Our first issue of "People Matters" the FCPS Human Resources Quarterly Newsletter is shared with you!
Enrollment changes can only be made during Open Enrollment (May of each FY) or within 30 days of a qualifying life event. A qualifying life event includes:
For further information, please visit https://www.fcps.org/benefits and click on Qualifying Life Events from the “Insurance” tab.
New fitness classes are starting in mid-January! Body Weight Boot Camp and Drums (we will continue to offer yoga). To learn more, about our upcoming new offerings 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:
Wednesday, January 10, 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, January 10, 5:30 p.m.
Just a quick reminder, our current authorized providers for our 403(b) and 457(b) plans are as follows: American Century Investments, Equitable, Security Benefits, Valic and Voya. We have received concerns from employees who receive communications from individuals alluding that they are FCPS authorized agents, please be cautious and check the list, linked here, for authorized provider company names and agents.
If you plan to retire within the next 6 months, please attend one of our upcoming retirement paperwork sessions. The purpose of these sessions is to complete and submit your retirement paperwork. A follow-up email will be sent to you once you register for the event and will include information about what to bring to the session.
Sessions are limited, so please be mindful and only register if you will attend.
Visit https://www.fcps.org/hr/arrears for more information
Did you know that there is a wealth of information about your benefits on the FCPS
Benefits web page? Please take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the website and all of the Information available that can be accessed 24/7. This includes a contact list of benefit office team members who are available to assist you, should you need additional information.
The FCPS recruitment team has added a new member to the team. Toya Newman-Piermarini joins us from Urbana Elementary School with 19 years of teaching experience. We are so happy to welcome her to the team!
Since school has started, we have worked with ten different college/university/job fair events. We have hosted multiple in-house including initial teacher interviews, virtual information sessions, and Become an Educator Night. We have been able to present the pathway to becoming a teacher at our high schools. We will continue to host multiple virtual information sessions and initial teacher interviews. We will be particularly busy on the road at different job fairs and recruiting events in February, March, and April.
Please note some upcoming events:
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, 2024 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. Please join with this link: https://meet.google.com/mya-fjri-eee .
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.
Career Opportunities
Find information on job openings and employment in FCPS, including recruitment events and background checks.
The following are important contractual dates for bargaining unit members of the Frederick County Teachers Association (FCTA), the Frederick County Administrative and Supervisory Association (FCASA), and the Frederick Association of School Support Employees (FASSE):
FCTA members can request lane changes as they continue to achieve credits that move them to the next pay lane on the salary scale. Lane changes are processed twice a year, 7/1 and 2/1. The data management team reviewed and processed over 500 lane changes for July 1. The deadline is 2/29/24 to have your coursework documentation and lane change review request form submitted for a 2/1/24 lane change. For more information on the lane change process, please visit our website.
Below please find a list of internal teacher transfer dates. Instructions on how to apply for vacancies will be sent by Human Resources on or before January 31, 2024.
Open transfer requests accepted May 31 – June 17. July 15, open transfers completed.
FCPS is now accepting applications for Support Sabbatical Leave for the 2024 – 2025 school year! The purpose of Sabbatical Leave is to enable an educational support employee an opportunity to pursue higher education while still maintaining their position with FCPS. In order to be considered for Sabbatical Leave, please click here and select the Sabbaticals tab to learn more and to access the Sabbatical Leave Application. Applications are due by March 1, 2024.
Support Professionals who desire a voluntary lateral transfer are required to submit a Transfer Request form to the Human Resources Support Talent Acquisition and Relations Office between March 1 and May 31 of each year to take effect the following school year. The transfer list will remain in effect for a period of one (1) school year or until exhausted. Keep an eye out for the link to access this transfer request form in the Spring.
The Support Team has worked very hard to revamp the substitute hiring, orientation and fingerprinting process in order to improve our hiring pool and put substitutes into the classroom with a broader range of information regarding the position.
FCPS held the first all-day orientation session at the LLC on November 30. These sessions will be once a month and include a robust schedule of everything from FCPS Basics, a “Day in the Life of a Substitute” panel with a current substitute, an administrator panel dealing with expectations, Security protocols, IT support of technology, Special Ed overview of what is needed to know, a review of FCPS policies and regulations, and Frontline Absence Management overview. In the afternoon, substitutes are then fingerprinted and participate in a Q&A session regarding the role.
In November, we had Adriane Brooks (Resident Sub at LES) and Derek Hoover-Beet (AP, MoMS) and Matt McVay (AP, GTJMS) on our panel. The December panelists were Deanna Hensley (Resident Sub at GTJHS) and Brianna Zeoli (AP, OMS). Thank you to all participants for making this session so meaningful for our new hires!
There has been an overwhelmingly positive response to our new process from our new hire subs. They especially enjoy hearing from substitutes and administrators. The Substitute Team will share a list of all attendees with the administrators who join us for the 1-hour panel so that they have a new batch of substitutes!
Substitute Information
Login to Frontline, FCPS's system for absence management. Substitute Information