HCPS 411 Update

This is the last regularly-scheduled issue of the HCPS 411 Update for the 2022-23 school year. The newsletter will resume publication weekly on Thursdays with the start of the new school year. Important information for staff will be shared over the summer via Special Announcement newsletters as needed. Have a safe, relaxing, and fun summer!

Were you unable to join the Monthly Minute on Tuesday? No worries - we have you covered! Click below to watch Dr. Bulson's message. To view a complete archive of all past Monthly Minute videos, visit the Monthly Minute page on our website by clicking here.

Thank you to Dr. Joyce Herold, Dr. Roy Phillips, and Ms. Patrice Ricciardi for their advocacy and dedication to the students, families, and staff of Harford County Public Schools while serving on the Board of Education of Harford County. Their terms are coming to an end, and their last meeting as members of the Board will be June 26, 2023. On June 12 during a farewell celebration, Board President Carol Mueller presented Dr. Herold, Dr. Phillips, and Ms. Ricciardi with certificates of appreciation for their time as Board members.

The five Blueprint Committees and many work groups have been busy this last school year navigating the Blueprint legislation, meeting deadlines, innovating, and building the path forward. The following links highlight important milestones and initiatives accomplished in this systemic effort. Thank you to all who participate in committees, work groups, meetings, and focus groups and share their opinions, expertise, and ideas daily.

• 2022-2023 Blueprint Milestones
• End-of-School 2023 Newsletter

Blueprint Outcomes – the AIB is requesting feedback.

The Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB) is currently creating outcome measurements for Blueprint implementation that will impact our work and how progress is measured internally and between our peer local education agencies. The AIB is seeking feedback on draft outcomes, and we are calling on all HCPS experts, community partners, and stakeholders to review these draft outcomes and provide your comments! Proposed outcomes for pillar 1 (Early Childhood), 2 (Elevating Educators), & 3 (North Star/CCR) are available HERE. A feedback form is available HERE. Thank you for taking the time to engage with the proposed outcomes, as this will be critical in our future.

Instructional staff participation requested:

The Department of Research and Program Evaluation is collaborating with the Supervisor of Innovation in Learning to carry out research and conduct a comprehensive program evaluation of the implementation of the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) in HCPS. This collaboration will entail the development of a comprehensive evaluation framework using a mixed method approach that will include survey research, qualitative research (focus groups, interviews, etc.), and quantitative research and will culminate with a final capstone report. This framework will be used to monitor the implementation and assess the impact of the Canvas LMS across all schools. This evaluation should provide valuable insights for decision making, enhancing teaching and learning, improving student outcomes, and implementing future technology projects.

The aim of this survey is to gather valuable information that helps in addressing the following research categories:

• Use of Canvas
• Impact
• Training and Support
• Overall Satisfaction

While this survey is voluntary, participation of all instructional staff is highly encouraged. The information you provide is confidential and will be reported anonymously.

Please click the link below to complete the survey by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, June 22, 2023.

Canvas LMS End of Year 1 Implementation Survey

For questions regarding this survey or the comprehensive program evaluation of the Canvas LMS, please contact Yakoubou Ousmanou, Manager of Research and Program Evaluation, at Yakoubou.Ousmanou@hcps.org.

The HCPS Bowtie Breakfast program celebrates Central Office employees who consistently demonstrate outstanding customer service and go above and beyond in their roles. Honorees are nominated by colleagues to attend Superintendent Bulson’s virtual event held each month. Congratulations to the June 2023 honorees! Join us in celebrating our awesome HCPS staff!

We'd also like to give a BIG thank you to our program sponsor, Freedom Federal Credit Union! We are able to provide our honorees with a special treat courtesy of their generosity.

The 2023 Secondary Green Teacher of the Year is Ms. Connie Cullinan of Harford Technical High School (pictured below with Mr. Howard Eakes). Ms. Cullinan is the HTHS Envirothon coach, green school activities coordinator, and a long-time supporter of having secondary classes take advantage of field experiences at Harford Glen.

The 2023 Elementary Green Teacher of the Year is Ms. Brittany Horan of Churchville Elementary. Ms. Horan heads up several Green School initiatives at CVES, including hydroponic gardening, composting, and pollinator gardens on their campus.

Congratulations to both these excellent educators who consistently incorporate environmental stewardship into their instruction and school culture!

