Professional Learning and Training Announces Leading the Learning: A Six-Day Workshop Series for School Leaders

The Department of Professional Learning and Training (PLT) is pleased to announce its partnership with Just ASK Publications to provide a recommended professional development series for FCPS school leaders titled "Leading the Learning." The target audiences for this professional development series are second- and third-year principals and assistant principals.

The purpose of these workshops is to empower educators to engage in their practice with:

• The belief that they can make a difference in teacher practice and student learning through the supervision and evaluation process... the belief that it is worth the effort.
• A clear focus on the teaching and learning in the classroom...working to ensure that not only is it a good lesson, it also is the right lesson.
• An ever-expanding repertoire of skills for supervising and evaluating staff members in ways that promote professional growth and student learning.
• Clearly articulated and communicated high expectations for educators and students.
• A commitment to engage in, model, and promote collaborative practice.

Workshop Dates

Participants must attend all six sessions. Each session is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Principals (in their 2nd or 3rd year)

• Tuesday, October 21, 2008   
• Tuesday, November 18, 2008  
• Tuesday, December 16, 2008  
• Thursday, January 29, 2009  
• Thursday, February 19, 2009 
• Thursday, March 19, 2009

Assistant Principals (in their 2nd or 3rd year)

• Wednesday, October 22, 2008 
• Wednesday, November 19, 2008
• Wednesday, December 17, 2008
• Wednesday January 28, 2009  
• Wednesday, February 18, 2009
• Wednesday, March 18, 2009

AP Portfolio Candidates

• Wednesday, October 22, 2008
• Wednesday, November 19, 2008
• Wednesday, December 17, 2008
• Wednesday January 28, 2009  
• Wednesday, February 18, 2009
• Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Registration

As a courtesy, PLT will register all second- and third-year principals and assistant principals by August 15. To ensure that you are registered, refer to the following link. http://www.fcps.edu/plt/MyPLT/index.html. If you are not registered or if you need more information, send an e-mail to Kathleen.walts@fcps.edu or Linda.ferguson1@fcps.edu.

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Fulbright Teacher Exchanges Available for 2009-10 School Year

Overseas teacher exchange opportunities are available for the 2009-10 school year. FCPS participates in the school-year direct exchanges. Other short-term exchanges are not supported by FCPS because of the impact on instructional programs. In addition to meeting the Fulbright eligibility requirements, applicants must have taught for three years in FCPS prior to the exchange year. Opportunities and other eligibility requirements vary by country.

Information and applications are available from the USIA Fulbright Teacher Exchange program at 1-800-726-0479 or by e-mail at fulbright@grad.usda.gov. The application is also available online by going to www.fulbrightexchanges.org. All applications must be approved by FCPS prior to submission.

All FCPS applications must be submitted to the Department of Professional Learning and Training, Dunn Loring Center. Applications must be received no later than Friday, October 3, to meet the Fulbright deadline. Applications will then be submitted by FCPS directly to Fulbright. For more information, call Patty Dimetres at
703-204-3934.

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Online Travel Updated to Reflect New IRS Mileage Reimbursement Rate

Effective July 1, the IRS standard mileage rate for the use of a personal automobile for business miles driven is 58.5 cents per mile. Per Regulation 5310.9, FCPS reimburses mileage in excess of the round-trip daily commute between a traveler’s residence and base location. Additional information regarding local travel mileage reimbursement may be found at http://fcpsnet.fcps.edu/fs/comptroller/travel/index.htm.

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Fairfax County Government Workforce Housing Survey—Your Input Is Important

In response to the need for affordable workforce housing, Fairfax County government is considering what could be a great opportunity for county government and FCPS employees.

Situated in a wooded setting on the 86-acre Fairfax County Government Center campus and incorporating green building, low impact, and sustainable design features, the Residences at the Government Center would provide high-quality rental housing to those within eligible household income limits.

Fairfax County government would like to gauge your interest in this workforce housing opportunity through an online survey. To participate, go to http://infoweb.fairfaxcounty.gov/survey/workforcehousing.htm, where you will find the survey as well as some background information, which includes household income eligibility limits.

Note: This survey is located on the Fairfax County government intranet and requires access to the FCPS computer network or the use of the virtual private network (VPN) if logging on from a home computer.

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VPN Available to All Employees

FCPS uses a virtual private network (VPN) to allow its employees to access school system computer network resources when they are not at an FCPS site. Every FCPS employee now has permission to use VPN, but a small piece of software is needed. The VPN software can be downloaded from FCPSnet at http://fcpsnet.fcps.edu/it/servicecatalog/infras_ntwk/ntwk_access/download_vpn.shtml. This software is not available for download from home, so if you plan to connect back to an FCPS resource when you are not at an FCPS site, please be sure to download, install, and test the software before leaving your site. 

If you would like more information on VPN and the regulations that govern its use, please see the FCPS Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) Regulation 6410, the Data Security Regulation 6220, the Data Security Policy 6220, and the Remote Access Technical Bulletin 631.

The IT Service Desk can be reached at 703-503-1600 or ITServiceDesk@fcps.edu for questions or further information. Please note that the IT Service Desk only supports computer equipment that is supplied by FCPS.

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