Information for Educators

Posted on December 17, 2008

Information For Educators

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Information Meeting to Be Held January 8
Revamped Donations Web Site Does the Work for You
Financial Education Seminar: 2008 Tax Strategies to Be Held January 6, 8 at Gatehouse Administration Center I

Tuition Reimbursement Program to Change for Spring Semester
Applications Now Being Accepted for Spring Custodial Management Training Seminar Program
Academy Course Schedule Set for National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification
VPN Available to All Employees

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Information Meeting to Be Held January 8

A National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) information meeting on the certification process will be held from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 8, 2009, in the Instruction and Professional Development (IPD) room at the Fairfax Education Association (FEA) office, located at 3917 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA 22030.

The NBPTS seeks to establish and maintain high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do. A candidate for NBPTS certification undergoes an assessment process that includes four portfolios of the teacher’s work and six assessment center exercises.

NBPTS certification is available in the following fields for secondary teachers: English/language arts, math, science, social studies, career and technical studies, health education, music, foreign language, physical education, and art. Generalist certificates, as well as art, music, and physical education certificates are available for elementary school teachers. Certificates are also available for teachers of students with exceptional needs (students birth to 18+), library media (students 3 to 18+), and for teachers of English as a new language (ages 3 -18+), literacy: reading-language arts (ages 3 -12), and school counseling (ages 3 -18+).

Fairfax County Public Schools has over 300 teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. The Virginia Department of Education and FCPS offer stipends, dependent on budget availability, to teachers who attain NBPTS certification.

If you plan to attend or need additional information about NBPTS, contact Patty Dimetres, FCPS national board program manager, at patricia.dimetres@fcps.edu.

Revamped Donations Web Site Does the Work for You

The FCPS web page at which online visitors can donate goods such as computers, formal wear, or furniture has been revamped to provide users with a more efficient way to donate. The donations web site, found at http://commweb.fcps.edu/donatetofcps, allows users who want to donate goods to FCPS to easily provide their contact information and relevant information about the item(s) that they are donating. FCPS does not accept every donation offered, so the site also offers clear explanations about what items are accepted and includes minimum standards for many items—older model computers for instance.

In short, the new online donations web site makes donating to FCPS easier for donors and staff members by:

Having a one-stop page to which to refer donors.
Allowing donors to select the school to which their donation should be first offered.
Directly involving the central administration staff members who help coordinate pickup or delivery, trace donated items through the process, and confirm receipt of the items.
Automatically generating an acknowledgement e-mail and, upon receipt of the donation, another e-mail suitable for tax purposes.
Systematically recording donated items for central office personnel reporting requirements.

The donations web site can also be accessed from the FCPS web site index page under “D” for donations or from the “What Do You Want To Do?” menu under the home page banner.

For more information, contact Jay Garant in the Office of Business and Community Partnerships, Department of Communications and Community Outreach, at 571-423-1225 or jay.garant@fcps.edu.

Financial Education Seminar: 2008 Tax Strategies to Be Held January 6, 8 at Gatehouse Administration Center I

Are you up to date on the latest tax law changes and how you can maximize your refund? With tax season right around the corner, it’s time to learn the latest tax information. Join the Apple Federal Credit Union Financial Services team and learn the ins and outs of managing your taxes this year and all year round during an informative seminar presented at no cost to FCPS staff members on Tuesday, January 6, 2009, from noon to 1 p.m., and Thursday, January 8, 2009, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., at Gatehouse Administration Center I. To register, go to
https://www.applefcu.org/seminarsFCPS.asp.

For more information, contact Alice O'Neill at 571-423-3050, or alice.oneill@fcps.edu.

Tuition Reimbursement Program to Change for Spring Semester

The FCPS Tuition Reimbursement program has changed effective with the spring 2009 semester. Tuition Assistance Regulation 9005 was recently rewritten to establish five priorities for the tuition reimbursement program and to simplify the language. There is also information in the regulation about when and how to apply for tuition reimbursement.

Note: The last date to submit a Tuition Reimbursement Request for coursework completed during summer 2008 and fall 2008 semesters is January 31, 2009. After that date, the reimbursement will not be accepted. Also, effective January 31, 2009, Tuition Reimbursement Form PLT-250 (10/08) is obsolete and will not be accepted.

Changes to Tuition Reimbursement Eligibility

Within available funds, all FCPS full-time and part-time contracted instructional and support employees, who are eligible for employee benefits, are eligible for tuition reimbursement. The refund shall not exceed the maximum tuition reimbursement amount determined annually by the assistant superintendent of the Department of Professional Learning and Training.

