Possible WJC Split

We were successful last night!  The West Jordan City Council did not vote to have a feasibility study done.  It sounds like they are going to wait to see what South Jordan City decides. If South Jordan puts a district split on the ballot, West Jordan will use a 2007 feasibility study to meet the legal requirements to put a split on the ballot.  West Jordan City voted to split from Jordan District at the same time the now Canyons District voted.  The vote in West Jordan was 70-30% opposed.

Now we need lots of teachers to attend the South Jordan City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 15 at 6:00 at the South Jordan City Hall (1600 W Towne Center Drive [10610 S]).  Please

For your information, I have included the list of "demands" made by South Jordan here.

Here are notes from Vicki Olsen, JEA Negotiations Team, who attended the school board study session where these issues were addressed.

All Board Members were present.  Dr. Godfrey was acting in Dr. Johnson's capacity while she is out.  All cities had representation at the meeting except for Herriman.  The Mayors are meeting on Monday the 7th followed by a meeting with all Mayors and the School Board on the 14th.  South Jordan Councilman Seethaler was at the table with the Board.  The meeting started at 8:45 and we ended at 10:45.

They proceeded with discussion in order of the resolution.
 #1.  Richard Osborn has no problem with the concept but does have a problem with the 30 day request.  Susan Pulsipher suggested making a plan and be allowed to make modifications to it every year based on need and economic circumstances.  Peggy Jo Kennett likens this process as similar to the calendar process.  1 year is set in stone and 2 future years are tentative and are changed as needed or as feedback comes in.  Someone pointed out that the District does have a plan.  The Administration have looked at potential growth and when schools may be needed.
Mark Seethaler would like to see this plan published where the public has access to it.
Bluffdale Mayor pointed out that some cities can't split and must work with the District.  He likes some of the resolution but it doesn't answer/resolve all their questions.  Being all one school district is the key!  Communication needs to be both ways.  He agreed that sometimes Bluffdale doesn't communicate well with the District.
Susan Pulsipher said the 6 items represent a change of process.  We need to all work together, Board and Cities. 
Janice Voorhies & Dr. Godfrey will work on a document for a written response for mayors that will be ready for their meeting on the 7th.  The Board directed Administration to bring info about schools, property owned, use etc. to Board Meeting on the 22nd.
#2 Trying to find weeks that there are no conflicts with meetings.  The Board noted that WJC changed their meetings to Wed.  Herriman holds meeting on Thurs.  The Board is willing to change their weeks to the 2nd & 4th weeks.  Asked Bluffdale to consider changing their meetings as well.
There is a concern about mayors being in closed session for certain parts like student appeal, personnel.  All concerned agreed that if the communication process is working, cities would already know in what meetings property would be discussed.  There was a discussion on what is the best way to notify of upcoming meetings.  Who should receive emails with agendas, etc.?  This will be worked out and administration directed to send notice of all meetings via email to all cities.
#3 Need to create a list of all properties owned by District.  This list would tie into #1.  This document will be given to the Board at the next meeting on the 22nd.  This list will also be reviewed every year along with the 5 year plan.
#4  The Board will share building reviews already done by various committees the past year.  The Board is supportive of multiuse features on buildings.  Will work with the cities to determine best places for schools.
#5 Worth exploring.  Have directed Administration to put out an RFP for legal counsel.  They are okay with RFP since they don't have to accept and buy.
#6 Currently the money is dedicated for new schools.  When the funds stop, the District will have to Bond.  Peggy Jo Kennett pulled out some document that showed where the money had been spent and gave it to Mark Seethaler to look at. 
West Jordan Mayor says he does not want to split.  Wants to stay together.  Only reason to put on ballot is to let citizens have a vote. 
At this point someone pointed out that cities are allowed to hire lobbyists while school districts cannot.  Susan asked if cities would hire lobbyists to help with legislative issues concerning education.  All cities agreed that if everyone worked together it would make a difference.
There was a State Senator in attendance.  I believe his name was Wayne Harper.  He liked what he had listened to over the course of the evening. 
Overall it was fairly positive.  It sounded to me like there is going to be effort on both sides to work things out.

SAGE Information from UEA

The following is from UEA President Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh.

 

 

Thank you for all of your feedback on the SAGE computer adaptive test. Many members contacted me and shared personal experiences, frustrations and hopes about the SAGE test. More than 3,000 members participated in our online survey and shared their experiences with SAGE. This input was extremely valuable in understanding the problems and potential of the new tests for students and educators. Based on this feedback UEA met with the Utah State Office of Education (USOE) to discuss SAGE and request specific action.

