FCPS Community Bulletin Board

February 6, 2025

Thank you,

Dr. Dyson

Black/African-American History Month LibGuide: Linked in this guide hosted by FCPS is essential information about the study and celebration of Black/African-American History Month.

Black History is Brilliant

[ bril-yuhnt ] adjective - Exceptionally clever or talented

Born in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va, Katherine Johnson was the daughter of a teacher and a farmer/janitor. From a young age, she excelled in mathematical equations. She graduated early from high school at the age of 14 and was one of the first African Americans to enroll in the mathematics program at West Virginia State University, where she graduated in 1937.

Johnson became a teacher until 1953 when she joined the Langley Research Center as a research mathematician for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Even after NASA began using electronic computers, John Glenn requested that she personally recheck the calculations made by the new computers before his mission as the first American to orbit the Earth. She continued to work at NASA until 1986. Johnson’s calculations were critical to the success of the Apollo Moon landing program and the start of the Space Shuttle program. Johnson’s story is featured in the 2016 film Hidden Figures, which was nominated for three Oscar Awards.

Johnson received many awards during her 101 years of life, including NASA’s Lunar Spacecraft and Operations Group Achievement Award and NASA’s Apollo Group Achievement Award. In 2015, she received the nation's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from President Barack Obama. She also was the co-author of 26 scientific papers, leaving a brilliant legacy in the fields of math and science for future generations.

Thank you to the students and staff from the FCPS Career & Technology Center for creating this video production of the 2025 MLK Celebration.

A reminder that the main FCPS phone number is 227-203-3277.

If you are trying to contact a school, be sure to check our online schools directory, which includes a direct line for each. If you need to contact a school, you can contact that school directly, rather than using the main FCPS number.

Frederick County Public Schools is accepting nominations for the 2025 Charles E. Tressler Distinguished Teacher Award. Named for a former Hood College faculty member who encouraged students to enter the teaching profession, this award recognizes an FCPS teacher who has had a significant positive impact on young people.

Hood College presents the Tressler award annually to honor distinguished teaching in the Frederick County Public Schools’ system. A gift from the late Samuel Eig of Gaithersburg, MD, established the award. Hood College will recognize the winner during its master’s degree reception in May.

FCPS has posted eligibility and nomination criteria, nomination process and selection guidelines at www.fcps.org/awards. The school system welcomes nominations from current or former students, teachers and support staff, parents, community members, administrators and supervisors. Nomination packets are due to the FCPS Public Affairs Department, 191 S. East Street, Frederick, MD 21701, Friday, March 21, 2025.

National School Counseling Week and National School Counseling Week, sponsored by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. National School Counseling Week 2025 (#NSCW25), from Feb. 3-7, 2025, focuses public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors. The theme this year is: School Counseling: Helping Students Thrive.

During the month of February, FCSCA, Frederick County School Counselor Association, welcomes nominations for Frederick County School Counselor of the Year. Please consider nominating a deserving counselor using this link.

Thank you for supporting and recognizing our amazing Frederick County School Counselors who work tirelessly every day for our students!

At designated times throughout the year, Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) publicly displays textbooks that are being considered for future use. In accordance with FCPS Regulation 500-38, Textbook Review, Selection, and Approval, these materials are made available for public review at the main branch of the Frederick County Public Library, and also available as digital texts when applicable. Reaction forms are provided at the display and also available online. The review schedule and lists of textbooks are posted on the FCPS website here: http://www.fcps.org/academics/textbooks-for-review.

For February 2025, textbooks will be on public display from Monday, February 3 through Friday, February 14, 2025 at the C. Burr Artz Public Library, 110 East Patrick Street, Frederick, MD 21701, during normal operating hours. The current list of textbooks available for review and information about how to access digital texts are provided here.

FCPS and the Board of Education welcome the involvement of stakeholders in the textbook review, selection, and approval process.

