no progress on virtual learning plan?

[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:

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.

Come on. On any given day there might be one or two students out from my kids' second and third grade classes. Do you really think virtual is going to have comparable attendance *and* participation? Of course not. There won't be enough kids to cover new material. The days would be worthless.

[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:

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.

Come on. On any given day there might be one or two students out from my kids' second and third grade classes. Do you really think virtual is going to have comparable attendance *and* participation? Of course not. There won't be enough kids to cover new material. The days would be worthless.

Are you in a rich W district? Attendance differs widely across the county, and if the snow storm is bad enough, everyone is homebound and looking for something to do.

I truly don't understand why you prefer your kids don't get 180 days of instruction a year (our status quo), as MCPS seeks to waive the instructional days, or why you prefer these half assed June half days, where schools are encouraging kids not to come in, to virtual learning on days in the heart of the school year.

Unless you're an MCPS staffer, and you preferred to get paid for doing nothing in the hopes that you'll have to work fewer days in the year.

[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.

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

+1 Winner winner chicken dinner. MCPS could have copy and pasted their name into the plans submitted by Anne Arundel and Baltimore County. But they prefer this approach of not being expected to do virtual learning, because then they won't be required to do extra work, especially if the attitude from MCPS management is to keep seeking waivers so MCPS staff can work less than the 180 required days.

[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:

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.

Come on. On any given day there might be one or two students out from my kids' second and third grade classes. Do you really think virtual is going to have comparable attendance *and* participation? Of course not. There won't be enough kids to cover new material. The days would be worthless.

Are you in a rich W district? Attendance differs widely across the county, and if the snow storm is bad enough, everyone is homebound and looking for something to do.

I truly don't understand why you prefer your kids don't get 180 days of instruction a year (our status quo), as MCPS seeks to waive the instructional days, or why you prefer these half assed June half days, where schools are encouraging kids not to come in, to virtual learning on days in the heart of the school year.

Unless you're an MCPS staffer, and you preferred to get paid for doing nothing in the hopes that you'll have to work fewer days in the year.

Definitely not in a W district. We're in Germantown school. Outside the W schools, most of us have jobs that still require us to work even if MCPS closes. Many kids won't be in environments that would allow them to join virtually, much less actively participate.

I don't particularly like the half days in June, but I certainly think they're better than virtual days. They still covered things last year. But, I recognize older kids probably don't do much those days. Nobody likes them. It is pretty clear that these last two years MCPS has been actively trying to make these days as awful as possible in the hopes of getting the legislature to release them from their obligations. That shouldn't be tolerated by MoCo residents or the legislature. We can and should expect MCPS to go back to including more days in the base calendar. The superintendent and BoE made this problem much worse by reducing the number of school days.

[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.

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

+1 Winner winner chicken dinner. MCPS could have copy and pasted their name into the plans submitted by Anne Arundel and Baltimore County. But they prefer this approach of not being expected to do virtual learning, because then they won't be required to do extra work, especially if the attitude from MCPS management is to keep seeking waivers so MCPS staff can work less than the 180 required days.

Obviously the easiest thing for the central office and teachers is to just have fewer days. But, it is less work for the central office to do worthless virtual days than real make-up days. They're obviously not going to provide any support or resources for students or teachers, so it is easy and cheap for them. Certainly not worthwhile for anyone else, though.

[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

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.

Agreed. If you want more school, push for more school - not virtual learning, which will continue to erode outcomes.

[Anonymous]

We COULDA had a virtual learning day tomorrow! Alas.

[Anonymous]

Harvard is having a virtual learning day tomorrow. They don’t stop teaching just because of snow.

[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:

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.

Come on. On any given day there might be one or two students out from my kids' second and third grade classes. Do you really think virtual is going to have comparable attendance *and* participation? Of course not. There won't be enough kids to cover new material. The days would be worthless.

Are you in a rich W district? Attendance differs widely across the county, and if the snow storm is bad enough, everyone is homebound and looking for something to do.

I truly don't understand why you prefer your kids don't get 180 days of instruction a year (our status quo), as MCPS seeks to waive the instructional days, or why you prefer these half assed June half days, where schools are encouraging kids not to come in, to virtual learning on days in the heart of the school year.

Unless you're an MCPS staffer, and you preferred to get paid for doing nothing in the hopes that you'll have to work fewer days in the year.

Definitely not in a W district. We're in Germantown school. Outside the W schools, most of us have jobs that still require us to work even if MCPS closes. Many kids won't be in environments that would allow them to join virtually, much less actively participate.