 

We specifically requested that the Utah State Board of Education address, correct or implement several critical issues related to SAGE:

·         Technical glitches

·         Technology infrastructure

·         Accommodations for special education students

·         Testing protocols

·         Loss of instructional time required to administer assessments

·         Clear communication plan to engage educators

 

As part of the effort to keep educators more fully informed about SAGE, please see the letter from USOE Associate Superintendent Judy Park. The letter outlines corrections and changes that will be made to the test, the timeline for release of testing data and next steps in the SAGE development process.

Joint Educator Evaluation Committee (JEEC)

Yesterday afternoon was the JEEC meeting.  Paul Noble, Vicki Olsen, Debbie Atwood, and Christy Baker were in attendance.  The UETS-based JPAS pilot was successful and deemed valid and reliable, so those changes will go into effect for all teachers next year.  Changes were made on JPLS with the Educator Effectiveness on the Utah Effective Teaching Standards (UETS) being moved to the Interim.  The Interim was also changed based on feedback from teachers.  Teachers are allowed to keep paper evidence, uploading items on JPLS, or a combination of both.  The UEA Evaluation Toolkit is a great resource for keeping your documentation organized.  Watch for more JEA Evaluation trainings this fall.  My notes from the meeting are below.








Stakeholder input portion will be Utah Education Policy Center version. This is the group the state of Utah has been using.  Decided not to pilot this year. This online survey will be piloted around Spring PTC so parents can use computers at the school if needed. After reviewing survey results, principal meets with teacher to find out what the teacher has done to address concerns.

Student growth for tested subjects and grades will be from SAGE. Non-tested subjects and grades will use Student Learning Objectives (SLO). Jordan decided to make a proposal to the state to do their own SLO model. Jordan pulls in groups of subject matter teachers to write district wide SLOs. Professional development at the beginning utilizes information from the State Office of Education. More PD on how to write a quality assessment. Each group went through this process over two days. Teachers writing were to take the SLO back to their teams to get input, then met with writing team again for another day.  This process has not been easy.

The state expectation is two SLOs per teacher. Second SLO can be shared attribution. Some writing groups completed two, others only completed one. What has been written is excellent!  Modifications are still being made as the teachers see fit. This is two SLOs per teacher, not per subject.

The philosophical question is, do we want to track growth of all students, and if so, that would bring in one SLO per prep. By using Mastery Connect to gather data, it is very easy to compile a report that shows student growth. Teachers are already tracking student performance. An SLO just formalizes what teachers should be doing. We must consider the best interest of students.

JPAS scores have been very consistent for the past 20 years.  Continue to monitor evaluators. Shift next year in Domains IV and V and the Total score based on changes that were found valid and reliable through the pilot in 2013-14.

Pilot had 31 schools total, including schools in other districts that have been using JPAS. 900 teachers were part of the pilot. 86 of those teachers had a second evaluator participate in the interview portion to establish validity and reliability. Scores on Domains IV and V are comparable or slightly better on the pilot than on the original JPAS. Two different statisticians looked at the results and stated the same thing. Past cut scores between levels (highly effective 38.5%, effective 53.9%, minimally effective 5.6%, and not effective 2%) are the same on the pilot as on as the original JPAS, so those will be the cut percentages for the new UETS-based JPAS.

Because the pilot this year was successful and found to be reliable, for 2014-15, all teachers will be using the new UETS-based JPAS. If the school was not a pilot school in 2013-14, that school will be trained at the beginning of school.

The interim is changing. Self-evaluation portion will be done on the interim years, not on full UETS-based JPAS years. PD plan will be two goals, one based on Domain IV or V and one based on one of the UETS. End of year meeting will eventually be to review the student growth and stakeholder input portions, which will be added to JPAS rating from last full JPAS. The reflection portion is for the teacher, but can be discussed with the principal at the final meeting. Principal will decide on a due date.

Domains IV and V allows teachers to choose to document online or on the paper folder.  Both formats are laid out in the same way.

Active Shooter Training

Yesterday morning I was in a training with the majority of district and building administrators on what to do in the case of an active shooter in the school.  I found the situation to be realistic and the discussion to be thought provoking.  My notes are below.






