FCPS Fall 2021 - Possible to Partner with Virtual Virginia?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:12:23 again.

I forgot to mention, because VAVA is technically a public school, you still have to prep your kid on your own for the SOLs and go through all the benchmarking/compliance stuff that the host counties require.

PP, if you have to do that, what is the benefit of Virtual Virginia versus just homeschooling?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:12:23 again.

I forgot to mention, because VAVA is technically a public school, you still have to prep your kid on your own for the SOLs and go through all the benchmarking/compliance stuff that the host counties require.

PP, if you have to do that, what is the benefit of Virtual Virginia versus just homeschooling?

For me, I wanted to homeschool but I was completely lost as to how to begin doing that. I like that the program tells me exactly what I need to accomplish every day. I'm not into the whole loosey-goosey "you can learn fractions by baking" variety of homeschooling. If it is someone else's cup of tea, that's fine, but it's not mine.

VAVA provides a rigorous curriculum that otherwise costs about $5,000/child, if you were to purchase it directly through K12. I feel confident that the kids are learning the stuff they need to learn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:12:23 again.

I forgot to mention, because VAVA is technically a public school, you still have to prep your kid on your own for the SOLs and go through all the benchmarking/compliance stuff that the host counties require.

PP, if you have to do that, what is the benefit of Virtual Virginia versus just homeschooling?

For me, I wanted to homeschool but I was completely lost as to how to begin doing that. I like that the program tells me exactly what I need to accomplish every day. I'm not into the whole loosey-goosey "you can learn fractions by baking" variety of homeschooling. If it is someone else's cup of tea, that's fine, but it's not mine.

VAVA provides a rigorous curriculum that otherwise costs about $5,000/child, if you were to purchase it directly through K12. I feel confident that the kids are learning the stuff they need to learn.

Thanks for your thoughtful response. Early in the pandemic, I read the K12 learning coach instructions/agreement and was impressed by how they totally map out what you need to be doing to support your child. With everything asynchronous, is there opportunity to build connections with online teachers or classmates?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:12:23 again.

I forgot to mention, because VAVA is technically a public school, you still have to prep your kid on your own for the SOLs and go through all the benchmarking/compliance stuff that the host counties require.

PP, if you have to do that, what is the benefit of Virtual Virginia versus just homeschooling?

For me, I wanted to homeschool but I was completely lost as to how to begin doing that. I like that the program tells me exactly what I need to accomplish every day. I'm not into the whole loosey-goosey "you can learn fractions by baking" variety of homeschooling. If it is someone else's cup of tea, that's fine, but it's not mine.

VAVA provides a rigorous curriculum that otherwise costs about $5,000/child, if you were to purchase it directly through K12. I feel confident that the kids are learning the stuff they need to learn.

Thanks for your thoughtful response. Early in the pandemic, I read the K12 learning coach instructions/agreement and was impressed by how they totally map out what you need to be doing to support your child. With everything asynchronous, is there opportunity to build connections with online teachers or classmates?

Well, it's mostly asynchronous, but isn't completely asynchronous. Elementary schoolers have 1-2 hours of class per week. The classes are small, and what's nice about it is that the teachers seem very tech savvy. They do a good job of engaging the kids. The classes each week focus on a specific SOL standard, so I think the classes are part of how they stay compliant with the state. Therefore, the teacher-led lessons don't always line up with the K12 curriculum. During normal years, VAVA has social events where the kids get to meet each other and hang out, but they aren't doing them this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a current VAVA parent. I think it is a good idea in many ways, but I do not think this would work across the board.

First, VAVA operates off the curriculum of a private online school, K12, which is extremely rigorous. I think most kids who have been effectively out of school for 18 months would be drowning in it, and I think most parents who have the bandwidth to offer as much support as K12 requires have probably already unenrolled from their public school system.

K12 for elementary schoolers involves an incredible about of parental involvement. When you enroll, they tell you that your child will need 5-6 hours per day of your support. Your child has a designated "learning coach" (usually a parent) who is the person to work through all the lessons with him/her. Since we have multiple children in the program, it often takes me much longer.

The program can provide a great education, but it is not for the faint of heart and it is definitely NOT appropriate for a child who is already behind. Children have to apply for the program and they only get in if it is determined that they are a good fit.

THANK YOU for this detailed explanation. I don't think all these people who are touting VAVA as an option have any understanding at all of what it entails. They think it's like the current virtual school, only better, and it's a completely different way of doing things and its own curriculum. Greatly appreciate this information. VAVA is an alternative to/a type of homeschooling, not an alternative to regular public school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:12:23 again.

