Jordan Native American Program invites you to attend a PD on 'Exploring Native American History: Lessons Beyond Textbooks' by Darren Parry, on March 5, from 4 - 5:30 p.m., at JATC South.
Darren Parry is the former Chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation. Darren serves on the Board of Directors for Utah Humanities and the PBS Utah. He attended the University of Utah and Weber State University and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Education. In 2024, he received an Honorary PhD in Education from Utah State University. Darren is the author of “The Bear River Massacre, A Shoshone History” and teaches in the Environmental Humanities department at the University of Utah. He lectures around the country on Native American issues surrounding history and Indigenous views related to sustainability.
If you are a contracted employee (Benefit eligible) and need to take Annual/Personal Leave on a Critical Day before or after 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.
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.
Are you interested in or currently pursuing a STEM endorsement? Let USBE PAY FOR YOUR COLLEGE CLASSES! This is called the STEM Endorsement Incentive Program (EIP) and it has been funded again for the 2024-25 school year. See our EIP website for a full list of endorsements.
Reimbursement applications for courses completed after July 1, 2024 are now being accepted. The next round of reimbursements applications is due February 27, 2025 for teachers who completed STEM courses in Fall/Winter 2025.
See the attached flyer and link to our EIP website for more information. If you have any questions, please reach out to your content consultant. We would love to talk to you!
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:
Feb. 15, 2025 $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 Employee Access under “Task Processes”. 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.
This year, the annual Teacher Transfer Fair is open to all CURRENT JSD teacher/educators AND student teachers, interns and those on a 1-year agreement. This event is for current Jordan School District teachers/educators seeking a new teaching/assignment opportunity! The transfer fair will be combined for both elementary and secondary teachers/educators.
Please come prepared with:
Your JSD ID badge – required to gain entry, AND
Copies of your resume available to distribute.
Come explore your options in JORDAN SCHOOL DISTRICT!
Teacher Transfer Process for Licensed Staff Through the month of February, current JSD licensed teachers and educators may view transfer opportunities for the 2025-26 school year. If you are interested in transferring to another school location within the District, we encourage you to attend the Teacher/Educator Transfer Fair on February 24, 2025 at Bingham High School.
You can also choose to submit a transfer request through the Teacher/Educator Transfer Request located in Skyward Employee Access. Each Monday during February, a Teacher/Educator Transfer Request Report will be emailed to Principals, listing all interested licensed teachers and educators requesting a transfer for the upcoming school year.
Beginning March 1, current JSD teachers and educators can view openings for the 2025-26 school year at employment.jordandistrict.org and must apply through Frontline. Please note that transfer requests will be accepted until August 1, 2025.
Let URS help you understand your benefits and plan a bright future. Whether you're age 20 or 90, whether you have three months or 30 years until retirement... This is for you.
Come learn about your URS benefits. Open to ALL full and part-time employees. Each session will cover URS savings plans along with Tier 1 and Tier 2 pension systems. All sessions will be from 4 – 5:30 p.m. and held in the media center.
Hi, I'm Utah's First Lady Abby Cox. I'm so excited for the Wellness Day coming up on Feb. 7 for Jordan School District.
I am so proud of all of our teachers who have put in the work all year long. You're about halfway, but it's more important to take care of your wellness so that you can be the best you can be for your kids.
Make sure that you're taking care of yourself. You're getting the rest you need. You're getting all the things that you need to be the best teacher you can be for these kiddos as we finish out the year.
We're so proud of everything that you do. You are making a huge difference in the lives of our children. Thank you so much and good luck.
Check out the links below for the latest updates from Teaching & Learning for February. Learn Tips and Tricks, Sign Up for Upcoming PD, and Learn about Important Updates from the T & L team.
The JSD Work Based Learning team has been tasked with helping students discover and explore careers at an earlier age. In response, we have created nine 30 minute Career Exploration lessons that coincide with the CTE Career Spotlight posters located near each school's lunch room.
Each lesson plan includes a slide deck with videos for class discussion and an activity that can be presented by school counselors, teachers, or aides during rotations. Lessons can be accessed at cte.jordandistrict.org under the Educators tab, and will be updated each year with additional careers. Please reach out to jennifer.price2@jordandistirct.org if you need help with implementing these lessons or with career readiness activities at the elementary level, we are happy to help.
The Teaching, Leading, Learning Instructional Leadership Conference is a national-quality conference event that will inspire K-12 educators (in any discipline). Learn from the best in the field, connect with peers, and leave with actionable ideas!
The conference will be held on March 20 & 21 at the Utah Valley Convention Center. Principals and Teacher Leaders are invited to attend. Please see the accompanying flyer for the great line-up of speakers and for additional details!
Heart Smart Habits
Listen to your heart this February—or at least, read about it in this month’s Health Insights. From the benefits of meatless protein to advice on handling stress, this newsletter comes packed with tips for boosting your heart’s health.
