Administrative Appointments

Last night at the school board meeting, administrative appointments were made.

Sara Palmer, Director of Payroll
Mike Anderson, Administrator of Schools over Riverton Feeder
Jill Durrant, Administrator of Schools Staff Assistant
Amanda Edwards, Silver Crest Principal
Terry Price, Oquirrh Hills Assistant Principal
Nicole Plenert, CTE Consultant
Brad Sorensen, Administrator of Schools over Herriman Feeder
Carolyn Gough, Riverton High Principal
Ben Jameson, South Hills Principal
Aaron Hunter, Joel P. Jensen Assistant Principal
Mike Kochevar, West Jordan High Principal
Tom Gatten, Bingham Assistant Principal
Christen Richards-Khong, Bingham Principal
Chris Titus, JATC Principal
Mike Hughes, Bingham Assistant Principal
Kim Searle, Copper Hills Assistant Principal
Don Link, River's Edge Principal
Sharon Jensen, Vally Principal
Dixie Crowther, West Jordan Middle Principal
Paul Bergera, Auxiliary Services Staff Assistant
Michelle Peterson, Falcon Ridge Principal
Tami Bird, Rose Creek Principal
Noel Grabl, Curriculum
Todd Theobold, Majestic Principal
Jacinto Peterson, Copper Mountain Assistant Principal
Caleb Olson, West Hills Assistant Principal
Cynthia Vandermeiden, Joel P. Jensen Assistant Principal
Melisa Lund, Curriculum
Glen Varga, West Jordan Middle Assistant Principal
Tyler Jones, Hayden Peak/Riverside Assistant Principal
Cody Curtis, South Jordan Middle Assistant Principal
Wyatt Bentley, West Hills Assistant Principal
Karen Gorringe, West Jordan High Assistant Principal
Cynthia Tingey, Eastlake Assistant Principal
Mandy Braby, Foothills Assistant Principal
Kim Gibson, Southland/Elk Meadows Assistant Principal
Tiffany Cooke, Herriman/Silver Crest Assistant Principal
Patty Bowen, Jordan Ridge/Monte Vista Assistant Principal
Jerri Mausbach, Rose Creek/Daybreak Assistant Principal

Six of them are JEA members who are choosing to remain members even after becoming principals!

Transferring

There has been some confusion about transfers.  The Transfer Fair is the opening event of the transfer season.  From April 1 to June 1, principals must interview at least two transfer teachers for each posted position; however, they can hire new people if they choose.  Some principals have started, while others have not. 

• Watch this website for job postings.  Most are only open for one week.
• If you want details about the job, you will need to register on Teachers-teachers.com.  I recommend un-checking the email notifications on the registration.
• When you find a position for which you are interested, log in to Skyward Employee Access, click "Task Manager" (upper right), click "Teacher Transfer Request" (left side), click "Open" and complete the form.
• Once you click "Save" (upper right), a copy will be sent to Human Resources and to your principal.
• You can add positions at any time.
• You may want to send the principal a resume by email or district mail.  It has been reported that principals are not responding.  Kyle Hanson was going to remind them of professional courtesy to at least say they received your resume.  No guarantees on that happening.
• You can transfer up until 10 days prior to New Teacher Induction (July 8 for Year Round, August 9 for Traditional).  After June 1, principals are not required to interview transferring teachers.

Teacher Transfer Fair 2013

I attended a meeting to plan the Teacher Transfer Fair for Spring 2013.  You will NOT need a signed transfer form to attend!  The tentative dates are Monday, March 18 from 4-6 p.m. at West Jordan High for secondary and Monday, March 25 from 5-7 p.m. at Elk Ridge Middle.

Legislative Council (AR) Meeting

The AR meeting last night went well.  We talked about the EFT flip process and the progress that is being made.  It is slow but steady and hope to keep the momentum going.  If you have not had a meeting about the EFT flip, contact your building AR. 

