Check out this week's FCPS Employee Bulletin Board!
Highlights: Congrats to Frederick High's Sheri Murphy for being named Maryland Assistant Principal of the Year Check out our first episode of Essential, featuring Urbana High career counselor Tonya Chubb We need nominees for awards! Please consider nominating a peer!
Frederick High School’s Sheri Murphy is the 2024 Maryland Assistant Principal of Year.
This recognition, bestowed by the Maryland Association of Secondary School Principals, is given to just one assistant principal in the state each year.
Murphy is the first administrator to earn this prestigious honor while serving at an FCPS school. She was surprised with the news at a school assembly attended by staff, students, and FCPS and county leaders, including Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater and Board of Education of Frederick County President Karen Yoho.
More information in our press release!
We are so excited to kick off Season 3 of Essential, our video series highlighting dedicated employees and their roles throughout FCPS!
In Episode 1, meet Tonya Chubb, a career counselor who serves the Urbana High community.
This year, career coaches are new to FCPS. Career coaches support students being ready for success in college and career by graduation.
It is awards season, and the FCPS Office of Public Affairs needs your help!
We take great pride in celebrating employees who go above and beyond to support our great community. That process is reliant on nominations from throughout our county and deadlines are nearing!
Here are THREE excellent opportunities to nominate a peer!
The 2023 Tressler recipient is Suzanne Dashiell Elder from Urbana High School
We're sure you know an FCPS teacher who is making a significant impact on young people. It is time to nominate that individual for the Charles E. Tressler Distinguished Teacher Award.
This award is named for a former member of the Hood College faculty who encouraged young people to enter the profession of teaching. The college presents the award annually to honor distinguished teaching in the Frederick County public school system. The award was established by a gift from the late Samuel Eig of Gaithersburg.
A panel of FCPS judges will screen the nominations and select finalists before forwarding materials to Hood College. We welcome nominations from current and former students, teachers and support staff, parents, community members, administrators, and supervisors. Hood College will recognize the winner this spring.
Complete eligibility, nomination criteria, process, and selection guidelines are located online at www.fcps.org/awards. The deadline for nominations is Friday, March 17, 2023. Please contact Wanda.Ford@fcps.org or 301-696-6900 with any questions.
The 2023 FCPS Support Staff Employee of the Year Award Recipients
Has an FCPS support employee exceeded 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.
FCPS is accepting nominations for the Washington Post Principal of the Year award, which is sponsored by The Washington Post Educational Foundation. Principals must first be nominated and one finalist selected to represent FCPS. We welcome nominations from current and former students, teachers, support staff, parents, community members, administrators and supervisors.
Complete eligibility, nomination criteria, process information and selection guidelines for 2024-2025 are available at https://www.fcps.org/public-affairs/wapo-principal.
Nomination packets are due by noon on Monday, January 22, 2024.
The Washington Post Principal of the Year Award recognizes principals who go beyond the day-to-day demands of their position to create an exceptional educational environment. The 2023-2024 FCPS Washington Post Principal of the Year finalist is Hillcrest Elementary principal Justin McConnaughey.
Applications for Gifts for Education (GFE) & Gladhill grants are now open! The GFE grant program supports activities or materials that are innovative and enrich the student experience. The Gladhill Fund for Education supports activities or materials that are innovative and enrich FCPS agricultural programs. Both grants are open to any FCPS employee or student representing a club or group.
Click HERE to complete a short form and to upload required documentation. The deadline for submission is January 31, 2024 by 4 pm. Please direct any questions to Doreen.Bass@fcps.org (FCPS Grant Management Specialist).
GFE and Gladhill grant guidelines
Grant Amount: Up to $2,500 (partial awards may be funded).
Requests must be innovative and enrich the student experience.
The grant period begins on March 15, 2024 and ends on September 30, 2024. Grant awards may support summer activities.
Requests may not be for transportation, salary (i.e., workshop pay, per diem pay or substitutes), software, Chromebooks or other devices, 3D printers, equipment or food.
Requests for the purchase of laptops or desktops are allowed; pricing must be from the FCPS Approved Bid List.
If applicable, requested materials are subject to options from the FCPS Approved Bid List.
Grant requests must be supplemental in nature and cannot supplant existing budgets.
All requests are subject to the approval of the school's principal and the Grant Review Committee.
Here's a look at events and opportunities coming up from FCPS Health and Wellness!
Join Us for Free Fitness Class Offerings!
Restorative Yoga: Mondays, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Body Weight Boot Camp: Tuesdays/Thursdays 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Drum's Alive: Wednesdays 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.
The location for all classes is Parkway Elementary.
Please register via Unified Talent. All FCPS employees are eligible to participate.
Nationwide, someone needs a unit of blood every 2 to 3 seconds and most of us will need blood in our lifetime. Currently, there is a blood shortage.
Please join our lifesaving mission and schedule an appointment today!
When: Monday, January 29 Where: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Where: FCPS Central Office Board Room
Click here to make an appointment
More information on the blood shortage:
Emergency blood shortage
Call for donations
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
Money Talk Mondays (January) – Social Security: Getting the Most Out of Your Benefits (webinar)
Join Matt Misiaszek, CFP®, CRPC® on Monday, January 22nd or Monday January, 29th at either 12:00pm or 4:30pm, to learn the basics of Social Security! Topics that will be covered during the webinar include:
Registration opportunities
January 22nd, 12:00 p.m. – Register Here
January 22nd, 4:30 p.m. – Register Here
January 29th 12:00 p.m. – Register Here
January 29th 4:30 p.m. – Register Here
Money Talk Mondays (February) – Estate Planning Strategies (webinar)
Join Matt Misiaszek, CFP®, CRPC® on Monday, February 12th or Monday February, 26th at either 12:00 p.m. or 4:30 p.m., to learn the importance of estate planning. Topics that will be covered during the webinar include:
What are the essential estate planning documents you should have?
How to reduce the probate process
A quick understanding of the estate “funnel”
Understand estate taxes
Registration Opportunities
February 12th, 12:00 p.m. – Register Here
February 12th, 4:30 p.m. – Register Here
February 26th, 12:00 p.m. – Register Here
February 26th, 4:30 p.m. – Register Here
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.
Upcoming Sessions:
Log into your mySRPS account to view your pension estimate, Personal Statement of Benefits, etc.
If you'd like to learn about your State retirement benefits, other retirement savings, estate and financial planning, Social Security benefits and other retirement considerations, you can go to the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System website to view upcoming sessions to attend. They also have a recorded presentation that you can watch at your convenience.
The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Office of Professional Studies is offering online self-paced courses, including:
For additional information see the 2024 MSDE UMCES Flyer.
All are invited to the free showing of the Right to Read Film.
With an Introduction and Q&A by Dr. Reid Lyon, a leading expert in the Science of Reading
Why are so many students reading “below basic level?”
This Community Forum is Co-hosted by the NAACP of Frederick and Margaret Byrd Rawson Institute
February 27, 2024 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Location: C. Burr Artz Public Library – Community Room 110 E Patrick St, Frederick, MD 21701
Light Refreshments Provided
If you can’t attend in person, you can also view the documentary online before or anytime throughout the entire month of February.
Please see the Right to Read Community Forum flyer for more information about Dr. Lyon and the event.
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.
Frederick, MD 21703
Phone: 301-644-5000