We’re celebrating National Athletic Training Month and all our athletic trainers who are Providing Health Care Everywhere. Athletic trainers are licensed medical professionals who dedicate themselves to promoting the health and safety of our student-athletes before, during, and after practices and competitions. Athletic trainers play a vital role in the overall effort to support athletic opportunities for all FCPS students and help keep them safe. Thank you, athletic trainers!
Celebrating the Best of the Web
Fairfax County Public Schools presented six schools with 2021 Best of the Web Awards for excellence in website content and use of web-based tools. Winners were recognized at a virtual meeting on March 11.
The annual awards, organized by the FCPS Office of Communication and Community Relations, celebrate schools that create excellent websites to inform and engage readers. The winners remind us of the substantial talent that exists among the community of FCPS school web curators.
Learn which schools received a Best of the Web award.
FCPS Leads the State in Board-Certified Teachers
Ten Fairfax County Public Schools teachers have achieved or renewed certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Currently, FCPS is ranked first in the state of Virginia with more than 300 active National Board-certified teachers, placing Fairfax County in the top 30 school districts nationwide. Seventy five percent of National Board-certified teachers work directly with students while others have moved into leadership roles throughout the division. Over the course of the program in FCPS, more than 500 teachers have achieved this prestigious certification.
See who achieved or renewed National Board Certification.
Free COVID-19 Test Kits
Employees and dependents who are covered by an FCPS health plan have access to free, rapid over-the-counter (OTC) COVID-19 testing kits. Covered individuals may receive up to eight OTC at-home tests per 30-day period. No order is required from your healthcare provider.
Please visit the Benefits News and Updates website for more information on accessing tests and/or obtaining reimbursement.
What’s on the Employee News Blog?
Catch up on employee news anytime, anywhere on the Employee News Blog. The Employee News weekly email newsletter will include a recap of what's on the blog so you won’t miss anything you need to know.
This is how you can also give your feedback on specific topics. We want to hear from you! Then we will answer you questions in the blog or Employee News going forward.
In case you missed it, the Employee News Blog for the week of March 7 included:
- Summer Clinic Employment Interest Form Due by March 18.
- 2021 Flexible Spending Account Filing Deadline Is March 31.
- FCPS Online Classifieds Free for Employees.
Online Tutoring for Students — Coming Soon!
All FCPS students will soon have unlimited access to safe online tutoring support services through Tutor.com at no cost to families. Funds to support Tutor.com for school year 2022-23 and 2023-24 will come from an ESSER III Unfinished Learning Grant.
Students can connect online any time, any place, and in most subjects for as long as they need. Tutoring services are available before, during, or after school hours and/or on weekends. Tutoring will be accessed online through a link in Schoology. Tutoring is focused instruction provided to students in a one-on-one format through voice and/or text chat.
All tutors must pass a rigorous application process including an extensive background check. No personal information is shared between student and tutor. All sessions are recorded and transcripts are available for review by teachers and parents/guardians.
Student participation is optional and parents/guardians can opt their student(s) out of accessing the services. More information is available on the online tutoring services website and support for staff, including professional learning opportunities, will soon be available on the Employee Hub.
Summer Clinic Employment Interest Form Due by March 18
The Office of Special Education Procedural Support will hold Summer Clinic from June 21 through August 4 at Twain Middle School and Woodson High School.
Summer Clinic serves to ensure that federally mandated special education processes related to the identification and evaluation of school age students are maintained when school-based staff are not on contract. This includes work related to child find, evaluation and eligibility for special education, re-evaluation, individual education program (IEP) development and section 504 processes.
Both general education and special education teachers are needed to staff this program.
Teachers selected to work Summer Clinic will be compensated at a flat rate of $68.00 per hour.
Apply now on the Hub through the Due Process and Eligibility site. The deadline to submit an interest form is Friday, March 18.
MyTime Unavailable March 19-20
The MyTime reporting system will be unavailable this weekend (March 19–20) for a system upgrade. No time entry or approvals can be done during that time. The system should be available again on the morning of Monday, March 21.