Lockout, lockdown exercise - active shooter
JEA members in attendance: Cyndee Bowser, Paul Noble, Danny Drew, and several member principals

Use incident command system
Law enforcement will go in to locate and stop the shooter
Fire department handles fire, medical needs, HASMAT
School administration
--PA - lockdown, secure all interior doors, those in open areas should get away from the building
--Two cards in office to swipe
-- --Lockdown card puts doors back on regular door unlock schedule (inside school threat)
-- --Lockout card locks all exterior doors (outside school threat)
--district will notify surrounding schools to go into lockout as needed

Incident priorities
1. Life safety (keep students and employees safe)
2. Incident stabilization (law enforcement stops shooter and starts investigation)
3. Property conservation (protect the school)

Law enforcement will put out info to media through Public Information Officer (PIO).  It will be broad and brief so as not to hurt an investigation and to allow for next of kin to be notified on victims. Info on when and where to pick up students. A way for parents to get info and time to expect that info. Only put out info exactly as the PIO has said.

Try to monitor social media to stop inaccurate information.  Media will try to get to staff members for an emotional sound bite. Refer all media to the Public Information Officer.  Need to control the flow of info.

During response time, law enforcement will be stopping the threat. Once recovery time begins, law enforcement will slow down to interview students as needed for the investigation, account for all students, clear the building, then release students to parents.  Use student emergency contacts to get someone to pick students up.

Next day, get permission from superintendent to cancel school if needed.  Facilities department to assess damage.  Bring in food from another school if school is held. Communications to put out info on alternate location for school if needed. Need crisis team available for students and staff.  Hold staff debrief.  Hold parent meeting.

School Board Planning Meeting

I attended part of the School Board Planning Meeting yesterday.  Because it started at 2:00, I missed discussion on the budget and the proposed South Jordan City district split.  I arrived shortly after the board started talking about the recommendations from the Building Utilization Committee.  My notes are below.

 

Discussing building utilization committee recommendations (missed the first 10)

• air conditioning in buildings that don't have it with proceeds from future bond - board would like to do that before another bond - it is too late for a bond for 2014
• STEM or IB magnet program at WJHS - suggestion for STEAM - academies are less expensive than a full on magnet program
• HS boundary change with feeder system alignment - some conflicting recommendations about alignment - overall message of utilizing schools well
• consider carefully before moving support classes
• consider school closures - board needs to decide - would like to try building up the school population first - programs to give parents options - possibly use dual immersion to fill school, not giving preference to students in boundary - possibly use a lottery, like charters, to decide who gets into the program - would need to plan and budget for a program, so this would not be until fall 2015 at earliest - need to notify parents through PTA and SCC - board needs to commit funds, and this is less expensive than building a new school
• shift boundaries between Falcon Ridge and Mountain Shadows - not necessary at this point --boundary changes prior to another bond
• move area of West Hills boundary near Airport 2 to Joel P Jensen - not necessary to this time
• do growth projections by area instead of relying on the 0.8 number from consulting firm CBRE for whole district - may not apply in various areas, some areas may be more than that while other areas may be less - 0.8 includes all residential units - criteria should be more focused
• STEM in all levels in WJ feeder system
• adjust all middle school boundaries - as needed
• keep all walking students at West Hills - doesn't make sense to bus if they can walk
• suspend feeder system alignment until all other changes have been made
• use funds from sale of any property in WJ feeder system for upgrades to WJ schools - not considering sale of schools at this time
• funds from bond for hard walls in WJHS, OHMS, and JPJMS - still have to meet fire code and ADA - could this be pay as you go - look at structure - possible major renovations would be better for a bond
• buy land for future buildings in SJ - this was done last month
• move North Shore students to ERMS - done as needed
• sell WJ elementary - will do other programs to try to fill the seats
• use bond to rebuild WJMS and add STEM program -
• take advantage of SJ (Daybreak) RDA to use money as generated to build an elementary school - reserves builds a little bit every year - lose land when take the money - land would need to be used for administration building, because not large enough for a school - take out debt to build school then use the money from this RDA to make payments on the loan - this could impact a bond - can build using municipal building act, but the interest rate is about double that of a bond - use resources first before asking for a bond
• sell property across from Sunset Ridge to benefit district - there is 50 acres purchased over 40 years ago - looking to trade property elsewhere in WJ - piece in Bluffdale is for sale
• move Oakcrest to YR - parents are expecting this sooner rather than later - as needed
• hire certified professional trained in forecasting - have someone trained to so this job rather than an educator-administrator - planning and projection is only part of what this position entails - also does education law working with the attorney - works with foreign exchange students - communicates with charters to know what students will be where for the benefit of students - credibility comes with certain types of licensure
• hire certified construction manager to oversee buildings - same idea as one before  - would still have a learning curve on the education side of things - merged departments at the time of the split when the previous construction director retired - the construction department people have these types of certifications
• use Mtn. View Corridor as boundary between Sunset Ridge and West Hills
• use WJ city line as boundary for ERMS - no - board does not want this
• implement ROTC at all high schools - have tried to implement in the past - there are scholarship opportunities - Must dedicate a classroom and ones faculty member - this could be a magnet program - charter board has approved a military academy within JSD to open in 2015
• use bond for a new middle school in west WJ
• renovate and add classrooms to existing buildings - semi permanent rather than portables - would they need to add restrooms and drinking fountains - relocatable with 3-4 classrooms in it connected to the building with a hallway
• if close WJ elementary, allow students to chose which school they go to for one year, but after that, go to boundary school - moot point
• maintain all current buildings
• exhaust all resources before another bond - it takes a long time to build trust, which needs to be done before another bond
• sell property to renovate other buildings - two properties in Bluffdale now - have 60 acres in Herriman that developers often call about - hang on to property for trade later
• use mobile technology and computer labs to increase building capacity - until all schools are one-to-one devices we can't lose the computer labs in schools
• all WJ elementary students to same school if it is closed - moot point
• utilize pocket busing instead of portables - let developers of new areas know that all students in new neighborhood would be bused to a school farther away - when the school is good, patrons are better with it - possible future need
• sell ASB and move shops to high schools and put auxiliary personnel in portables - there is discussion of selling ASB - not in favor of putting shops in high schools or other personnel in portables
• consider school closures only when funds are available to build future schools - use seats have

