Author: communications

Dear Education Community, 

As we celebrate this season of giving thanks, I want to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to you, the education heroes of Utah public schools. In the spring of 2020, we shuttered our doors to in person learning, and we looked to the future with uncertainty. However, I was certain about one thing; you would all continue caring for our most precious asset, our children. Here we are, 18 months later and still facing uncertainties. Many of you may feel like you are in the first year of your job all over again with so many changes and challenges. We are learning many lessons from the pandemic, and you all continue to lean in and do whatever it takes to keep education happening. 

As we strive to forge a new future for public education, I am buoyed up by the collaboration and support you continue to provide one another on behalf of improving outcomes and opportunities for all students. I love visiting schools and classrooms. It is always apparent that it takes every adult in the school system to provide a quality experience for our students. I have had the opportunity this fall to sit in on powerful learning communities, listen to students talk about their evaluating their own work for improvement, witness the excitement of students with disabilities engaging in athletic competitions with nondisabled peers, and watch students create and perform beautifully in the arts. Our students have many opportunities to unlock their gifts and talents in our Utah public schools. Thank you! 

I am also mindful and appreciative of your efforts to address the safety and mental wellness of our students. Many factors contribute to the challenges of mental wellbeing and the additional stress brought on by the pandemic has exacerbated these needs. Creating safe and caring spaces for all students, regardless of demographics and circumstances, is key to their success. Emotional safety and physical safety are foundational in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Thank you for all you are doing to help students feel safe and cared for. 

We continue to ask much of you as public educators to help all students have opportunities to succeed. I am mindful of what this means for your own mental and physical wellness. We must do better with working conditions to ensure you have the time, resources, and support needed to help you do your best work. I am committed to working with education leaders and policy makers to continue our focus on these issues. I am also committed to the tenets of our Utah Portrait of a Graduate and a more personalized approach to learning including flexibility and opportunities for the adults who serve our students.

I am proud of you, our Utah public education community. I am proud to advocate for you and represent you. I am forever grateful to be a Utah educator and look forward to positive days ahead. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your continuing efforts during these challenging times. 

Sincerely,
Sydnee Dickson, Ed.D.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Utah State Board of Education

• Letter of Gratitude to Educators

This December is the 230th anniversary of the Bill of Rights.  What a great time to teach kids about some of the important rights that we have in this country and to help them develop a love of our country.  We also have the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Older grades can learn about this event and how it impacted our nation and Utah.  This year is also the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize.  This is a great opportunity to talk about how individuals can make a difference to make the world a better place.

This edition of the newsletter has  some informational texts on The North Pole (1st Grade), The Bill of Rights (2nd Grade), Hanukkah (3rd Grade), The Utah War (4th Grade), Rights of the Accused (5th Grade), and the Magna Carta (6th Grade).  The picture books that are highlighted with lessons can be found in your school library or on Sora.  There are some literacy lessons on multiple perspectives and two fun speaking and listening activities.

This month also includes some fun 4th grade social studies activities.

• December 2021 Elementary Social Studies Toolbox

We’ve recently launched Canva for Education district-wide! Canva makes it easy to create, collaborate, and communicate visually - in the classroom and beyond. If you’ve never heard of Canva for Education, you can learn more about the tool here.

Everyone with a district email address will receive all the benefits of Canva for Education, including all of Canva’s “pro” features, at no cost and with no validation or application required. You can log in to our new Canva district team with your district credentials at www.canva.com.

Please take some time to review this teacher onboarding guide from the team at Canva. We encourage everyone to review these materials, as there are some aspects of the district Canva platform that will differ from what you may be used to if you’ve already used Canva. If you already have a Canva account under your district email address it’s especially important to pay attention to the pages that have to do with logging in, switching teams, and copying files. You can view just those pages in Canva’s Login Instructions, here.

If you have any questions about Canva, or would like to learn more about using Canva in the classroom, you can contact Jared Covili, Digital Teaching and Learning, at jared.covili@jordandistrict.org.

