The 2020 Golden Apple Awards, sponsored by Better Living Building Supply and Cabinetry, were presented through a virtual ceremony yesterday, May 21. The awards honored 44 teachers from public and private schools in Albemarle County and Charlottesville City for excellence in teaching and active community involvement. Congratulations to all of the recipients!
Category Archives: Teachers – Elementary
Reminder: Shannon Grant Application Deadline Is June 1
If you’re planning on applying for a 2020-21 grant from the Shannon Foundation, your completed application must be signed by your school principal and submitted by or before June 1, 2020. Open the grant application »
Last Day of Work for Teachers Remains June 8
While this has certainly been an unusual school year, we want to make sure you know that the last day of work for teaching staff remains Monday, June 8. Office staff should continue to work their schedules as already set in Kronos. Continue reading
Registration Open for Responsive Classroom & Developmental Design Summer Institutes
Interested in building a supportive and productive classroom community? Want to learn how social and emotional learning support student engagement and academic achievement?
Responsive Classroom and Developmental Designs are two pillars of our commitment to meeting the social-emotional learning needs of our students. We are excited that both of these summer professional learning opportunities will move forward despite the uncertainty brought on by Covid-19. Continue reading
Internet Browsing Solution for K-2 iPads
The Department of Technology understands that Safari not being on K-2 iPads has presented some challenges for our students and educators. Our department has recently become aware of a new option to safely filter internet browsing in compliance with federal requirements on iPads used outside of our school division network. We conducted a thorough test to confirm that this new option works and will not cause other issues with how iPads function for learning. Continue reading
K-2 iPads: What to Know & Important Considerations for Instruction Design
K-2 Teachers: K-2 families without access to a computer at home are offered an ACPS iPad. These iPads are designed to support teachers and students with safe learning experiences during our extended closure. Please see below for important information about these devices as you design instruction.
What to know: Continue reading
Regional PBS TV Stations Broadcasting SOL-Aligned Learning Experiences to Support Families Without Internet Connection
In addition to learning options being provided to students and their families by teachers across the school division, homes will also be able to tune into “VA TV Classroom” on weekday afternoons. This new service is being provided by public radio and television stations in partnership with the Virginia Department of Education. Instruction for students in grades K-12 supports the state’s academic standards and expands learning opportunities, especially for students who are unable to access other distance learning options because their home lacks access to high-speed internet. Continue reading
Online Professional Learning Opportunities
During this period of school closures and social distancing, many educational associations and organizations have made their spring and summer offerings virtual. We have highlighted upcoming opportunities such as conferences, webinars and courses in our COVID-19 PD At-Home Support brochure, and we will update opportunities on the Online PD page of the ACPS Professional Development website.
Reminder: Any event or combination of related events over five hours can be submitted for recertification points. Continue reading
Using Zoom With Enhanced Security
The Department of Technology recently completed a full security evaluation of the video conferencing platform Zoom. We found some concerns with the default security settings in the free version of Zoom. For that reason, we are moving forward with creating our own Zoom domain where all of our employee accounts will be added.
All Teachers: On April 13, 2020, you will receive an email inviting you to our Zoom domain (unless you have already had your account linked). Please accept this invitation by clicking on the “Approve the Request” button. Doing so will enable our Technology Engineers to make our Zoom domain the most secure possible. Continue reading