News

As of today, June 6, additional content areas are open for consideration of new hires and voluntary transfers. For your reference, a listing of vacancies available within that content area is provided. 

Vacancies for which staff within the Office of Human Resources are still identifying placements (teachers and paraeducators who have been involuntarily transferred/returning from a leave of absence) are not included at this time.

The listing of vacancies will continue to be updated and will be posted weekly by the close of business every Monday, until August 1.

The window to submit voluntary transfer requests for the 2023-2024 school year closed on April 15, 2023.  If you did not submit transfer requests for the next school year, you will have the opportunity to request a transfer for the 2024-2025 school year beginning February 2024. Specific dates and additional information will be posted on the Staff Hub at that time.

Please contact Melodee Phillips at melodee_phillips@hcpss.org with any questions you may have.

As of today, June 2, an additional content area is open for consideration of new hires and voluntary transfers. For your reference, a listing of vacancies available within that content area is provided. 

Vacancies for which staff within the Office of Human Resources are still identifying placements (teachers and paraeducators who have been involuntarily transferred/returning from a leave of absence) are not included at this time.Vacancies by Level (Certificated) as of 6/2/2023

The listing of vacancies will continue to be updated and will be posted weekly by the close of business every Monday, until August 1.

The window to submit voluntary transfer requests for the 2023-2024 school year closed on April 15, 2023.  If you did not submit transfer requests for the next school year, you will have the opportunity to request a transfer for the 2024-2025 school year beginning February 2024. Specific dates and additional information will be posted on the Staff Hub at that time.

Please contact Melodee Phillips at melodee_phillips@hcpss.org with any questions you may have.

This post is for information purposes only.

As of today, June 1, several content areas are open for consideration of new hires and voluntary transfers. For your reference, a listing of vacancies available within those content areas is provided.  

Vacancies for which staff within the Office of Human Resources are still identifying placements (teachers and paraeducators who have been involuntarily transferred/returning from a leave of absence) are not included at this time. 

The listing of vacancies will continue to be updated and will be posted weekly by the close of business every Monday, until August 1. 

The window to submit voluntary transfer requests for the 2023-2024 school year closed on April 15, 2023.  If you did not submit transfer requests for the next school year, you will have the opportunity to request a transfer for the 2024-2025 school year beginning February 2024. Specific dates and additional information will be posted on the Staff Hub at that time. 

Please contact Melodee Phillips at melodee_phillips@hcpss.org with any questions you may have.

All employees should be advised of the risks associated with reusing account credentials due to credential harvesting. 

Credential harvesting is a type of cyberattack in which the malicious actor acquires usernames, login IDs, and passwords that are stored by online website providers or web-based applications, and then uses those credentials to impersonate the victim. Harvested username/password pairs can be automatically fed into the login pages of other websites and web-based applications to gain unauthorized access to the account.

! Call to Action ! 

1. Do not use your HCPSS username and/or password to enroll, register, or sign into any personal or non-HCPSS websites or online applications, including but not limited to your personal social media, financial or retail websites.

2. Enable MFA on your HCPSS account and your personal computing accounts that offer the service such as Facebook, Gmail, and Apple ID.

3. Create strong passwords and do not reuse them for other systems. Learn what makes a strong password by reviewing EFF Super-Secure Password. 

4. Make sure your family and friends do not use your work devices and do not share your HCPSS credentials with anyone.

 If assistance is needed, contact Technology Support at TechSupport@hcpss.org.

Jen Robinson is the HCPSS Community Superintendent for Area 2 schools.

Why did you choose to work in education?
During my senior year in high school, I worked with students with cognitive and physical disabilities as a student aide. I fell in love with the special education field of study and there was no turning back!

What is the best professional advice you've ever received?
I was always told by my parents that if you are invited to the table, be sure to speak up; otherwise there is no point in you being there. I definitely internalized that and have always kept that in mind in the different roles I have had throughout the years.

What is something you like a lot that would surprise people?
Getting up early. I love waking up no later than 5 a.m. to start my days! Even on weekends!

What is on your bucket list?
Going to Italy and Ireland … I truly look forward to traveling!

