| What is the FCPS Academy Program? |
A virtual mini-university for teachers and other educational staff members. FCPS Academy courses include college or university courses and Academy (noncollege) credit courses. Both types of courses are paid for directly by the school system and participants receive recertification points.
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| Who is eligible to register for a contract course at no cost? |
Any FCPS full-time or part-time contracted employee eligible for employee benefits may register for FCPS Academy courses at no cost.
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| How many contract courses may I take? |
Any FCPS full-time or part-time contracted employee eligible for employee benefits may take one or more contract courses offered in the FCPS Academy catalog at no cost.
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| What is Content Area Course Work? |
Content refers to the endorsement(s) on a license. Content area courses are courses at the undergraduate level or at the graduate level that will not duplicate previous courses taken in the humanities, history and social science, the sciences, mathematics, health and physical education, and the fine arts.
Licenses holders with an elementary endorsement may satisfy the requirement by taken an academic content course in English, social science, mathematics, science, fine art, and or health and physical education. A grade-level endorsement requires course work in the major academic content areas of endorsement.
Licenses holders with an endorsement and or current teaching assignment in the areas of history and social science may satisfy the content requirement by taking an academic content course in history, or any of the related social science discipline (geography, anthropology, psychology, political science, economics and sociology)
Licenses holders in English may satisfy the content requirement by taking an academic content course in English, literature, journalism, theatre arts, and or speech. A subject-specific endorsement requires course work in the academic content area indicated by the endorsement or a related subject area.
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| What are acceptable alternative to content area course work? |
One of the following may be completed to satisfy the content course requirement of one cycle of the renewal process: Special education course work designed to assist classroom teachers and other school personnel in working with students
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with disabilities.
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enrolled in course in gifted education.
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enrolled in course in educational technology.
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enrolled in course in English as a second language.
In addition, professional development activities designed to support the Virginia Standards of Learning, Standards of Accreditation, and Assessments may be accepted in lieu of the content course for one renewal cycle. See new Virginia Licensure Renewal Manual dated September 21, 2007 at
http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/newvdoe/teached.html. Prior approval of the division superintendent, the 90 points in a content area also may be satisfied through course work taken to obtain a new teaching endorsement or advanced degree or course work taken because of a particular need of a particular teacher.
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| I have a master’s degree, how do I apply for salary increases? |
Speak to the Licensure Office who will provide you guidance and instruction on the process.
HR Licensure
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| May I receive renewal Credit for teaching a class? |
An instructor may receive certification credit for teaching an academy course under Option 7 (Educational Projects). One point per clock or contract hour is earned. This means if you teach a 1 credit course, you may receive 30 points; 2 credits course, 60 points and 3 credit course, 90 points. You may only submit a course once, however, if you teach two or more different courses during the year, you may submit each course for points. You need to show your principal/program manager a copy of your contract for verification.
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| What does Highly Qualified Teachers courses mean? |
Under the terms of NCLB, to be highly qualified teachers must: hold at least a bachelor’s degree from a four-year institution; hold full state certification; and demonstrate competence in their subject area. Newly hired elementary school teachers working in core academic areas must pass a rigorous state test of subject knowledge and teaching skills in reading/language arts, writing, math and other areas of the basic elementary curriculum. Newly hired middle school and high school teachers in core academic areas can demonstrate their subject-matter competence by passing a rigorous exam of their content knowledge; majoring in their subject as an undergraduate; earning a graduate degree in their subject; accumulating the coursework equivalent to an undergraduate major; or attaining an advanced certificate or credential.
Veteran middle school and high school teachers also must demonstrate subject matter competence. They can do so by passing assessments or obtaining a degree in their subject area or by meeting a high, objective, uniform state standard of evaluation (or HOUSSE). Such a standard must:
● Be set by the state for both grade-appropriate academic subject-matter knowledge and teaching skills;
● Be aligned with challenging state academic standards and developed in consultation with core content specialists, teachers, principals and school administrators;
● Provide objective, coherent information about the teacher’s attainment of core content knowledge in the academic subjects in which a teacher teaches;
● Be applied uniformly to all teachers in the same academic subject and the same grade level throughout the state;
● Take into consideration, but not be based primarily on, the time the teacher has been teaching in the academic subject;
● Be made available to the public upon request; and
● May involve multiple objective measures of teacher competency.
NCLB also includes important new reporting requirements related to teachers. At the beginning of each school year, school districts that receive Title I funding must notify parents of students in Title I schools that they are entitled to receive information on the qualifications of their children’s teachers, such as their teachers’ college majors and whether they have had any licensing criteria waived. In addition, Title I schools must notify parents if their child has been assigned to a teacher who is not highly qualified or if their child has been taught for four or more consecutive weeks by such a teacher. States must develop plans showing how they will achieve the goal of having all teachers highly qualified by the end of the 2005-2006 school year, with measurable objectives and milestones along the way.
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| What are Academy credits used for? |
1. Licensure Renewal
2. Salary -scale increases
3. To meet VA technology standards
4. Content Course Licensure requirements for teacher without Masters
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| What rates are academy instructors paid for teaching a course? |
1. credit course = $800
2. credits course = $1,600
3. credits course = $2,400
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| Where do I find my training history? |
For classes that completed after the summer of 2007 Training History will be found in My PLT. Training History from 1998-2006 is located in UConnect until it is transferred to My PLT later in the spring of 2008.
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