no progress on virtual learning plan?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The easiest thing to do would be to have a 185 day school year. This set up with one day and taken make up days they will never use in the spring is not tenable.

This is what Massachusetts does. And not coincidentally, it has some of the highest educational outcomes in the country.

Oh right. It’s because of those 5 days and not because of demographics of the population producing those outcomes or curriculum decisions or any number of other factors.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Anne Arundel county is looking pretty smart having an approved virtual learning plan for snow that they used during the last snow storm, and having built in 3 snow days into the calendar.

MCPS is the stupid Maryland county.[/quote]

Baltimore County too- but apparently special needs and equity concerns only exist in mcps[/quote]

Spare us your ignorant virtue signaling. NYC. And many districts in Long Island and New York State. And Boston and thousands of school districts around the country use virtual learning for weather emergencies.

If you look at the MSDE form, there's a requirement that MCPS submit the virtual learning plan form with an extensive section on accomodations for kids with IEPs. But yes, some less professional MCPS staffers prefer having more days off and preferring that MCPS kids get no education at all and try to ask Maryland for a waiver on the 180 days of required instruction so all MCPS kids can learn less. [/quote]

sorry my sarcasm wasn't apparent-- i assume equity and special needs exists in nyc and baltimore county. and think switching to hours instead of days will shortchange our kids education. [/quote]

It’s better to get some education than no education. Paras can be online and they can do services online. [/quote]

You're obviously woefully unfamiliar with what paraeducators do. Our IEPs acknowledge that the supports can't be provided virtually. It has been a nonissue because MCPS doesn't have virtual. We're certainly not the only ones.[/quote]

I am very familiar with it as I have a SN child who did virtual for four years till it was taken away from us. Maybe its an issue for you, but it worked very well for some of us.[/quote]

+1. There’s someone on this forum spreading lies about what special needs services kids receive and how virtual learning affects them. You do not speak for all special needs families. They are not a homogenous lump you can trot out as an excuse for not giving MCPS their required instructional time. [/quote]

We are also talking about few days at best. As parents we can also work with our kids to help support them. So, instead no one gets instructional time. We’ve been having teachers double up on assignments and speed things up which creates issues for hard classes or kids struggling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anne Arundel county is looking pretty smart having an approved virtual learning plan for snow that they used during the last snow storm, and having built in 3 snow days into the calendar.

MCPS is the stupid Maryland county.

Baltimore County too- but apparently special needs and equity concerns only exist in mcps

Spare us your ignorant virtue signaling. NYC. And many districts in Long Island and New York State. And Boston and thousands of school districts around the country use virtual learning for weather emergencies.

If you look at the MSDE form, there's a requirement that MCPS submit the virtual learning plan form with an extensive section on accomodations for kids with IEPs. But yes, some less professional MCPS staffers prefer having more days off and preferring that MCPS kids get no education at all and try to ask Maryland for a waiver on the 180 days of required instruction so all MCPS kids can learn less.

sorry my sarcasm wasn't apparent-- i assume equity and special needs exists in nyc and baltimore county. and think switching to hours instead of days will shortchange our kids education.

It’s better to get some education than no education. Paras can be online and they can do services online.

You're obviously woefully unfamiliar with what paraeducators do. Our IEPs acknowledge that the supports can't be provided virtually. It has been a nonissue because MCPS doesn't have virtual. We're certainly not the only ones.

I am very familiar with it as I have a SN child who did virtual for four years till it was taken away from us. Maybe its an issue for you, but it worked very well for some of us.

+1. There’s someone on this forum spreading lies about what special needs services kids receive and how virtual learning affects them. You do not speak for all special needs families. They are not a homogenous lump you can trot out as an excuse for not giving MCPS their required instructional time.

They're not, but common special education supports and services cannot be provided virtually, and no one has provided a clear and credible proposal for how to accommodate those kidsZ

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The easiest thing to do would be to have a 185 day school year. This set up with one day and taken make up days they will never use in the spring is not tenable.

This is what Massachusetts does. And not coincidentally, it has some of the highest educational outcomes in the country.

Oh right. It’s because of those 5 days and not because of demographics of the population producing those outcomes or curriculum decisions or any number of other factors.

