FCPS Employee Bulletin Board for April 16, 2024
April 16, 2024
Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) is pleased to announce that Oakdale High School teacher Kate Ehrlich was named the Maryland Council for the Social Studies Teacher of the Year at their annual conference on Saturday, April 6, 2024. Ehrlich was also recognized earlier in March by the Maryland General Assembly and State Senator Bill Folden and Delegate April Miller.
She was recognized by the council for her excellence as a teacher, notably for her development of a number of courses at FCPS, including a new dual enrollment Cultural Identity in America course and her sponsorship of the Rho Kappa social studies honor society.
Ehrlich is dedicated to expanding the historical narrative in Frederick County. She received a grant from the Institute for Common Power to develop a traveling exhibit about local Black & African American history. The exhibit features several notable local figures from Frederick County, and their impact on local history and the Frederick community. The presentation has been traveling to FCPS high schools and will continue to travel through FCPS middle and high schools next year.
Our latest FCPS Impact Award student recipient is Laura Gunning from Linganore High School. Laura has gone above and beyond supporting Pre-K students in the Little Lancers program. Her impact extends to Green Valley Elementary as well. We were honored to surprise her with an Impact Award and meet some of the young learners she supports every day.
Check out our latest FCPS Impact feature!
The FCPS Impact Award is given to students who have contributed positively to their school communities. More information about the Impact Award is available via FCPS.org.
Now that we are past Spring Break and the weather is warming, we are most likely past potential inclement weather closures for the 2023-24 school year.
Thus, we can announce Friday, June 7 will be the last day of school for students in the 2023-24 school year. Schools will be closing 2-hours early for students on Friday, June 7.
Inclement weather make-up dates
The original last day of school for students in 2023-24 was Wednesday, June 5. But FCPS closed schools for two days this year due to inclement weather:
Friday, January 19
Tuesday, February 13
Those closure dates make Thursday, June 6 and Friday, June 7 inclement weather make-up days to ensure FCPS completes 180 days of instruction as mandated by the Maryland State Department of Education.
In the print calendar handbook sent home to families, it lists Wednesday, June 5, as a 2-hour early dismissal date. With these adjustments to the calendar, there is no longer a 2-hour early dismissal on Wednesday, June 5.
The last day of school for teachers is Monday, June 10. 10-month staff with questions about their last day to report should contact their supervisors.
The week of June 10 will also be the first day of the adjusted summer work schedule for FCPS staff. Offices work on an amended schedule during the summer and are closed on Fridays.
FCPS - FindOutFirst (ezcommunicator.net)
Beginning July 1, 2024, FCPS will modernize our telecommunications system and assign brand new phone numbers to the entire district.
The phone number changes are necessary for two primary reasons: (1) The current telecommunications system has reached “end-of-life” status and carries a very high operating cost to maintain. Modernizing our telecommunications will therefore bring a significant reduction in maintenance and service costs. (2) FCPS is seizing a unique opportunity caused by Maryland’s population growth eclipsing Verizon’s pool of available phone numbers.
Volunteer here: https://forms.gle/9X6ZX91JcaHxaUHb8) Register here: https://fcps-md.formstack.com/forms/teen_summit
Effective July 1, 2024: FCPS is moving to a pay schedule called “pay in arrears” and as a benefited FCPS employee this will cause a disruption in your pay at the start of the 2024-25 school year.
Employees will continue to be paid twice a month, however, in order to implement the change an adjustment is being made to the first scheduled paycheck of SY 24/25. For 10-month employees this means that your first paycheck will be September 15. For 11-month employees your first paycheck will be August 31. And for 12-month employees your first paycheck will be on July 31.
Please use the links below for further details on how this will impact you and the options available to FCPS employees to mitigate the disruption.
