Support the Montgomery Virtual Academy (MVA) from Budget Cuts!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS never seemed fully committed to the program. There are a number of states that offer virtual at the state level, and this seems like a more efficient way. Some grumbling I had heard from one family in n MVA was the lack of AP classes for their HS student. Probably because there aren’t enough kids that want it to offer ? Makes sense that would be limiting with only 800 students. In contrast my cousin’s DC was able to maintain their full course lead, including AP classes, virtually while undergoing cancer treatment (they live in Florida ).

Lots of schools lack AP classes. Our home school lacks AP classes as well. There is no state program so that is not relevant. Virtual Virginia is a private company that the school system pays to do their virtual but when you look at costs it's cheaper for MCPS to provide it. MCPS wasn't committed as there were lots of kids on the waitlist who were never accepted and they kept taking staff so more students who needed it could not be let in. They also could have expanded it so kids who need AP and other classes not at their home school could have access to the virtually.

Sure, but none of those things happened and now MVA may go away altogether. So parents can pay for a private program or move to Virginia or another state that offers it publicly. Doesn’t seem like anyone is interested in pushing MSDE to step up and fill the gap like Virginia did, so there you have it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MVA sounds like one of many luxury items MCPS needs to cut to live within their budget.

Luxury means something is not absolutely needed. Yes you may not need it but hundreds of families and kids who pay taxes and live in the county do!! Just like a normal school. Defining basic education necessity as “luxury” would be a completely misguided. These kind of essentials public services should never be treats as expendable or unimportant.

How about 100M misc contractual services an increase of 30M from previous years? Is this level of vague contractual services not considered as luxury? Do we absolutely need them in upcoming school year? Taking priority over education?

Lots of things are luxuries in MCPS, but the MVA is not one of them. Outdoor ed and field trips are luxuries, slush funds for admin are luxuries, all the extra's that in person school offers like sports, music, clubs and more are luxuries. The grants to non-profits that do not provide direct services to MCPS are luxuries. Those crazy bus contracts are luxuries. We are talking less than $5million. The fancy new offices for the BOE are luxuries.

It’s a luxury to waste money on a form of instruction that doesn’t work just because some parents think their kids should stay home.

Or, maybe it does work for some kids and its just selfish people like you who cannot stand being around their kids who are anti-virtual as they aren't willing to put in the time or effort into their kids to parent them. In-person also doesn't work for a lot of kids - many are failing, skipping school, etc. So, maybe those kids should be home in virtual monitored by their parents. Your home must be a really unhappy place. Its good my home is always open to your kids.

Oh yay, the bully showed up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MVA sounds like one of many luxury items MCPS needs to cut to live within their budget.

Luxury means something is not absolutely needed. Yes you may not need it but hundreds of families and kids who pay taxes and live in the county do!! Just like a normal school. Defining basic education necessity as “luxury” would be a completely misguided. These kind of essentials public services should never be treats as expendable or unimportant.

How about 100M misc contractual services an increase of 30M from previous years? Is this level of vague contractual services not considered as luxury? Do we absolutely need them in upcoming school year? Taking priority over education?

Lots of things are luxuries in MCPS, but the MVA is not one of them. Outdoor ed and field trips are luxuries, slush funds for admin are luxuries, all the extra's that in person school offers like sports, music, clubs and more are luxuries. The grants to non-profits that do not provide direct services to MCPS are luxuries. Those crazy bus contracts are luxuries. We are talking less than $5million. The fancy new offices for the BOE are luxuries.

It’s a luxury to waste money on a form of instruction that doesn’t work just because some parents think their kids should stay home.

Or, maybe it does work for some kids and its just selfish people like you who cannot stand being around their kids who are anti-virtual as they aren't willing to put in the time or effort into their kids to parent them. In-person also doesn't work for a lot of kids - many are failing, skipping school, etc. So, maybe those kids should be home in virtual monitored by their parents. Your home must be a really unhappy place. Its good my home is always open to your kids.

You could be an even greater martyr if you homeschooled them yourself rather than just hovering over them while they stare at a computer. Here’s your chance to step up your effort rather than farming out their education like the rest of these low lifes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Remind me again why there is now girls flag football in HS?

Because it's a cool opportunity for female students (Title IX!) and is ZERO cost to MCPS. All of it is being funded by the Ravens and Under Armor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Remind me again why there is now girls flag football in HS?

Because it's a cool opportunity for female students (Title IX!) and is ZERO cost to MCPS. All of it is being funded by the Ravens and Under Armor.

+1. It’s a great program thanks to the Ravens and UA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MVA sounds like one of many luxury items MCPS needs to cut to live within their budget.

Luxury means something is not absolutely needed. Yes you may not need it but hundreds of families and kids who pay taxes and live in the county do!! Just like a normal school. Defining basic education necessity as “luxury” would be a completely misguided. These kind of essentials public services should never be treats as expendable or unimportant.

How about 100M misc contractual services an increase of 30M from previous years? Is this level of vague contractual services not considered as luxury? Do we absolutely need them in upcoming school year? Taking priority over education?