Building in that 5 days is indicative of an attitude that student instructional time is important. Meanwhile, every year MCPS is asking Maryland to waive the 180 day requirements like a slacker student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i don't get the opposition to virtual school for snow days given the alternative is a bunch of half days in late June after exams/APS where it is fully known there is no learning happening. even if it's not perfect it seems far more likely to result in learning

(and i'm a psychologist and saw a high number of kids who thrived in virtual school-- and plenty who struggled and parents often discovering kids ADHD when watching them learn from home )

+1. These people who claim to speak for “all parents” and say that virtual school failed everyone must not be very familiar with modern education. It certainly wasn’t ideal in all circumstances, but for kids older than grade 4, it’s fine. And if all kids don’t show up perfectly ready to learn online, let’s not forget the MCPS has a high degree of in-person absenteeism as well.

Sometimes you have to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. But I guess complaining about everything is a good excuse for McPS to do nothing even as the rest of the country adopts these plans to be prepared for emergencies.

And for kids below grade 4? What about them? And what about kids with special needs? They don't matter?

Gee. I guess that NYC with its student body of 1 million, and Boston and Anne Arundel and Alexandria and Baltimore must not have any kids with IEPs or kids under grade 4 since they managed to figure out a virtual learning plan.

Your ignorance isn’t cute. Other school districts make it work. Happy to contribute to a go fund me so that McPS staff can buy a bus ticket to some of these other cities to see how the other school districts do it.

Some schools "make it work" by screwing over a large portion of students.

Many other schools choose not to do that, instead incorporating an appropriate number of days to their calendars from the start while also implementing make-up days. That's the better option for more students. But that's not your concern- you just don't want your vacation plans interrupted.

You are presenting us with two plans, but MCPS is doing neither of them. They are neither building in an appropriate number of makeup days nor are they pivoting to virtual like many other large school districts.

The biggest issue with MCPS to my mind is the total failure to plan ahead. They seem to constantly be in reaction mode, and I'm absolutely at a loss as to how all of these folks claim to have PhDs in administration specifically, and yet not a single person in the central office appears capable of sitting down with a Gantt chart and figuring out whose job it is to do what when.

Oh they don't have Ph.D.s. They have Ed.D.s or other education-specific doctorates. Very different.

But yeah, your point stands. They can't do basic tasks. It's embarrassing.

What do they learn? Is it all "windows and mirrors" or is there some actual leadership/management squeezed in?

I'm a social worker, so I'm not unfamiliar with what passes for professional education among a certain group (no thank you to group breathing exercises). With that said, if I were as bad at forward planning as MCPS Central Office staff, there is no way I'd be allowed to keep my job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anne Arundel county is looking pretty smart having an approved virtual learning plan for snow that they used during the last snow storm, and having built in 3 snow days into the calendar.

MCPS is the stupid Maryland county.

Baltimore County too- but apparently special needs and equity concerns only exist in mcps

Spare us your ignorant virtue signaling. NYC. And many districts in Long Island and New York State. And Boston and thousands of school districts around the country use virtual learning for weather emergencies.

If you look at the MSDE form, there's a requirement that MCPS submit the virtual learning plan form with an extensive section on accomodations for kids with IEPs. But yes, some less professional MCPS staffers prefer having more days off and preferring that MCPS kids get no education at all and try to ask Maryland for a waiver on the 180 days of required instruction so all MCPS kids can learn less.

sorry my sarcasm wasn't apparent-- i assume equity and special needs exists in nyc and baltimore county. and think switching to hours instead of days will shortchange our kids education.

It’s better to get some education than no education. Paras can be online and they can do services online.

You're obviously woefully unfamiliar with what paraeducators do. Our IEPs acknowledge that the supports can't be provided virtually. It has been a nonissue because MCPS doesn't have virtual. We're certainly not the only ones.

I am very familiar with it as I have a SN child who did virtual for four years till it was taken away from us. Maybe its an issue for you, but it worked very well for some of us.

+1. There’s someone on this forum spreading lies about what special needs services kids receive and how virtual learning affects them. You do not speak for all special needs families. They are not a homogenous lump you can trot out as an excuse for not giving MCPS their required instructional time.

