Top 5 Things to Know this Week

Top 5 things to know for the week of October 29-November 1, 2024

Nominations open for FPS Outstanding Teachers of the Year - early childhood, elementary, middle school, and high school

Farmington Public Schools (FPS) opens nominations for its Outstanding Teacher of the Year Awards for the 2024/2025 school year. These awards are presented annually to honor and reward teachers in Farmington Public Schools who have achieved the highest standard of excellence in their profession through effort and example.

Each year, FPS recognizes three outstanding educators, one from elementary, middle, and high school. This year, the District is adding an additional category and will include the early childhood program. The four FPS teachers that are named Teacher of the Year winners will advance to the Oakland County Outstanding Teacher of the Year Awards.

Teachers, staff, parents, students, and community members are eligible to nominate for Teacher of the Year. Nominees must be certified, full-time teachers in pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. Nominees must have a minimum of five full years of classroom teaching experience. Ancillary District personnel, such as social workers and counselors, unless they are full-time, certified teachers with classroom students, are not eligible for this award.

Nominations at each building will be accepted until Tuesday, November 19, 2024. Each building principal will then read, review, and develop a process to select one final Teacher of the Year candidate from their respective building. The final submission from the building principal will be due on Wednesday, November 20, 2024. From here, winners will be selected by a committee, and the winners will be notified via a surprise visit to their classroom in December.

Do you have a teacher you want to nominate? To submit your nomination, visit https://www.farmington.k12.mi.us/departments/human-resources/teacher-of-the-year-forms

Did you know that FPS is partnering with Varsity Tutors to provide FREE tutoring?

Farmington Public Schools (FPS) is partnering with Varsity Tutors for Schools to provide students with free access to additional learning tools through the Varsity Tutors for Schools Platform.

Varsity Tutors for Schools offers a wide variety of tools including:

24/7 On-demand chat tutoring
On-demand essay review
Live academic and enrichment classes
SAT and ACT test preparation classes
Celebrity-led Starcourse classes
Self-study resources
College and career readiness resources
Adaptive assessments and personalized learning plans
Prerecorded enchantment classes and videos

Students can access the free resources only by logging in through Clever at Clever.com.

Once students login to their Clever account, they can access tools by clicking on the Varsity Tutors application. From here, students can explore the learning lab and discover all of the features the platform has to offer.

To learn more about the Varsity Tutors partnership, visit www.clever.com.

Students Grow their Literacy Skills through Knowledge Building

Our new K-5 Literacy Program is in full swing. Our Kindergarten students are being strategic communicators through a Socratic Seminar (circle) routine and Think, Pair, Shares (partnerships).

Students use their speaking and listening every day as they share their thinking and perspectives on everything they are reading. All of this speaking and listening will help them when they are writing about the topics of each unit.

Still time to share your thoughts on what you would like to see in the next Superintendent

Farmington Public Schools’ Board of Education is soliciting feedback from all stakeholders on what qualities, experiences, and skills that they would like to see in the District’s next Superintendent. This feedback will strengthen the Board’s selection process.

The final input session will be held virtually on Monday, November 4 from 7-8 p.m. and is open for anyone who would like to attend. Here is the link to the Google Meet: meet.google.com/zbo-ozhs-bhx

For those that missed the Survey, you can fill out the Google Form that can be found here: https://bit.ly/FPSsearchinputform

Election coming up on Tuesday, November 5

We are one week away from the Election. This is a renewal of an existing expiring millage. Previously authorized tax rates will not change.

Why does the ballot proposal say “increase,” not “renewal”? The official ballot language for the millage reauthorization is legally required to read, “Shall the limitation on the taxable property… Frequently Asked Questions be increased…to provide funds for operating expenses of FPS?” Despite the use of the word “increase” in the official language, approval of this millage will not increase authorized rates over prior authorizations.

Almost 27 percent of the District’s revenue ($49,196,277) is derived from these sources annually. If the millage renewal is not passed, it would significantly reduce available revenue to operate the District. This equates to running the school district for 50 days.

OCTOBER 29, 2024

Farmington Public Schools www.farmington.k12.mi.us

info@fpsk12.net