTE Audit Process:

  • September 19, 2022 – HR will share with principals and administrative assistants the FTE Audit Report via Google Sheets. Please review the report with your administrative assistant. The report will include verification of faculty/staff, FTE, title and budget code(s). Please refer to the “Instructions” sheet in the document for assistance in completing the audit.
  • October 3, 2022 – DUE DATE for the FTE Audit Report to be completed for HR to process. Check the “yellow” box on the front page to indicate audit completion.
  • THE BEST NEWS OF ALL – All corrections made on the FTE Audit Report will be made by HR upon return. Change forms will not be required; however, new hires not listed on the report will require the submission of a hire sheet to HR in Frontline.
  • If you are interested in meeting with HR to review/assist with your audit, a link will be available on the Instructions sheet in your audit documents. You are welcome to invite your administrative assistant and Assistant Principal. You can schedule a time to meet. We ask that you review the audit and come prepared to the meeting with needed changes to your audit.

Thank you for your time and assistance.

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Published on

DATE:
Thursday, September 8, 2022

TO:
All School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:
Research Project

The Research Review Committee has reviewed a research project in which your school has been asked to participate.

Project Title: Policies and Leadership Responses to Teacher Vocal Problems

Applicant: Pam Hallam, BYU-Provo

The project has been approved by the District Research Review Committee. The applicant has been directed to contact you to discuss the extent of the project and to obtain your permission to conduct the study at your school. Participation in the study is at your discretion. If you have questions or concerns relating to participation, please contact Ben Jameson at 801-567-8243.

The project will involve the recruitment of teachers who are interested in participating on a focus group to discuss and research voice care as part of vocal health.

Thank you for your assistance.

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The following dates have been scheduled for administrative assistant (user group) meetings this year. These will be held after the September, January, and March Principal meetings, so administrators can be informed about topics and items that will be discussed with their assistants. See the attachment with the dates listed.

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The annual Jordan School District (JSD) Incident Command System (ICS) training will review the basics for responding to an emergency. The course is available for anyone with a key response role at your location. The same course is being offered in both the morning and afternoon. Registration is available on JPLS – Incident Command Training 2022-23, Course #101918. Relicensure points will be issued.

Wednesday, September 21, 2022
8:30-10:00 a.m., section #117445
Or
1:00-2:30 p.m., section #117446

Auxiliary Services Building, Presentation Room C100, Entrance “C”
7905 South Redwood Road

The course will be led by JSD Emergency Operations Manager Lance Everill at 801-567-8623, lance.everill@jordandistrict.org.

Additional ICS review opportunities will be made available throughout the school year, and individual locations can schedule meetings as needed/requested.

 

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Optional training will be provided by the Business and Auxiliary Services Departments on September 26 (1:00-4:00 pm) and October 4 (8:00-11:00 am) via Zoom. 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.

If you would like to participate in one of the sessions, please send an email to Lisa LeStarge, at lisa.lestarge@jordandistrict.org and let her know which date you would like to sign-up to attend. The total number of participants in each session will be capped at 80 (plus presenters). Because we want the sessions to have the same interactive environment as in-person sessions, attendees will be able to submit questions via ZOOM Chat. Attendees will also 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.

 

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Published on

DATE:
September 8, 2022

TO:
All Principals

FROM:
Administrators of Schools
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Scott Festin, Consultant, Planning and Enrollment
Caleb Olson, Consultant, Planning and Enrollment

SUBJECT:
10th Day Enrollment versus the Estimate

Please see the memo below.

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Published on

DATE:   
Thursday, September 8, 2022

TO:    
Middle School Administrators
High School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:  
Research Project

The Research Review Committee has reviewed a research project in which your school has been asked to participate.

Project Title: The Utah Collaborative for Equitable STEM Teaching (UCET)

Applicant: Lauren April Barth-Cohen

The project has been approved by the District Research Review Committee. The applicant has been directed to contact you to discuss the extent of the project and to obtain your permission to conduct the study at your school. Participation in the study is at your discretion. If you have questions or concerns relating to participation, please contact Ben Jameson at 801-567-8243.

The study will involve utilizing secondary science teachers’ expertise in developing science teaching case studies for preservice teachers.

Thank you for your assistance.

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Last year we introduced Kindergarten Night Out and it was a huge success! This is a night for teachers to come together to collaborate, learn, and enjoy some time together. This year, we are pleased to announce that we are expanding to include a First-Grade Night Out and a Second-Grade Night Out. Please see the attached fliers and share them with your teachers!

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Published on

DATE:
August 31, 2022

TO:
Elementary Principals

FROM:
Carolyn Gough, PhD, Administrator, Teaching and Learning
Norman Emerson, Instructional Support Services/Fine Arts Consultant

SUBJECT:
JSD-Arts Representatives for 2022-23

This year we will continue to have two District Arts Representatives (DARTS) represent your school throughout the 2022-23 school year. We have appreciated the work of past DARTS representatives and how they have helped strengthen arts instruction in your schools. Meaningful progress toward a greater level of arts integration has been made, and we wish this to continue.

