Happy New Year! The first FCPS Employee Bulletin Board for 2024 is posted!
As we look ahead to the new calendar year, here are some tips from FCPS Health and Wellness to get the New Year started right!
Happy New Year!
We are excited to announce we will be offering a couple of new fitness classes starting in mid-January in addition to yoga classes! To learn more about the two new classes, Body Weight Boot Camp and Drums Alive, please join 2 Health Nuts for a virtual Meet and Greet on January 10 at 4:30 or 5:30. Below are the links to join the Meet and Greet:
Wednesday, January 10, 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, January 10, 5:30 p.m.
Did you know that the Maryland State Retirement Agency hosts retirement webinars?
MSRA Webinar Registration Page: https://sra.maryland.gov/seminars-and-webinars
MRSA offers several ways to prepare for retirement, including:
Pre-retirement Webinars (Registration) First Step Webinars (Registration)
More information can be found online.
Certified Financial Planner Jeff Wheeler from Frontier Financial Group/Security Benefit will be offering informal Q&A Zoom meetings on changes to the FCPS 403(b) and 457(b) supplemental retirement plans. Please register for one of the two sessions:
Tuesday, January 16 at 5 p.m.: REGISTRATION
Wednesday, January 17 at 9 a.m.: REGISTRATION
Jeff will also be at Central Office on the following dates for individual 403(b) and 457(b) enrollments/reviews by appointment only:
REGISTRATION
FCPS employees have the opportunity to learn about the many features of the FCPS supplemental retirement plans 403b, 457, and Roth 403b.
When ready to do so, employees can schedule virtual meetings with Mo Amer or Alicia Kong from Voya Financial.
Sessions will cover more details about Voya Financial, reasons to save, account access, retirement planning options, and Voya's website resources.
To register with Alicia, you can do so at this link.
To register with Mo, you can do so at this link.
Nymeo's financial wellness partner, GreenPath Financial Wellness, has free online financial education called LearningLab+. The attached flyer lists a variety of the courses and the registration links:
Budget, Learn, Grow: Free Financial Literacy Essentials
Let's keep it easy as the new year kicks off with a meal the entire family will love! Super quick garlic parmesan noodles will become a fast favorite (with the option to add broccoli, peas, spinach, or whatever veggie makes your heart happy), while our arugula-pear salad balances things out with something bright and crisp. You'll also learn how to make individual homemade "focaccia" in a flash. We’ll cap things off with a sweet treat of cookies and cream blondies.
Registration link: Fast Favorite
Discount code (must use at registration): FCPSJAN
CareFirst members have a free new app available called Unwinding. The app offers short, effective tools to deal with stress, anxiety, overeating, anger and more. Check out the flyer to learn more!
Unwinding
Need some incentive to reach that physical fitness New Year's Resolution? Complete at least 100 minutes of Burnalong class time! Top 3 participants with the most minutes win Burnalong swag boxes!
New Year New You
During a chilly month, why not give art a try?
We are having a Paint Night January, 13, at 6 p.m. at Hot Fired Arts
To register: SNOW 4 Snowmen
Staff can attend this free workshop!
When: January 4 from 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Where: Webinar
To register and for more information, head to Corebridge Financial's webpage.
FCPS students and staff will celebrate the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at a free event on Thursday, January 4, at 7 p.m., at Gov. Thomas Johnson High School.
In case of inclement weather, the event will be postponed until Thursday, January 18, same time and location.
The theme of the 34th Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration is Let’s stay together and maintain unity. During the event, a student from each FCPS school will be recognized as their school's King Award recipient.
Students were selected by their school based on their demonstration of positive leadership qualities, characteristic of Dr. King: Responsibility, Caring, Fairness, Trustworthiness, Citizenship and Respect.
More information is available via our release.
New for 2024: Board of Education of Frederick County Policies and Regulations are easier to search for with an updated database that will make it easier to find what you are looking for.
Policies and regulations are continually revised. When they are, you will be able to see past editions of the policies and regulations to see what revisions were made.
You can also easily search for topics.
One of our communications goals is to make it simple to find the information you need.
Last year, FCPS unveiled a new Form Finder feature that allows for our community to search for a form and then fill it out via Fillable PDF.
We are focused on continuous improvement and will continue working to make information easy to find!
Congratulations to all of the FCPS staff members who went above and beyond to serve students and the community, thereby being nominated to be Guiding Star and Five-Star Service Award recipients in November.
The FCPS Guiding Star Award is designed to provide recognition by employees to one another for excellence in one of the five FCPS goals. You can nominate here.
Guiding Star Award recipients for November:
Heidi Hench, Wanda (Nita) Jackson, Lori Warren, Eugene Garbowski, Daniel Dobbie, Dave Bartgis, Roger Smith, Byron Brown, Bill Linton, Evan Leatherman, Jake Hanvey, Wayne Kaufman, Andy Putman, Kevin Leatherman, Christine Crawford, Laurie Haines, Darlah Adams, Sarah Lewis, Jennifer Abrecht, Jenny Burke, Lisa Smith, Amanda Britton, Sara Seiser, Brandi Balducci, Brandy Dorsey, Michael Minch, and Justyna Childress.
The 5-Star Service Award is for community use in recognizing FCPS employees who show excellence in one of the 5 FCPS goals. Community members are welcome to nominate any worthy FCPS employees. You can nominate here.
