Wakefield Forest Elementary School teachers celebrated their first day back at school Monday with a spirit day. Teams dressed in coordinating outfits celebrating the 1980s.
👋 Welcome Back from Human Resources and Communications
Welcome back, FCPS staff! We hope you are having a great summer. Now, more than ever, we know that two-way communication with our community — especially employees — is invaluable. We’ve been hard at work this summer strategizing how best to engage with one of our most valuable assets: You!
Bookmark this page in Employee News to keep these resources at your fingertips.
Get to Know Employee Communications
Employee News is your helpful resource for day-to-day work and accessing support for professional development and work-life balance. This newsletter is distributed on Tuesdays via email during the school year. Scroll to the bottom for links to FCPS calendars, job opportunities, job transfers, and other popular pages. Have a tip for something other employees will find useful? Submit it to Employee News.
Our Employee Blog has stories about your colleagues, awards and recognitions, and other employee-focused news and updates. Email story ideas to EmployeeNews@fcps.edu.
For answers to employment questions, the Human Resources Client Services Team is available through the HR Connection portal on your desktop (soon to be renamed FCPS StaffConnect). You may also call 571-423-3000, or email HRConnection@fcps.edu. The team is also available for in-person assistance Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Gatehouse Administration Center.
The Employee Hub offers employees information, forms, tools, and resources. The Hub is available anywhere and on any device. Watch a tutorial for shortcuts and helpful advice. Visit the Employee Hub Support page (located in the Hub Footer) for more resources and tutorials to help you get started.
Tech Support
All employees are issued two emails when hired: your main account in Outlook (@fcps.edu) and an account for Google (@fcpsschools.net). Both accounts share the same password.
To reach the IT Service Desk with any technical questions, call 703-503-1600, email ITServiceDesk@fcps.edu, or access the “RequestIT” platform through the desktop icon on FCPS computers.
Six Days to Go Until the First Day of School!
Thank you to all our employees who are hard at work kicking off another great school year!
Are you ready? Join our countdown on the FCPS homepage, Facebook and Instagram!
Since Friday, we’ve encouraged caregivers to be sure to register their children, bookmark the school year calendar, update immunization records, and sign up for SIS ParentVUE.
Today’s reminder is to make sure you’re signed up for your school newsletter and following your school on social media.
Share in the countdown fun with us and make sure you, too, are ready for #FirstDayFairfax!
📅 First Day of School
The first day of the 2023-24 school year is Monday, August 21. FCPS staff, caregivers, and students are invited to share their favorite pictures or videos from the first day of school on social media using the hashtag #FirstDayFairfax. We will share some of the photos on the FCPS Facebook and Instagram pages.
New Leadership and Restructured Regions
FCPS leaders have spent the summer aligning resources to ensure that every student receives the premier educational experience FCPS is known for. There have been a number of changes in staff assignments across the regions, and the addition of a new Region 6.
Learn more about the Leadership Team, school regions, and central offices and region leadership.
🍎✏️ Great Beginnings for New FCPS Teachers
Nearly 1,300 teachers turned out for the annual Great Beginnings Summer Institute at South County High School.
The program aims to support new teachers, teachers who are experienced but new to Fairfax County, and career switchers with professional development coaching, network building, and resource sharing. Read about what brought them to teach for Fairfax County Public Schools.
While you’re there, tell us: Why did you say yes to FCPS?
🚲 What Was the Highlight of Your Summer?
🍼 Expectant Parent Resources
Thinking about expanding your family? The Office of Benefit Services will offer virtual workshops providing information on how to prepare and plan for child-related leave on the following dates:
- Thursday, August 17, 11 a.m.-noon
- Tuesday, September 12, 4-5 p.m.
- Wednesday, October 18, 4-5 p.m.
- Tuesday, November 7, 10–11 a.m.
- Tuesday, December 5, 4-5 p.m.
To register for an upcoming workshop, please visit the Expectant Parent Workshop webpage. All workshop materials will also be posted to this site.
Apply for Educate Fairfax’s Work-based Learning Teacher Grants
Educate Fairfax, the non-profit that supports FCPS, invites teachers, counselors, and other school-based personnel to apply for a Work-based Learning (WBL) Teacher Grant for the 2023-24 school year. Educate Fairfax is proud to fund innovative classroom initiatives that focus on developing career-connected experiences for students. Funded projects should enable students to reinforce and deepen their classroom learning, explore future career fields, and demonstrate their acquired Portrait of a Graduate (POG) skills.
Grant awards range from $1,000 to $2,000, and the application will be open through Friday, September 22. Awardees will be notified by November 1, and funding will be provided in November for the second half of the school year.
View information about the grants, descriptions of last year’s projects, and access the application on Educate Fairfax’s website.
