The Salt Lake Education Foundation would like to express appreciation for your unwavering support of SLCSD students and families. Your dedication and advocacy play a pivotal role in enriching the lives of the students at your school.
· High School Student and Family Support/Teen Centers
· Bus Passes
· DI Vouchers
· Bishops’ Storehouse Vouchers
· Food Pantries
· Volunteer Opportunities
· Emergency Gift Cards
· Foundation App
· PeachJar
· Internet (Submit a ticket to IT to request a hotspot)
· Computers (Please check with the school IT or designee to check out a computer for your students)
Reminder:
Please be sure to download the Salt Lake Education Foundation App, which provides access to partner agency information and community resources to assist students and their families.
To build on this incredible momentum, I am pleased to invite you to an in-person meeting with your student and family support designee or key stakeholder. The purpose of this meeting is to strengthen collaboration, streamline processes, and enhance achievement through the effective use of available resources.
Meeting Details:
Secondary Schools
Date: Wednesday, February 5, 2024
Time: 8:00 to10:00 a.m.
Location: District Administration Building, 406 East 100 South, Room 1055
Elementary Schools
Date: Wednesday, February 5, 2024
Time: 10:00 a.m. to12:00 p.m.
Location: District Administration Building, 406 East 100 South, Room 1055
If you have any questions or need additional information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Thank you for your continued support and dedication to our students and families.
We have enjoyed observing the progress you are making in your schools around PLCs. Many of you are establishing mission and vision statements, focusing on priority standards, or developing PLC leadership teams. We feel the conversations around the Learning by Doing readings have been productive and informative, and we have seen regular referrals to our district's tight PLC expectations.
As we are midway through the school year, our area director PLC would like to examine, calibrate, and discuss evidence of PLC implementation at all of our schools. Here is the assignment:
We've created a PLC Implementation folder embedded in your SIP folder (to reduce the number of folders). The link is below. Please upload the following artifacts to this folder:
One artifact from a PLC that is high functioning (you determine what high functioning means).
One artifact from a PLC that is on track at a basic but sufficient level (per our district's PLC phase timeline).
One artifact from a PLC that is struggling with an explanation (comment on doc or even separate Word doc) of how you are supporting this group and/or holding them accountable.
Artifacts may include agendas, minutes, placemats, common formative assessments, etc.
Please upload all three documents to your PLC Implementation folder by 5pm on February 12, 2025. Thank you! We look forward to seeing samples of your teachers' work.
Please put PLC artifacts in the "PLC Implementation" folder:
As part of our ongoing dedication to ensuring the safety and well-being of our students and school communities, we are reaching out to gauge interest from teachers and administrators in serving as School Guardians. This role directly supports the implementation of the HB 84 Utah School Safety Act, a key initiative aimed at enhancing safety protocols across our schools.
We are seeking committed volunteers to join this important effort. Your involvement would play a crucial role in fostering a secure and supportive environment for all. If you are interested in volunteering, we kindly ask you to complete the survey linked below.
Safety Survey Link
https://forms.office.com/r/QSRakuEzbx
Thank you for your continued dedication to the safety and success of our students.
Setting the Next School/Next Grade/Graduation Year Indicators During Enrollment
When enrolling students in your school, it is important to ensure that the ‘Next Year Grade’, ‘Next School Indicator’, and ‘Year of Graduation’ indicators are set. To enter these settings, follow these steps in PowerSchool:
Find the student in PowerSchool.
Select ‘Courses and Programs’ in the left side menu.
Select ‘Scheduling Settings’ from the Registration sub-menu.
Enter the settings in the highlighted field and click ‘Submit’.
Finding Students Missing These Indicators:
Use the following search on PowerSchool’s Start Page:
Next_School
Sched_NextYearGrade=
Once you find the students, go to Scheduling Settings and add the missing information.
Updating Indicators for Another School’s Request:
If another school calls requesting the Next School/Next Grade/Graduation Year Indicators to be updated for a student, please follow these steps:
Find the student in PowerSchool.
Click on ‘Student Profile’ in the left side menu.
Select ‘Addresses’ in the Student Details sub menu.
Click the Validate button under the student’s address.
Verify if the student lives in the requesting school’s boundary.
OR verify that the student has been accepted through Open Enrollment or is part of a district placed program (ELP, SPED, etc.)
If Open Enrollment is not complete, don’t change the Next School indicator.
We are pleased to announce that a new contract with Wasatch Gardens has been finalized, providing an excellent educational option for our schools. This initiative supports hands-on learning while utilizing community resources.
To clarify, the district is not pursuing the expansion or promotion of additional gardens currently. Schools with existing gardens may continue to use them for educational purposes. However, no new gardens, plantings, or expansions will be approved or allowed.
It is important to note that the unauthorized creation or expansion of gardens on school property, including pollinator gardens, is strictly prohibited. As outlined in Board Policy G-10, only designated facilities staff are authorized to make alterations or changes to district properties. Administrators and teachers are explicitly prohibited from making such changes.