 Plans for future growth

• reviewing these options helped to focus plans for future growth
• fill current seats with special programs
• reallocate assets
• build trust through those actions
• go for bond at later time after all the previous have been met
• put together a paper that states the steps the board will take for planning for growth
• looking at maps and data of approved developments
• charter school information - expect 2-4 new built every year - existing charters approved to increase their enrollment - not required to evaluate teachers or provide transportation but still have to do SAGE - not subject to federal oversight for school improvement - what do parents consider when choosing a school - meeting child's needs, customer service, teacher - schools have a feeling, which is caused by the people who work there
• community involvement - paper newsletter sent out maybe quarterly - more k-12 online course available
• put out 10 items the district is going to work on - don't put dates, just priorities that are reasonable and manageable
• trust is an outcome of doing a good job - build community involvement
• disseminate information about finances in different ways

Administrative Assignments

This list was approved at the Study Session on Tuesday, so principals have been telling their faculties.  These assignments will be formally announced at the School Board Meeting on Tuesday.

Lisa Robinson, Director of Special Education
Nancy Ward, Coordinator of Educational Support Services
Mandy Thurman, Principal at Oquirrh Elementary
Becky Gerber, Consultant of Language Arts
Kim Gibson, Principal at Herriman Elementary
Kyle Hansen, Principal at Eastlake Elementary
Travis Hamblin, Human Resources Staff Specialist
Larry Urry, Principal at Sunset Ridge Middle
Wyatt Bentley, Principal at Elk Ridge Middle
Howard Griffith, Principal at Foothills Elementary
David Vicchrilli, Principal at Jordan Hills Elementary
Barb Yost, Principal at Westland Elementary
Patty Bowen, Assistant Principal at West Hills Middle
Tyler Jones, Assistant Principal at South Hills Middle
Tiffany Cooke, Assistant Principal at Jordan Ridge and Southland Elementary Schools
Jerri Mausbach, Assistant Principal at Midas Creek and Silver Crest Elementary Schools
Ronna Hoffman, Assistant Principal at Riverside and Oakcrest Elementary Schools
Cyndy Tingey, Assistant Principal at Daybreak and Eastlake Elementary Schools
Rebecca Lee, Assistant Principal at Blackridge and Foothills Elementary Schools
Mike Christensen, Assistant Principal at Bingham High
Richard Price, Assistant Principal at Herriman High
Gail Ritz, Assistant Principal at Copper Hills High
Arthur Erickson, Assistant Principal at Riverton High

Jordan Education Foundation Awards Recognition Banquet

Another great Awards Banquet from the Jordan Education Foundation!   

 

Jim Thompson, Bingham, led the strings group for outstanding background music!

 

Evelyn Marse, Riverton High, Outstanding Special Educator!

 

Kauri Sue Hamilton School principal Rita Boullion almost always has a winner!

 

Natalie Walker, West Jordan Elementary, Outstanding Educator!

 

Bingham principal Christen Richards-Kong with Becky Wells, Outstanding Educator!

 

Margaret VanNess, Eastlake, Outstanding Educator!

 

Sonja Ferrufino, Riverton High, Outstanding Educator!

 

Valley principal Sharon Jensen with her student scholarship recipient!

 

Bingham student Shantel Harding, my former student, received a scholarship!