They're not, but common special education supports and services cannot be provided virtually, and no one has provided a clear and credible proposal for how to accommodate those kidsZ

I would love to understand a concrete example of a special education support that would not be able to be provided for a virtual day or two, why this is such a big giant deal in the scheme of an entire school year, and why this should prevent all the other students in the district from having an opportunity to access instruction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anne Arundel county is looking pretty smart having an approved virtual learning plan for snow that they used during the last snow storm, and having built in 3 snow days into the calendar.

MCPS is the stupid Maryland county.

Baltimore County too- but apparently special needs and equity concerns only exist in mcps

Spare us your ignorant virtue signaling. NYC. And many districts in Long Island and New York State. And Boston and thousands of school districts around the country use virtual learning for weather emergencies.

If you look at the MSDE form, there's a requirement that MCPS submit the virtual learning plan form with an extensive section on accomodations for kids with IEPs. But yes, some less professional MCPS staffers prefer having more days off and preferring that MCPS kids get no education at all and try to ask Maryland for a waiver on the 180 days of required instruction so all MCPS kids can learn less.

sorry my sarcasm wasn't apparent-- i assume equity and special needs exists in nyc and baltimore county. and think switching to hours instead of days will shortchange our kids education.

It’s better to get some education than no education. Paras can be online and they can do services online.

You're obviously woefully unfamiliar with what paraeducators do. Our IEPs acknowledge that the supports can't be provided virtually. It has been a nonissue because MCPS doesn't have virtual. We're certainly not the only ones.

I am very familiar with it as I have a SN child who did virtual for four years till it was taken away from us. Maybe its an issue for you, but it worked very well for some of us.

+1. There’s someone on this forum spreading lies about what special needs services kids receive and how virtual learning affects them. You do not speak for all special needs families. They are not a homogenous lump you can trot out as an excuse for not giving MCPS their required instructional time.

They're not, but common special education supports and services cannot be provided virtually, and no one has provided a clear and credible proposal for how to accommodate those kidsZ

I would love to understand a concrete example of a special education support that would not be able to be provided for a virtual day or two, why this is such a big giant deal in the scheme of an entire school year, and why this should prevent all the other students in the district from having an opportunity to access instruction.

The real issue is they don't want to be bothered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i don't get the opposition to virtual school for snow days given the alternative is a bunch of half days in late June after exams/APS where it is fully known there is no learning happening. even if it's not perfect it seems far more likely to result in learning

(and i'm a psychologist and saw a high number of kids who thrived in virtual school-- and plenty who struggled and parents often discovering kids ADHD when watching them learn from home )

+1. These people who claim to speak for “all parents” and say that virtual school failed everyone must not be very familiar with modern education. It certainly wasn’t ideal in all circumstances, but for kids older than grade 4, it’s fine. And if all kids don’t show up perfectly ready to learn online, let’s not forget the MCPS has a high degree of in-person absenteeism as well.

Sometimes you have to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. But I guess complaining about everything is a good excuse for McPS to do nothing even as the rest of the country adopts these plans to be prepared for emergencies.

And for kids below grade 4? What about them? And what about kids with special needs? They don't matter?

Gee. I guess that NYC with its student body of 1 million, and Boston and Anne Arundel and Alexandria and Baltimore must not have any kids with IEPs or kids under grade 4 since they managed to figure out a virtual learning plan.

Your ignorance isn’t cute. Other school districts make it work. Happy to contribute to a go fund me so that McPS staff can buy a bus ticket to some of these other cities to see how the other school districts do it.

Some schools "make it work" by screwing over a large portion of students.

Many other schools choose not to do that, instead incorporating an appropriate number of days to their calendars from the start while also implementing make-up days. That's the better option for more students. But that's not your concern- you just don't want your vacation plans interrupted.

You are presenting us with two plans, but MCPS is doing neither of them. They are neither building in an appropriate number of makeup days nor are they pivoting to virtual like many other large school districts.

The biggest issue with MCPS to my mind is the total failure to plan ahead. They seem to constantly be in reaction mode, and I'm absolutely at a loss as to how all of these folks claim to have PhDs in administration specifically, and yet not a single person in the central office appears capable of sitting down with a Gantt chart and figuring out whose job it is to do what when.