The Communi-Team Adventure launched in January 2023, and had a wonderfully successful first year! The Communi-Team recognized school-based staff members who were nominated by Central Office staff members for their outstanding efforts to elevate, inspire, and celebrate one another in their buildings. Each month, from January to May, nominations were accepted for a specific area:

• January 2023 - Inclusion: The January adventure focused on celebrating inclusivity of all, inside the classroom, outside of the classroom, and in our daily life. Nominees were recognized for their outstanding efforts to support a positive culture and climate, collaborating with related service providers, patience and kindness during challenging interactions, advocating on behalf of their students, and more.
• February 2023 - Celebration: The February adventure focused on celebrating one another both in and out of the classroom. Nominees were recognized for their unwavering ability to uplift and encourage their peers, creating and implementing schoolwide initiatives to boost morale, supporting families of special needs students, bringing joy and laughter to their buildings, and more.
• March 2023 - Perseverance: The March adventure focused on perseverance through tough times. Nominees were recognized for overcoming unique challenges in their buildings, artfully managing personal and professional situations, supporting the social and emotional needs of students, and more.
• April 2023 - Leadership: The April adventure focused on school-based staff members who demonstrate leadership in their day-to-day actions to MULTIPLY and elevate others! Nominees were recognized for their dedication and generosity, ability to see value and strength in their peers, risk taking, leading by example, conflict resolution, and more.
• May 2023 - Equity: The May adventure focused on school-based staff members who celebrate equity in their day-to-day actions by creating inclusive spaces for all students and staff to feel supported and able to thrive. Nominees were recognized for creating welcoming and safe environments, providing materials in more than one language, contributions to Voices for Equity summits, working to support the social/emotional health of their students, and more.

School-based staff members nominated for these adventures were invited to join members of the Communi-Team to participate in the Polar Bear Plunge at Sandy Point Park, candle making at You Make Scents in Bel Air, making ice cream at Broom’s Bloom Dairy, guided leadership activities at Harford Glen, and a guided historic tour of Havre de Grace. The adventures were sponsored by generous community partners: Bravura, Inc. and Freedom Federal Credit Union.

As this inaugural year comes to a close, we would like to thank all of our wonderful nominators for being willing to lend their time and expertise to cover the duties of the person they nominated. Your dedication allowed us to bring our vision of connecting HCPS school-based staff with one another and creating a sense of community among staff in different buildings and across Harford County. We are so very grateful for this opportunity, and we look forward to bringing another round of adventures to our school-based staff next year. Thank you for your unwavering support!

2022-2023 Communi-Team Adventure Nominators:

• Bethany Ables
• Kristen Bard
• Elizabeth Beser
• Mindy Bloom
• LaWanda Brown
• Stacy Chanski
• Julie Ciotola
• Diane Engelman
• Sherron Foster-Moore
• Rebecca Gault
• Kimberly Heeter
• Meredith Heldt
• Jeffrey Hoffman
• Erin Lange
• Derek Layser
• Nicole McClurg
• Mary Nasuta
• Kazimiera Patterson
• Melissa Romano
• Kristine Scarry
• Kristine Stahm
• Paula Stanton
• Jan Stewart
• Stephanie Swisher
• Dawn Zipay

Towson University – Arts Integration Program

See flyer for Towson University’s Arts Integration Institute – Arts Integration Post Baccalaureate Certificate. This 100% online program is being offered through the Towson Learning Network with no application fee and discounted tuition for eligible employees.

IIRP Restorative Practices for Educators - (Tier 1 & 2 Supports ) - International Institute for Restorative Practices

Course Description: Building and strengthening relationships and community is a critical component of school culture. Restorative practices is an essential process for creating a positive learning environment, building social capital, and resolving relational issues.

During your training session, you will learn the fundamental theory and practices for engaging with students, staff, and parents in your school setting. Topics include the importance of being explicit about practice, how to set high expectations while being supportive, and ways to build community in your setting. We will discuss giving direct feedback and asking questions that foster accountability, as well as utilizing effective methods to resolve common conflicts. You will learn to apply the restorative practices continuum, understanding which restorative processes are best for achieving certain goals or responding to particular situations. We will focus specifically on facilitating circles, an essential process for creating a positive learning environment and school culture. Circles can be used both proactively and responsively to build social capital, sustain relationships, address social problems, and respond when harm occurs. Participants will spend time planning circles to use in their schools.

Participants will be paid the negotiated rate of $25/hr. if they are working outside of their contracted work schedule. CPD credit is not available at this time.

