HCPS 411 Update

On Tuesday, February 18, 2020, the Harford County Council appointed Dr. Carol L. Mueller to the Board of Education of Harford County. Dr. Mueller will represent Councilmanic District C, and will be sworn in at the beginning of the next Board of Education meeting, to be held at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, February 24, 2020.

Applications are now being accepted for school-based teacher specialist stipend positions. These positions do not fall within the voluntary transfer process and interested applicants need to apply. For immediate consideration, interested candidates should submit an online application prior to February 28, 2020. These positions are for internal HCPS candidates only who meet position requirements. Please note that current employees should use the designated internal application. Identified positions for 2020-2021 are pending budget approval.

To access an employment application, please visit Current Vacancies on www.hcps.org, found under the About Us banner, or click here.

The following positions are posted for consideration:

• Teacher Specialist – Literacy
• Teacher Specialist – Mathematics

Questions regarding this information should be directed to the Human Resources Department at x5226.

On December 10, 2019, the latest version of the Boundary Exception Procedure was signed by the Superintendent. While there are several changes to the procedure, there are two most notable for employees. First, all applicants will not need to reapply from year to year for the same school. New applications will only need to be completed if the reason for the request has changed or a new school is being requested. Second, the decision on employee applications will be made using building capacity and grade level capacity as a factor. While this was not a practice in the past, it will be from this point moving forward. If you have any questions please refer them to Bernard Hennigan, Executive Director of Student Support Services. A link to the revised procedure is provided here.

Harford County Public Schools congratulates all staff members who have completed specific milestones of service between 9/16/2019 – 9/15/2020. Staff members who have completed 5 years of service will receive a service pin and staff completing 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 years of service will receive a thank you gift of their choosing from an online catalog. Freedom Federal Credit Union is the sole sponsor of the Harford County Public Schools Service Recognition Program. An email will be sent in early March to staff members being recognized to provide instructions on selecting their gift. Service recognition gifts and pins will be shipped to the staff members’ work location for distribution by the principal or department head.

In addition, the Service Recognition Dinner will be held on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. to honor staff reaching their 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 year milestone with HCPS. All of this year’s honorees will be invited to the event via email in early March. We thank Freedom Federal Credit Union for fully funding the milestone gifts and Service Recognition Dinner which will be held at the Water’s Edge Event Center.

Questions may be directed to Human Resources at x5226.

Join your colleagues for the relevant, practical, and straightforward award-winning Retirewise® workshop series. It doesn’t matter how much or how little planning you’ve done, or if your retirement is many years away, at the Retirewise workshops there’s something for everyone to learn.

If you're just starting to think about your financial challenges then attending a workshop can help. Alternatively, if you already have a plan in place, then this is the perfect opportunity to confirm that you're on track. There's always something to learn.

Upcoming Workshops:

Location: North Harford High School

Session 1: Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Session 2: Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Time: 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Location: Churchville Elementary School

Session 1: Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Session 2: Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Time: 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.

Location: Patterson Mill High School

Session 1: Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Session 2: Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Time: 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

If asked for company name, enter Harford County Public Schools.

Reserve your spot

For complete dates, times and locations click here. If interested, you only need to choose from one of the available locations; the information presented at each location will be the same.

Register online now. Space may be limited.

Click here for a printable flier.

HCEA-represented employees and inclusion helpers (HCESC-represented employees) who wish to be considered for a voluntary transfer must submit their request online prior to the deadline date stated in the applicable negotiated agreement. The Voluntary Transfer Request site may be accessed by clicking on the following SharePoint link: Human Resources - HR Information. Each subject and/or position requested must be submitted separately. It is important to note that the Voluntary Transfer Request site is only accessible from a HCPS device connected to the HCPS network. The Voluntary Transfer Request site is not accessible from home. Please note that only online requests completed on the Voluntary Transfer Request site will be accepted.

Transfer requests are accepted on a year-round basis. Although transfers are accepted on a year-round basis, decisions will be based on the existing vacancy/transfer timeline. To review the 2019-20 SY Employment Timeline, please click on the following SharePoint link: Staff Management Department.

All Other HCESC-Represented Employees

For all other HCESC-represented positions, applications, including transfers, MUST be done through the online application process. All positions within the unit, which offer promotional and transfer opportunities, will be posted for at least one week prior to the close of the application deadline. You MUST apply online for consideration.

Questions regarding this information should be directed to Joanna Karolenko, in Human Resources, at Joanna.Karolenko@hcps.org or x5238.

Mandatory compliance training is being held for all special education teachers. Content will include Compliance Updates, Progress Monitoring for Student Success, and Strategies for Proactive Behavioral Intervention. All sessions will be held at the TUNE Building. Participants are encouraged to register early as each session is limited to 35 participants. Funding for substitute coverage will be provided by the Office of Special Education.

