News

The offices of Human Resources and Leadership, Organizational, and Cultural Development will offer two optional seminars to support individuals considering applying for HCPSS Principal, Assistant Principal, and Athletics Activities Manager positions for the 2026–2027 school year. 

• Application Seminar - This seminar will be virtual on Monday, January 12 from 4:30 - 6:00. The seminar will cover the application and interview timeline, resume format and filling out the application.
• Interview Preparation Seminar - This seminar will be in person on Wednesday, February 4 from 4:00 - 6:30 in the Boardroom at central office. This seminar will cover the Principal, Assistant Principal, and Athletics Activities Manager interview process, including how to prepare, interview tips, and an opportunity to practice different portions of the interview process. 

Registration Information: Staff who wish to participate should register in Frontline with the following directions:

1. From the Staff Hub, select the Frontline button
2. Log in if prompted and select Professional Growth
3. From the left navigation panel, select Activity Catalog > Catalog.
4. In the Search Term(s) field, type Aspiring Administrator Seminar and click the Search button.
5. Click on the blue title of the Aspiring Administrator Seminar you wish to attend.
6. Select the Sign Up Now button. 

Registration questions may be emailed to Carol Feeser.

Reminder! Nominations are open for the annual Howard County Public School System Principal of the Year and Teacher of the Year awards. All nominations are due by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026.

Details on each award, including how to submit a nomination form, are available online.

The Office of Teacher and Paraprofessional Development and the Howard County Education Association are pleased to announce the launch of the School-Based Peer Learning Guide Program for the remainder of the 2025–2026 school year.

This program pairs teachers in years 1-3 in HCPSS with an experienced, tenured teacher who provides targeted, collaborative instructional support. Below is more information about how to request the support of, or serve as a Peer Learning Guide. 

Peer Learning Guides (PLGs)

Peer Learning Guides (PLGs) are Highly Effective (rated), tenured HCPSS teachers with a minimum of five years of teaching experience. Each Peer Learning Guide is paired with a teacher in years 1-3 in HCPSS and receives a $500 honorarium as well as Professional Development Points (PDPs) for their participation in required learning activities. To learn more about the responsibilities of a Peer Learning Guide, review the Peer Learning Guide Role sheet.  

Interested teachers must: 

1. Submit this Peer Learning Guide application for first round consideration by Friday, January 16, 2026.  A second round of applications will be accepted on or before Friday, January 30, 2026.
2. Request and ensure submission of two recommendation forms, one from either a school-based administrator or Curriculum Coordinator and one from a professional colleague, both of which must be submitted by January 16, 2026 if you are applying in the first round and by January 30, 2026 if you are applying for the second round. (It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure recommendations have been submitted.) The recommendations should speak to the applicant’s ability to demonstrate deep knowledge of curriculum and instructional strategies, support new teachers with confidence and care, and foster a positive, inclusive learning environment that promotes continuous improvement. Please note that all recommendations remain confidential, and applicants will not have access to the information submitted.  
3. Peer Learning Guides will be expected to complete the Mentoring & Coaching Suite: Reflective Practice & Foundations Course (6-hour, asynchronous Canvas course) before engaging in mentoring a teacher in years 1-3 in HCPSS. If you have already completed the Developing Mentoring and Coaching Suite: Developing your Practice and/or Proficient Mentoring and Coaching Suite: Advanced Coaching for Impact this requirement will be waived.

Novice Teacher Participation

Teachers in years 1–3 in HCPSS are encouraged to complete the Novice Teacher Interest Form no later than January 30, 2026 to be considered for a Peer Learning Guide partnership. We will do our best to match teachers with a Peer Learning Guide in their content area, grade level, and/or school location. 