Hector registration link for both virtual and in-person sessions:

https://www.hcps.org/registration/workshops/workshops.aspx?filter=1813

Questions?

Please email: faith.buxton@hcps.org

Many of our open positions are filled by word of mouth by our employees. Help us share our employment needs!

Follow us on social media @hcpsrecruiter and share our employment posts. To find a full list of our available positions, visit hcps.org and click on the sun! We will be posting opportunities all summer.

KEPRO is the Employee Assistance Program Provider

With over six decades of combined experience, CNSI, a leading provider of innovative healthcare technology solutions, and Kepro, a leading provider of technology-enabled care management, quality oversight, and clinical assessment services, recently announced the combined organization has rebranded as Acentra Health. Acentra Health's mission is to continually innovate solutions that deliver maximum value and impact to the healthcare delivery system. Its power lies in the marriage of developing advanced claims and encounters and providing solutions that drive efficiency and cost savings with high-quality care management, quality oversight, and clinical assessment capabilities. By leveraging rich data sets – provider, health plan beneficiary and member, claims and encounters, and social determinants of health – Acentra Health transforms insights into action by bridging the gaps between technology suppliers, policy advisors, and clinicians.

For information on Acentra Health, including a new company video and an organization timeline, visit acentra.com. A comprehensive new website will launch later this summer. Until then, employees can continue to access the EAP program and resources by phone at (866) 795-5701 or by visiting their website online at www.EAPhelplink.com, company code: HCPS. For more information on CNSI and Kepro, visit cns-inc.com and kepro.com.

REMINDER BEGINNING JULY 1, 2023! HCPS will be transitioning dental insurance carriers from Delta Dental to CareFirst. Unless you elected to change your plan, those enrolled in the Delta Dental PPO Comprehensive plan will transition to the CareFirst Dental PPO Comprehensive plan on July 1, 2023. Likewise, members currently enrolled in the Delta Dental Premier Standard plan will transition to the CareFirst PPO Standard plan as of the same date if an active change election was not submitted during the open enrollment period. Please contact your dentist’s office to verify if your provider participates with the new dental plan.

NEW ID CARDS: Every employee enrolled in a dental plan will receive new ID cards. All ID cards will be mailed in a blank, unidentified envelope for member security and privacy. Employees who elected the CareFirst BlueVision Plus plan during open enrollment will receive a second envelope containing separate ID cards. Employees who elected to change their medical plan option during open enrollment will receive a third envelope containing separate ID cards. This means you may have up to three (3) separate ID cards based on your medical, dental, and vision elections. All ID cards will arrive by mail at your home by the end of June.

• Dental cards will contain the group number 2SM7
• Vision cards will contain the group number 2SM8

To find an in-network dental provider, members can visit: BlueCross BlueShield BlueDental Lookup. On this page, please be sure to adjust the location of the search area on the page before entering your provider's name. Please Note: You must search by your dentist's name and not the dental practice's name; the search tool will not return results for group dental practices.

If you have any questions, contact the Benefits Office at benefits@hcps.org.

Keep track of your financial and digital life with MetLife.

Placing your financial and digital life together for a resource for your loved ones in the event of your passing or unexpected illness or injury seems like such a big job, and it is difficult to know where to start. The best way to start is to break it into smaller parts and take it one step at a time.

MetLife has provided access to an excellent resource for all employees, regardless of whether you carry life insurance benefits through Harford County Public Schools. This resource can help you gather all your information to provide to your beneficiary(ies), so they know how and where to start managing your financials if you can no longer. To access this tool, follow this link: Personal-Financial-Profile-2021-Digital-Home-print-exp0823.docx (live.com)

Zone in on your physical health this month and beyond.

Click the image below to view the June Playlist: Physical Health.

Coming to You Live in June!

Even when travel breaks up your routine, it doesn’t have to interfere with your overall health, wellness, and movement goals. Instead, look for ways to incorporate fitness into your travel plans. Join BurnAlong on June 14 for travel tips to stay active while on the road.

• June 14 at 12:00 noon – Ways to Incorporate Fitness into Your Travel Plans
• June 29 at 12:00 noon – Optimize Your Workouts with Proper Nutrition

Need Help Kick-Starting Your Physical Health Journey?