Oh they don't have Ph.D.s. They have Ed.D.s or other education-specific doctorates. Very different.

But yeah, your point stands. They can't do basic tasks. It's embarrassing.

What do they learn? Is it all "windows and mirrors" or is there some actual leadership/management squeezed in?

I'm a social worker, so I'm not unfamiliar with what passes for professional education among a certain group (no thank you to group breathing exercises). With that said, if I were as bad at forward planning as MCPS Central Office staff, there is no way I'd be allowed to keep my job.

The psychologist at our school is incompentent and she's allowed to keep her job. Even with documented disabilities, she still denied an IEP multiple times, even when the experts came to the meetings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anne Arundel county is looking pretty smart having an approved virtual learning plan for snow that they used during the last snow storm, and having built in 3 snow days into the calendar.

MCPS is the stupid Maryland county.

Baltimore County too- but apparently special needs and equity concerns only exist in mcps

Spare us your ignorant virtue signaling. NYC. And many districts in Long Island and New York State. And Boston and thousands of school districts around the country use virtual learning for weather emergencies.

If you look at the MSDE form, there's a requirement that MCPS submit the virtual learning plan form with an extensive section on accomodations for kids with IEPs. But yes, some less professional MCPS staffers prefer having more days off and preferring that MCPS kids get no education at all and try to ask Maryland for a waiver on the 180 days of required instruction so all MCPS kids can learn less.

sorry my sarcasm wasn't apparent-- i assume equity and special needs exists in nyc and baltimore county. and think switching to hours instead of days will shortchange our kids education.

It’s better to get some education than no education. Paras can be online and they can do services online.

You're obviously woefully unfamiliar with what paraeducators do. Our IEPs acknowledge that the supports can't be provided virtually. It has been a nonissue because MCPS doesn't have virtual. We're certainly not the only ones.

I am very familiar with it as I have a SN child who did virtual for four years till it was taken away from us. Maybe its an issue for you, but it worked very well for some of us.

+1. There’s someone on this forum spreading lies about what special needs services kids receive and how virtual learning affects them. You do not speak for all special needs families. They are not a homogenous lump you can trot out as an excuse for not giving MCPS their required instructional time.

They're not, but common special education supports and services cannot be provided virtually, and no one has provided a clear and credible proposal for how to accommodate those kidsZ

I would love to understand a concrete example of a special education support that would not be able to be provided for a virtual day or two, why this is such a big giant deal in the scheme of an entire school year, and why this should prevent all the other students in the district from having an opportunity to access instruction.

Physical prompts/redirection to stay on task. One on one repetition and rephrasing through assignments. Scribes.

If the school fails to provide these, then they should provide adequate compensatory services after school reopens. I think that would be acceptable in principle, but after seeing how MCPS failed with compensatory services after covid, I'm not convinced they would take this any more seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anne Arundel county is looking pretty smart having an approved virtual learning plan for snow that they used during the last snow storm, and having built in 3 snow days into the calendar.

MCPS is the stupid Maryland county.

Baltimore County too- but apparently special needs and equity concerns only exist in mcps

Spare us your ignorant virtue signaling. NYC. And many districts in Long Island and New York State. And Boston and thousands of school districts around the country use virtual learning for weather emergencies.

If you look at the MSDE form, there's a requirement that MCPS submit the virtual learning plan form with an extensive section on accomodations for kids with IEPs. But yes, some less professional MCPS staffers prefer having more days off and preferring that MCPS kids get no education at all and try to ask Maryland for a waiver on the 180 days of required instruction so all MCPS kids can learn less.

sorry my sarcasm wasn't apparent-- i assume equity and special needs exists in nyc and baltimore county. and think switching to hours instead of days will shortchange our kids education.

It’s better to get some education than no education. Paras can be online and they can do services online.

You're obviously woefully unfamiliar with what paraeducators do. Our IEPs acknowledge that the supports can't be provided virtually. It has been a nonissue because MCPS doesn't have virtual. We're certainly not the only ones.

I am very familiar with it as I have a SN child who did virtual for four years till it was taken away from us. Maybe its an issue for you, but it worked very well for some of us.

