What’s the BIG news?
Open Enrollment will soon be here! We have some changes to communicate prior to the Open Enrollment period, along with some other things you really need to know. Continue reading
Monthly Archives: May 2015
Crayola Creative Leadership Grants 2015 – Apply by June 22
The 2015 program provides grants for innovative, creative leadership team building within elementary schools. Apply by June 22, 2015, for the opportunity to receive a grant for building your school’s creative capacity. Each grant-winning school (up to 20 grants awarded) receives $2,500 and Crayola products valued at $1,000. Find out how to get started »
Ways of Making Thinking & Learning Visible
So much of students’ learning happens within the privacy of their own minds, at one specific moment in time. What are some ways of making that thinking and learning visible, both in the immediate and over time?
Check out this “tip sheet” from Brilliant or Insane that highlights six ways to make student learning visible, including the use of photos, audio, video, and sketchbooks to document moments of learning. Additionally, the site Show What You Know with Media highlights 12 different media resources that students could use as products of their learning, including definitions, workflows and examples.
Tell Us What You Think: Proposed New Competencies for Classified Employees – Respond by May 13
You are invited to review the proposed new classified employee competencies and offer your feedback through a short survey. Please respond by Wednesday, May 13.
The competency review group has been receiving classified employee feedback since March through meetings, focus groups, and a survey. As we sought to organize the many comments and suggestions, we remained focused on our primary goals: to ensure alignment with the mission, vision and values of both divisions, and to create a new, streamlined set of competencies that makes it easier for classified employees to answer the “how do they relate to my actual job?” question. Continue reading
A Week of Thanks … for Our Teachers, School Nurses, & School Nutrition Employees
This week, our nation honors the contribution of teachers, school nurses, and school nutrition employees: May 4-8 marks Teacher Appreciation Week and School Nutrition Employee Week, and May 6 is School Nurse Day!
During this annual recognition week, please join me in celebrating our school nurses and teachers, who every day make fit our learning environment to extraordinary purpose. Thank you for making our county more welcoming, more safe, more uplifting, and more rewarding for those we serve. Read the Superintendent’s message of thanks »
This week also honors school nutrition employees across the nation for their daily work to provide healthy meals and a positive welcome to children dining in our school cafeterias. Continue reading
Pam Moran Named Virginia’s Superintendent of the Year!
Yesterday evening at the Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS) Annual Awards Banquet, our very own Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Pamela Moran, was named Virginia’s Superintendent of the Year. Dr. Moran was selected from a pool of eight regional finalists chosen from 133 superintendents in the state. In presenting the award, VASS President Alan Seibert said, “Pam Moran has demonstrated inspirational leadership in reducing major gaps among her economically disadvantaged students graduating ready for post-secondary learning.” He added, “What is particularly remarkable about Pam’s accomplishment is that it was achieved in six years under extreme budget pressure with a significant increase in the number of disadvantaged students.” Read the VASS press release »
Northrop Grumman Launches Middle School Contest to Promote STEM Innovation – Apply by June 12
Northrop Grumman Foundation is on a mission to get kids excited about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), so they’re making five grants of up to $100,000 available to public middle schools for their very own fabulous school lab makeover. The Fab School Labs application window is open through June 12. The winning schools will team up with Fab School Labs contest partner Flinn Scientific, Inc., to design a state-of-the-art lab complete with all of the tools, resources and furnishings needed. Here’s how it works »
We are Piloting a Change to the Vertical Team Stipend for 2015-16
We will be piloting a change to the traditional vertical team stipend we have grown used to over the past several years. This change will be a trial run for 2015-16, and the overall goal is to differentiate stipends to support the different kinds of work we have for vertical team members. Rather than stipending the vertical team member to be a “Jack of all trades,” we will stipend the “trades.” Continue reading
Registration Now Open for the Summer Fine Arts Academy
Albemarle County Public Schools’ Summer Fine Arts Academy provides students from our region an opportunity to spend an extended period of time studying a field of art of their choice under the direction of a highly qualified and engaging teacher. Culminating in a public performance or display at a local venue, students can choose from jazz studies, creative writing, visual art, drama/playwriting, choral performance, or rock/rap. Learn more »
See what it’s all about:
Policy Updates: Mar. 26 & Apr. 23, 2015
Albemarle County Public Schools maintains over 600 policies. Our policies are locally developed through our work with the Virginia School Boards Association and they are tied to Virginia Code. Several are locally developed. Our policies translate our core values of excellence, young people, community and respect into the backbone of our daily operations and aspirations for students. You can stay up-to-date on policy revisions, additions and deletions through the ACPS website! View the March & April 2015 policy updates (ACPS user name and password required).