April 24, 2018 Board Meeting Summary

Celebrating Joel P. Jensen Middle School
Eliza Steele, Student Body President, said the theme at Joel P. Jensen this year is ‘Leave Your Mark, Build Your Legacy.’ She said students and staff have left their mark on the school by creating a legacy of success. Eliza said a focus on time in the classroom has resulted in a dramatic decrease in the number of tardies at the school. The increased time in class has led to more academic success with an 85% passing rate at the school last year. For students who are struggling, there are adult mentors and after school credit recovery classes. Eliza thanked Board members for providing financial support, which she said has also contributed to increased academic success at Joel P. Jensen.

Recognitions
Region 6 PTA Director, Dawn Ramsey, gave out a number of awards and recognitions including State Reflections winners from schools District-wide. She recognized the 2018 PTA award winners in the following categories: Support Staff, PTA Involvement, Spirit of PTA, Spirit of Inclusivity, Utah PTA Development Award, Outstanding Volunteer, Outstanding Educator and Outstanding School Administrator.

Budget Hearing

The Board approved an amended budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year.

Superintendent’s Report
Dr. Patrice A. Johnson, Superintendent of Schools, said it was refreshing to see so many deserving students, educators, parents and volunteers recognized with PTA awards. She congratulated the Jordan Youth Symphony for a terrific performance and congratulated Copper Hills High Principal, Todd Quarnberg, for being selected as a 2018 Huntsman Excellence in Education Award winner.
The Superintendent said the Secretary of Education for Mongolia made a special visit to South Hills Middle School to observe the District’s inclusive practices involving special education students. The Education Secretary thanked everyone for their insight saying it will change the lives of young people not only in Jordan School District but internationally.

Norm Emerson, Fine Arts Consultant, gave the Board a summary of things happening in Fine Arts throughout the District. He expressed great pride in the Jordan Youth Symphony and for how they performed at the recent Youth Orchestra Festival. Mr. Emerson said all schools in the District now have a Beverly Taylor Sorensen Arts Specialist and he applauded the quality of educators in music and the arts like Kelly Dehaan and Eric Perkins. Mr. Emerson also recognized drama teachers for the many incredible shows they produce throughout the year and he thanked Mindy Lokey for her work in recognizing students in visual arts.

Elected Official Comments
Mayor Dawn Ramsey, South Jordan City, said the city was grateful to participate in the recent Jordan Parent University on school safety. Mayor Ramsey said there are amazing things taking place throughout the District to educate students.

• Patron Comments
• Peter Liscomb, Butterfield Canyon Elementary School student, expressed concern about privacy in the boys’ restrooms and asked that partitions be placed between urinals.
• Erin Preston, parent, thanked the Board for bringing Dr. Scott Poland in to provide suicide prevention training and asked that the District continue to look at community resources available to help in suicide prevention education.
• Tammy Bunnan, parent, asked the Board to reconsider adding a new concessions stand, restrooms and a water fountain at the West Jordan High football stadium.
• Vaifoa Brown, parent, expressed concern over the concessions stand at the West Jordan High football stadium.
• Deseret Kelly, parent, expressed concern over accessibility to restrooms at the West Jordan High football stadium.

• Board Comments
• Marilyn Richards attended the High School Art Show at the West Jordan library and said the student artwork was very impressive. She said it is amazing to see the work that goes on in PLC’s like those she attended at Elk Meadows Elementary School and South Jordan Middle School. Ms. Richards also thanked Scott Thomas and his team at Auxiliary Services for their hard work, especially with so many new schools under construction. She reported that the Innovations Committee is looking at a timeline for the establishment of an IB program in the District.
• Tracy Miller thanked PTA volunteers for all they do in our schools for students and staff. She attended a production of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ at Copper Mountain Middle School, which she said was wonderful. Mrs. Miller attended a Financial Literacy class at Bingham High School and was interviewed by a reporter from Yahoo Financial regarding the classes, which are required for students in all Utah high schools. She also attended an assembly at South Jordan Middle School featuring motivational speaker Ben Kjar and said it was very inspirational.
• Darrell Robinson expressed gratitude for all of the activities he is invited to attend throughout the District. He attended a Sunset Ridge Middle School College Fair, and Battle of the Books at Butterfield Canyon Elementary School. At Copper Mountain Middle School he attended a safety meeting and the play ‘Alice in Wonderland.’ He was happy to see Bingham High School Golden Gate Club members offering to help Herriman High students start a similar club.
• Bryce Dunford attended a National School Boards Association convention and came home feeling very proud of Jordan School District over the work being done here and the quality of District personnel. He reported on the Finance Committee where an auditor has finished looking into rental services and he said the audit report will be turned over to the Facilities Committee.
• Janice Voorhies said the Jordan Youth Symphony was outstanding in its performance prior to the Board of Education meeting. She said it was astonishing to see the level of creativity and imagination that went into student artwork at the Middle School Art Show. Mrs. Voorhies enjoyed visiting 36 schools giving Outstanding Teacher of the School awards and was impressed by the panel discussion at the recent Parent University on school safety. Mrs. Voorhies thanked Superintendent Johnson for the outstanding presentations by Dr. Scott Poland on suicide prevention.

Closed, Study Session
In closed session, Board members discussed personnel, potential litigation and negotiations. In open session, the Board received an update on training for school LAND Trust plans, on Administrative Policy AA443 Student Clubs and had an on-going discussion on school and portable capacities. The Board reviewed a number of policies and discussed results from the Board evaluation tool.

– Sandy Riesgraf, Director of Communications