If any unauthorized garden or alteration is found, the responsible parties will be subject to the consequences stated in Board Policy G-10. This includes a minimum fine of $500.00, which will be used to restore the space to its original condition. Restoration of any altered space will occur in every instance, regardless of the circumstances.
We appreciate your cooperation in adhering to district policies and ensuring our facilities remain consistent with district standards. If you have any questions or require further clarification, please feel free to reach out.
National School Counselor Week is February 3rd -7th. The theme this year is Helping Students Thrive. Please see resources at this link for morning announcement suggestions, certificates of appreciation and other ideas to celebrate your school counselors.
SHARP Survey Principals, please select the survey window for your school at this link. Eight schools have responded so far. Parent permission was gathered at registration. Call Student Services with any questions.
Mental Health Series through Parent Guidance: Schools and parents now have access to a series of regularly scheduled webinars and a monthly Ask-a-Therapist event to support student mental health and wellness. Reach out to your school counselor or Stacey Lindsay for ideas about how to promote this to your community.
Summary: The following information was provided to social studies teachers on 1.14.2025 to help them navigate topics that are, in Utah, deemed as “sensitive.” Our goal is to help teachers be able to navigate these topics in
classrooms if they are raised by students or encountered in classroom discussions.
Email
As social studies teachers, we know everything has a history. In learning social studies, part of our instructional practices call for teaching students to formulate and respond to compelling questions, conduct research, apply analytical thinking, and discern between valid and invalid sources as they seek to draw conclusions and formulate arguments about various current or historical topics. We know these are critical skills for an educated and civic ready citizenry, which is essential to sustaining our democracy.
We also recognize that today our students are savvy and care deeply about justice, and in response we provide students with valuable opportunities to explore topics compelling to them in an effort to help them better understand themselves and their communities. With
that said, as public school teachers, we are bound to follow Utah law. Our Board Policies are designed to capture the essence of the laws and inform what we must do to abide by Utah law.
This email is generated as a result of two laws: Utah Code Section 53G-10-402 and Utah CodeSection 53G-10-403. I know you are not teaching health, sex ed, biology or the like, but since everything has a history, you may find that students choose to investigate a topic for a
history fair or civic action project that may be considered sensitive or unlawful according to Utah law.
What does this mean for you as social studies teachers? It means that if any instruction or information pertains to any of the sensitive topics listed in the law, I strongly encourage you to do the following:
Review our Board Policy I-7 regarding Curriculum and Instructional Materials
and Board Policy I-12 Human Sexuality Education to empower you with appropriate information.
$30/hour PD rate and receive 1 relicensure point for completing the course.
Confer with your school administrator letting them know what you are doing and
what, if any, topics might be deemed sensitive. Together, determine the parameters of the project so it stays within the boundaries of the law.
Keep parents informed and get appropriate parent permission prior to proceeding or allowing students to proceed with any topic deemed to be sensitive.
Plan accordingly. If student projects include any materials deemed sensitive under Utah law/Board policy, students are not allowed to share their projects with any other students. Students are not allowed to receive peer feedback or present their projects in any school or district venue. In these cases, what are your plans for student alternatives?
Please Note: Utah History Day (UHD) is aware of Utah Code and working to determine how that may affect student presentations during UHD contests.
Please be assured that this email is not meant to alarm you or stifle student learning or your instruction. It is merely meant to equip you with important information. If you have further questions, please refer to your administrator.
“Aligning to Board Rule R277-700-4(6), a Local Education Agency (LEA) shall assess students for proficiency in keyboarding by grade 5 and report school-level results to the superintendent.
Each LEA will complete the Keyboarding Proficiency Report by June 1 each year.”
Action Items:
Coordinate with grade 5 teachers to ensure there is a planned time to administer the assessment.
Ensure grade 5 teachers have a plan to access keyboards for this assessment.
Confirm all grade 5 teachers have had the keyboard assessment training and understand the scoring procedure and how to submit their information.
Watch for an email from Sallie Warnecke by May 5 with the log-in information to submit your scores to the USBE.
Resources:
For the 2024-2025 school year, the district has purchased a premium license for all students in grades 2-6 from Typing.com. To access the premium license, students and teachers log in through Clever.
A Proper Technique Checklist (https://slcsd-my.sharepoint.com/personal/sallie_warnecke_slcschools_org/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Fsallie_warnecke_slcschools_org%2FDocuments%2FKeyboarding%2FKeyboarding%20Technique%20Poster%2Epdf&parent=%2Fpersonal%2Fsallie_warnecke_slcschools_org%2FDocuments%2FKeyboarding&ga=1 ) has been created to post in schools.
Please note: There is only one required report per school, notteacher, to be submitted to the state on or before June 1, 2025. The window to submit opens on May 1, 2025.
Sallie Warnecke will provide professional learning opportunities throughout the spring via Teams and, upon request, will be available to provide in-person learning opportunities.
The first online PD will be held Monday, January 27 from 3:00-3:30 via Teams. Each fifth grade teacher will receive a Teams invitation to attend.