Participate in BurnAlong’s Take b With You Challenge, kicking off on June 1. Everyone can participate simply by completing a travel-related program before June 30. Get your movement in – even when you’re on the road. To join, schedule a program on BurnAlong through June 30. Log in and take the travel-related BurnAlong Program from June 1-30. Then, celebrate all the hard work you put into your physical health in June!

Step Up Your Smoothie Game this Summer.

Learn all about smoothies! Learn what they are, how to make them, budget tips, tricks, and recipes! Be sure to join the playlists, as new recipes will be added periodically! Recommended classes on the playlist include:

• Smoothie Series: Smoothie Basics
• Smoothie Series: Budget Tips
• Smoothie Series: Smoothie Bags

Looking for More Class Recommendations?

Click on the calendar below to access suggested classes throughout June:

Did you know BurnAlong is free for you and your friends?

You have access to four (4) free family subaccounts, so you can start sharing today! It takes just a minute to send one, and they'll get free, unlimited access to BurnAlong all year long. Help someone start their 2023 off on the right foot. Click here to invite a subaccount.

Take BurnAlong with You!

Join thousands of others on their health and wellness journey by downloading the Mobile App. Available in iOS and Android, take BurnAlong with you by downloading the app today!

What is BurnAlong?

As a reminder, BurnAlong is our health and wellness partner who provides you and your family with more than 23,000 live and on-demand online classes from 5,000+ credentialed instructors at no cost to you.

To activate your complimentary account, get started by visiting https://fit.burnalong.com/hcps. If you have any trouble accessing your account, contact customercare@burnalong.com. Find out more about BurnAlong in this brief video.

Have you heard about Noom? Noom is an app that takes a psychology-based approach to help individuals lose weight and keep it off. And now, we're pleased to have this available to all employees at no cost through the CareFirst Wellbeing Wellness program - even those employees who do not carry the CareFirst medical insurance through HCPS. Spouses and dependent children over 18 on the HCPS CareFirst medical plan can also access this new benefit at no cost. To learn more about Noom and how to create your free account, click here.

Already have a Noom account? Follow the direction in the link above to create your CareFirst-sponsored Noom account using the same email address as your individual/consumer account. Noom's registration flow will be able to identify you, prompting additional screens to confirm you wish to transfer from your consumer account to a CareFirst-sponsored account. If you agree, your account will transition to the free CareFirst-sponsored benefit.

Tuition reimbursement requests, including the Partial Reimbursement Request form corresponding to your union and an itemized receipt showing payment method(s) and amount(s), and an official transcript, sent separately and electronically from your university, must be submitted to transcripts@hcps.org within 90 days of the course completion date. Please visit the Tuition Reimbursement SharePoint Page for additional tuition reimbursement information, including reimbursement request forms, sample receipts, eligibility, and more details about the reimbursement submission process.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR SPRING 2023 SEMESTER REIMBURSEMENT REQUESTS: Spring 2023 semester reimbursement requests received on and after May 1, 2023, will be reimbursed after July 15, 2023, leading up to and including the 2023-24 school year's first and second pay dates. Employees will receive an email confirming the reimbursement date of their request once it is processed over the summer. This processing timeline will apply to all staff, including those not scheduled to work during the summer break. Employees taking coursework through a direct bill partner will have their coursework billed directly to HCPS. Therefore, no paperwork is needed from the employee for the reimbursement as the partner University/College will provide the required official transcript/grade report.

Courses completed before July 1, 2023, will count towards the July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023 fiscal year, while courses completed on or after July 1, 2023, will count towards the July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024 fiscal year. Questions concerning reimbursement should be directed to the benefits office at benefits@hcps.org. Questions concerning certification should be directed to certification@hcps.org.

The Maryland State Retirement and Pension System and the Community College of Baltimore County will provide State Pension members the opportunity to participate in pre-retirement webinars and seminars. These sessions provide vital retirement information to pension system members, including the Maryland State Pension, Legal Issues, Social Security Benefits, and Financial Planning. The webinars will run from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Remaining Webinar:

• June 28 (CRN 37262)

To register, please visit https://www.ccbcmd.edu/ceed-preretirement-county. For those participating in the online events, you will receive a separate link to join the date-specific event. For those participating in-person, you will receive an email with site-specific information.

Please Note: These sessions are not affiliated with HCPS and will not include HCPS-specific information, such as retiree healthcare. HCPS will be hosting a condensed pre-retirement seminar in February. More information about this seminar will be announced in future HCPS 411 Update newsletters.