Five-Star Service Award recipients for November:
Kathleen Lilley, Catherine Douds, Leslie Williamson, Tiana Haile, Kevin Lloyd, Destinie Hartman, Matthew Weisman, and Laura Rudy.
This newsletter has information and resources that highlight our FCPS work as part of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a 10 year investment in transforming public education. Please check out our inaugural issue at the link here: Blueprint Quarterly Review (Issue 1)
The payroll office is starting to diligently prepare for the issuance of W-2’s by the end of January. In recent days, we have been hearing more situations of employees and other community members experiencing issues or delays with USPS mailings. Often times, paper W-2’s are returned to our office because we do not have the correct mailing address for employees.
Here is how you can get ready:
Verify that your address is correct from your last pay statement.
Verify your address and phone number by accessing PeopleSoft => Employee Self Service=>Personal Details Dashboard=>Addresses or Contact Details
Now is the time to make your election to only receive an electronic copy of your W-2 vs. receiving a paper W-2 distributed from our office. This is optional.
What are the advantages of receiving your W-2 form on-line?
You will not have to wait on the mail to deliver your W-2 so you can file your taxes earlier plus your personal information is not being sent through the mail.(Note: your on-line W-2 form is an acceptable format accepted by the IRS when you file your year-end taxes).
You can print your W-2 form if necessary (even W-2’s from prior years).
Once you elect to only receive an electronic W-2 you do not need to make the election every year. This election will continue until you say otherwise.
If you wish to only receive an electronic only W-2 instead of a paper copy. Log into the Employee Self Service Site number by accessing PeopleSoft =>FCPS Menu=> Employee Self Service=>Payroll Dashboard=>W-2/W-2c Consent to make your election. Please click here for instructions.
Your election must be made by Monday, January 8. Paper copies will be distributed by January 31.
FCPS is moving to a pay schedule called "pay in arrears." Employees will continue to be paid twice a month. The difference will be that the paycheck will reflect the prior pay period. The graphic above shares more details.
Email FCPSpayshift@fcps.org or visit our website for more information.
The 2023 FCPS Support Staff Employee of the Year Award Recipients
Has an FCPS support employee gone beyond the call of duty to help you? Have you observed a support staff member excelling in their day-to-day activities? Have they done something particularly noteworthy?
There are so many reasons to nominate someone for the 2024 FCPS Support Staff Employee of the Year Award!
This award recognizes support staff employees whose contributions to Frederick County Public Schools exemplify the highest attributes of service and excellence. It recognizes outstanding members of the FCPS support staff from eight broad job categories. Of the eight, one employee will receive the overall Support Employee of the Year award.
Categories have been revamped to make them more balanced. Please note that there will be one overall award recipient rather than a school-based and a central office-based overall recipient. The new categories are:
Administrative Support Food Service Support Operations Support School Support Special Education Support Systemic Support Technical Support Transportation Support
This document has been created to help determine which job description falls under which category.
An FCPS support employee may be nominated for this award by anyone in our community, including FCPS employees, students or former students, and parents.
A panel of FCPS judges will screen the nominations and select finalists. Finalists will be recognized and presented with awards at the Board of Education meeting on April 10, 2024. During the presentation, Dr. Dyson will announce the overall Support Employee of the Year and present the winner with a special award.
Complete eligibility, nomination criteria, process and selection guidelines are located online at www.fcps.org/awards. The deadline for nominations is Friday, January 26, 2024. Please contact Wanda.Ford@fcps.org or 301-696-6900 with any questions.
Support employees who are interested in becoming an elementary teacher who already have a Bachelor's Degree are invited to participate in an informational session about the Maryland Accelerates Program through Frostburg State University.
This program offers a 13-month teacher residency while taking coursework to earn your Masters of Teaching in Education. Candidates will complete their internship in FCPS while earning a $33,000 living stipend!
If you are interested in learning more about this program, please email marylandaccelerates@frostburg.edu or april.vierra@fcps.org ASAP. There will be a virtual information session on January 8. See more details about this program and the informational meeting on the flyer.
MD Accelerates Elementary Teacher Program 2023
The Maryland Retired School Personnel Association, through its MRSPA Foundation, is offering three $2,000 scholarships to public school employees in Maryland who are enrolled in a program leading to teacher certification or certification as a school counselor, speech, and language pathologist, physical or occupational therapist, school social worker, administrator or supervisor, media specialist or school psychologist. Applicants must hold a high school diploma or GED certificate.
The scholarship is also available to certificated teachers who are pursuing certification in another area or level of teaching or to become qualified as one of the above-listed education specialists. Applicants must be current employees of the Board of Education and must intend on working in a Maryland public school while working toward certification and upon completion of their requirements for certification.
Applicants apply online only between January 2, 2024, and January 19, 2024, at www.mrspa.org. Winners will be notified by March 30, 2024.
Frequently Asked Questions regarding the scholarship application process is available to potential applicants on the MRSPA website at www.mrspa.org. Please contact Wanda R. Twigg, Executive Director, at wtwigg@mrspa.org if you require assistance or have questions.
This resource is available for all benefited FCPS employees. Guidance on your benefits, types of requests, navigating the course approval system, and how to submit your documentation can be found on the FCPS website.
Learn more about tuition benefits!
Frederick, MD 21703
Phone: 301-644-5000