+1. There’s someone on this forum spreading lies about what special needs services kids receive and how virtual learning affects them. You do not speak for all special needs families. They are not a homogenous lump you can trot out as an excuse for not giving MCPS their required instructional time.

They're not, but common special education supports and services cannot be provided virtually, and no one has provided a clear and credible proposal for how to accommodate those kidsZ

I would love to understand a concrete example of a special education support that would not be able to be provided for a virtual day or two, why this is such a big giant deal in the scheme of an entire school year, and why this should prevent all the other students in the district from having an opportunity to access instruction.

Well let’s also keep in mind that the majority of non-special needs students will not benefit from virtual. So please don’t hold SN responsible for blocking what you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anne Arundel county is looking pretty smart having an approved virtual learning plan for snow that they used during the last snow storm, and having built in 3 snow days into the calendar.

MCPS is the stupid Maryland county.

Baltimore County too- but apparently special needs and equity concerns only exist in mcps

Spare us your ignorant virtue signaling. NYC. And many districts in Long Island and New York State. And Boston and thousands of school districts around the country use virtual learning for weather emergencies.

If you look at the MSDE form, there's a requirement that MCPS submit the virtual learning plan form with an extensive section on accomodations for kids with IEPs. But yes, some less professional MCPS staffers prefer having more days off and preferring that MCPS kids get no education at all and try to ask Maryland for a waiver on the 180 days of required instruction so all MCPS kids can learn less.

sorry my sarcasm wasn't apparent-- i assume equity and special needs exists in nyc and baltimore county. and think switching to hours instead of days will shortchange our kids education.

It’s better to get some education than no education. Paras can be online and they can do services online.

You're obviously woefully unfamiliar with what paraeducators do. Our IEPs acknowledge that the supports can't be provided virtually. It has been a nonissue because MCPS doesn't have virtual. We're certainly not the only ones.

I am very familiar with it as I have a SN child who did virtual for four years till it was taken away from us. Maybe its an issue for you, but it worked very well for some of us.

+1. There’s someone on this forum spreading lies about what special needs services kids receive and how virtual learning affects them. You do not speak for all special needs families. They are not a homogenous lump you can trot out as an excuse for not giving MCPS their required instructional time.

They're not, but common special education supports and services cannot be provided virtually, and no one has provided a clear and credible proposal for how to accommodate those kidsZ

I would love to understand a concrete example of a special education support that would not be able to be provided for a virtual day or two, why this is such a big giant deal in the scheme of an entire school year, and why this should prevent all the other students in the district from having an opportunity to access instruction.

Well let’s also keep in mind that the majority of non-special needs students will not benefit from virtual. So please don’t hold SN responsible for blocking what you want.

The majority of non-special needs students can learn just fine virtually for a day or two. We are not talking about a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anne Arundel county is looking pretty smart having an approved virtual learning plan for snow that they used during the last snow storm, and having built in 3 snow days into the calendar.

MCPS is the stupid Maryland county.

Baltimore County too- but apparently special needs and equity concerns only exist in mcps

Spare us your ignorant virtue signaling. NYC. And many districts in Long Island and New York State. And Boston and thousands of school districts around the country use virtual learning for weather emergencies.

If you look at the MSDE form, there's a requirement that MCPS submit the virtual learning plan form with an extensive section on accomodations for kids with IEPs. But yes, some less professional MCPS staffers prefer having more days off and preferring that MCPS kids get no education at all and try to ask Maryland for a waiver on the 180 days of required instruction so all MCPS kids can learn less.

sorry my sarcasm wasn't apparent-- i assume equity and special needs exists in nyc and baltimore county. and think switching to hours instead of days will shortchange our kids education.

It’s better to get some education than no education. Paras can be online and they can do services online.

You're obviously woefully unfamiliar with what paraeducators do. Our IEPs acknowledge that the supports can't be provided virtually. It has been a nonissue because MCPS doesn't have virtual. We're certainly not the only ones.

I am very familiar with it as I have a SN child who did virtual for four years till it was taken away from us. Maybe its an issue for you, but it worked very well for some of us.

+1. There’s someone on this forum spreading lies about what special needs services kids receive and how virtual learning affects them. You do not speak for all special needs families. They are not a homogenous lump you can trot out as an excuse for not giving MCPS their required instructional time.