Kyle Hansen from Human Resources came to talk about a few things with the coming of the transfer season.  He stated that the Intent to Return will not be going out, because the information was not useful.  Instead, there is an Early Notification Incentive of $200 to be paid on the final paycheck to licensed personnel who submit the Resignation Form to their principal and HR by March 1.  The intent is to help principals know of open positions and to be able to avoid a Reduction In Staff (RIS).  There will then be two Teacher Transfer Fairs:  Elementary on Friday, March 23 from 3:00 to 7:00 at South Jordan Middle and Secondary on Monday, March 26 from 10:00 to 2:00 at Riverton High.  This will give teachers the opportunity to meet with principals and have more choice in where they wish to transfer.  This process is also happening early to avoid a RIS.  Once the known RIS are identified by their principal through meetings with the Administrator of Schools to determine "school need", they will be placed into positions for which they are qualified.  Then the regular transfer window will open up.  If you are considering a transfer, attending the Teacher Transfer Fair is a great chance to determine where you would like to teach next year.

Nominations for JEA Leadership took place.  The following were nominated:

President – 2 years:  Jennifer Boehme

Vice President – 2 years:  Jack Duffy, Kevin Ball, Mallory Meyer

Middle school – 3 years:  Mallory Meyer

Elementary school – 3 years:  Kara Goodwin

Special certification – 1 year:  Renee Sass

Any active JEA member may file a petition with 25 signatures of JEA members to become a candidate for any open position.  If you are interested, please contact me at jennifer.boehme@utea.org to receive a petition.  Petitions are due to the JEA Office by 5:00 on Wednesday, February 15.

We discussed the legislature and bills that are being run this session. You can go to Utah Public Education to see a summary of Senator Osmond's SB64:  Public Education Employment Reform Act.

We also talked about the importance of caucus attendance to become a delegate or to elect public education friendly delegates.  You should have the opportunity to watch the video on becoming a delegate that is linked on the Utahn's for Public Schools website.  It is 17 minutes long and a bit boring, but it does contain good information on the process and importance of caucus attendance.

Caucuses are scheduled for Tuesday, March 13 for Democrats and Thursday, March 15 for Republicans.  Any JEA member who attends their caucus will be entered into a drawing for a restaurant gift card.  We will collect this information on Friday, March 16.  Please take the time to attend and become involved.  Most decisions about education are political decisions.

Teacher Transfer Fair

The District is going to try out a Teacher Transfer Fair.  Teachers who are looking to transfer must have a completed transfer form as their entrance pass.  You can get one at the door if you don't get one before the Fair.  There will be an hour when teachers can walk around and be introduced to various principals and sign-up for an interview.  After a 30 minute break where JEA will offer refreshments, 15-minute interviews will be held.  Each teacher could have up to 6 interviews that day.  Because the time is short, teachers are asked to bring a resume but not a portfolio.  Human Resources (HR) will contact teachers who principals would like to have at their building.  Some teachers may be requested by multiple principals, so you may be given a choice of which school you transfer to.  The goal of the Fair is to help teachers go to schools where they want to be and to help principals find teachers who would fit well in their school.  In addition, if teachers receive a transfer, there will be fewer Reduction In Staff (RIS) teachers to place.

We still don't know how RIS teachers will be determined, except that evaluation and school need are the criteria that can be used as far as state law and district policy.  All RIS teachers will be placed in a position for which they are qualified.  If there is not a position for which a RIS teacher is qualified, that teacher could be a Reduction In Force (RIF) or laid off.

Teachers will still be able to transfer through June 1.  At that time, openings will be available for new-hires, but current teachers may still transfer through 10 days prior to the last day of new teacher induction.  You would need to watch the District website for job postings and call HR to add the other positions for which you would like to be considered to your transfer form.

This process is still unfolding, but Kyle Hansen from HR said it would be rolled out February 7.  I'll post more when I know more.

Dates of the Teacher Transfer Fairs:
Elementary - Friday, March 23 from 3:00 to 6:30 at South Jordan Middle Gym
Secondary - Monday, March 26 from 10:00 to 1:30 at Riverton High Tech Atrium