A Marine salutes during a ceremony at Marshall High School, where students planted flags in a Field of Honor to commemorate Veterans Day.
FCPS Thanks Employees for Their Dedication
We appreciate our FCPS employees’ service, dedication, and contributions made over the past year. As a way of recognizing your efforts, all active eligible employees as of November 1, 2022, will be paid a bonus!
Temporary hourly employees who worked 10 hours or more from October 1, 2021 to October 21, 2022, will receive $500. Those who worked less than 10 hours will receive $250.
Both full-time and part-time contracted employees, including bus drivers and food service employees, will receive $1,000.
Monthly-paid employees will receive the bonus in their November 30 paycheck. Biweekly employees, including temporary hourly employees, will receive payment on December 2. Get more information and answers to frequently asked questions.
Open Enrollment: Benefits Open Houses
Do you have questions about your 2023 benefits? A benefits open house will be held Wednesday, November 16, at the Chantilly High School cafeteria from 4 to 7 p.m.
Virtual open houses will be held on Thursday, November 10, from 4 to 7 p.m., and Monday, November 14, from 1 to 4 p.m. Click the hyperlinks to register.
Open Enrollment is your annual opportunity to enroll and/or make changes to your medical, dental, and/or flexible spending account (FSA) benefits for the upcoming year. Find additional details on the Open Enrollment website.
All employees have until Wednesday, November 16, to complete the Employee Engagement Survey. Your feedback will help ensure that FCPS is a great place for all employees to work and grow professionally.
The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete. All responses are strictly confidential. No one at FCPS will know whether you participated or how you responded. Check your FCPS email account for the survey invitation from K12 Insight, our survey administrator. Please note that K12 will no longer send reminder emails once you complete your survey.
Our FCPS Heroes
Watch this video to see why Kristen Luck, a physical education teacher at McNair Upper Elementary School, is one of our FCPS Heroes.
Our Heroes is a new series of videos being produced by the Office of Communication and Community Relations to highlight teachers and staff who inspire their communities. Do you want to recommend someone? If so, please email news@fcps.edu, with “Hero” in the subject line, and tell us why they inspire you.
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FCPS Strategic Planning That Reaches All
Did you know that we are preparing to begin Our Voices, Our Future, FCPS' strategic planning process? It's a journey that will guide our school division for the next five years. We need your help to engage diverse voices and perspectives, as we work through what our shared future may look like.
Please be a part of this journey! Also, consider sharing our Strategic Planning webpage with your community and any individuals or organizations involved with FCPS, who may want to participate in this important process. Together, anything is possible!
Instructional Focus Team Nominations Due Friday, 11/11
In case you missed it last week, FCPS is currently seeking nominations for instructional staff who are interested in contributing to the strategic planning process as part of the Instructional Focus Team (IFT). School-based instructional staff, including teachers, instructional assistants, instructional coaches, resource teachers, librarians, school counselors, school-based technology specialists (SBTS), administrators, etc., can self-nominate or nominate a colleague using this form. Nominations are due by Friday, November 11.
Are Your Students Using Tutor.com?
Do your students need homework help or feedback on their writing? How about a practice quiz to get ready for a test? Recommend Tutor.com to students and parents! It is open to FCPS students in all grades, on-demand, 24/7, at no cost to families. Tutors are available in multiple languages. Learn more.
September FCPS CARES Recipients
FCPS CARES is an opportunity for parents/caregivers, staff, and community members to recognize FCPS employees for going above and beyond to help others, and showing they care.
"Not only is she such a tremendous part of why our building sparkles, but she is also a major reason why we all smile,” said the individual who nominated Sam Ibrahim, from Dranesville Elementary School (pictured above, surrounded by students). “Sam takes the time to get to know about us, our lives and our students. Her hard work is seen and appreciated by both staff and students!"
Other winners for July and August include:
- Central Office: Jay Bagley, Information Technology, Sprague Technology Center
- Region 1: Ebtesam (Sam) Ibrahim, Dranesville Elementary School
- Region 2: Katherine Zacur, Haycock Elementary School
- Region 3: Annette Garrett and Kathryn DeVille, Woodley Hills Elementary School
- Region 4: Stephanie Broyles, Robinson Secondary School
- Region 5: Jason Sachlis, Westfield High School
Get information about all of the winners and learn how you can acknowledge an FCPS employee.
National School Psychology Week
This week, we’re celebrating the important work school psychologists do to help all students thrive. Visit the National Association of School Psychologists
website.