This week we are celebrating National Education Support Professionals Day. Please take a minute to join Superintendent Godfrey and Jordan School District in thanking all of the Education Support Professionals working beside you. Education Support Professionals Day honors a long list of professionals who keep schools running smoothly. They include secretaries, classroom aides, cafeteria workers, maintenance workers, bus drivers, custodians and others who support educators, school leadership, and students in our schools. These professionals do their part in making public schools a place where students can be safe, learn, grow, and achieve.

Education Support Professionals perform a wide variety of jobs which promote quality education, foster positive learning environments, offer nutritious meals, provide reliable transportation and maintain safe and clean schools for everyone.

They are employees like Mountain Ridge High School head custodian Kevan Sprague who was selected as the Utah School Employee Association’s Outstanding Employee of the Year.

We appreciate our amazing Education Support Professionals today and every single day!

Dear Employees,

Skyward will be unavailable during a system upgrade from 9 p.m. on Friday, November 12 until noon on Saturday, November 13. This will affect both Student and Finance systems including Family Access and Employee Access.

We appreciate your patience while we perform this system upgrade.

Apply now for the Elementary Mathematics Endorsement beginning in January And Register for November and January Stipend-based Professional Learning Opportunities

Don’t miss out on these amazing mathematics professional development opportunities!

We have many different ways to learn: in person, at home, with your coach! 

• 2021-22 Elementary Mathematics Professional Development Offerings and Elementary Mathematics Endorsement Application

Sign up today for Nearpod’s Camp Engage 2021.  It’s a FREE online conference for educators looking to enhance their skills in Nearpod.  Conference runs from Nov. 18 - 21, 2021.

• NearPod Camp Engage Website

If a volunteer is interested in volunteering in a class or at the school, the following process must be followed:

Step 1: The volunteer watches the Code of Conduct video, completes the "Volunteer Application Form" and turns it into the principal BEFORE they schedule an onboarding appointment.  Do not ask Volunteers to schedule a fingerprint appointment without principal approval.

Step 2 : The Principal determines if the volunteer will have "Significant Unsupervised Access" to students. Not all volunteers need a background check.

Significant Unsupervised access includes field trips, one-on-one or small group classroom volunteer or other related volunteering.

Volunteer assignments which may not be considered "significant Unsupervised Access" may include a holiday party or an event with a large number of adults present at the school.  In these instances, the school office would collect the volunteer application and code of conduct form and retain those at the school.

Step 3: If the principal determines there will be "significant unsupervised access", the principal must sign the volunteer form, give it to the volunteer and have the volunteer schedule a volunteer fingerprint appointment with Human Resources.

In order for HR to complete the background check, the volunteer MUST bring the volunteer form (SIGNED BY THE PRINCIPAL) with them to HR.  Please do not allow volunteers to schedule a fingerprint appointment without a principal signing the volunteer form.

Volunteers who schedule an appointment without providing to HR the principal-signed volunteer application may be asked to reschedule their appointment.

Step 4: Once the volunteer is fingerprinted, HR will email the school once we receive the results.  Please plan on at least two weeks prior to any volunteering event.  Volunteers not completing the process prior to a field trip may not be allowed to attend.

2022-23 Sabbatical and Educational Leaves
Jordan School District Board authorizes up to four (4) full-time employees to be selected for leave.

Sabbatical Leave
Sabbatical leave provides a 1-year leave for professional study. Educators who have completed at least 7 years of continuous service in JSD may apply. Employees on sabbatical leave receive one-half of their salary.  Please read Policy DP333 Neg – Sabbatical Leave for complete information.  Applications are reviewed by the Local Professional Improvement Committee and approved by the Board.

Educational Leave
Educators who have worked in Jordan School District for at least three (3) consecutive years may apply for an Educational Leave. Educational leaves are for continued study and must include an outline of studies along with the application. Please read Policy DP332 NEG – Educational Leave for complete information. Educational Leave is without pay.

