Dear Colleagues:
This moment in time, with our shortest days, important holidays, and the changing of seasons, brings us to memory and reflection. It has been a bittersweet year in Albemarle County with the ongoing successes of our children mixed with tragedies in our schools and in our community. Continue reading
The College & Work Readiness Assessment (CWRA) is one part problem-based assessment of 21st century skills, utilized by over 280 middle and high schools, one part professional learning network working toward the better alignment of assessment with innovative pedagogical practices.
As more schools across the country—both public and private—recognize the power of innovative, engaging pedagogical practices (like blended learning, design-thinking, and PBL), many are seeking equally progressive and authentically aligned assessment tools, like the CWRA. Continue reading
At their annual conference on December 4, the Virginia Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (VASCD) presented the 2014 Impact Award to Becky Fisher, Albemarle County Public Schools’ Director of Educational Technology and Professional Development, in recognition of her leadership in best practices for educational technology and professional development programs. Continue reading
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is convening another cohort for their online teaching certificate program through the Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE), possibly starting this spring. VCU only needs 5 or 6 more participants to join, and the cohort rate is a great deal.
Interested? Please contact Becky Fisher at bfisher@k12albemarle.org as soon as possible.
Nominations are now open for the 14th Annual Golden Apple Awards, a program designed to honor outstanding teachers in public and private schools in Albemarle County and Charlottesville City. One winner will be selected from each school. Each award recipient will receive a Golden Apple and gift certificates from local businesses. Additionally, eight winners will receive $1,000 Golden Apple Grants, which can be used for classroom materials or to support the recipient’s professional development. Nominate a teacher by February 4, 2015! Continue reading
CenturyLink, Inc. is connecting teachers with technology for the classroom. The CenturyLink Clarke M. Williams Foundation’s Teachers and Technology grant program will consider requests of up to $5,000 submitted by full-time PK-12 teachers who want to innovatively implement technology in their classrooms to increase student achievement. Visit the CenturyLink Teachers and Technology Grant Site to apply. The deadline for applications is January 2, 2015.
The annual Children’s Engineering Convention will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Williamsburg, Virginia, February 19-20, 2015.
The Children’s Engineering Convention has three major components: (1) staff development for K-5 teachers focusing on ways to help children create, use and control technology; (2) teacher demonstrations of ways to infuse technology activities into the Standards of Learning; and (3) a showcase of technology-based educational resources. In addition to the special interest sessions/workshops, other opportunities will include education vendor exhibits and an international keynote speaker during each general session. Get the details »
Check out principal Mike Irani’s November 21 blog post about how Meriwether Lewis staff are building a Google “genius hour” approach to professional learning!
As you merrily prepare for the holidays, Payroll is planning for the distribution of 2014 W-2s. We want to provide you with important information regarding W-2s and W-4s.
W-2 (Annual Wage and Tax Statement)
Your 2014 W-2 Form will be electronically available on or before Tuesday, January 13, 2015. You may recall that this service was made available in January of this year for the 2013 W-2 Form. The same electronic method will be used. An email will be sent when the 2014 W-2s are ready with instructions on how to access and view it. Continue reading
Dear Colleagues,
Every day of the year I am grateful for the opportunity to work with educators and staff who care deeply about young people and open doors for them to pursue their dreams and find success through multiple pathways to learning. Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful that we work in school communities that value young people and make decisions responsive to student needs. Continue reading