I forgot to mention, because VAVA is technically a public school, you still have to prep your kid on your own for the SOLs and go through all the benchmarking/compliance stuff that the host counties require.

PP, if you have to do that, what is the benefit of Virtual Virginia versus just homeschooling?

NP but its because you don't have to pay for a curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a current VAVA parent. I think it is a good idea in many ways, but I do not think this would work across the board.

First, VAVA operates off the curriculum of a private online school, K12, which is extremely rigorous. I think most kids who have been effectively out of school for 18 months would be drowning in it, and I think most parents who have the bandwidth to offer as much support as K12 requires have probably already unenrolled from their public school system.

K12 for elementary schoolers involves an incredible about of parental involvement. When you enroll, they tell you that your child will need 5-6 hours per day of your support. Your child has a designated "learning coach" (usually a parent) who is the person to work through all the lessons with him/her. Since we have multiple children in the program, it often takes me much longer.

The program can provide a great education, but it is not for the faint of heart and it is definitely NOT appropriate for a child who is already behind. Children have to apply for the program and they only get in if it is determined that they are a good fit.

THANK YOU for this detailed explanation. I don't think all these people who are touting VAVA as an option have any understanding at all of what it entails. They think it's like the current virtual school, only better, and it's a completely different way of doing things and its own curriculum. Greatly appreciate this information. VAVA is an alternative to/a type of homeschooling, not an alternative to regular public school.

+2 with thanks. While challenging, it sound like VAVA might be a good solution for parents who want more control over their kids' daily schedule, as opposed to being tethered to the public school schedule, which can be difficult when you are working from home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a current VAVA parent. I think it is a good idea in many ways, but I do not think this would work across the board.

First, VAVA operates off the curriculum of a private online school, K12, which is extremely rigorous. I think most kids who have been effectively out of school for 18 months would be drowning in it, and I think most parents who have the bandwidth to offer as much support as K12 requires have probably already unenrolled from their public school system.

K12 for elementary schoolers involves an incredible about of parental involvement. When you enroll, they tell you that your child will need 5-6 hours per day of your support. Your child has a designated "learning coach" (usually a parent) who is the person to work through all the lessons with him/her. Since we have multiple children in the program, it often takes me much longer.

The program can provide a great education, but it is not for the faint of heart and it is definitely NOT appropriate for a child who is already behind. Children have to apply for the program and they only get in if it is determined that they are a good fit.

THANK YOU for this detailed explanation. I don't think all these people who are touting VAVA as an option have any understanding at all of what it entails. They think it's like the current virtual school, only better, and it's a completely different way of doing things and its own curriculum. Greatly appreciate this information. VAVA is an alternative to/a type of homeschooling, not an alternative to regular public school.

+2 with thanks. While challenging, it sound like VAVA might be a good solution for parents who want more control over their kids' daily schedule, as opposed to being tethered to the public school schedule, which can be difficult when you are working from home.

VAVA parent again. Yes, I would agree with it being an alternative to homeschooling and not an alternative to regular public school. I also agree 100% that the people saying that this should be the default option have no idea what the program entails or how academically robust it is.

To the +2 poster, I would disagree that it is a good option for working parents who want to keep their own schedule. The program is simply too time-intensive. It would be more akin to working parents taking on a separate, 5-6 hour per day job. If your child is transitioning out of LCPS or FCPS or similar, they are not used to doing things like using textbooks and doing real writing assignments. They are also likely behind, even if your school claims they are not. Since all of the K12 lesson modules are pre-built, there is absolutely no learning curve whatsoever. There is no way for them to go in and modify assignments for you. I am in all of the school's discussion groups, and many new VAVA parents were having meltdowns early in the year because the workload was so intense and their child was unable to manage much of it on their own.

Another route is to register as a homeschooler and then purchase individual K12 classes through K12 and/or through Keystone Academy a la carte, as independent study. That way, you have 12 months to complete the work and there isn't the same level of pressure on the parent. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Virtual Virginia has always been an option. It’s been around for at years. It’s not New.

[Anonymous]

Is it really that bad in FCPS? Kids can’t handle a curriculum with textbooks? What are they going to do in high school? College? If it is really this bad, FCPS is doing kids a real disservice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it really that bad in FCPS? Kids can’t handle a curriculum with textbooks? What are they going to do in high school? College? If it is really this bad, FCPS is doing kids a real disservice.