I don't particularly like the half days in June, but I certainly think they're better than virtual days. They still covered things last year. But, I recognize older kids probably don't do much those days. Nobody likes them. It is pretty clear that these last two years MCPS has been actively trying to make these days as awful as possible in the hopes of getting the legislature to release them from their obligations. That shouldn't be tolerated by MoCo residents or the legislature. We can and should expect MCPS to go back to including more days in the base calendar. The superintendent and BoE made this problem much worse by reducing the number of school days.

You need some sort of plan. You can work with your kids when you get home to do the assigned work. Many of our kids will attend and some teachers still gave assignments, especially the ap ones. Other ones are doubling up on make up work and that is a nightmare.

[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:

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.

Come on. On any given day there might be one or two students out from my kids' second and third grade classes. Do you really think virtual is going to have comparable attendance *and* participation? Of course not. There won't be enough kids to cover new material. The days would be worthless.

Are you in a rich W district? Attendance differs widely across the county, and if the snow storm is bad enough, everyone is homebound and looking for something to do.

I truly don't understand why you prefer your kids don't get 180 days of instruction a year (our status quo), as MCPS seeks to waive the instructional days, or why you prefer these half assed June half days, where schools are encouraging kids not to come in, to virtual learning on days in the heart of the school year.

Unless you're an MCPS staffer, and you preferred to get paid for doing nothing in the hopes that you'll have to work fewer days in the year.

Definitely not in a W district. We're in Germantown school. Outside the W schools, most of us have jobs that still require us to work even if MCPS closes. Many kids won't be in environments that would allow them to join virtually, much less actively participate.

I don't particularly like the half days in June, but I certainly think they're better than virtual days. They still covered things last year. But, I recognize older kids probably don't do much those days. Nobody likes them. It is pretty clear that these last two years MCPS has been actively trying to make these days as awful as possible in the hopes of getting the legislature to release them from their obligations. That shouldn't be tolerated by MoCo residents or the legislature. We can and should expect MCPS to go back to including more days in the base calendar. The superintendent and BoE made this problem much worse by reducing the number of school days.

Some of us can’t work and no going in means no pay. You have leave, unlike us, use it. Between all the shutdowns and snow we’ve gone without a lot of income.

[Anonymous]

Anne Arundel and PG County are both doing virtual learning today. They were smart enough to get their acts together and submit the required plan to Maryland.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026/02/22/dc-maryland-virginia-school-closings-winter-storm-snow/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anne Arundel and PG County are both doing virtual learning today. They were smart enough to get their acts together and submit the required plan to Maryland.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026/02/22/dc-maryland-virginia-school-closings-winter-storm-snow/

Smart move. MCPS gets stuck because it tries to please everyone and then ends up with no one being happy

[Anonymous]

Virtual learning is a no-brainer. It’s not perfect but these are exceptional circumstances. Half the kids won’t show up on extra days tacked on at the end or on any makeup days. Might as well do virtual learning.

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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

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.

Come on. On any given day there might be one or two students out from my kids' second and third grade classes. Do you really think virtual is going to have comparable attendance *and* participation? Of course not. There won't be enough kids to cover new material. The days would be worthless.

Are you in a rich W district? Attendance differs widely across the county, and if the snow storm is bad enough, everyone is homebound and looking for something to do.

I truly don't understand why you prefer your kids don't get 180 days of instruction a year (our status quo), as MCPS seeks to waive the instructional days, or why you prefer these half assed June half days, where schools are encouraging kids not to come in, to virtual learning on days in the heart of the school year.

Unless you're an MCPS staffer, and you preferred to get paid for doing nothing in the hopes that you'll have to work fewer days in the year.

Definitely not in a W district. We're in Germantown school. Outside the W schools, most of us have jobs that still require us to work even if MCPS closes. Many kids won't be in environments that would allow them to join virtually, much less actively participate.

I don't particularly like the half days in June, but I certainly think they're better than virtual days. They still covered things last year. But, I recognize older kids probably don't do much those days. Nobody likes them. It is pretty clear that these last two years MCPS has been actively trying to make these days as awful as possible in the hopes of getting the legislature to release them from their obligations. That shouldn't be tolerated by MoCo residents or the legislature. We can and should expect MCPS to go back to including more days in the base calendar. The superintendent and BoE made this problem much worse by reducing the number of school days.

Some of us can’t work and no going in means no pay. You have leave, unlike us, use it. Between all the shutdowns and snow we’ve gone without a lot of income.

Exactly! So many parents still go to work, leaving their kids in various settings and situations that would not accommodate participation with virtual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Virtual learning is a no-brainer. It’s not perfect but these are exceptional circumstances. Half the kids won’t show up on extra days tacked on at the end or on any makeup days. Might as well do virtual learning.

Far more kids would attend and participate if they went with March 20, April 15, and June 18.