Applications for 2022-23 Sabbatical and Educational Leaves are due Feb. 1, 2022. Additional questions can be referred to Chris Westra, 801-567-8657.

Unit 1 Trainings
Unit 1 trainings end in Feb. 2022. All K-3 teachers will need to have completed Unit 1 in-person training by then. If you are beginning the LETRS training in February, you will need to register for a February in-person training. We are working with USBE to offer the courses on Feb. 22, 23, 24, 25, and 28. These courses will be offered in Midas to JSD teachers only.

LETRS Form & Stipends
Please complete the Unit Course Completion Form (found on LETRS Information webpage) so we can submit for you to get paid the stipends. You can access the webpage from the Teaching & Learning Home page or the T&L Literacy page. Here is a link:

• Teaching & Learning LETRS Information

Check out the Nov. 2021 Be Well newsletter from EMI. Stories include:

• Breathe Easier - It’s time again for the Great American Smokeout. On November 18, thousands of people in the U.S. will take the first step toward better health and living tobacco-free.
• Diabetes and Your Plate - The foods you choose have a powerful role to play if you are managing type 1, type 2 or gestational diabetes. Since diabetes is affected by diet, people often wonder about the changes they need to make in their eating patterns.
• Getting enough sleep? - Frequent lack of sleep can be very costly to your health and enjoyment of daily living.
• Know Your Family Health History - Thursday, November 25 is Thanksgiving Day — and Family Health History Day. The U.S. Surgeon General chose this date for good reason — many people will be at family gatherings or in touch with relatives in other ways on Thanksgiving. So, it’s a perfect time to check on your family’s health status and learn about any medical problems. In fact, this information can help you live a longer, healthier life.

To receive the monthly Be Well Newsletter via email and check out back issues, please visit the EMI Hope Health Newsletter page.

• Nov. 2021 EMI Be Well Newsletter

HOORAY for the final PEHP Wellness Challenge of the year. Healthy Holidays - Maintain Don’t Gain! PEHP's most popular challenge runs from November 15^th through January 7^th. See the attached flyer to register for 8 weeks of motivational emails including tools and tips to thrive this holiday season. The weekly topics are creative and fun and will keep you on track to enjoy the holidays even more! Participate and take the final survey to be entered into a drawing for a$50 Amazon Gift Card to use for a little post-holiday shopping!

• Nov. 2021 PEHP Wellness Monthly Challenge Flyer

The Office of the Governor and the Utah State Board of Education invites teachers and students to participate in Utah’s 22^nd Annual Do the Write Thing Challenge.

The Challenge offers 7^th and 8^th grade students across the State an opportunity to examine the impact of youth violence on their lives and then write what they think should be done to change the culture of violence.  Personal responsibility is emphasized by encouraging students to make a commitment to do something about the problem.  The program ultimately strives to help them break the cycle of violence in their homes, schools, and neighborhoods.

Two writings per participating school will be selected as State’s finalists and will be invited to attend a recognition luncheon where the top two authors will be announced in April 2022.  State finalists will receive a scholarship deposit to Utah’s my529 Education Saving Account.  The top two writings will represent Utah as their essays will be published and placed in the Library of Congress.

Teachers are encouraged to incorporate the Challenge into their regular classroom curriculum.  Lesson plans can be found on the website at www.schools.utah.gov/prevention/dtwt.php. Rules, entry forms, and additional information are also available on this website.  The following is a list of ideas for the classroom:

• English: use as an essay or poetry-writing assignment;
• Health: discuss personal safety and well-being of others;
• Civics: conduct an exercise on personal and civic responsibility;
• History: use an historical perspective to examine youth violence.

The deadline for entries is January 14, 2022.  The 2021 challenge involved more than 1,100 students participating in classroom discussions about youth violence with more than 580 submitting essays from 22 different teachers.  We look forward to increasing these numbers in the 2022 Challenge.