HB 182 establishes guidelines for conducting student surveys and mandates parental approval for certain types of surveys within public schools. Parents must be notified in advance about upcoming surveys that may require consent, have sufficient time to review the content, and be told that they can decide their child's participation.
Rationale:
HB 182 53E-9-203 Student Survey Amendments. The amended Section 53E-9-203 outlines the requirements concerning student surveys. This ensures transparency and parental control over sensitive student information collected by schools.
Requirements for Implementation:
Prior Written Consent:
LEAs must obtain prior written consent from a student's parent before administering any psychological, psychiatric examination, test, treatment, or any survey, analysis, or evaluation that seeks personal information. This includes data related to:
Political affiliations or philosophies
Mental or psychological issues
Sexual behavior, orientation, or attitudes
Illegal or self-incriminating behavior
Critical appraisals of close family members
Religious affiliations or beliefs
Privileged relationships (e.g., with lawyers or medical personnel)
Family income (unless required by law) 2. Annual Consent: LEAs must obtain annual written consent for students to opt in during registration for specific surveys, including those related to:
Early warning systems
Social-emotional learning
School climate
Unless otherwise agreed to by a student's parent and the person requesting written consent, the authorization is valid only for the activity for which it was granted. Failing to respond will be considered opting out of the survey.
3. Applicability: This requirement applies to all grades (K-12) and extends to all curriculum and school activities unless consent has been given.
4. Restrictions: LEAs cannot use consent from a previous school if a student transfers, nor can they reward or penalize students for participation or non-participation in such surveys or examinations. A written withdrawal of authorization submitted to the school principal by the authorizing parent terminates the authorization. A general consent used to approve admission to school or involvement in special education, remedial education, or a school activity does not constitute written consent
5. Parental Notification: The local educational agency shall directly notify the parent of a student, at least annually at the beginning of the school year, of the specific or approximate dates during the school year when activities described in item #2 are scheduled or expected to be scheduled. Consent is valid only if parents are first given written notice, including access to the survey questions, information on how the data will be used, who will have access to it, and the purpose of the data collection. Surveys must also be made available online for parents to review.
A school may administer a survey to students that does not request personal information or address on sensitive topics (e.g., political beliefs, religious affiliations, sexual orientation, mental health, etc.), or early warning systems, social-emotional learning, or school climate without prior written parental consent.
6. External Surveys. It is the right of a parent to inspect, upon the request of the parent, a survey created by a third party before the survey is administered or distributed by a school to a student (20 USC §1232h - Protection of Pupil Rights (PPRA)). All surveys from external partners, stakeholders, or agencies must be approved through the district’s external research request approval process first. Only surveys that have been approved for use in the district can be provided to parents to review and provide opt-in approval for their student’s participation. If an external party requests permission to administer a survey, direct them to the external researchlink.
Expectations for Implementation:
1. Communication:
o Administrators will communicate to all staff that surveys cannot be administered to students without review and administrator approval.
o If a survey goes out without approval, the administrator is responsible for addressing the issue with the teacher, including documented progressive discipline.
o Administrators should direct external participants who want a school to administer a survey to the external research approval process.
o Administrators are responsible for seeking clarity by asking questions when unclear.
o Administrators are responsible for sharing the information with impacted staff and the general school community in a clear and timely fashion.
2. Collaboration:
o If you have a question about the content of a survey, please contact Tiffany Hall and/or Sam Quantz before administering the survey.
3. Evaluation:
o The district will regularly assess the impact of any changes to our current practice by seeking feedback and will adjust as needed based on that information.
Conclusion:
For any survey related to sensitive topics, early warning systems, social-emotional learning, or school climate, the school must provide detailed information to parents, including the purpose, content, and how the data will be used. Additionally, parents must be allowed to review the survey and must provide written consent before their child participates.
Without parental consent, schools are limited to administering non-sensitive surveys that do not intrude into personal, familial, or confidential areas of a student's life.
Your cooperation and support in this endeavor are greatly appreciated.
For 2024-2025 ONLY:
Surveys that have not been approved through the registration process and that fall into one of the categories listed above as needed parental approval may go through a post-registration process this year only. If a school or external third party with an approved application wishes to administer a school climate or an SEL survey, they must complete the following:
1. Provide all parents with a description of (1) the purpose of the survey, (2) what information will be collected about the respondents, (3) how the information about the respondents and the information from the survey will be used, (4) who will have access to the data, and (5) how the data will be protected. Include the full text of the survey so parents can review all questions.
2. Inform parents that they must respond and agree to opt-in their student or to opt their student out of taking the survey. Failing to respond will be considered opting out of the survey.
3. Send this information to parents using an appropriate method: work with IT to setup a parent opt-in form that will allow the invitations and responses to be tracked and recorded.
4. After the deadline, which should be at least two weeks and include at least one reminder, schools may send the survey to anyone who has responded and opted-in their student for participation in the survey.
Questions? Tiffany Hall, Sam Quantz, Kristina Kindl