What is the most interesting place you’ve ever been?
I really enjoyed the Carnaval de Quebec (Old Quebec City, Ontario, Canada)! French culture is unique, the brick paved streets lined with quaint shops and restaurants are beautiful, and the town is filled with fire pits, hockey rinks and street performers. There is also an ice hotel right outside of town that is such a unique experience!
 

Effective SY 2023-2024, funding for Pear Deck licenses will be limited. The current licenses will expire on July 30, 2023, but the free version of Pear Deck will still be available to all staff. There will be a limited number of licenses available for staff/students. If you are an active user of Pear Deck, you may submit a request for a Pear Deck license. Staff members who support students with IEPs and 504 Plans will have priority. Please complete the Pear Deck Access 2023 form if you would like to request access to a paid license next year.

Since mid-April, the Howard County Public School System has been conducting a mandatory Dependent Eligibility Audit, and requiring employees to verify their dependents who are enrolled in health insurance. This process is required for all employees who receive health insurance through HCPSS and will ensure the school system is only paying for health benefits for eligible dependents. This process is important because paying for ineligible dependents drives up the insurance premiums for all employees.

All employees who currently cover a dependent on their medical, dental, or vision insurance have received instructions from our third party administrator, Impact Interactive, describing how to complete the audit. The audit ends May 26th, and it is imperative that all employees complete the verification for their identified dependents as soon as possible. Failure to complete this mandatory audit may result in termination of benefits.

For assistance in completing the audit, please contact Impact Interactive at 1-866-691-6551, or visit mydependents.com. Please see the attached Quick Start Guide for additional information. Any additional questions may be directed to the Benefits Office at benefits@hcpss.org, or by calling 410-313-7333.

The salary payment option update timeframe will be June 1-July 31, 2023. This annual opportunity allows 10-month employees that would like to change their current election to select either a 10- or 12-month salary option for the upcoming school year. Eligible employees will receive a Workday notification to perform the update.

Please note:

• If you wish to continue your current pay option, NO action is required.
• If you wish to change your current pay option, the salary payment option election must be completed no later than July 31. Workday will be updated with your new pay option no sooner than Aug.17.

If you are not sure of your current pay option, please follow these directions:

1. Log into Workday
2. Click on your photo in the upper right corner and select View Profile 
3. Select Job from the left menu
4. Select the Organizations tab from the top navigation
5. Your current pay option is displayed in the first line

For the 2023-2024 school year, HCPSS again will repurpose up to three inclement weather days as asynchronous instruction days, which will be used at the discretion of the Superintendent. All parents, students, staff and community members are invited to provide feedback on the plan by emailing InclementWeatherPlan@hcpss.org through June 9, 2023.

Full details on the HCPSS Inclement Weather Asynchronous Instruction Plan can be found online.

Please review the following end-of-year IT updates and reminders for staff.

Staff who will not be returning to work for HCPSS next school year:

• Staff who are leaving and are assigned HCPSS devices, including laptops, cell phones and tablets, must return those devices to HCPSS by their last day of employment. Devices can be returned to the schools’ library media specialist or elementary technology teacher, or taken to the Logistic Center 9645 Gerwig Lane, Columbia, Monday - Friday from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
• Active Directory accounts will be suspended once they no longer work for HCPSS. Staff who are leaving who wish to have copies of non proprietary materials they created, in Google, O365 or other, must download prior to their last day of work. Access will not be provided after their account is suspended. They must not take proprietary or confidential information.  

As a reminder, staff who received replacement laptops last year, including front office staff, teachers, administrators, and others, must return their old laptops or desktops to the Technology Department. The old device will not be supported. Staff can contact Tech Support (TechSupport@hcpss.org) to have a ticket entered for pick up.

Many staff have already been alerted that they must enroll in multi-factor authentication (MFA) to continue to have access to their accounts. These staff members receive reminder notices for 30 days when they login. If they do not enroll, their account access will be denied at the end of the timeframe. If you are not yet in the mandatory MFA group, it is recommended that you voluntarily enroll as soon as possible. MFA protects your confidential information in Workday, as well as student information.  

Please direct questions to Technology Support at TechSupport@hcpss.org or 410-313-7004.