Different VAVA parent here. The way the curriculum is created makes it hard to progress if you do not understand the material. As a result, as a primary school parent, I have had to spend a lot of time to fill in gaps in English and Math - I can't just push it off until next week or weekend. The history and science classed are very detailed with quite a bit of memorization and understanding needed. If I weren't willing to invest about 1-2 hours on most days (and 4-5 hours on others when we hit a challenging math or Science subject), my son wouldn't progress, and it would be a very frustrating experience.

Wouldn't say the gaps are the fault of FCPS - they would have filled them in eventually I am sure. My son was just not very motivated to study and didn't really put in much effort back in regular classes.

To complete most VAVA lessons you need to score 80%. There are frequent quizzes and checks for understanding (and the questions are hard and detailed.) To prepare for unit tests in Science, History and Math we spend 2-3 hours a week. On average, he effectively studies 5-6 hours per day (including everything.) All that time is spent on the curriculum (primarily History (with geography), Science, English and Math.) My son is learning a lot more than he did in regular school - at home with me and with VAVA keeping track he does not have the option to do the minimum.

For live instruction we have 30 mins of English, 1hr Math and 1hr of Science per week. To prepare for the classes he spends about 30mins (per class) doing Playposit worksheets beforehand. The number of online classes will vary based on the initial testing results (students are assessed at the beginning of the year. to find the appropriate level.) As was mentioned earlier, the classes seem to focus on SOLs and does not necessarily mirror the k12 curriculum.

I believe it is the clearly laid out online curriculum and offline materials + the amount of time invested by the learning coach/parent that makes the difference. If you have a regular job this won't work for most primary school children. VAVA is closer to homeschooling than to a regular school. Constant parent involvement is required and necessary - especially for younger children. While first semester was tough, we are doing great now. I feel very fortunate to be able to have the ability to spend this time learning with my child. Not everyone has the ability to do that.

Also, just for clarification, "Virginia Virtual" is different from "Virginia Virtual Academy" (also referred to as VAVA)

[Anonymous]

First, VAVA operates off the curriculum of a private online school, K12, which is extremely rigorous. ... K12 for elementary schoolers involves an incredible about of parental involvement. When you enroll, they tell you that your child will need 5-6 hours per day of your support. Your child has a designated "learning coach" (usually a parent) who is the person to work through all the lessons with him/her. Since we have multiple children in the program, it often takes me much longer.

Yet another Virginia Virtual Academy (VAVA) parent here. My kids are in 6th grade, which is technically middle school in VAVA. At this age, the parental involvement is not as hands on as in the lower grades but is still pretty significant. I would say that it's akin to a hybrid between distance learning (asynchronous and synchronous content) and homeschooling.

I will echo the others in saying that the VAVA curriculum is very demanding. We moved to VAVA from FCPS AAP at a well regarded center. My kids are fine in math (actually a grade ahead), but were behind in language arts. Their language arts class actually had to do some remedial grammar work to accommodate the recent arrivals. The writing expectations are much more demanding than FCPS. Science and history are hard and require a fair amount of reading. My kids have had to work for their grades, and the workload and grading have been a bit of a shock. Even in math, which is regarded as a strength in FCPS AAP, the VAVA instruction goes much deeper. I'm very pleased and think we might stay with VAVA even after this year despite my concerns about socialization.

And also clarifying that VAVA is different than Virtual Virginia.

[Anonymous]

Is it really that bad in FCPS? Kids can’t handle a curriculum with textbooks? What are they going to do in high school? College? If it is really this bad, FCPS is doing kids a real disservice.

Third VAVA parent back again. Kids learn differently. Mine learn better with textbooks and physical learning materials. There have been many complaints on the board about FCPS abandoning textbooks. I don't want to turn this into a criticism of FCPS, but I was not impressed with anything other than their math instruction. Classes were huge at their AAP center, and some of the teachers were actively bad. The gaps in the curriculum became glaring during distance learning. We like VAVA, but I realize that it might not be appropriate for every kid's learning style.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, if enough parents enroll in Virtual Virginia, FCPS loses funding and teachers who refuse to do in person lose their jobs?

It looks like Virtual Virginia’s asynchronous model is pretty inexpensive. Maybe more parents should consider it.

It's only MS and HS, so they may need some type of virtual for ES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, if enough parents enroll in Virtual Virginia, FCPS loses funding and teachers who refuse to do in person lose their jobs?

It looks like Virtual Virginia’s asynchronous model is pretty inexpensive. Maybe more parents should consider it.

It's only MS and HS, so they may need some type of virtual for ES.

I think that is the case for Virtual VA, which is different than Virtual VA Academy (which has k-12)