National Board Certification: Informational Meeting on September 23

INBPTS Logonterested in becoming a National Board Certified Teacher? If you have completed three full years of teaching or school counseling, consider attending an informational meeting on Wednesday, September 23, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., at the ARC. Baker-Butler assistant principal Wendy Eckerle and physical education teacher Tessa Pehanick will address the process and benefits of certification. Planning to attend? Please RSVP to weckerle@k12albemarle.org.

Why National Board Certification? Find out why more than 110,000 teachers have chosen to pursue National Board Certification and why they say it’s the best investment of time and money they’ve ever made.

Are Teachers Distracting Students With Bad Interior Design?

Busy Classroom DisplayFew environments feature such a cacophony of decor as the elementary school classroom. Colorful bulletin boards, scientific posters, state maps, and student artwork tend to cover nearly every inch of wall space. Yet a new study on classroom design from researchers at Carnegie Mellon University suggests that all that educational flair may not be all that great for getting kids to learn. Read more in this Co.Design feature from Fast Company »

Superintendent Pam Moran encourages educators to consider replacing commercial products with student-made work that adds value and ownership for learners and their learning. Continue reading

Special Benefit Concert for the Robin and Mani Legacy Projects – September 16

Robin and Mani's All Buddy CampAnnouncing a very special Benefit Concert on Wednesday, September 16, for the Robin and Mani Legacy Projects, including Robin and Mani’s All Buddy Camp and the Robin Aldridge Memorial at Hollymead Elementary School. The Mayer Kirby Mayer Acoustic Group will perform with guest Gary Green and special host Terri Allard. The show starts at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $19.50 in advance or $22.00 the day of the show. Purchase tickets »

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Free Emergency Preparedness Training – September 10

Emergency PreparednessThe Charlottesville-UVA/Albemarle County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) invites you to attend a FREE emergency preparedness training on September 10, 6 to 9 p.m. This Level 1 training will focus on developing the foundational skills necessary for emergency response and will address regional hazards, personal preparedness, and elements of fire safety and medical operations. Email certcville@gmail.com or call (434) 971-1263 to register.

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OA Meeting Materials from August 7

Thanks for Being AwesomeA big THANK YOU to our office associates for being such great supporters of learners and learning! We hope the 2015 OA Summer Meeting provided an engaging forum for you to share ideas and brainstorm with your counterparts. In case you were unable to attend a session, or even the whole meeting, several of the roundtable presenters have provided their session materials below. Best wishes for a great school year! Continue reading

Have You Downloaded the ACPS Mobile App?

Mobile AppPersonalized access to the school division starts with the ACPS mobile app, and … it’s free! Features include social media and news feeds; info about upcoming school events; resources for students, parents and staff; access to the parent and student portals; and more! You also can choose to follow individual schools and receive notifications specific to those sites. Download “Albemarle County PS” from the App Store or Google Play today!

Required Training for School Staff Who Interpret/Translate

Interpret-TranslateThe ESOL Office is excited to offer a special one-hour training to comply with state and federal guidelines to ACPS employees who wish to support ESOL families through occasional interpretation and/or translation during the school day. Interested staff members should contact Elaine Cecelski-Ayala, Family Engagement Liason, about scheduling and receiving payment for the training (ececelski@k12albemarle.org or 434-973-7921 | 434-465-0776).

Questions about interpretation and/or translation? Please call the ESOL Office at 434-296-6517 or contact Elaine.

Teach On, Warriors

Momastery“Every Friday afternoon Chase’s teacher asks her students to take out a piece of paper and write down the names of four children with whom they’d like to sit the following week. The children know that these requests may or may not be honored. She also asks the students to nominate one student whom they believe has been an exceptional classroom citizen that week. All ballots are privately submitted to her. And every single Friday afternoon, after the students go home, Chase’s teacher takes out those slips of paper, places them in front of her and studies them. She looks for patterns.”

But, “Chase’s teacher is not looking for a new seating chart or ‘exceptional citizens.’ Chase’s teacher is looking for lonely children.” Read more on Momastery »