FCPS - what do I need to sign up for?

[Anonymous]

So far, I discovered I have to sign up for my school bucks. Someone just said something about Blackboard. How do I sign up for that? What else do I Need to sign up for? I am annoyed by the lack of communication - my first child is starting kindergarten. The only stuff I know about FCPS is what I learned here, and the stuff they handed out at the kindergarten orientation which was more about the kindergarten curriculum and not about all the administrative stuff.

[Anonymous]

I can’t imagine K teachers are using Blackboard too much. That’s mostly for older grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can’t imagine K teachers are using Blackboard too much. That’s mostly for older grades.

So do they just communicate with parents via folders or emails? Like if I need to bring in more supplies or something?

Are there other FCPS newsletters or alert systems I need to sign up for?

Will my school have its own email list?

[Anonymous]

FCPS sis parent. You should get information about it once school starts.

I don’t think my kids ever used blackboard until 3rd grade

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can’t imagine K teachers are using Blackboard too much. That’s mostly for older grades.

The younger grades at our school use blackboard and everyone else uses google classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t imagine K teachers are using Blackboard too much. That’s mostly for older grades.

So do they just communicate with parents via folders or emails? Like if I need to bring in more supplies or something?

Are there other FCPS newsletters or alert systems I need to sign up for?

Will my school have its own email list?

You can sign up for school emails by going to the main FCPS website and go to news you can choose at the bottom and select your school

[Anonymous]

You’ll learn more at the open house

[Anonymous]

I’m in APS, but when my sons were in K, we got a weekly newsletter from the teacher (via email and paper). When you go in for the orientation, you can give the teacher your email and contact info. The school will probably have its own listserv - my kids’ school had a yahoo group. Most of that will come at the orientation.

[Anonymous]

Go to BTS night. The classroom teacher will most likely have you write down your email address so she/he can send classroom emails. When you fill out BTS paperwork, include your email for school wide emails. Any other questions, ask on BTS night.

[Anonymous]

Go ahead and get your parent blackboard account set up. Even if they don’t really use it for a few years, it’s a hassle to do it since you have to do it at the school. You should be able to do it at open house. I don’t believe the ParentVUE SIS system is until middle school, but it will be the same login as blackboard so not an extra step.

Also, go online and sign up for the keep in touch system, that’s what they use for emails and texts (like snow day closures).

And yep, the information flow via FCPS is lacking.

[Anonymous]

School hasn’t started yet, right? Your kid’s teacher will tell you how they will communicate. My kids teacher sent emails, for instance. There’s nothing to be annoyed at yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go ahead and get your parent blackboard account set up. Even if they don’t really use it for a few years, it’s a hassle to do it since you have to do it at the school. You should be able to do it at open house. I don’t believe the ParentVUE SIS system is until middle school, but it will be the same login as blackboard so not an extra step.

Also, go online and sign up for the keep in touch system, that’s what they use for emails and texts (like snow day closures).

And yep, the information flow via FCPS is lacking.

Nope, my kid had SIS in ES. It wasn’t that useful. But it had attendance, grades (but only once they posted for the quarter) and a couple other things. I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to sign up. But I used it for my older kid, so my younger one was automatically linked.

OP. FCPS does a decent job with communication. But it is running through a lot of different systems, especially in ES. My oldest is a junior, so I have watched the systems come on line, one by one, each by a different developer. They were designed by different people, over a decade, so they don’t work together. Of course it would make sense to make payments and sign up for emails through SIS. But that’s not how it works. FCPS used to have a decently designed website where you could find this info. But now we have a sleek, aesthetically pleasing one with most information gone, where it is impossible to find anything. So it is a hassle to track everything down and get signed up. They also make you fill out the same d*mn paper copies of the same forms every flipping year. After 10 years, my kid is still allergic to strawberries and still has the same pediatrician. Moving on...

For now, they will send you a snail mail copy of info about the open house the week before school starts. They will also snail mail you a bus assignment before school starts because they don’t post those publicly. They will tell you how and when they are releasing class lists. You will probably get a list of school supplies. They will also post the info on the school web site.

Sign up for FCPS News you Choose (google it). They will let put you on the master FCPS email list for thing like school closure, and let you opt in to your kids grade and school, plus decide what else you care about— getting your school board reps emails, special ed emails, etc. The nice thing is it will follow your kid from year to year and school to school. My youngest is starting HS, and it automatically dropped me from the MS list and added me to the HS freshman list, so I got the info about orientation and opening of school. Most schools and many PTAs also use the send out regular emails. Your teachers will add you to the classroom list.