Special education teachers should register on Hector for one of the following sessions:

Monday, March 2, 8:00-10:30 a.m. or 12:30-3:00 p.m.

Wednesday, March 4, 8:00-10:30 a.m.

Thursday, March 26, 8:00-10:30 a.m. or 12:30-3:00 p.m.

Monday, March 30, 8:00-10:30 a.m. or 12:30-3:00 p.m.

Wednesday, April 1, 12:30-3:00 p.m.

Thursday, April 2, 8:00-10:30 a.m. or 12:30-3:00 p.m.

Questions regarding this information should be directed to Colleen Sasdelli, in Special Education, at Colleen.Sasdelli@hcps.org or x5359.

The ParaPro Assessment will be given multiple times this spring. The ParaPro Assessment will be available to all HCPS employees seeking to meet the highly qualified requirements of paraeducator positions in Harford County, which permits an individual to work with students in the classrooms under the direction of the teacher.

The test measures skills and knowledge in reading, math, and writing, as well as the ability to apply those skills and knowledge to assist in classroom instruction. Test administration is scheduled for February 22, March 14, April 4, and May 2, 2020. The test will be from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Bel Air High School, located at 100 Heighe St., Bel Air, MD 21014. Please sign-up and pay for the assessment on HECTOR.

Additional information related to the test, procedures for reimbursement, test prep/review and the MD passing score requirements are also available on the HR SharePoint site: https://hcps365.sharepoint.com/sites/HumanResources/default.aspx.

Questions regarding this information should be directed to Pauline Timmons, in Special Education, at Pauline.Timmons@hcps.org or x5246.

The Special Education Department, as part of an effort to inform school leaders and faculty, will be highlighting each week one or more of the MSDE Division of Early Intervention and Special Education Services (DEI-SES) Technical Assistance Bulletins.

This week, we are sharing the guidance on various low incidence disabilities.

• Early Intervention Services for Children Who Are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing and Their Families.
• Orientation and Mobility (OEM) Assessment Guidelines.

A full list of available DEI-SES Technical Assistance Bulletins are available on the MSDE website, located here.

Questions regarding this should be directed to any of the Coordinators for Special Education, at x5246.

Seats Still Available for Spring Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Courses:

Please see the course catalog for details: Spring Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Course Catalog. Registration for these MSDE credit courses is available on HECTOR.

• Cooperative Education and Outdoor Initiative (1 credit)
• Teacher Leadership: Developing Skills for Success (1 credit)

Questions should be directed to Lori Gohlinghorst at Lori.Gohlinghorst@hcps.org or x5621.

American College of Education:

American College of Education (ACE) is hosting an online information session on Tuesday, February 25 at 7:00 p.m. Please see flyer for additional details. This session will:

• Be brief, less than 30 minutes
• Review programs at ACE
• Discuss grant opportunity
• Provide time for Q & A

If you cannot attend, please register as it will be recorded and shared with you.

"Just wanted to give a shout out about Terri Smith! She has been extra helpful to me with my STRIVE kiddos and I just wanted to sing her praises for a second. She has invited me to come shadow multiple times and those times have been so valuable! She also sent me lots of materials for a group session for STRIVE. I had been struggling to figure out how to make a group session work for my kiddos here, but it went GREAT thanks to all of her support!! She has watched out for me so much this year and I just wanted to let you know! I am very thankful for her!"

-Paige Englehart, SLP-A, Roye-Williams Elementary School

Please help us welcome the following new employees to our HCPS family:

• Jessica Osborne, Inclusion Helper, Bel Air Middle School
• Misty Krause, Inclusion Helper, Forest Lakes Elementary School
• Kayla Stoots, Special Education Teacher, Fallston High School
• April Parvizian, Administrative Support Assistant, Joppatowne High School
• Michele Middleton, School Psychologist, Emmorton/Forest Hill/Darlington Elementary Schools
• Michele Tuminello, Paraeducator, William S. James Elementary School
• Oletha Trim, School Nurse, Magnolia Elementary School
• Sarah Folus, Music Teacher, North Harford Middle School
• Stachia James, Inclusion Helper, Joppatowne Elementary School

Editor: Lindsay Bilodeau, communications specialist

To submit an HCPS Shout Out or recognize a colleague in the Spotlight on Customer Service, please email the information and photo (if available) to HCPS.411@hcps.org.

Email: HCPS.411@hcps.org
Website: www.hcps.org
Location: 102 South Hickory Avenue, Bel Air, MD, USA
Phone: 410-588-5213