Cybersecurity – Know Before You Click
Much like we run physical safety drills, phishing tests are a key tool to check our staff understanding around cybersecurity awareness. Here are some tips on things to check for when you get a suspicious email:
- Examine the sender's email address and be suspicious of any strange domains.
- Review the salutation for any odd spellings or references.
- Check for spelling and grammar errors in the subject or body of the message.
- Observe the tone and context — look for a sense of urgency and threats.
- Be wary of unsolicited attachments.
- Verify requests for personal information. If the message claims to be from an organization or FCPS department, reach out directly to the office to confirm the request is legitimate.
For more information about why we do phishing awareness campaigns, take a look at this conversation Dr. Reid recently had with VJ Rao, Director of Cybersecurity.
You can find additional cybersecurity tips and information on the Cybersecurity Hub Page.
Educational Equity Policy Adopted by School Board
In June, the School Board adopted an Educational Equity policy that demonstrates our commitment to the diverse FCPS community, the promise of welcoming and culturally responsive school and work environments, and the guarantee of access and opportunity for the entire FCPS community. Learn more about educational equity priorities and the plan in practice.
Verification of Current National Board Certified Teachers
The Office of Professional Learning is required to confirm the eligibility of all National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) and counselors every year in order for qualified staff to receive the Virginia Department of Education Incentive Award.
All NBCTs must provide the necessary information by completing the annual verification form by close of business Friday, September 22.
Current NBCTs that are pursuing Maintenance of Certification are invited to join their NBCT colleagues in an Academy Cohort beginning in September. Teachers interested in initial certification can also register for the NBPTS Candidacy Academy course when the window opens on Tuesday, August 29. Visit the FCPS NBCT website to learn more about the program and how FCPS can support you.
🏗️ What is a Bond?
Fairfax County Public Schools will have a bond referendum on the ballot this election day, Tuesday, November 7.
To finance large-scale construction and renovation work, the county sells bonds, which allows the county to pay for these projects over time — like a home mortgage. By maintaining its triple-A bond rating, Fairfax County bonds are purchased by institutional investors at very low rates, saving the county considerable amounts of money that might otherwise be paid in interest. The county estimates that the triple-A rating has saved taxpayers at least $1 billion in financing costs.
Read more about the FCPS 2023 Bond Referendum. Learn more about registering to vote.
The 2023-30 Strategic Plan — Foundation of Four Pillars
The division’s new strategic plan is built on a foundation of four pillars — what FCPS must do well to reach its goals for all students. The pillars are:
- We design innovative learning experiences that meet the needs of each and every learner, and implement professional practices that engage, empower, include, and challenge the whole learner through varied opportunities.
- We share responsibility to build trusting partnerships that sustain a safe, inclusive culture for learning and work, and we collaborate proactively with respect, honesty, and transparency.
- We recruit and retain staff who reflect the diversity of students and families; provide meaningful continuous learning, exceptional compensation, and balanced workload; and create a safe and culturally responsive environment that values staff voice.
- We nurture processes and structures that are grounded in intentional partnerships, shared responsibility for equitable resource allocation, and data-driven continuous improvement and innovation.
Stay tuned for more information on the goals of the new strategic plan. In the meantime, please visit our Strategic Plan webpage.
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Central Tutoring: Meeting Student Needs and Watching Students Grow
Last spring, FCPS started advertising for a new kind of tutoring position. As part of a response to pandemic-related learning loss, the Office of School Support and Tutoring Services analyzed the needs of students across the division and pinpointed the schools where there were the largest gaps between what students were achieving and the goals they should be reaching. Starting with the schools with the greatest needs, they began to match tutors to small groups of students.
Cheryl Temple, an adjunct instructor at George Mason University and a retired teacher, saw an ad for the position and was interested in the opportunity to get to help students at times flexible to her schedule. She had worked as an intervention teacher, and was interested in a similar position. Read more about why Cheryl became a tutor and why she recommends the job to others!
Want to Be a Tutor Like Cheryl?
FCPS needs qualified tutors to provide in-person academic support to small groups of students. These tutors will be paid hourly at a rate of $48.58. The position is flexible, and the amount you work and where you work will be based on your availability, qualifications, and the needs presented throughout FCPS. However, tutors must work at least three days a week for a total of 12 hours a week on a consistent basis. Email tutor@fcps.edu for more information.
📃 Updates to High School Transcripts
For all enrolled high school students in the 2023-24 school year and beyond, high school course titles will now reflect:
- An HN (Honors) for any course that has a 0.5 additional weighting.
- An AV (Advanced), AP (Advanced Placement), DE (Dual Enrollment), or IB (International Baccalaureate) for any course that has a 1.0 additional weighting
The new AV label was created to address several college-level courses that previously had a 1.0 additional weighting without a designation. Read more about transcript updates.
Staff Staples
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