The Office of Special Education is excited to announce the opening of the FCPS Special Education Family Resource Center! This is a space for families to come and receive help and resources.

An Open House is being held on Friday, February 21, 2025 from 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. to unveil this resource for families.

We welcome you to share the following invitation about this resource for families of students with disabilities in our community!

Updated: January 2025

As shared by FCPS in October 2024, the Maryland State Board of Education updated graduation regulations that affect high school courses with required state assessments in science and social studies. Specifically, for students enrolled in American Government and Biology high school courses and/or their equivalents, a state-required End of Course (EOC) assessment will count for 20% of the final course grade and will be included in the final grade calculation on the student’s report card and transcript. Additional information from the Maryland State Department of Education can be found here.

In FCPS, the grade calculation that includes the EOC score will be applied in a manner that maximizes benefit for students. Additional details can be found below.

• Grade Calculation: Please refer to FCPS Regulation 416-01, Secondary Grading, Reporting,and Intervention (pages 8-9), for how the final course grade will be calculated, using the traditional “quality point” method and then a subsequent calculation factoring in the EOC score.

• Advanced Placement (AP) courses: The AP Government exam can be taken in lieu of the required state assessment and will not be factored into the course grade. For AP Biology, students will have to take the required state assessment in science, as it is a federal accountability requirement.

• Absence from Testing: EOC assessments are required for graduation. Students who do not take the assessment within the window will receive a grade of “Missing” and no credit will be awarded for the course until the assessment is taken. Students will be required to make up the assessment at the next available administration.

• Report Cards: Due to the timeline of receiving results from test administration, students enrolled in these courses will have a delayed final report card which will be distributed approximately two weeks after the FCPS advertised report card distribution date.

If you have any questions, please contact your child’s science or social studies teacher.

Frederick County Public Schools is excited to announce the March 2025 Elementary and Secondary Science and Engineering Fairs, and the Elementary Social Studies Fair. This year, the Elementary and Secondary fairs will be held on two different dates but at the same location: Tuscarora High School 5312 Ballenger Creek Pike Frederick, MD 21703.

• Middle and HIgh School Divisions: The Secondary Frederick County Science and Engineering Fair takes place Saturday, March 22, 2025 with judging from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and is open to visitors from 3:00-4:00 PM, with an awards ceremony beginning at 4:00 PM. Registration for the Secondary Science Fair closes March 2, 2025 11:59 PM, at this link: https://sites.google.com/fcps.org/fcsef/home
  
  

• The Elementary (PreK-5) Science and Social Studies Fair takes place Saturday, March 29, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM. Registration for the Elementary Science and Social Studies Fair closes March 21, 2025. A STEM Showcase is open for visitors with interactive, hands-on activities and demonstrations.

When inclement weather is forecasted, FCPS must make decisions about whether to close, delay opening, or dismiss early. The FCPS Public Affairs Department shares these communications in a number of ways:

• Via Social Media: Delays and closures are shared via our FCPS Maryland Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) accounts. We also update our FCPS Informando Facebook page.
• Via FCPS.org: An alert is posted to FCPS.org at the top of the page, which links to the full inclement weather message.
• Via SchoolMessenger emails and text messages: The text messages are shared via the five-digit code 67587. If you would like to receive these alerts, you can follow the directions here to sign up.
• Via FCPS-TV: We post our full message to FCPS-TV, our TV channel, which is also available online.
• Via our local media partners: We share our inclement weather delays, closures and early dismissals with local radio and television stations.

While FCPS makes every effort to ensure timely delivery of weather delays, closures, and early dismissals, we can not guarantee that information being shared by outside organizations and sources is accurate.

We also appreciate the patience and understanding of our community as all communication platforms are not updated simultaneously.

If you have questions about the decision, we encourage you to check our communications platforms listed above.

More information about our inclement weather policies and procedures is available online.

