Dec. 11, 2018 Board Meeting Update

Celebrating Herriman High School
Kanon Glade, Student Body President, said he fell in love with Herriman High his first year at the school. Kanon told the Board that student body leaders wanted to make a change at the school this year with two main goals, making sure all students feel loved and making sure all students are treated with kindness. He explained that school clubs are helping us to achieve the goals with great student engagement. Herriman’s school theme is “Once in a Lifetime,” which encourages everyone to enjoy their time in high school. ‘Hearts of Gold,’ the school’s annual holiday fundraiser is happening right now with proceeds benefiting ‘Millies Princess Foundation,’ supporting five children battling cancer.

Special Business Items
The Board approved the amended budget for the 2018-19 Fiscal Year and an amended Option 1 for the 2019-20 traditional, year-round and AB school calendars.

The Board approved Mountain Ridge as the name for the new high school in Herriman and the Sentinels as the mascot.

The Board approved the Middle School Credit Committee recommendations and the purchase of 34.01 acres of land located at 6880 W. Herriman Highway in Herriman for possible future elementary and middle schools.

Superintendent’s Report
Dr. Patrice A. Johnson, Superintendent of Schools, presented the annual summary report for the 2017-18 school year. She gave examples of student achievement celebrations like greater proficiency in 7th and 8th grade SAGE scores, which increased by 100% in ELA at ten schools over the prior year and increased by 90% in Math proficiency at nine middle schools. Overall, there was greater participation in concurrent enrollment up from 2,581 in 2016-17 to 3,122 students in 2017-18. Advanced Placement scores with a 3+ increased from 66.3% to 69.8% and CTE certifications were well above the state target of 69.7% at 87.2% of students passing the more rigorous skills tests.

In elementary schools, Jordan District exceeded the Utah Uniform Growth Goal (UGG) by 22.5% with DIBELS scores up from 67% to 69%.

The Superintendent also talked about empowering employees with an increase in teacher salaries, customer service training and customer service survey results and she shared the overall District results of a culture climate survey taken by students and parents. She said the District continues to focus on safety and security as a top priority with 151 safety assessments taking place in schools during the 2017-18 school year.

Superintendent Johnson concluded by saying, in part, “After over 40 years of serving our young people in education, it is time to retire and begin serving as a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a friend and whatever opportunities that may come our way. She said, “it has been a privilege working with so many extraordinary people in Jordan District” and Superintendent Johnson thanked everyone for keeping young people at the forefront of what we do.

• Patron Comments
• Donna Hunter, Assistant Principal West Jordan High School, thanked the Board on behalf of WJHS for the generous grant which she says has elevated learning at the school and led to higher student achievement. Ms. Hunter said the grant has also paved the way for West Jordan High to house the International Baccalaureate Program.
• Cher Patience, a parent, asked the Board to transition the ALPS program out of Oquirrh Hills Middle over a number of years, if they do decide to move it elsewhere.
• Priya Jagan, a parent, said if possible, the Board should consider offering the ALP’S program in schools on both the north and south side of the District.
• Natalie and Chris Daniel, parents, said the ALPS program at Oquirrh Hills Middle School is awesome and they urged the Board to listen to parent input before making any changes. They said it will have a dramatic impact on many families if the program is relocated.
• Heather Reich, a teacher, asked the Board to do what is right for kids at Majestic Elementary and keep the school open.
• Vicki Olsen, teacher, asked the Board to consider allowing spring break to stay at its original time rather than moving it up one week earlier to coincide with the end of the quarter. She said having 9 to 10 weeks of instruction before the end of the year is very hard on everyone – teachers, students and staff.

• Board Comments
• Darrell Robinson said he was grateful to Herriman High for their presentation to the Board and said ‘Millie’s Princess Foundation’ is a great charity for the school’s holiday fundraiser. He is thankful to be invited to so many winter sporting events.
• Janice Voorhies said she appreciates music programs at schools throughout the District for the exceptional job they do especially over the holidays.
• Tracy Miller attended ‘Career Day’ at Valley High School where she said a variety of trade schools, companies and members of the military were on hand to offer students diverse opportunities including jobs. Ms. Miller also thanked everyone who came together at Daybreak Elementary School including District officials, city leaders, parents and police to look at safe walking routes for students in the coming year.
• Marilyn Richards visited West Jordan and Bingham High Schools where she was very impressed with the amount of work going into holiday service projects. She said Jordan District did very well in the UHSAA Region realignment and our high schools were placed where competition will be fair.

In closed session, Board members discussed personnel, property and negotiations. In open session the Board discussed the proposed 2019-20 calendars, survey results regarding naming of the new high school in Herriman and the Middle School Credit Committee recommendations. They also discussed the location of the International Baccalaureate Program and information on a Transportation facility expansion. The Board also reviewed and confirmed a clarifying statement to be submitted to UHSAA regarding the a rule for JSD new high school athletic eligibility.

– Sandy Riesgraf, Director of Communications