Jordan Employee Memos

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.

Here is the Zoom link for these trainings:
uetn-org.zoom.us/j/5266134800
Meeting ID: 526 613 4800

• Friday, March 7 @ 8:45 a.m. or 1:30 p.m.
• Friday, March 14 @ 8:45 a.m. or 1:30 p.m.
• Friday, March 21 @ 8:45 a.m. or 1:30 p.m.
• Friday, March 28 @ 8:45 a.m. or 1:30 p.m.
• Friday, April 11 @ 8:45 a.m. or 1:30 p.m.
• Friday, April 18 @ 8:45 a.m. or 1:30 p.m.
• Friday, April 25 @ 8:45 a.m. or 1:30 p.m.

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:

1. Student & Data Privacy Training:
   • Complete the Student Data Privacy Re-licensure Sign-in through the USBE Canvas online course. This course takes approximately one hour to complete.
2. Educator Ethics Review:
   • Complete the Ethics Review online via the Utah Schools Information Management System (USIMS).
3. License Renewal:
   • Renew your license online at USIMS.

Basic Steps for License Renewal For Educators with Less Than 5 Years of Experience

If you have not worked for all of the previous five years, you must follow the additional steps below:

1. Complete the Professional Educator License (PEL) Renewal Form:
   • This form can be completed digitally (PDF) or printed and filled out manually.
   • Document a minimum of 100 hours of renewal activity.
2. Online Renewal Process in USIMS:
   • 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.

Should you have questions please contact Human Resources at 801-567-8150 or hr@jordandistrict.org.

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.

You can review all the Health & Wellness Day information at wellnessday.jordandistrict.org.

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. 

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

Enjoy Health and Wellness Day 2025!

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.

Join us for a special Wit & Wisdom workshop on Wednesday, Feb. 5 from 4:15 - 6:15 p.m., where we will be diving into multilingual resources to identify supports and scaffolds for ML learners and other striving students. Teachers will have time to collaborate and plan.

Language and Culture Services will be joining the literacy team to help answer questions and provide support for this special workshop that you will not want to miss!

• Feb. 2025 Wit & Wisdom Workshop Flyer
• Sign up on pd.jordandistrict.org

JAESP is proud to announce our 2025 Award Winners to the following, and all-around amazing, elementary administrators!

• National Distinguished Principal - Jessica Stowe
• National Distinguished Assistant Principal - Kirt Davis
• Student Advocate Principal of the Year -Yajaira Martinez
• Instructional Leader of the Year - Melissa Beck
• Principal Mentor of the Year - Ronna Hoffman
• Rookie of the Year - Baylee Lansford
• Innovator of the Year - Amy Adams
• Community Leader of the Year - Buddy Alger
• School Improvement Leader of the Year - Keith Klein
• Principal Supervisor of the Year- Becky Gerber

Congratulations! Members of the JAESP Committee were impressed by this year's nominees and want to thank each of them for their hard work, dedication, determination, empathy, and their skill. Additionally, we would like to thank each person that took the time to submit nominations.

Payroll Due: Feb. 4
view Your Paycheck: Feb. 21
Payday: Feb. 25

Health & Wellness Virtual Day - Feb. 7
All employees must record a leave day if absent

School Holidays
Washington & Lincoln Day Recess - Feb. 17
Critical Days - Feb. 14 & 18
As per DP335(B) and DP335 NEG: Licensed & ESP employees who have not been approved by Human Resources for using an annual/personal day on Critical Days may be docked (licensed $161 or ESP 40% of their daily rate) unless the leave reason is listed as an exception in policy. If applicable, the reason & the policy exception must be written in the time off description box.

View the Critical Days FAQ here.

Spring Parent Teacher Conferences
Elementary - Feb. 19 & 20 | Teacher Comp Day - Feb. 21
Middle & High - Feb.12 & 13 | Teacher Comp Day - Feb. 14

As Per DP335 NEG: Annual/Personal leave shall not be used during Parent Teacher Conferences. If Parent Teacher Conference is missed, a leave day (sick or No Pay) should be entered on the Comp Day.

Sub Payroll Deadlines
Pay Period: Jan. 16 - 31
Due: Feb. 3
Payday: Feb. 10
Pay Period: Feb. 3 - 14 Due: Feb. 14
Payday: Feb. 25

SCHOOLS: Please ensure Subs are verified weekly

True Time Deadlines:
Pay Period: Jan. 6 - Feb. 2

EMPLOYEES: Please submit your timesheets at the end of each work week

APPROVERS: Please ensure you are approving time sheets weekly for accuracy

• Payroll website: payroll.jordandistrict.org email: payroll@jordandistrict.org
• Important Payroll Information - Feb. 2025

Donate Blood on Wellness Day!