General Information: https://www.fcps.org/payarrears
Information For 10-Month Employees
Information For 11-Month Employees
Information For 12-Month Employees
Email: FCPSPayShift@fcps.org
We are excited to share our latest Blueprint Unlocked podcast! This discussion focuses on Pillar 4, Supports for All Students.
FCPS Chief of Staff Dr. Sarah Sirgo is joined by FCPS Supervisor of Community Schools Dr. DeVeda Coley, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Innovation Dr. Kathy Gull, and Student Services Director Dana Falls. The discussion focuses on progress made to support community schools, multi-lingual learners, and supports for student behavioral health.
The Blueprint for Maryland's Future was passed by the Maryland General Assembly in 2021 to transform public education in the state into a world-class education system.
Support Professionals who desire a “Voluntary Lateral Transfer” are required to submit a: Transfer Request Form to the Office of Human Resources Support Talent Acquisition and Relations, 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.
More questions? We have complete directions online.
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:
Tuesday, May 14, 2024 (AM Session), 10 AM - 12 PM, Learning & Leadership Center
Tuesday, May 14, 2024 (PM Session), 2 - 4 PM, Learning & Leadership Center
Tuesday, June 11, 2024, 10 AM - 12 PM, Learning & Leadership Center
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.
Log into your mySRPS account to view your pension estimate, Personal Statement of Benefits, and etc.
Open Enrollment will be May 1 - 24. This will be your opportunity to make medical and dental plan changes as well as enroll in the Flexible Spending Account for 7/1/2024!
Mark your calendar and stay tuned for more details.
If you joined us at the FCPS Wellness Expo, you had the chance to paint a mini cherry blossom tree while you were there! Well, now all employees have the opportunity to continue with the cheery spring, cherry blossom theme! Join us at Sunday, April 21 from 4 - 6PM at Hot Fired Arts, for a painting session for a 16x20 large canvas cherry blossom tree.
You can register online for the event now!
Reminder, if you earned Blue Rewards incentives for taking steps to getting and staying healthy by the March 31, 2024 deadline you have until June 30, 2024 to use your Blue Rewards. You have an additional 90 days to reimburse yourself for eligible expenses that occurred between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024.
To learn more, visit carefirst.com/wellbeing.
For the past few months, a group of FCPS employees have been participating in 12 week wellness journey that consists of learning, group coaching, support and fun activities/challenges lead by Dr. Ritu Saluja-Sharma MD, Board Certified Lifestyle Medicine Integrative Nutrition Coach and founder of Head Heart Hands. Recently Laurie Owens, Patrice Thomas and Traci George were awarded a cookbook with more than one hundred simple, healthy, delicious recipes for their wellness achievements. Congrats Laurie, Patrice, and Traci!
We anticipate offering this transformative opportunity again in the fall, stay tuned for more details. Meanwhile, if you have questions about the program, please email benefits.wellness@fcsp.org.
April is recognized as National Financial Literacy month! The CareFirst April You First monthly newsletter has helpful tips to attain financial wellness. Learn more here.
When it comes to managing your finances and preparing for your financial future, do you wonder if you are on the right track? Take control with SmartDollar® - a free resource for FCPS CareFirst participants. Whether your goal is to stop living paycheck to paycheck, get out of debt, save for retirement or send a child to college, SmartDollar can help.
Click to learn more: SmartDollar
As a certified teacher, if you are considering pursuing an initial National Board Certification, seeking fee support, or simply interested in exploring the various options available to support you on your NBC journey, we invite you to attend our upcoming spring event to be held on:
Wednesday, May 15 from 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Learning & Leadership Center
44 W. Frederick Street
Walkersville, MD 21793
National Board Certification Spring Event Flyer
Registration is required through Unified Talent. The last day to register is May 1st.
More information is always available on our FCPS Professional Learning Website.
If you have questions, please contact Joe Hinson, Coordinator of Teacher Advancement at joseph.hinson@fcps.org.
©2024 Frederick County Public Schools
191 South East Street, Frederick, Maryland 21701