News

The HCPSS Get To Know series was created to help staff learn more about system leaders in schools and offices with whom they may not typically interact. HCPSS leaders answer a mix of personal and professional questions in an effort to let all employees get to know them better. Please use this form to nominate an HCPSS leader to be featured in the series.

Why did you choose to work in education?
I am the oldest of seven children born to teen parents. My mom always wanted to be a teacher but due to adversity in her life, this dream was never possible. She would often share with my siblings and I that education was our "ticket" to a better life and endless possibilities. In high school I knew that a life in education was my dream as well, so I pursued this path in college. My goal each day both as a teacher and as an administrator was and continues to be to ensure that my students look forward to coming to school each day.

What is the best professional advice you've ever received?
I would often seek out leadership opportunities early in my career. A mentor of mine shared that the best way to be recognized and offered leadership opportunities is to be the best teacher you can possibly be. He elaborated by sharing that rather than looking for the next opportunity, love what you do each day, give it your all, and the rest will take care of itself. 

What is something you like a lot that would surprise people?
At one point I had the goal of running a marathon in every state. I was able to check off many states prior to having a family of my own but things slowed a bit once my wife and I began having children. To date, I have run 24 marathons, five 50k races, and four 50-mile races. My kids have told me I should run at least one more, so I’m thinking of doing another 50-miler in the near future.

What is on your bucket list?
I would love to take a trip to Italy to visit extended family.

What is the most interesting place you’ve ever been?
While in college, I sold spring break trips for a travel company. I received free trips as a reward for hitting certain marks. One place I visited that I loved was Mont Tremblant in Québec, Canada. The village we stayed in was like something you'd see in a movie. The snowboarding was amazing as well!

Reminder! Effective April 1, all employee expense report payments will only be issued as direct deposits.

Why is this change happening? The decision to move completely to direct deposits was made to streamline our process, ensure faster and more secure payments, and reduce the environmental impact and administrative costs associated with paper checks. Direct deposit provides several benefits, including:

• Faster access to funds - Your reimbursement will be automatically deposited into your account on the date paid.
• Increased security - Direct deposit minimizes the risk of lost or stolen checks.
• Convenience - No need to visit the bank or use your app to deposit a physical check.

Next steps for employees:

• Ensure your direct deposit information is up to date. If you have not yet enrolled in direct deposit for expense reimbursements or need to update your banking details, please do so no later than March 31. If this is not updated by this date, you will receive an error when creating future expense reports that will prevent you from submitting the task.
• Instructions are available in the Workday Canvas Community under “Add A Payment Election for Expense Reimbursements.”

Additional information about expense reimbursement reports can be found in Canvas under Expense Report FAQs.

The Howard County Board of Education adopted its Operating and Capital Budget Requests for the 2025-2026 school year (Fiscal Year 2026) during its meeting on March 4, 2025.

The Requested Operating Budget totals $1.257 billion, a 9.77% increase over the FY 2025 Operating Budget, and adds 250.3 new full-time employees. The Board also adopted the FY 2026 Capital Budget, totaling $100.64 million for costs associated with renovations/additions and a number of ongoing projects. 

The Board’s requested budgets now go to the County Executive for consideration. 

Full details are available online.

Teachers can now review their own tenure information within Workday. Details on how to view that information are available online and attached.

Additional information regarding educator tenure and tenure eligibility can be found in the Employee Credentialing, Certification and Licensure Canvas Community under Tenure Information.

Questions may be emailed to the Division of Human Resources’ Employee Credentialing Team at employeecredentialing@hcpss.org.

All staff should be aware that there has been a recent increase in websites asking users to perform unknowingly malicious actions on their computers, such as using the keyboard shortcuts for copy and paste (Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V). This tactic is known as pastejacking, where malicious code is copied to your clipboard without your knowledge when you copy text from a website. 

Example:

! Call to Action:

• Should a website display an unexpected prompt to use the shortcut keys for copy and paste, do not follow the directions and contact Technology Support.
• Alert Technology staff (TechSupport@hcpss.org or 410.313.7004) should your computer or files suddenly behave abnormally, such as:
  • A website asking you to perform specific actions that are suspicious.
  • Unexpected notes appearing on your desktop or within folders.
  • Files once accessible become unreadable, icons change or display unfamiliar file extensions (typical example extensions include: .pdf, .png., .gif, .docx, .xlsx, .pptx, etc.).
• If you suspect an email in your account to be a phishing attempt, forward it to abuse@hcpss.org and not interact with the email by clicking on links or downloading files. Once reported, delete any suspicious emails.
• Learn how you can help support HCPSS’s cybersecurity efforts by accessing training resources and reading communications related to IT security efforts.
  • To access resources navigate to the Staff Hub and then clicking on the Services menu > KnowBe4 > Training

If you have any questions or need assistance, contact the Technology Support at TechSupport@hcpss.org or 410.313.7004.

