Colleagues,
I hope you all had a productive week. As I write this message, it’s snowing outside, which is hard to believe knowing that our April vacation week is about to start. I want to begin by giving a huge shout-out to our WMS colleagues for their work transitioning to full, in-person schedules this week. I know it took a great deal of planning and coordination to make this happen. WHS will make its transition to full schedules the week we return from April vacation.
How ever you spend the next week, please remember to do so safely and encourage those around you to do the same. Most importantly, I hope you each find some restorative downtime to recharge your batteries for the final leg of our school year when we return.
Thanks for all that you do for our students and for each other. Enjoy a well-deserved April break!
-David
Calendar
4/19-4/23/21 – April Vacation – No School
4/26/21 – Annual Town Meeting Begins
4/30/21 – Deadline for WPS Enrollment of Faculty Children
5/05/21 – Open Enrollment for Employee Benefits Ends
Employee Benefit Open Enrollment Has Officially Started!
If you haven’t received your open enrollment letter in the mail, you can access the same information HERE!
The online benefit tool makes it fast and easy to enroll and/or make changes to your benefits.
Click here for directions on how to gain access to your benefits in the tool.
PLEASE NOTE: Everyone who is benefit eligible must go into the tool to confirm what they do or do not want. If you do not complete enrollment through the online tool, all of your current benefit elections will roll over with the exception of Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and/or Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA). If you do not re-enroll in HSA or FSA for the benefit year starting on 7/1/2021, your current deduction will stop on 6/30/2021.
The Town Human Resources Office (not WPS HR) is available for questions via phone or email only. Due to COVID, there will be no in-person sessions. If you have any questions about open enrollment, please email benefits@wellesleyma.gov or call 781-431-1019, ext. 2248. Emails will be answered in the order they are received.
Faculty Graduate Course Reimbursement Information:
Course reimbursement funding of $30,000 is available to distribute in FY21 among qualified teachers. This funding is for graduate course work done as part of a master’s degree program to fulfill a teacher’s obligations for the Massachusetts Educators Professional License and for course work required to achieve the next stage of licensure culminating in a professional license and/or when a specialist teacher’s immediate supervisor, subject to the approval of the Assistant Superintendent, verifies that there are no further in-district courses available for recertification in that specialist’s field, that specialist may apply for tuition reimbursement. Any Unit A member for whom no DESE license exists, including but not limited to occupational and physical therapists, so long as that member maintains appropriate certification and/or licensure required to perform his or her duties, shall be eligible to apply for tuition reimbursement. To apply for this course reimbursement, please send, by no later than June 1, 2021, the completed reimbursement form, along with evidence of your enrollment in an applicable master/doctoral degree program, name and description of the course, evidence of course cost (a billing statement), proof of payment (i.e. credit card statement, canceled check or receipt of payment), and transcript to Valerie Spruill, Administrative Assistant to the Director of Human Resources, spruillv@wellesleyps.org. Please note: all information must be received by June 1, 2021. Late materials will not be accepted. All courses must have occurred during the summer 2020, fall 2020 and spring 2021 and have been completed by June 1, 2021. Any courses taken prior to the summer of 2020 will not count for reimbursement.
Timeline for WPS Enrollment of Faculty Children
Children of Units A and B members residing outside of Wellesley shall be entitled to attend Wellesley Public Schools without charge for tuition on a space available basis (Article 12, WTA, Unit A and B Contract). Below is the timeline for submitting applications:
- March 1st: Interested applicants can submit a letter of intent with the one-page application to Asya Kibko, District Registrar, at registrar@wellesleyps.org. Please note: You must be logged into a @wellesleyps.org google account in order to complete the form. You will receive a confirmation email with a copy of your response. The application will be available on the District website starting on March 1st.
- Forms are accepted from March 1st until April 30th. Late applications will not be accepted.
- Placement decisions will be made at the end of May. Once notified of a determination, applicants will be provided an enrollment packet to be completed and submitted to the District Registrar.
If there are any questions, please reach out to Asya Kibko, District Registrar, at registrar@wellesleyps.org.
Salary Lane Change Process Reminder
Effective November 1, 2020, a teacher must submit a Course Approval Form (CAF) if: 1) a course may lead to a lane change; or 2) a course is paid by District funds. Forms should be submitted at least 30 days in advance of the expected start date of the course. Course approvals are active from the date of approval through June 30th of the following school year (e.g., approved 1/20/2021 for a course starting 3/1/2021 would be active through 6/30/2022). Approvals are based on the course title and course description and cannot be exchanged for another course without prior written approval of the Superintendent or designee. A teacher has until June 30th of the following school year from the course completion date to submit the transcripts (e.g., course ended 4/1/2021 transcript must be submitted by 6/30/2022).
Human Relations Services
The Human Relation Services (HRS) can help. Wellesley Public Schools has contracted with HRS to provide up to ten free counseling visits for you and/or your family members. This program is designed to help you deal with stresses of life and work –including personal and family issues, drug or alcohol problems, and job related tension. It offers prevention and intervention to reduce these stresses and improve coping skills.
HRS is located at 11 Chapel Place in Wellesley and can be reached at 781-235-4950. This is a confidential service. Wellesley Public Schools is not aware of the names of employees or their family members who utilize this service.
Do you have a question for the WPS Human Resources Department? Email AskHR@Wellesleyps.org. The Human Resources Department is happy to assist you.
WPS Internal Job Postings on District Website
For all Internal Job Postings, please go to “Internal Job Postings” under the Faculty tab of the District’s website.