benefitsFOCUS: Open Enrollment Begins TOMORROW!

Open Enrollment origami banner

Open Enrollment (November 1-15) is a BIG deal! Why? Because it’s the one time during the year that benefits-eligible employees can:

  • Add, drop or change medical or dental coverage;
  • Enroll in our new voluntary vision plan;
  • Add, drop or change the dependents covered on those plans; and
  • Enroll in a healthcare or dependent care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for 2024. Continue reading

benefitsFocus: Open Enrollment Essentials – Disability Benefit Options

Open Enrollment origami banner

This is the last of our “Open Enrollment Essentials” messages in advance of the November 2023 Open Enrollment window (November 1-15). Today’s message focuses on Disability Coverage.

No one plans to get sick or injured, but it happens, and a serious illness or injury can result in months of disability that keeps you from working and exhausts your paid leave balances. While medical insurance helps cover your medical bills, it doesn’t help you meet financial obligations like rent/mortgage and utility bills, and it doesn’t help you buy food and other necessities. This is where disability coverage comes in. Programs available to our benefits-eligible employees include Sick Leave Bank and Long-Term Disability. Continue reading

Do You Know Your Employee Budget Advisory Rep?

Meeting and discussion group

Did you know that we have an Employee Budget Advisory group this year? The group includes representatives from all schools and departments who provide input into next year’s budget. If you have any budget-related issues you’d like to raise, please reach out to your building’s representative(s)! Representatives will collect your input and share it with the advisory group for consideration. Here are some suggestions for providing feedback to your representatives: Continue reading

benefitsFOCUS: Open Enrollment Essentials – Flexible Spending Accounts & Why You Might Want One in 2024

Open Enrollment origami banner

Open Enrollment (November 1-15) starts next week! One of the benefits you can elect during Open Enrollment is a Flexible Spending Account, commonly referred to as an FSA. You must enroll annually if you want to have an FSA for the next plan year, and the only time you can do that is during Open Enrollment!

FSAs aren’t just a few random letters of the alphabet; they’re a way you can save pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible health and dependent care expenses! FSAs: Continue reading

Southern Feeder Elementary School Design Committee Searching for Members

Volunteers needed

UPDATE! Attention, elementary school teachers: The meeting dates for the Southern Feeder Elementary School Steering Committee have changed due to a conflict with elementary school staff meetings. The steering committee will now meet on Nov. 15, Jan. 31, and March 13. Please apply by November 9 if the new dates work better with your schedule. The original invitation (below) has been updated with the new meeting dates. Continue reading

benefitsFOCUS: Open Enrollment Essentials – Dental Benefit Options

Open Enrollment origami banner

Open Enrollment (November 1-15) starts next week! When was the last time you compared our dental plan options to see whether your current plan still meets your needs? Open Enrollment is the only time during the year when you can change plans and dependents on your plan, unless you have an eligible mid-year qualifying event that allows you to make changes to your pre-tax benefits (like the dental plan). We encourage you to take a few minutes to assess whether you might want to make a change to your dental coverage during Open Enrollment. Continue reading

Schedule for Oct. 30 DPLC/CRT Professional Development

PLC sign on top; CRT sign on bottom

We are looking forward to our next Division Professional Learning Community (DPLC) and Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) Professional Development (PD) Day on Monday, October 30. Please reference the schedule for the times and locations of your DPLC meetings and your Culturally Responsive Teaching PD.


Important Notes: Continue reading

benefitsFOCUS: Open Enrollment Essentials – What Is a High Deductible Medical Plan & Is It for Me?

Open Enrollment origami banner

Open Enrollment (November 1-15) starts next week! Have you considered comparing our medical plans to see which plan is best for you? In yesterday’s Compass post, we highlighted the differences between our medical plan options. Today, we’re going to focus on the plan that may be least familiar to you: our Albemarle Choice plan, a high deductible medical plan that also comes with a Health Savings Account (HSA). Deciding between our traditional plan (Albemarle Select) and the Albemarle Choice plan basically comes down to: Continue reading

ACPS Has Partnered With DonorsChoose!

DonorsChoose Support a Classroom

We’re excited to announce that ACPS has formally partnered with DonorsChoose to fully leverage their community of citizen donors and corporate matches to serve our students. ACPS teachers and staff have already raised more than $300,000 in classroom resources through DonorsChoose over the years. While our district is committed to providing you with the materials needed to teach in the classroom or conduct distance learning, posting a project on DonorsChoose is a great way to bring those additional resources you feel are important for your students to make learning even more joyful and engaging. Continue reading