My youngest has been out of ES for three years, but when she was there, they sent home a weekly folder with graded school work and announcements that you signed and returned with things like permission slips. The first folder has the ream of forms they make you fill out.

You want to set up school bucks ASAP. And put at least some lunch money in it. Even if you plan to pack lunch, your kid will eventually forget to take it when you are 20 miles away in the middle of getting a Pap smear.

You want to sign up for blackboard eventually. But The Parentview module does not have the same interface as the studentview— it’s missing a lot of info. Rather than getting your own account, for an ES kid, wait until your kid sets their account up at school, and access their account, rather than using a parent account. Their account name is their student ID. They will be able to tell you their password.

You will want SIS eventually. But it has minimal value in ES, as I said. So do it last, when you have a chance.

The good news. You do not have to do this every year. Once you have SIS, blackboard, News You Choose, School Bucks, etc, they are established for as long as your kid is in FCPS. And automatically change schools and grades with them, populate their new classes, etc. So you you only have to jump through the hoops once.

Honestly, I never understood why they dididn’t have a new parents guide to signing up for stuff with clear explanations and screenshots. Because it is a multi step ordeal. Probably because 90% of parent would take one look at the list and say he11 no.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go ahead and get your parent blackboard account set up. Even if they don’t really use it for a few years, it’s a hassle to do it since you have to do it at the school. You should be able to do it at open house. I don’t believe the ParentVUE SIS system is until middle school, but it will be the same login as blackboard so not an extra step.

Also, go online and sign up for the keep in touch system, that’s what they use for emails and texts (like snow day closures).

And yep, the information flow via FCPS is lacking.

Nope, my kid had SIS in ES. It wasn’t that useful. But it had attendance, grades (but only once they posted for the quarter) and a couple other things. I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to sign up. But I used it for my older kid, so my younger one was automatically linked.

OP. FCPS does a decent job with communication. But it is running through a lot of different systems, especially in ES. My oldest is a junior, so I have watched the systems come on line, one by one, each by a different developer. They were designed by different people, over a decade, so they don’t work together. Of course it would make sense to make payments and sign up for emails through SIS. But that’s not how it works. FCPS used to have a decently designed website where you could find this info. But now we have a sleek, aesthetically pleasing one with most information gone, where it is impossible to find anything. So it is a hassle to track everything down and get signed up. They also make you fill out the same d*mn paper copies of the same forms every flipping year. After 10 years, my kid is still allergic to strawberries and still has the same pediatrician. Moving on...

For now, they will send you a snail mail copy of info about the open house the week before school starts. They will also snail mail you a bus assignment before school starts because they don’t post those publicly. They will tell you how and when they are releasing class lists. You will probably get a list of school supplies. They will also post the info on the school web site.

Sign up for FCPS News you Choose (google it). They will let put you on the master FCPS email list for thing like school closure, and let you opt in to your kids grade and school, plus decide what else you care about— getting your school board reps emails, special ed emails, etc. The nice thing is it will follow your kid from year to year and school to school. My youngest is starting HS, and it automatically dropped me from the MS list and added me to the HS freshman list, so I got the info about orientation and opening of school. Most schools and many PTAs also use the send out regular emails. Your teachers will add you to the classroom list.

My youngest has been out of ES for three years, but when she was there, they sent home a weekly folder with graded school work and announcements that you signed and returned with things like permission slips. The first folder has the ream of forms they make you fill out.

You want to set up school bucks ASAP. And put at least some lunch money in it. Even if you plan to pack lunch, your kid will eventually forget to take it when you are 20 miles away in the middle of getting a Pap smear.

You want to sign up for blackboard eventually. But The Parentview module does not have the same interface as the studentview— it’s missing a lot of info. Rather than getting your own account, for an ES kid, wait until your kid sets their account up at school, and access their account, rather than using a parent account. Their account name is their student ID. They will be able to tell you their password.

You will want SIS eventually. But it has minimal value in ES, as I said. So do it last, when you have a chance.

The good news. You do not have to do this every year. Once you have SIS, blackboard, News You Choose, School Bucks, etc, they are established for as long as your kid is in FCPS. And automatically change schools and grades with them, populate their new classes, etc. So you you only have to jump through the hoops once.

Honestly, I never understood why they dididn’t have a new parents guide to signing up for stuff with clear explanations and screenshots. Because it is a multi step ordeal. Probably because 90% of parent would take one look at the list and say he11 no.

Good luck!

Thank you so much, this is exactly the sort of info I was looking for. This should be a sticky!!