Baltimore Teachers Union

Education Acronyms: New Educator Cheat Sheet

As educators, we often hear acronyms used by the district leadership, principals, teachers, and PSRPs, and these acronyms are used to describe our job duties, professional expectations, and evaluations – – but what do they all mean? Here is the education acronym cheat sheet guide:

Acronym	Meaning and Usage	Resources
AFT	American Federation of Teachers	The BTU is a local affiliate of the AFT
APC	Advanced Professional Certificate	Please reference this MSDE page
AUs	Achievement Units are the “credits” teachers earn towards a raise. Teachers need 12 AUs to move up the payscale.	Learning about AUs: https://www.baltimorecityschools.org/achievement-units Check out AU menu opportunities
BCPSS	Baltimore City Public Schools	Here is the BCPSS website
BIP	Behavioral Improvement Plan – any student can have a BIP	Reference pages 15-16 of this MSDE guide
BOY	Beginning of Year – usually refers to a type of assessment or a period of time when these assessments are given.	Reference the Baltimore City Public Schools calendar for specific dates
BR	Building Representatives are the people elected at each school (one for teachers and one for PSRPS) to serve as the staff representative in each worksite for the Baltimore Teachers Union.	If you are a member of the BTU, you can check out the posted BR minutes on this password protected site.
BTU	The Baltimore Teachers Union	Your comrades are ready to support you.
CBA	Collective Bargaining Agreement (aka the BTU Contract)	Reference the BTU teacher contract and PSRP contract here.
CPDs	Continuing Professional Development	In order to keep your Maryland Standard or Advanced teaching certification current, you must complete 6 hours of CPD every 5 years. (Conditional and Resident Certificate holders have a different process.)
ELL	English Language Learners are students learning English as as a second, third, or even fourth language.	Check out this Maryland State resource and this resource for Baltimore City Public Schools.
EOY	End of Year – usually refers to a type of assessment or a period of time when these assessments are given.	Reference the Baltimore City Public Schools calendar for specific dates
ERP	ERP is Employee Self Service – an online portal with your paycheck, benefits, evaluation and certification information	www.ebs.bcps.k12.md.us
ESL	English as a Second Language – an ESL instructor teaches English as a second language.	Check out this MD State resource and this resource for Baltimore City Public Schools.
ESS	Employee Self Service is another name for ERP: Employee Self Service	www.ebs.bcps.k12.md.us
ESY	Extended School Year refers to educational services for certain IEP students that extend into the summer.
FMLA	Family Medical Leave Act	FMLA Leave, which members qualify for after one year of work, is used to protect your job for up to 12 weeks for absence due to illness or injury of yourself or a family member.
IDP	Individual Development Plan – an annual outline of your professional growth goals and activities.	Your IDP must be completed by the end of October and is explained here.
IEP	Individualized Education Plan for Special Education students with learning accommodations or modifications.	Please reference the BCPSS Special Education page.
ILED	Instructional Leadership Executive Director	These directors oversee the community learning networks (CLNs). The ILED is your principal’s supervisor.
MOY	Middle of Year – usually refers to a type of assessment or a period of time when these assessments are given.	Reference the Baltimore City Public Schools calendar for specific dates
MSDE	Maryland State Department of Education	Here is the MSDE website
OPMS	Online Performance Management System is the online platform on Employee Self Service where your evaluation and performance is documented	https://www.baltimorecityschools.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/Evaluations_ProfessionalExpectations.pdf
PBES	Performance-Based Evaluation System. Not all people under the Teacher Contract are evaluated the same way. PBES is the evaluation system for many non-classroom certificated staff, including Librarians and Clinicians.	Review the Teacher Effectiveness Evaluation under Evaluations for Other BTU members.
PIP	Performance Improvement Plan	A PIP is part of the performance evaluation and is supposed to be a collaborative process between the teacher and administration to determine and document areas of improvement. This is supposed to be a supportive process. If you are asked to meet about a PIP, contact your BR.
PLC	Professional Learning Community	A formal or informal group of staff that meets to discuss learning issues and collaborate to implement solutions. Some PLCs are part of school-based professional development, and some PLCs are awarded Acheivement Units (AUs).
PSRP	Paraprofessional and School Related Personnel	PSRPS include several classifications of workers, like secretaries, bus transportation aides, student wholeness specialists, etc. Please see a more comprehensive list of PSRP classifications in the PSRP contract.
SABES	STEM academics curriculum for grades 3-5 in many Baltimore elementary schools	This is a collaboration between Baltimore City Public Schools and Johns Hopkins University.
SBO	School Based Option	“School-Based Options (SBO)” is a process by which certain schools may vote to modify selected sections of Article VII, limited to 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, and 7.8, such as the length of the school day.
SEL	Social Emotional Learning	SEL is part of the BCPSS Student Wholeness Plan
SLO	The Student Learning Objective is part of each teacher’s evaluation (unless exempt) and is a measurable, long-term academic goal that is informed by data.	For information and resources about the SLO, contact your school SLO ambassador and visit the district blackboard site.
SPC	Standard Professional Certificate	Please reference this MSDE page
SPM	School Performance Measure	This is the school’s score based on the previous year’s performance- including learning environment, student growth, college and career readiness- and is part of your evaluation score
T1-7	The T1-7 is a reference to the seven teaching domains used in the Instructional Framework rubric.	Reference pages 8-14 of the Instructional Framework 3.0 rubric.
TESOL	TESOL stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
UCC	Union Chapter Committee is the school based committee that meets with administration to discuss BTU issues
ULR	The Union Learning Representative is the representative at each school who is responsible for educating their peers about professional growth.	Check out the ULR responsibilities.

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