Eating a diet with a higher ratio of plant-based protein to animal-based protein may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and coronary heart disease (CHD), according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard. According to the researchers, these risk reductions are likely driven by the replacement of red and processed meats with plant proteins.
“The average American eats a 1:3 plant to animal protein ratio. Our findings suggest a ratio of at least 1:2 is much more effective in preventing CVD. For CHD prevention, a ratio of 1:1.3 or higher should come from plants,” said lead author Andrea Glenn.
Throughout February we will highlight some of our dedicated Jordan School District CTE educators, CTSO’s, local industry leaders, and share some of our amazing CTE student stories.
Follow along as Jordan CTE celebrates CTE Month 2025.
Beginning with the 2025 summative assessments, RISE ELA and math question items will be presented to students in a cluster format, similar to the RISE Science assessment. Cluster questions will appear in summative assessments for all grade levels in both content areas. Beginning Feb. 18, cluster questions will also be available on the RISE Benchmarks for both ELA and math.
For RISE ELA, students will be presented with reading passages and will be required to answer several sections or clusters of questions that are both related to the passages and to each other. For example, a student will be asked to identify a main idea from the story in one question. Then another question will ask students to select sentences from the passage that support their answer to the first question. In addition, students will be presented with a variety of question types, including multiple choice, multi-selection, sentence selections, drop-down menus, tables, timelines, etc.
Similarly for RISE math, students will be presented with a math task accompanied by several sections or clusters of questions. Question items may be multiple choice, multi-select, drop-down menus, inputting numbers or equations, drag and drop, graphing/plotting, etc.
For a sample of how question items will work, please refer to the Training Tests on the RISE Portal. Please see these step-by-step instructions for accessing the Training Tests.
Teachers are strongly encouraged to set apart some instructional time to allow students to practice this new question format by using the Training Tests in the RISE Portal. Teachers are also encouraged to administer the RISE Benchmarks to students. There are several benefits to administering the RISE Benchmarks, besides just practicing how to use the testing platform:
RISE Benchmarks typically take less than 20 minutes to administer.
Teachers can preview the question items in the Benchmark Previewing module on the RISE Portal, making it easier to include the benchmarks as part of the instructional process.
Teachers may view individual student results, results by question item, and aggregated results in the RISE reporting suite on the RISE Portal.
Teachers will have evidence of how students perform on individual standards at the rigor level of the RISE summative assessment.
For questions about the RISE assessment, please contact Ben Jameson or Kassidy Towery in Assessment, Research & Accountability.
The Utah Aspire Plus testing window is from March 3 - May 9, 2025. Each school determines their own testing schedule within this window.
As testing is nearly underway,please make sure you complete the yearly Utah Aspire Plus test administration training.Only teachers who will administer the Utah Aspire Plus test need to be trained. For your reference, here is a link to the Testing Ethics Policy.
Your school is responsible for making sure you get trained in the Utah Aspire Plus test administration. Should your school administrators choose to hold a training at your school, this fulfills the training requirement. There are two other training options available:
Utah Aspire Plus Canvas Course The Utah Aspire Plus test administration training requirement can be fulfilled by completing the Canvas course online. All teachers in grades 9-10 have been added to the course, should you choose this method. (If you did not receive the course invitation and are involved in this test administration, you can self-enroll in the course by clicking the link above.) If you received a course invitation and you are not involved in testing, please disregard.
Zoom Utah Aspire Plus Training
Teachers can attend one of the virtual Utah Aspire Plus trainings through Zoom to fulfill the training requirement.
Please check with your school administrators to see which training they would like you to complete.
For questions about Utah Aspire Plus testing or training, please contact Kassidy Towery in Assessment, Research & Accountability at kassidy.towery@jordandistrict.org.
The RISE summative testing window this year is from April 7 - May 30, 2025. RISE passwords get reset each year, so please be sure to log in and reset your password for this year at utahrise.org.
As testing is getting closer,please make sure you complete the yearly RISE test administration training. Many teachers only use the RISE systems once a year, so yearly training on how it all works is needed. Only teachers who will administer the RISE test need to be trained. For your reference, here is a link to the Testing Ethics Policy.
Your school is responsible for making sure you get trained in RISE test administration. Should your school administrators choose to hold a training at your school, this fulfills the training requirement.
RISE Canvas Course The RISE test administration training requirement can be fulfilled by completing the Canvas course online. You can self-enroll in the course by using the link above.
Zoom RISE Training
Teachers can attend one of the Zoom RISE trainings to fulfill the training requirement.
Please check with your school administrators to see which training they would like you to complete.
For questions about RISE testing or training, please contact Kassidy Towery in Assessment, Research & Accountability at kassidy.towery@jordandistrict.org.
NEW License Renewal Instructions for All Jordan School District Educators This document outlines the steps necessary to renew an educator license with the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) in order to maintain employment with the Jordan School District. If your current educator license is set to expire on June 30, 2025. Please review the following instructions carefully to ensure a seamless renewal process.