If you have any questions, please contact Cuong Nguyen at cuong.nguyen@schools.utah.gov or (801) 538-7790.

We encourage your students’ participation and look forward to this year’s Challenge.

Sincerely,
Governor Cox

Dear Educator or School Staff Member:

COVID-19 vaccine boosters are now available for all vaccine brands AND you may now receive a booster of a brand different from your original vaccine.

Everyone who received Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine at least 2 months ago is eligible for a booster.

You may get a booster if you received the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech OR Moderna vaccine at least 6 months ago AND you are:

• 65 years and older OR
• 18 or older and have underlying medical conditions OR
• 18 or older and live in a long-term care setting or a high-risk setting OR
• 18 or older and work in a high-risk setting, including teachers.

If you have questions about whether you should receive a booster, please consult with your personal health care provider.

A booster is available from your local pharmacy, your health care provider, by appointment or on a walk-in basis at one of Salt Lake County Health Department’s five immunization clinics, or via one of three community vaccination sites offered by Community Nursing Services (CNS).

If you don’t know which vaccine you initially received, your vaccine’s brand is listed on your vaccination record card. If you don’t have your vaccination record card, request your personal immunization record via one of the methods listed on the Salt Lake County Health Department’s immunization webpage under “Records.”

Thank you,
Salt Lake County Health Department

Join us in congratulating Katie Bastian, Dietitian in Nutrition Services, appointed Director of Nutrition Services effective Monday, November 1, replacing Jana Cruz who is retiring.

• Public Comment regarding Draft Utah Elementary Social Studies Standards

Jordan School District Employees are responsible for knowing and adhering to all District policies and procedures. The annual crucial policy review is available to District employees in Skyward through "Online Forms."   As a condition of continued employment, all employees, with the exception of minor students, are required to complete the crucial policy review by November 1, 2021.

Employees may access this policy review via their Employee Access in Skyward. If you need assistance in accessing Skyward, please call the help desk at 801-567-USER (8737).

2021-22 Crucial Concerns Annual Policy Review
Jordan School District Employees are responsible for knowing and adhering to all District policies and procedures. The crucial policy review is available to District employees in Skyward through "Online Forms." As a condition of continued employment, all employees (i.e. Licensed, ESP, Substitutes, Coaches, Miscellaneous adults, etc.), with the exception of minor students, will be required to complete this training. We ask your assistance in notifying your employees of this required training and ask that this training be completed by November 1, 2021.

A message will appear upon login of Skyward Employee Access for the employee to complete an “Online Form.” Employees can complete the steps at that time or can return to the review at another time by selecting “Online Forms” under “Employee Information.”

Reports of completion will be available through Skyward so you can verify that your staff members have completed this process. A tutorial is attached for your reference. If you or any staff members need technical help, please call the help desk at 801-567-USER (8737).

Cybersecurity is something we all need to be aware of throughout the year and Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a good time to reflect on everyone’s role regarding internet safety and security. Any employee can be a target, and cybercrime is more common than you might think.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Get to Know Phishing Email Red Flags
Ever get an email that just seemed off? An invitation to click on a link from a stranger or an odd request from a usually trustworthy source? Chances are these are cybercriminals attempting to manipulate, influence or deceive you into taking some action that isn’t in your own best interest or in the best interest of Jordan School District. Watch out for the following:

• An email coming from an unknown address is a red flag. If you know the sender (or the organization) but the email is unexpected or out of character, it’s a red flag. Also, pay attention to the “Reply-To:” address. If it doesn’t match the “From:” address, that’s a red flag.
• If you receive an email that you would usually get during normal business hours, but it was sent outside of normal business hours, this is a red flag.
• Any attachment you receive that you aren’t expecting or doesn’t make sense in relation to the rest of the message is a red flag. Attachments that want to “enable external access” or have you enter in your username and password before opening are red flags.
• Being asked to take some action to avoid a negative consequence is a favorite trick of hackers. So, if the sender is asking you to click on a link or open an attachment, be on alert—especially if the request is made with a sense of urgency.
• Look for misspellings in the link — for example, Arnazon instead of Amazon. Anytime you see a link that contains misspellings to make it look like a real link, that’s a red flag. Hover your mouse over the hyperlink. If the link address is for a different website, this is a BIG red flag.