They're not, but common special education supports and services cannot be provided virtually, and no one has provided a clear and credible proposal for how to accommodate those kidsZ

I would love to understand a concrete example of a special education support that would not be able to be provided for a virtual day or two, why this is such a big giant deal in the scheme of an entire school year, and why this should prevent all the other students in the district from having an opportunity to access instruction.

Well let’s also keep in mind that the majority of non-special needs students will not benefit from virtual. So please don’t hold SN responsible for blocking what you want.

The majority of non-special needs students can learn just fine virtually for a day or two. We are not talking about a year.

Many wouldn't be able to participate, due to being in child care settings or providing child care to siblings. Others simply wouldn't join because of a lack of support at home. Of those who do, many wouldn't pay attention.

No learning would occur those days for the vast majority of students. Some AP/advanced classes, or a handful of other classes at particularly wealthy schools, might be the exception to that, but that would be a very small percentage of students in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anne Arundel county is looking pretty smart having an approved virtual learning plan for snow that they used during the last snow storm, and having built in 3 snow days into the calendar.

MCPS is the stupid Maryland county.

Baltimore County too- but apparently special needs and equity concerns only exist in mcps

Spare us your ignorant virtue signaling. NYC. And many districts in Long Island and New York State. And Boston and thousands of school districts around the country use virtual learning for weather emergencies.

If you look at the MSDE form, there's a requirement that MCPS submit the virtual learning plan form with an extensive section on accomodations for kids with IEPs. But yes, some less professional MCPS staffers prefer having more days off and preferring that MCPS kids get no education at all and try to ask Maryland for a waiver on the 180 days of required instruction so all MCPS kids can learn less.

sorry my sarcasm wasn't apparent-- i assume equity and special needs exists in nyc and baltimore county. and think switching to hours instead of days will shortchange our kids education.

It’s better to get some education than no education. Paras can be online and they can do services online.

You're obviously woefully unfamiliar with what paraeducators do. Our IEPs acknowledge that the supports can't be provided virtually. It has been a nonissue because MCPS doesn't have virtual. We're certainly not the only ones.

I am very familiar with it as I have a SN child who did virtual for four years till it was taken away from us. Maybe its an issue for you, but it worked very well for some of us.

+1. There’s someone on this forum spreading lies about what special needs services kids receive and how virtual learning affects them. You do not speak for all special needs families. They are not a homogenous lump you can trot out as an excuse for not giving MCPS their required instructional time.

They're not, but common special education supports and services cannot be provided virtually, and no one has provided a clear and credible proposal for how to accommodate those kidsZ

I would love to understand a concrete example of a special education support that would not be able to be provided for a virtual day or two, why this is such a big giant deal in the scheme of an entire school year, and why this should prevent all the other students in the district from having an opportunity to access instruction.

Well let’s also keep in mind that the majority of non-special needs students will not benefit from virtual. So please don’t hold SN responsible for blocking what you want.

The majority of non-special needs students can learn just fine virtually for a day or two. We are not talking about a year.

Many wouldn't be able to participate, due to being in child care settings or providing child care to siblings. Others simply wouldn't join because of a lack of support at home. Of those who do, many wouldn't pay attention.

No learning would occur those days for the vast majority of students. Some AP/advanced classes, or a handful of other classes at particularly wealthy schools, might be the exception to that, but that would be a very small percentage of students in MCPS.

Do you think MCPS has perfect attendance every day? Lots of kids don't show up all the time due to "lack of support at home."

I find it bewildering, that because there's no perfect way to serve every child (a problem that is not unique to virtual schooling--we have these same problems for in-person school), that MCPS thinks it's far better to screw EVERY MCPS child out of 180 instructional days and ask for waivers year after year because they can't be bothered to submit the Virtual Learning Plan for Weather Emergencies to MSDE, like other Maryland school districts have done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anne Arundel county is looking pretty smart having an approved virtual learning plan for snow that they used during the last snow storm, and having built in 3 snow days into the calendar.

MCPS is the stupid Maryland county.

Baltimore County too- but apparently special needs and equity concerns only exist in mcps

Spare us your ignorant virtue signaling. NYC. And many districts in Long Island and New York State. And Boston and thousands of school districts around the country use virtual learning for weather emergencies.