Based on available funding, tuition reimbursement priority shall be given to a contracted employee as follows:

Priority 1: A provisionally licensed instructional employee currently teaching in an FCPS critical field, as identified by the Department of Human Resources each year.
Priority 2: An instructional or support employee enrolled in FCPS-approved coursework to meet the qualifications in a designated critical need area within FCPS;
Priority 3: An instructional employee completing a three-semester-hour college or university course to fulfill the content area requirement for the renewal of his or her five-year renewable Virginia teaching license.
Priority 4: An instructional or support employee completing course work through a regionally accredited college- or university-approved program culminating in an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree and/or endorsement to meet the qualifications in a designated critical need area within FCPS.
Priority 5: A support employee who is not required to hold a degree for his or her position, and is completing: (1) college credit coursework to earn a degree; (2) apprenticeship program courses for a technical trades position designated as a critical need area in FCPS; or (3) certificate programs through the FCPS Adult and Community Education program (up to a maximum of 45 hours of adult education credit per fiscal year).

When to Apply for a Tuition Reimbursement

Tuition reimbursement is now a preapproval process:

The employee will complete the NEW (PLT-905) tuition reimbursement request form located at http://www.fcps.edu/plt/treimbursement.htm and submit the completed application to the Department of Professional Learning and Training during the following time lines:
- Fall semester: mid-August.
- Spring semester: mid-December.
- Summer semester: mid-May.
Upon receipt of the request, the Department of Professional Learning and Training will notify the employee of the approval or denial. Once a tuition reimbursement request is approved, the funds will be held in reserve for the employee.

Requests for tuition reimbursements will not be approved after the last day on which a course meets.

To Receive the Tuition Reimbursement Payment

To receive the reimbursement payment:

Tuition reimbursement payments will be initiated after the approved course has been satisfactorily completed with a grade of “A or B” or “Pass” if a Pass-Fail for a graduate-level course, or “C” or better for a undergraduate course as verified by an unofficial university transcript and/or grade report and proof-of-payment from the college or university.
Grade verification and proof of payment must be received by the Department of Professional Learning and Training within 60 days of course completion.
Tuition reimbursement payments are paid monthly and are included in the employee’s paycheck.

Note: The cost of textbooks, miscellaneous fees, travel, etc., is not reimbursed by the tuition reimbursement program.

Substitutes, hourly paid employees, and employees on leaves of absence are ineligible for tuition reimbursement.

Final determination of an employee’s eligibility for tuition reimbursement shall rest with the assistant superintendent, Department of Professional Learning and Training, or his or her designee.

For questions regarding tuition reimbursement and how to obtain the new tuition reimbursement request form, contact Rita Cloutier, Department of Professional Learning and Training, at 703-204-3905 or rita.cloutier@fcps.edu.

Applications Now Being Accepted for Spring Custodial Management Training Seminar Program

The Management Training Seminar program is being offered this spring to custodians in supervisory roles who demonstrate leadership and the motivation to become successful building supervisors. This series of 12 courses will introduce and/or update participants on proven, effective supervisory practices. Activities will focus on instruction, individual and group discussions, role-playing, case studies, and tape viewing.

Those selected will attend class once a week on Wednesdays, beginning March 4, 2009, and continuing through May 27, 2009, from 8 to 11:30 a.m. Course registrations are due to the Department of Professional Learning and Training by February 6. The course outline and registration form have been sent to all principals and program managers.

Contact Plant Operations at 703-764-2463 with any questions.

Academy Course Schedule Set for National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification

The schedule for the Academy courses supporting FCPS teachers as they pursue certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) has been set for the 2010 cycle. Two NBPTS precandidacy courses will be offered: one starting in February 2009 followed by the NBPTS candidacy course, and the second starting in March 2009, also followed by a NBPTS candidacy course. Completion of the one-credit pre-candidacy course is mandatory for FCPS financial support for the NBPTS application fees. Both the precandidacy courses and the three-credit candidacy courses are taught by teachers who have attained NBPTS certification and have received additional candidate support provider training sponsored by NBPTS.

The NBPTS seeks to establish and maintain high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do. Each candidate for NBPTS certification undergoes an assessment process that includes four portfolios of the teacher’s work and six assessment center exercises.

Certificates are also available for teachers of students with exceptional needs (students birth to 18+), teachers of library media (students 3 to 18+), teachers of English as a new language (ages 3 -18+), teachers of literacy: reading-language arts (ages 3 -12), and teachers in school counseling (ages 3 -18+).

Fairfax County Public Schools has over 300 teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. The Virginia Department of Education and FCPS offer stipends, dependent on budget availability, to teachers who attain NBPTS certification.

If you have any questions, send an e-mail to Patty Dimetres, FCPS national board program manager, Department of Professional Learning and Training, at patricia.dimetres@fcps.edu.

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://servicecatalog.fcps.edu/it/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, 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, 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. Note that the IT Service Desk supports only computer equipment that is supplied by FCPS.