Ransomware
What is ransomware and how can I protect the District from ransomware?

• Ransomware is a type of malicious software that takes over your computer and prevents you from accessing files until you pay a ransom.
• Although Information Systems maintains controls to help protect our networks and computers from this type of attack, we also rely on you to be our first line of defense.
• The most common way ransomware enters corporate networks is through email. Often, scammers will include malicious links or attachments in emails that look harmless. To avoid this trap, here are some simple things you can do:
  • Do not click on links or attachments from senders you do not recognize. Be especially wary of .zip or other compressed or application file types.
  • Do not provide sensitive personal information (like usernames and passwords or student data) if requested in an email.
  • Watch for email senders that use suspicious or misleading web addresses.
  • If you can’t tell if an email is legitimate or not, please share it with your school technician or forward it to security@jordandistrict.org.
  • Be especially cautious when opening attachments or clicking links if you receive an email containing a warning banner indicating that it originated from an external source.

If your computer is infected with ransomware, you will typically be locked out of all programs and a “ransom screen” will appear. In the unfortunate event that you click a link or attachment that you suspect is malware or ransomware, please notify Information Systems immediately.

To contact Information Systems, please speak with your school technician or call the Help Desk at 801-567-8737. Thanks for helping to keep our network and employees safe from potential cyber threats. Please let us know if you have any questions.

November is Native American Heritage Month.  Our newsletter will include some literacy activities that you can do in honor of this month.  In addition to Thanksgiving we have another important holiday, Veteran’s Day.  This is a great opportunity for elementary teachers to teach about patriotism and love of the country as we take time to honor the Veterans who defend and protect us.  This Veteran’s Day is also the 100th anniversary of Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  We have a fun lesson activity in the newsletter based off of a brand new picture book about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

This month you will find informational texts on Soldiers (1st Grade), Fry Bread (2nd Grade), Arctic Tundra (3rd Grade), Navajo Code Talkers (4th Grade), The Sugar Act (5th Grade), and WW1 Poppies (6th Grade). There is also a list of picture books that you could use to talk about the anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Veteran’s Day, and Native American Heritage Month. Teachers can find a visualization activity, an image analysis activity, and a comparing viewpoints activity that are tied to your literacy standards and a social studies picture book.

• Elementary Social Studies Newsletter

Cyprus Credit Union Mini-Grants are now available for teachers to fund innovative and creative classroom projects that enrich standard curriculum and enhance learning opportunities for students. Funds may also be used to purchase supplemental supplies.

Cyprus will fund up to $250 per teacher/educator. The grants can be combined for use toward a larger grant amount if specified. For example, four teachers can combine and apply for a $1,000 grant for a group project with each teacher submitting a separate application for their $250 allotment. Applications are limited to one $250 grant per teacher for the school year and two applications per school per month, either individually or with a team.

Mini-Grant applications will be accepted from Monday, August 9, 2021 through Thursday, April 15, 2022. Up to eight Mini-Grants will be awarded each month, and all applications must be received prior to the 15th of the month to receive funding the following month.

Restrictions: The following categories are not eligible for funding: Salaries, professional development, honorariums, stipends, and educator travel.

The Mini-Grant program is exclusively available to licensed educators in Davis, Salt Lake, Utah and Tooele counties.

If you have any questions about the application or funding process, please call the Relationship Development Department at (801) 260-7600, ext. 5951 or ext. 5952

Apply online at the Cyprus Credit Union Educators Mini-Grant Site.