Peer Learning Guides will work alongside new educators to strengthen instructional effectiveness and understanding of HCPSS systems. Supports may include:

• Navigating and planning with curriculum standards and approved materials.
• Co-planning high-quality lessons with aligned outcomes, assessments, and strategies.
• Supporting culturally responsive and inclusive instructional practices.
• Interpreting assessment data to inform next steps.
• Developing rubrics, success criteria, and student self-assessment tools.
• Connecting novice teachers with relevant school-based or central office supports.
• Modeling collaboration, reflective practice, and a growth mindset.
• Assisting with understanding school procedures, expectations, and routines.
• Offering strategies for managing workload, organization, and maintaining well-being.

Questions about the School-Based Peer Learning Guide Program or how to apply may be emailed to Patricia Otero at patricia_otero@hcpss.org. 

The following information is applicable to the staff listed below. 

Teachers, administrators, school psychologists, school counselors, liaisons, social workers, pupil personnel workers, community school site coordinators, paraeducators, student assistants, and related service providers will participate in the two-hour HCPSS Systemic Professional Learning: Unified By Design (PIP Session) (3 PDPs) (TPD8511) on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. On this day, schools will close three hours early for students with no half-day pre-K/RECC.

Staff are advised that there are two technology maintenance windows scheduled over winter break. Review the information below to learn how you may be impacted. 

Network scheduled maintenance window, Fri., Dec. 26 from 9-11 a.m. - HCPSS will be completing critical security upgrades. Key card access to all schools and administrative buildings, and Central Office applications located in the data center will be unavailable. Other enterprise technology systems will remain operational, including, Canvas, Synergy, Workday and M365 (email, etc.).

Broadband network scheduled maintenance window, Sun., Dec. 28 from 2:30-8 p.m. - Howard County Government will be performing network hardware upgrades to the broadband network. There may be short interruptions to services that could impact authentication to HCPSS applications, some Central Office applications located in the data center and on-site access to the internet/Wi-Fi. Each outage is expected to last up to 2 minutes, and normal service will automatically resume once each upgrade step is completed.

After each maintenance window is over and the work is complete, normal service will resume. Your understanding is appreciated.

Beginning in January 2026, the Howard County Board of Education will implement a new meeting schedule on a trial basis for the first quarter of the year (January-March), shifting to one regular monthly meeting instead of two.

This new meeting schedule will better accommodate additional budget work sessions, and budget and policy public hearings necessary for Board deliberations, and will save the school system approximately $5,500.

Details on the January-March 2026 schedule shift are available online.
 

During winter break when schools are closed and offices open—Dec. 29-31—the inside front door to the Department of Education/Central Office building will be locked. Staff may access the building using their badge at any of the regular entry doors.

Please be sure to coordinate any visits you plan to make to Central Office during winter break with the staff member you are visiting. If your badge allows you access to the building, you may use that to enter. If you do not have badge access to the building, you can ring the bell, and custodial or security staff will let you into the building. 

Do you enjoy singing? Please consider joining the Howard County Employee Chorus - no previous chorus experience necessary, just a love for singing! Please watch the following promotional video for more information, and if interested, please register online using this registration link. The chorus is open to all HCPSS employees, as well as their significant others or adult family members. 

The first rehearsal is Wednesday, Jan. 7 from 7-8:30 p.m. at Howard High School. More information will be sent to those who register. Questions may be emailed to to Caleb Lee at caleb_lee@hcpss.org.

Employees may be entitled to claim an Earned Income Tax Credit on their 2025 federal and Maryland resident income tax returns if both their federal adjusted gross income and their earned income is less than the following:

• $19,104 ($26,214 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children/relatives
• $50,434 ($57,554 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child/relative
• $57,310 ($64,430 married filing jointly) with two qualifying children/relatives
• $61,555 ($68,675 married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children/relatives

See attached for details. For more information about the Maryland EITC, visit marylandtaxes.gov  and for the federal EITC, visit www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit-eitc.

Staff who are interested in receiving your W-2 earlier than Jan. 31 should look for an upcoming Workday Notification email that will tell you how to sign up for an electronic version of your Form W-2. If you select the electronic copy only, it will be available weeks prior to the electronic/printed copy option. 

More information to follow.