Employees who wish to provide feedback on their experience(s) obtaining medications through CVS retail pharmacies are advised to complete the CVS/Caremark Service Reporting Tool, available on SharePoint. This report is monitored bi-weekly by a member of the Benefits Office for further assistance and tracking of member service feedback. To access this form, visit the Harford County Public Schools – SharePoint Home Page.

As always, if there is an immediate need or concern when obtaining medication, please email benefits@hcps.org so that a member of the Benefits Office can assist you more quickly.

Presented by KEPRO Employee Assistance Program

An open mindset is the tendency to be receptive to new ideas and information. This session will explore how to keep an open mind about ourselves and others and learn the benefits of keeping an open mind. Click here to learn more.

Date: Available on demand beginning June 20, 2023

Broadcast Length: 50 minutes
How to Access: Go to your EAP website: www.EAPHelpLink.com. Enter your code: HCPS and look for Online Seminars in the lower left-hand corner of this homepage, or you can search for them by title.

The Employee Assistance Program is available to employees and their families anytime, any day, and is a free, confidential program to help you balance your work, family, and personal life.

Employees and their family members can call KEPRO 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, toll-free at (866) 795-5701 to visit their website online at www.EAPhelplink.com.

N-STEP Career Expo: Emerging Careers In Robotics & Artificial Intelligence

Join the 2nd annual N-STEP Career Expo at Harford Community College to expose youth and young adults to various educational and employment opportunities. This event is inclusive of all ages and genders and is supported by a distinguished list of community partners. Supporting vendors include Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Virtual Reality, Cybersecurity, Healthcare, Drones, Game Design, and other STEM related career fields.

Register here: https://nstepforward.com/.

"Many thanks and a huge shout out to all the members of our HCPS Traumatic Event Response Team. This group of volunteers is an invaluable resource that provides support to students and colleagues in times of great need. Unfortunately, they have been called upon many times this school year and have never hesitated to answer and serve. You are an amazing and selfless group of people who are greatly appreciated."

-Office of Student Support Services

"A special shoutout to Ms. Becky Reese and her staff for the incredible work they did this year in addressing student attendance. Magnolia Elementary School reduced their chronic absentee rate by 20%, the largest reduction by any school in the county. This took a lot of effort and creative thinking and their entire staff should be commended."

-Office of Student Support Services

"I would like to give a shout out to Tom Moyer, Mark Winzenreid, Keith Myers, Bryan Winsett, and Lawrie Sayre in the Facilities Building Trades Department who worked hard for two weeks replacing decking to the portables at Harford Academy. These technicians worked in hot weather and during the poor air quality days to ensure the safety of students and staff."

-Eric Rommelman, Crew Chief of Building Trades, Facilities Department

"I would like to give a huge shout out to Aldo Garcia, Elisa Martinez, and Luis Sandoval. Throughout this school year, they have gone well over and above supporting staff with translating documents, phone calls, and informal meetings with parents. Each of these folks already have many responsibilities and they still took time to translate. Parent communication is such an important part of our jobs, especially when working with students with little to no functional communication. Providing translation was extra and each of these folks stepped up with excellent customer service."

-Rachel Otremba, Special Education Teacher/Technology Support Specialist, Harford Academy

"I would like to give a shout out to Dave Filbert, Eric Rommelman, and Paul Barben from the Facilities Building Trades department. We received a call from a school wanting artwork displayed that was just created by the entire 5th grade class. They needed it hung ASAP so the students would be able to see it for the last week of school. I passed the request on to these gentlemen who went out the next day and got the job done. Facilities is especially busy this time of year, but these team members made time for what is important: the students."

-Tiffany Sawyer, Work Order Coordinator, Facilities Department

"I want to send a huge shout out to Paul Kline and his Facilities crews for always being there to help the North Harford Agriculture Program! Whether we have a fence down, need mowing done, bedding picked up and delivered for the livestock, need animals hauled to weigh-ins, fairs, events, etc., and a multitude of other things, Paul is always there for us and brings a great crew if he can't do it by himself. We appreciate them so much!"

-Aimee Densmore, Animal Science Teacher/FFA Advisor, North Harford High School

Please join us in welcoming the following new hires to our HCPS family:

• Napoleon De Jesa, Custodian I - Shift 2, Aberdeen High School
• David Hayes, Custodian I - Shift 2, Aberdeen High School

Editor: Lindsay Bilodeau, Innovation Specialist

To submit an HCPS Shout Out, 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