Effective April 1, 2025, all employee expense report payments will only be issued as Direct Deposits. This means that the option to receive physical checks will no longer be available. If you have received a check payment for an employee expense report in the past, please continue to read for action steps below.

Why is this change happening? The decision was made to streamline our process, ensure faster and more secure payments, and reduce the environmental impact and administrative costs associated with paper checks.

Direct Deposit provides several benefits, including:

• Faster access to funds: Your reimbursement will be automatically deposited into your account on the date paid.
• Increased security: Direct Deposit minimizes the risk of lost or stolen checks.
• Convenience: No need to visit the bank or use your app to deposit a physical check.

Next steps for employees:

• Ensure your direct deposit information is up to date. If you have not yet enrolled in Direct Deposit for expense reimbursements or need to update your banking details, please do so no later than March 31, 2025. If this is not updated by this date, you will receive an error when creating future expense reports that will prevent you from submitting the task.
• Resources. Please use the instructions located in Workday Community under “Add A Payment Election for Expense Reimbursements”.

Additional information about expense reimbursement reports can be found in Workday Community under Expense Report FAQs.

If you are receiving unsolicited emails to your HCPSS email account, there are few ways you can
manage the messages.

• If the email is from a legitimate sender, there is often a link to unsubscribe at the bottom of the message.
• If there is no unsubscribe link and/or you are unsure if the sender is legitimate (spam), you can follow these instructions to manage junk and spam email, which include blocking the sender or marking the emails as junk.
• If you believe the unsolicited email may be malicious in nature, do not comply with the request, forward the email to abuse@hcpss.org and delete the email.

If you have any questions or need assistance, contact the Technology Support at TechSupport@hcpss.org or 410-313-7004.

The Technology Department will be upgrading all staff and students Windows-based (Dell) computers’ operating systems to Windows 11 this spring. This upgrade will enhance performance, strengthen security, and provide a modern, user-friendly experience to support our daily operations. Keeping our systems up to date ensures they remain secure, efficient, and in line with industry best practices.

While Windows 11 shares similarities with Windows 10, it introduces several new features that can enhance user experience. To learn more, visit Meet Windows 11: Features, Look, Benefits & More 

This communication provides some initial information about the upgrade project. Additional details, including the upgrade timelines, support resources, and other key information, will be provided soon. 

If you need help with your technology or have questions, please reach out to Technology Training and Support via email (TechSupport@hcpss.org) or phone (410.313.7004). 

The Office of Teacher and Paraprofessional Development has updated the Graduate and Continuing Education Canvas Community with information related to continuing education, and specifically tuition details. In the Canvas community, staff can find definitions of key terms, links to information about tuition reimbursement, and information about programs/institutions with direct billing and/or reduced tuition for HCPSS employees. 

Staff are encouraged to join the community to receive announcements about new programs and information sessions. 

The Office of Human Resources will host optional virtual information sessions via Google Meet to discuss the voluntary transfer process and answer questions. The sessions are scheduled for:

• Thursday, February 27, 4:30pm-5:30pm
• Wednesday, March 26, 3:00pm-4:00pm
• Monday, April 7, 4:30pm-5:30pm

To sign up to attend an information session, click here (HCPSS login required): Voluntary Transfer Info Session. Please note, the Google Meet code can be found in the registration form, available only to HCPSS staff.

As a reminder, the following employee groups may now submit voluntary transfer requests for the 2025-2026 school year. Requests must be made in writing, using the established online system (Workday), and must be submitted by April 23, 2025:

• Audiologists, behavior specialists, speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, school social workers, cluster nurses, teachers, reading specialists, school counselors, paraeducators, health assistants, security assistants, security officers, and student assistants. 

Instructions on how to access the voluntary transfer request forms can be found here. The forms are accessed through Workday.

Complete the form that identifies your desired position. There are four (4) different forms, and the positions identified in the four (4) forms include:

• Teachers
• Audiologists, Behavior Specialists, Speech Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Psychologists, School Social Workers and Cluster Nurses
• Paraeducators, Health Assistants, Security Assistants, Security Officers and Student Assistants
• School Counselors and Reading Specialists 

Voluntary Transfer Request forms will be accepted through April 23, 2025.

Please Note: 

• Submissions will only be accepted via the established online system (Workday).
• You will have the option to submit a copy of your resume and/or cover letter by providing a link to a Google Doc.
• Your request does not constitute a change in your current assignment as all assignment changes are based on the needs of the school system.
• The placements of employees listed above in #2 will continue to be made by program supervisors.

The following employee groups may apply for a voluntary transfer anytime during the school year when an appropriate position is available. Employees will use the Jobs Hub worklet in Workday to apply for an open position.

• Secretarial, clerical, floating nurse, food and nutrition service assistants, central office technical personnel and liaisons.

Questions may be sent to the Office of Human Resources’ Position Control and Staffing Team via email at staffing@hcpss.org.