This year we are going to be holding a blood draw with ARUP.  This will be happening at Mountain Ridge High School from 9:00am - 3:00pm.  Come be someone's hero and you will be entered in a drawing for several $20 Amazon gift cards. If you have any questions about if you qualify as a blood donor, email robert.fox@aruplab.com or call 801-584-5272.

• To sign up, please use this link:  Donate Blood on JSD Wellness Day
• Select appointment time, click “Continue”.
• Select “Request Appointment”.
• Fill in requested information, click “Continue”.

If you work for the district and are under the age of 18, please click on the link to the Parent/Guardian Consent form

• Parent Consent Form

The FDA has made several recent changes that may allow people that were previously deferred to now be eligible to donate blood. Help us make our blood drive a huge success!!

We are looking for teachers in secondary math, health/PE, and computer science to create modified canvas courses for our Language Learners. Stipends available. The teacher must be ESL endorsed. Please see the flyer and info below for more details.

Requirements

• Endorsement in content area
• ESL endorsed
• Experience adding scaffolds to assignments for multilingual students
• Experience & ease with Canvas

Responsibilities
Divide existing content into 4 quarters. Ensure all existing links work. Add scaffolds, strategies, and/or modifications, as needed, to existing (already created) Canvas assignments:

• Pictures/visuals
• Chunked assignments
• Graphic organizers
• Essential vocab. with pictures
• Videos
• Simplified text
• Word banks
• Sentence stems

Create/modify assessments for each quarter

• Simplified questions & answers
• Most questions should be multiple choice, T/F, drop down, or matching
• Essay/short answer questions must include an answer key/rubric

Answer Keys for each assignment and assessment.

To Apply

• Interested applicants please complete this Google Form (or scan QR code in the flyer) with a Google Drive link to one of your lessons with embedded ML scaffolds.
• Pay will be based on your hourly rate, up to $325 per quarter credit for each course modified.
• Teachers must keep record of all time spent on modifications on a timesheet

Direct questions or inquiries to letitia.vigil@jordandistrict.org

• LCS Stipend Opportunity Flyer

In this LCS newsletter, want to remind you of cultural celebrations happening this winter and have information on:

• Lunar New Year is Jan. 29 - Lunar New Vear is a significant cultural event celebrated in countries such as China, Vietnam, Korea, and others. It marks the beginning of the lunar calendar and is characterized by various traditions, including family gatherings, feasts, fireworks, and the exchange of red envelopes for luck.
• February is Black History Month - a time dedicated to honoring the achievements, contributions, and rich cultural heritage of African Americans throughout history. It's a powerful opportunity to engage students in meaningful discussions about history, identity, and social justice. Black History Month was first established in 1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson and later expanded to a month-long celebration. It serves as a reminder of the significant impact African Americans have had on shaping our nation and the ongoing journey towards equality and justice.
• Ramadan is Approximately Feb. 28 to March 29 - Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. It lasts 29-30 days, depending on the sighting of the moon. Fasting from dawn until sunset is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. It involves abstaining from food, drink, and other physical needs. It is a time for spiritual growth, increased devotion, and worship.

• LCS Winter 2025 Newsletter

Special Education is excited to announce an in-person, Special Education Transition Fair for 2025. There will be over twenty community resources attending to help answer any post-secondary questions for our students and families.

The Transition Fair will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025 from 4 - 7 p.m. at South Jordan Middle School. For questions please contact Ashley Calhoun at 801-567-8208 or ashley.calhoun@jordandistrict.org

Please make sure to send the fliers out to your community.

• Special Education Transition Fair Flyer (English)
• Special Education Transition Fair Flyer (Español)

URS is holding one -on-one sessions on Feb. 5 in the Payroll Conference Room at the District Office. Employees may schedule an appointment starting on Jan. 29.  To reserve a session, Log in to myURS at www.urs.org and Click "Education" in the top-right corner of the myURS homepage. Next, click "Individual Retirement Planning Sessions"from the menu at left.

Also on Feb. 5, from 12 - 1 p.m., URS will hold a lunch meeting in the Payroll Conference Room for any employees that would like to attend. They will be discussing Tier 1 & 2 Pension Systems Plus URS Savings Plans.