Following the upgrade, users will notice minor cosmetic changes, such as the FCPS logo, the color scheme, and fonts. If you have questions, please contact the IT Service Desk at 703-503-1600 or via email ITServiceDesk@fcps.edu.
Family Engagement Survey Now Open
FCPS is partnering with independent firm K12 Insight to administer its second Family Engagement Survey to better recognize, understand, respect, and address family strengths and needs in our school communities. The survey was emailed to FCPS parents and caregivers on Sunday, March 13. Topics include:
- Welcoming environment
- Communication
- Student success
- Advocacy
- Family and school partnerships
- Collaboration with the community to see if FCPS is meeting its goals at the school, region, and division levels.
Results will be used to develop a plan to improve family and school partnerships throughout the division. The survey will be available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Arabic, Chinese, Urdu, Farsi, and Amharic. For more information visit the Family Engagement Survey webpage.
Retirees: Come Celebrate Your Achievements
We celebrate and honor our retirees at the Annual Retirement Ceremony at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology on May 11 at 6 p.m. Retirees and their family and friends are invited to this special occasion, when we will recognize the invaluable contributions made over the years.
Starting next week, invitations will be mailed to retirees who retired since Spring 2021 and those who notified FCPS of their plans to retire prior to December 31, 2022. Those planning to retire need to submit their Notification of Resignation-Retirement form (HR-2) as soon as possible.
More information on this year’s retirement ceremony as well as previous events is available online. For questions, send an email to WeHonorYou@fcps.edu.
2022 ERFC Election Call for Candidates
One Elected Trustee to Serve on the ERFC Board of Trustees
The Educational Employees’ Supplementary Retirement System of Fairfax County (ERFC) Board is the governing body of ERFC and supports ERFC’s mission to enhance the financial security of members through prudent financial stewardship. An electronic election to fill one trustee position on the Board of Trustees will be held May 10-12.
For interested active members who seek to be candidates, Notice 4771 outlines the election process and requires:
- A petition of interest
- A candidate statement of contribution
Electronic petitions and candidate statements must be received by the Office of Equity and Employee Relations, via email to Skburris@fcps.edu, by April 22. If you have questions, please contact Sherri Burris at 571-423-3252 or Skburris@fcps.edu.
2022 SSEAC Election Petitions Due by March 18
The Support Services Employees’ Advisory Council (SSEAC) will elect five people, each to serve a two-year term for their specific community-of-interest group listed below by working as liaisons between management and employees.
- Group 1 – Bus Drivers and Attendants.
- Group 3 – Food and Nutrition Services.
- Group 4 – Custodial and Plant Operations.
- Group 7 – Management and Administration.
- Group 8 – Educational Support.
One person will be elected to serve a three-year term to fill Group 10 – At Large.
Interested employees must submit:
- An electronic nomination petition.
- A candidate statement of contribution.
The SSEAC Election Petition outlines the election process.
Required materials must be received by the Office of Equity and Employee Relations, via email to Skburris@fcps.edu, by March 18.
An electronic election will be held April 19-21.
Questions? Contact Sherri Burris at 571-423-3252 or Skburris@fcps.edu.
Mental Health Awareness Required Professional Development for Instructional Staff
In an effort to streamline and simplify required professional development, two previously required trainings — At-Risk for Educators and Trauma-Informed Practices for K12 Schools — have been combined into a new course, Mental Health Awareness. All who have previously completed both trainings will be marked “attended” and complete for this new required professional development, and will not receive a MyPDE notification on Thursday, March 24.
Those who did not complete either or completed only one of the previously required courses will be required to complete the training by June 1. Employees can check their MyPDE transcript to verify their completion status.
Mental Health Awareness will be assigned to all instructional staff on March 23, is due by June 1, and can be found on the Assigned Training page on March 24 in MyPDE.
For technical assistance, please submit a ticket to RequestIT or call 703-503-1600.
Staff Staples
Note: Intranet access is required to open some of the links in this email. If you're using a mobile device or working remotely, you can connect to the intranet via the Pulse Secure VPN (Virtual Private Network). Email ITServiceDesk@fcps.edu with questions.
Please email EmployeeNews@fcps.edu with potential submissions or questions. Submissions are due by 4:30 p.m. on Thursdays. Thank you!
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