Calendar Reminder: Veterans Day
As a reminder, Friday, November 11, is a student holiday/school planning day for the Veterans Day holiday. Veterans Day is a time to pause, reflect, and recognize the extraordinary sacrifices our veterans and their families have made on our behalf. We thank them for their service. Learn about the history of Veterans Day.
Thanksgiving Holiday
Schools and offices will be closed November 23-25. Classes will resume on Monday, November 28.
See the complete 2022-23 School Year Calendar.
November Is National Family Engagement Month
Families are children's first and most important teachers, advocates, and nurturers. More than 35 years of research shows that the most effective way to increase student achievement is for families to be actively involved in the education of their child. Strong parental and family support is vital to the well-being and success of students. FCPS has many resources for families designed to increase engagement and partnerships with families while fostering academic success and social-emotional growth.
The updated National Standards for Family-School Partnerships provide essential guidance for building strong partnerships between families, educators and schools to support student success. These standards include impactful edits to goals and indicators for the six key tenets: Welcome All Families, Communicate Effectively, Support Student Success, Speak Up for Every Child, Share Power, and Collaborate with Community.
FCPS' Family and School Partnerships Office created a Family Engagement Month toolkit with ideas for schools and families to celebrate this month together. Please visit the Employee Hub to learn more about Family and School Partnerships and their programs for teachers, staff, and families.
School Board Approves Rooftop Solar Power Purchase Program
Since June, FCPS has worked with IpSun Solar to develop a proposal as part of a Solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between Fairfax County, FCPS, Housing & Community Development, and the Park Authority. Last week, the School Board approved the implementation of the solar power purchase program.
Annandale High School will serve as the pilot project for FCPS to develop a working knowledge of these installations. The installation at Annandale will begin in late 2023 or early 2024.
Professional Development for Mentors and Teacher Leaders
Join the Great Beginnings team in a professional development opportunity for mentors, lead mentors, school-based induction team members, and other teacher leaders. Each two-hour session will provide learning and application of skills relevant to supporting new teachers and other colleagues. Five topics will be offered on multiple dates, and participants are invited to sign up for one, some, or all five! Session topics include:
- Growth-Producing Feedback
- Leveraging Your Active Listening Toolbox in Every Conversation
- Navigating Conflict and Resistance
- Navigating and Understanding Emotion
- Supporting Active Reflection
Sessions will be held on Zoom. Visit the Great Beginnings webpage to learn more and register.
Community Review Begins for Secondary World Languages Basal Resources
FCPS will adopt new Secondary (Grades 6-12) World Languages Basal Resources for the 2023-24 school year. Basal resources are the primary instructional resources used to teach a given subject. The process for selecting new resources includes an opportunity for the public to review the instructional materials being considered. Public review will run through Thursday, December 8. A review committee made up of community members, administrators, and teachers will meet in November and December to evaluate the materials under consideration as well as feedback from the community. Find more information on FCPS’ website.
School Board to Discuss Framework for Special Education Enhancement Plan
At the request of the School Board, the FCPS Office of Auditor General engaged American Institutes for Research® (AIR) to conduct an independent, third-party review of FCPS’ special education program in October 2020. AIR presented their final report during the School Board’s October 4 work session. View their key findings. Next steps include working with a diverse stakeholder group to develop a comprehensive Special Education Enhancement Plan to address areas of need.
The School Board will discuss a framework for the plan at their work session on Tuesday, November 15, at 1:30 p.m. Watch it live on FCPS’ YouTube Channel or Channel 99. For more information on the Special Education Review, visit FCPS’ Office of Auditor General webpage.
School Board Meeting on November 14, at 7 p.m.
The School Board will hold a regular business meeting on Monday, November 14, at 7 p.m. See the complete regular meeting agenda (English only). Watch the meeting on FCPS Cable TV Channel 99 (Verizon Channel 11), the FCPS YouTube Channel, or on FCPS' website. Agenda highlights include Superintendent Reid's update on the Strategic Plan.
Recordings of School Board meetings and work sessions can be viewed on the FCPS YouTube channel. To watch School Board meetings dubbed in Spanish, you can visit the FCPS en Español YouTube channel.
If you need language interpretation or American Sign Language support for any School Board meeting, please contact the Board clerk.
Find your School Board member and their contact information on the School Board Members webpage.
Staff Staples
Note: Some links in this email require a VPN connection. You can connect to VPN using 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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