• Jan. 2025 URS Pull Up a Chair Retirement Session Flyer
• Jan. 2025 URS Plan Ahead to Get Ahead Presentation Flyer

Explore Adobe, Canvas, Google, Nearpod, and Canva, Mastery Connect, and SchoolAI with the DTL team.  Register to participate at pd.jordandistrict.org. Search for DTL.

Classes begin on Feb. 3, 2025.  Contact Jared Covili, jared.covili@jordandistrict.org, with any questions.

• Earn $200 for completing the course*
• Earn $350 for implementing tech inclass with DTL Specialist
• Earn $250 for leading a school techtraining
  *Must be a JSD 2025 Winter Course. Cannot be a course previously taken.

Digital Learning in 2024-25
Step 1 - Complete a Technology Course through JSD
Digital Teaching and Learning appreciates your interest in our digital learning program during the 24-25' school year. Our program includes stipends as you complete three steps in working with technology in your classroom. As you complete each step, in order, you will receive that stipend. You should have applied for one of our district technology courses duringJanuary. These classes use a flex model - with elements both synchronous and asynchronous to complete the course. You must complete all assignments and submit them in Canvas to qualify for the stipend ($200). You can receive one set of stipends per session, so only sign up for one course at a time.

Step 2 - Work with your Digital Learning Specialist to develop and teach a tech-enhanced lesson
After completing your technology course, connect with your Digital LearningSpecialist to develop a tech-enhanced lesson using an activity with the digital tool from your course. These lessons should be reviewed by the specialist and submitted in Canvas along with a reflection about your teaching experience ($350).

Step 3 - Teach your peers in a Tech PD Training
The final step in your technology journey involves teaching your colleagues in aPD in-service. Share your technology knowledge by leading a Tech Training in your building about the skill (s) you developed this year. Work with yourDigital/Instructional Coach to coordinate your presentation and submit your assignment/reflection in Canvas ($250).

• Winter 2025 DTL Big Six Winter Classes Flyer & Outline

If you or a family member are getting close to retirement come learn about Medicare and Social Security.  These are very complex subjects so come get your questions answered by the experts.  These are not sales presentations so you won't feel any pressure.

If you have any questions, please contact Insurance Services at 801-567-8146.

• Annual Medicare / Social Security 101 Workshop Flyer

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.

• Joel P. Jensen Middle | Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025
• South Jordan Middle | Thursday Feb. 20, 2025
• Mountain Creek Middle | Monday March 10, 2025

• URS Retirement Presentation Schedule Flyer

In Focus Education Group  and the Jordan Health & Wellness team would like to invite administrators, counselors, and teachers to participate in a Winter 2025 Educator Well-Being Course. You can receive continuing education credit while focusing on your own well-being! The Winter cohort is a ten-week course that meets weekly for 90 minutes over zoom. You can address your own well-being by exploring well-being topics and strategies. Collaborate, learn from, and connect with other educators across the country.

What Previous Educators Have Said...

• "It was so nice to visit and learn from other educators. It was good to realize that we universally have strengths and struggles and that we are not alone in our experiences."
• "I have loved every minute of this course. I feel like I have gotten more out of this class for my personal well-being than anything I have done."
• "This class helped me focus on the things that are most important. I have started to show more empathy and looked for more creative problem solving ideas. I have gained great insights on boundaries at work, time management, and functional collaboration."

• Enroll in the Winter 2025 Educator Well-Being Course
• In Focus Winter 2025 Educator Well-Being Course Flyer

The end of the semester is just around the corner, and we know that there are still a lot of questions about the new standards based gradebook in Skyward and how to enter scores for the report card. To help answer some of the most commonly asked questions, we have just added a series of short videos in the FAQ section of the Proficieny Based Learning Canvas course. To find these short 1-5 minute videos, click on the FAQ link in the course navigation on the left hand side of the page, and then scroll down toward the bottom of the FAQ page. The videos are linked under the Skyward section of the FAQ page.

If you’re already enrolled in the course use the link below to go directly to the FAQ page!

• Enroll in Proficiency Based Learning

If you are a contracted employee and need to take Annual/Personal Leave on a Critical Day before or after President’s Day 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.

• Licensed Annual/Personal Leave Taken Before or After a Holiday
• ESP Annual/Personal Leave Taken Before or After a Holiday