Basic Steps for License Renewal For Educators with 5+ Years of Experience Educators holding a Professional Educator License with experience in a Utah public school district or charter for the past five years will find the renewal process streamlined. You are not required to complete the license renewal form or obtain an administrator’s signature. However, you must complete the following:
Finalize the renewal in USIMS only after completing all requirements.
Ensure the form is reviewed and signed by a licensed administrator or other approved authority.
Keep the signed/approved form for your records. It is not submitted to USBE unless requested during a monitoring review.
Important Notes
Documentation: Maintain all documentation and adhere to licensing procedures to avoid any risk of license renewal repeal and referral to the USBE Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission (UPPAC).
Verification Deadline: The Human Resource Department must receive your licensure renewal verification in CACTUS by June 30, 2025. Failure to do so will result in employment termination at the end of your contract for the 2024-2025 academic year.
We are very excited to announce the fourth annual Health and Wellness Day Friday, February 7, for employees and students. Students will not attend school in person on this day, which will allow employees to focus on their own Health and Wellness.
Signup for events will begin on Thursday, January 30, at 6 p.m.
What is Wellness Day? An opportunity for JSD employees to prioritize their personal wellness by being:
Curious: using the day to try something new or learn a new strategy that could enhance your personal and professional wellness now and in the future.
Intentional: proactively planning to meet your unique wellness needs.
United: spending time building relationships and strengthening work connections.
The District will again be providing a Health and Wellness curriculum directly to parents and students so employees can take the day to focus on their own Health and Wellness. For information on this curriculum, visit wellness.jordandistrict.org/resources.
As an employee, you can choose to participate in Health and Wellness Day in a number of ways.
You can use the time to catch up. There will be no required meetings or student interactions on Feb. 7. School meals and busing will not be provided.
We have a wide variety of in-person and virtual activities available throughout the day to help you focus on your health and wellness.***Employees can start signing up for activities on Thursday, January 30, at 6 p.m.
You can choose to access annual leave or vacation time to take the day off without worrying about getting a substitute. Absences will not count against low absence incentive thresholds.
The Wellness Day Challenge sheet is now available with suggestions for personal wellness activities. Participants who submit their challenge sheet will be entered into a drawing for great prizes.
The Health and Wellness Day is for every employee. The Board has allocated funds for each school and department to provide a breakfast or lunch for employees sometime between January 31 and February 6.
In addition, Between Friday, February 7 and Thursday, February 13, we have arranged with SWIG for each employee to receive ONE free menu item when you show up, IN-PERSON, displaying your personal District ID badge at any participating SWIG location in Jordan District boundaries.
Bluffdale - 13847 Redwood Rd., Bluffdale
Oquirrh Mountain - 11528 S. 4000 West #101, South Jordan
Trail Crossing - 5462 W. Daybreak Parkway., Suite H1, South Jordan
South Jordan - 1573 W. 11400 South, South Jordan
West Jordan - 7859 S. 3200 West, West Jordan
***SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS may obtain a temporary ID badge for Health & Wellness Day offers from a District receptionist at the District Office (7387 S. Campus View Drive, West Jordan) between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Thank you for your continued hard work and dedication.
Thank you for everything you are doing to make each student feel welcome and valued. Jordan School District is committed to providing a supportive and safe environment for every child.
If you have any concerns or questions regarding the recently-announced changes in U.S. Department of Homeland Security immigration procedures, please contact your school principal. Additionally, if you are experiencing any issues regarding a student’s education, including concerns over attendance, please reach out to your principal. District staff members are providing support to school administrators as they work with individual families to address questions and concerns.
With the changes to the literacy core this past year, it has been necessary for USBE to update the benchmark and RISE assessments, including RISE Writing. In order for the scoring engine to be trained, each new writing prompt requires 5,000 student responses. Teachers and students in Jordan District are invited to test the prompts and get a sneak peek into the benchmark that may be used in the future. If you choose to participate, the benchmark prompts will be available on the RISE portal from February 18-June 6, 2025. Here’s what you need to know:
All grades (3, 4, 5, 6) may participate.
Students can take one informative and one argumentative.
The window opens February 18 - June 6, 2025.
There will be no automatic scoring - responses will be used to train the scoring engine.
No grading of student essays will be required to participate.
Automatic scoring of benchmarks will resume in the 2025-2026 school year.
USBE needs 5,000 student responses per grade and per benchmark.
Writing benchmarks will not be offered next year if there are not enough student volunteers.
If you are interested, please complete the survey to participate in the Writing Benchmark Field Test.
Jordan Native American Program invites you to attend a PD on 'Exploring Native American History: Lessons Beyond Textbooks' by Darren Parry, on March 5, from 4 - 5:30 p.m., at JATC South.
Check out the links below for the latest updates from Teaching & Learning for February. Learn Tips and Tricks, Sign Up for Upcoming PD, and Learn about Important Updates from the T & L team.