If you look at the MSDE form, there's a requirement that MCPS submit the virtual learning plan form with an extensive section on accomodations for kids with IEPs. But yes, some less professional MCPS staffers prefer having more days off and preferring that MCPS kids get no education at all and try to ask Maryland for a waiver on the 180 days of required instruction so all MCPS kids can learn less.

sorry my sarcasm wasn't apparent-- i assume equity and special needs exists in nyc and baltimore county. and think switching to hours instead of days will shortchange our kids education.

It’s better to get some education than no education. Paras can be online and they can do services online.

You're obviously woefully unfamiliar with what paraeducators do. Our IEPs acknowledge that the supports can't be provided virtually. It has been a nonissue because MCPS doesn't have virtual. We're certainly not the only ones.

I am very familiar with it as I have a SN child who did virtual for four years till it was taken away from us. Maybe its an issue for you, but it worked very well for some of us.

+1. There’s someone on this forum spreading lies about what special needs services kids receive and how virtual learning affects them. You do not speak for all special needs families. They are not a homogenous lump you can trot out as an excuse for not giving MCPS their required instructional time.

They're not, but common special education supports and services cannot be provided virtually, and no one has provided a clear and credible proposal for how to accommodate those kidsZ

You sound very ignorant about special needs "kidsZ" [sic]. There are many many variations within IEPs, and there are a lot of accomodations that work as well (if not better!) with technology. But as has been said many many times before.

If virtual learning can be deployed in NYC, Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Alexandria, Boston, New York state, and San Francisco (and in MCPS for a year during COVID), it is not an unsurmountable obstacle to do it for 2-3 days a year during snow emergencies.

It's certainly far better than asking for a waiver to give special needs kids NO education on those days, which is the current status quo.

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Anonymous wrote:Anne Arundel county is looking pretty smart having an approved virtual learning plan for snow that they used during the last snow storm, and having built in 3 snow days into the calendar.

MCPS is the stupid Maryland county.

Baltimore County too- but apparently special needs and equity concerns only exist in mcps

Spare us your ignorant virtue signaling. NYC. And many districts in Long Island and New York State. And Boston and thousands of school districts around the country use virtual learning for weather emergencies.

If you look at the MSDE form, there's a requirement that MCPS submit the virtual learning plan form with an extensive section on accomodations for kids with IEPs. But yes, some less professional MCPS staffers prefer having more days off and preferring that MCPS kids get no education at all and try to ask Maryland for a waiver on the 180 days of required instruction so all MCPS kids can learn less.

sorry my sarcasm wasn't apparent-- i assume equity and special needs exists in nyc and baltimore county. and think switching to hours instead of days will shortchange our kids education.

It’s better to get some education than no education. Paras can be online and they can do services online.

You're obviously woefully unfamiliar with what paraeducators do. Our IEPs acknowledge that the supports can't be provided virtually. It has been a nonissue because MCPS doesn't have virtual. We're certainly not the only ones.

I am very familiar with it as I have a SN child who did virtual for four years till it was taken away from us. Maybe its an issue for you, but it worked very well for some of us.

+1. There’s someone on this forum spreading lies about what special needs services kids receive and how virtual learning affects them. You do not speak for all special needs families. They are not a homogenous lump you can trot out as an excuse for not giving MCPS their required instructional time.

They're not, but common special education supports and services cannot be provided virtually, and no one has provided a clear and credible proposal for how to accommodate those kidsZ

You sound very ignorant about special needs "kidsZ" [sic]. There are many many variations within IEPs, and there are a lot of accomodations that work as well (if not better!) with technology. But as has been said many many times before.

If virtual learning can be deployed in NYC, Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Alexandria, Boston, New York state, and San Francisco (and in MCPS for a year during COVID), it is not an unsurmountable obstacle to do it for 2-3 days a year during snow emergencies.

It's certainly far better than asking for a waiver to give special needs kids NO education on those days, which is the current status quo.

I don't like the waiver or proposed bill any more than you do. We should implement meaningful make-up days, or preferably just have extra days in the calendar from the start. Like many other districts, and like MCPS used to do.

There are definitely better options than virtual.