DARTS meetings will be held on the following dates: September 21, October 19, November 16, January 18, February 15, March 15, and April 19. The meetings will be held at the Auxiliary Services Building Auditorium from 4:30-6:30 p.m. 

Please assign up to two classroom teachers to serve as your school’s DARTS representatives by either selecting a grade-level team, or two teachers from different grade levels. The DARTS representatives will meet once a month for two hours to learn and collaborate. Teachers will be paid at the inservice rate and will earn relicensure points  (Note: In addition to the two regular classroom teachers, your school's BTS arts educator will also be attending the DARTS sessions). 

Please email the names of your choices for the JSD DARTS Team for the 2022-23 school year to linda.gold@jordandistrict.org as soon as possible.

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Published on

DATE:
Thursday, September 8, 2022

TO:
All School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:
Research Project

The Research Review Committee has reviewed a research project in which your
school has been asked to participate.

Project Title: The Challenge of Peer Leadership

Applicant: Doug Stump, Southern Utah University

The project has been approved by the District Research Review Committee. The applicant has been directed to contact you to discuss the extent of the project and to obtain your permission to conduct the study at your school. Participation in the study is at your discretion. If you have questions or concerns relating to participation, please contact Ben Jameson at 801-567-8243.

The researcher is looking for first-year administrators who have been assigned to schools where they were also a teacher.

Thank you for your assistance.

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Parent Teacher Conferences are fast approaching, and many of you will find your school in need of one or more interpreters in order to serve the needs of your parents. Mirsa Joosten is happy to find an interpreter in each language you need, but this can be extremely difficult when there is not sufficient time for her to make arrangements. The virtual format, should we need to use it, can make finding interpreters even more difficult. For these reasons, we ask you to please request your interpreter no later than the dates given below by completing the Interpreting and Translation Services Request Form available on the Equity and Compliance webpage, if you have not already done so.

Level Conference Date(s) Date Interpreter Request Due
High Schools September 28-29, 2022 September 21, 2022
Middle Schools September 28-29, 2022 September  21, 2022
Elementary Schools October 5-6, 2022 September 23, 2022
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Singleton PLC Assignments:   LINK

Singleton PLCs

Middle School Assistant Principals, please review the attached list of Singleton PLC assignments and the PLC calendar. Please add a zoom link to your assigned group before Sept. 9th. The initial meeting will be virtual via zoom and then it will be determined by each PLC group whether to continue meeting virtually or in-person.

Action Steps:

  • Create and distribute virtual link for initial meeting on Sept. 9th

  • Determine whether to continue meeting virtually or in-person for monthly meetings

  • Select a team leader (if different from last year)

  • Select someone to take minutes

  • Place copies of PLC minutes in the appropriate singleton group folder in the 2022-23 shared drive. 

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Principals:

As you are planning your SCC meeting dates, please keep in mind that your 2023-24 LAND Trust & TSSA plans will be due on March 24, 2023. The plans must be approved in your last SCC meeting of their year. Please plan your dates accordingly!

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Portable classroom ramps are very expensive and the District does not keep an inventory of extra ramps.

When there is a ramp request for a legitimate ADA accommodation, administrators should contact their AOS first, to discuss the specific circumstances. If the AOS deems the ramp necessary, they will then contact Facility Services to determine the best school to move a ramp from along with an appropriate timeline for the installation.

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Published on

DATE:   
September 1, 2022

TO: 
All School Administrators

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

SUBJECT:  
BARK Content Monitoring

Now that school is back in session, here is a review of our districtwide content monitoring system which runs through a software system called BARK. BARK was awarded a contract extension over the summer and we will continue to screen alerts and send them to schools for review. NO other content monitoring software should be purchased by schools. BARK monitors all student accounts across all JSD schools and levels. Here is a summary of the notification protocols and procedures.

  • BARK uses an AI to scan student Gmail messages, Google chats, Google documents, and Google slides, regardless of the device that is used. As long as the student is logged in to and using their Jordan District Google account, the content can be monitored.
  • Notifications and alerts are categorized as non-severe, severe, and imminent.
  • The alerts are monitored primarily by Angie Rasmussen, JSD Student Safety and Wellness Specialist. Some will require additional investigation at that level to determine the context and to weed out false positives.
  • Notifications to schools will include administration, counseling, and other mental health teams. This allows for several adults to receive notifications in case they are somewhat time sensitive.
  • Notifications will come in an email from Angie unless it is urgent, then a phone call or text message will be communicated.
  • Notifications that are not considered emergencies or urgent will not be sent after 3pm on a school day to ensure that intervention is reasonable and timely for school personnel.
  • Content alerts are not monitored over the weekend or on days that students don’t attend, but emergency alerts will still be sent when immediate intervention is needed.
  • We will continue to receive after hours imminent alerts and will continue to work with administrators when immediate intervention is required.

Should you have any questions please reach out to Angie Rasmussen at angie.rasmussen@jordandistrict.org

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Published on

DATE:   
September 1, 2022

TO:  
District Administrators
School Administrators

FROM: 
Michael Anderson, Associate Superintendent
Travis Hamblin, Director of Student Services
Caleb Olson, Consultant, Planning & Enrollment

SUBJECT: 
Content-Specific Opt-Out Requests

Please see the attached memo.

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