Twice a year, the FCPS Blueprint Steering Committee produces a milestone report highlighting accomplishments and what is on the horizon.

This report highlights four action areas:

• The Learning Journey

• Employee Support & Development

• Student, School and Community Support and Engagement

• Strategic Oversight, Funding and Resource Allocation.

The report can be found on the FCPS website here: https://www.fcps.org/blueprint/blueprint-milestone

Or by clicking the button below.

Feedback can be shared at BlueprintComments@fcps.org

The Blueprint for Maryland's Future provides the foundation needed to elevate every child to reach their full promise and potential by transforming Maryland's education system into a world-class model. In keeping with our ongoing efforts at stakeholder engagement, the latest issue of the Blueprint Quarterly newsletter can be found by clicking the button below.

The Frederick County Academic Tournament is officially underway. This year’s matches take place at Frederick High School.

Every FCPS high school is represented in this year’s tournament. Teams will compete weekly against two or three other high schools. Each week’s matches will feature a theme, starting with Fun with Flags in Week 1. Some of the other topics include Culinary in Week 2, Women in Science in Week 4, and Pixar in Week 7.

The tournament finals will be held Friday, February 21. The public can view the full tournament lineup and the weekly recaps of the competitions on the FCPS website.

This marks the 43rd year of the Frederick County Academic Tournament. Since 1982, Linganore High teams have won the tournament ten times, Walkersville teams have won seven, Frederick High teams have won six, teams from Gov. Thomas Johnson and Middletown have each won five, Urbana and Brunswick four, and teams from Catoctin and Tuscarora have each won once.

Walkersville High won the tournament championship last year. Gov. Thomas Johnson High won the regular season title.

Greetings students, parents, teachers, and staff of South Asian ancestry,

The Maryland Governor's Commission on South Asian American Affairs is committed to supporting the educational success and growth of our community. We would love to hear about your experiences and perspectives on education. Your valuable input will help us develop initiatives and strategies to better support students, families, and educators in the South Asian American community across Maryland and ensure that no one is left behind. After inputting your responses, please remember to click "Submit" to have your responses submitted anonymously.

Please click here to complete the survey.
Survey link: https://forms.office.com/r/vCLGkeweWM

Click here for more information on the Commission.
Website address: https://goci.maryland.gov/governors-commission-on-south-asian-american-affairs/

Thank you for helping us work together to create a brighter educational future for all in the State of Maryland.

Maryland Governor’s Commission on South Asian Affairs
Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives (GOCI)
100 Community Pl, Crownsville, MD 21032

Frederick County Public Schools uses SchoolMessenger for email, text messages and automated phone calls. Community members can sign up to receive SchoolMessenger updates. This step-by-step guide will show you how to quickly sign up to get messages!

Who can sign up

Anyone interested in receiving FCPS and/or school updates. This can include family members not already signed up for messages and community members.

Who Does Not Need to Sign Up

All FCPS employees automatically receive messages to their work email address and contact information they have entered in via PeopleSoft. All FCPS family members who are listed as a primary contact in our Student Information System do not need to sign up.

The 5-Star Service Award is for community use in recognizing FCPS employees who show excellence in one of the 5 FCPS goals. Community members are welcome to nominate any worthy FCPS employee.

This award is designed to provide recognition by community members to employees for excellence in one of the 5 FCPS goals.

Community members are encouraged to nominate any worthy FCPS employee.

Nominations will be reviewed on the 15th and 30th of each month by staff in the Offices of the Chief of Staff, Human Resources, and Public Affairs.

More information on the selection timeline and next steps can be found on the 5-Star Service Award nomination form.

So far this year, FCPS has used three inclement weather days:

Monday, January 6

Tuesday, January 7

Thursday, February 6

FCPS will make up days closed for inclement weather or other emergencies in the following sequence: June 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. The June 2-hour early dismissal will occur on the last day of school for students. The school year will provide 180 days for students. Dates are subject to BOE revision.