Lots of things are luxuries in MCPS, but the MVA is not one of them. Outdoor ed and field trips are luxuries, slush funds for admin are luxuries, all the extra's that in person school offers like sports, music, clubs and more are luxuries. The grants to non-profits that do not provide direct services to MCPS are luxuries. Those crazy bus contracts are luxuries. We are talking less than $5million. The fancy new offices for the BOE are luxuries.

It’s a luxury to waste money on a form of instruction that doesn’t work just because some parents think their kids should stay home.

When it comes to education, it is generally not appropriate to label it as a waste of money. The effectiveness of education can vary for different individuals and in different contexts. Just like in physical schools, not all students may thrive in every educational setting or graduate successfully. However, this does not imply that the investment in education is a waste of money.

Education is a fundamental right and a crucial societal investment. It plays a vital role in shaping individuals, imparting knowledge, fostering critical thinking skills, and preparing them for future opportunities. While not every student may achieve the desired outcomes, education still holds immense value in providing opportunities for personal growth, developing skills, and expanding knowledge.

It is important to recognize that education is a complex process influenced by various factors, including individual learning styles, support systems, and external circumstances. Different approaches and methods may be more or less effective for different students. The goal should be to continuously improve educational systems and tailor them to meet the diverse needs of learners, ensuring that every student has access to quality education.

It is inappropriate to categorize education as a waste of money based on individual outcomes or occasional challenges. Instead, it is crucial to focus on enhancing educational experiences and providing equitable opportunities for all students.

It's bizarre how the Virtual Academy supporters are just posting AI generated gibberish here instead of actually composing their thoughts.

Well use of AI. Well use of technology.

It’s actually a complete waste of time to elaborate our thoughts continuously when someone's ears are completely shut for “luxury” thoughts and it’s in fact more bizarre to spend time explaining to a grown up over and over again about why it’s not a “waste of money” on essential public education!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry, but no.

This was never meant to be a permanent program, and it concerns me that people want to make it one.

People are supposed to go to a physical school, and interact with other human students.

Its more concerning when theres none available in todays world.

Like, are we supposed to just talk in person all the time now? No more phone calls or virtual meetings or anything? Technology is supposed to be making our lives easier, not the other way around. And are we really supposed to go back to writing letters instead of emails?

We gotta be willing to think outside the box. It's not always easy, but we need to adapt with the times instead of just sticking to the old ways. Otherwise, it's just gonna keep feeling like there's no flexibility at all in this new digital world we're living in.

I think it’s appropriate to question whether all this technology is appropriate for kids. There have been numerous studies that suggest it’s not.

We are not pushing virtual for all kids. MVA isn’t a place to let kids go wild online. It’s all monitored by teachers/staffs and their own parents. That’s a huge difference. See it to believe it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MVA sounds like one of many luxury items MCPS needs to cut to live within their budget.

Luxury means something is not absolutely needed. Yes you may not need it but hundreds of families and kids who pay taxes and live in the county do!! Just like a normal school. Defining basic education necessity as “luxury” would be a completely misguided. These kind of essentials public services should never be treats as expendable or unimportant.

How about 100M misc contractual services an increase of 30M from previous years? Is this level of vague contractual services not considered as luxury? Do we absolutely need them in upcoming school year? Taking priority over education?

Lots of things are luxuries in MCPS, but the MVA is not one of them. Outdoor ed and field trips are luxuries, slush funds for admin are luxuries, all the extra's that in person school offers like sports, music, clubs and more are luxuries. The grants to non-profits that do not provide direct services to MCPS are luxuries. Those crazy bus contracts are luxuries. We are talking less than $5million. The fancy new offices for the BOE are luxuries.

It’s a luxury to waste money on a form of instruction that doesn’t work just because some parents think their kids should stay home.

When it comes to education, it is generally not appropriate to label it as a waste of money. The effectiveness of education can vary for different individuals and in different contexts. Just like in physical schools, not all students may thrive in every educational setting or graduate successfully. However, this does not imply that the investment in education is a waste of money.

Education is a fundamental right and a crucial societal investment. It plays a vital role in shaping individuals, imparting knowledge, fostering critical thinking skills, and preparing them for future opportunities. While not every student may achieve the desired outcomes, education still holds immense value in providing opportunities for personal growth, developing skills, and expanding knowledge.

It is important to recognize that education is a complex process influenced by various factors, including individual learning styles, support systems, and external circumstances. Different approaches and methods may be more or less effective for different students. The goal should be to continuously improve educational systems and tailor them to meet the diverse needs of learners, ensuring that every student has access to quality education.

It is inappropriate to categorize education as a waste of money based on individual outcomes or occasional challenges. Instead, it is crucial to focus on enhancing educational experiences and providing equitable opportunities for all students.

It's bizarre how the Virtual Academy supporters are just posting AI generated gibberish here instead of actually composing their thoughts.

Well use of AI. Well use of technology.

It’s actually a complete waste of time to elaborate our thoughts continuously when someone's ears are completely shut for “luxury” thoughts and it’s in fact more bizarre to spend time explaining to a grown up over and over again about why it’s not a “waste of money” on essential public education!!

A separate program now largely attended by kids who are too shy or socially awkward to go to real school is not “essential public education”

too shy? Too socially awkward? Are you accusing the MVA kids? Is this an appropriate comment?

When you don’t fully understand the unique circumstances for each and how difficult already it is for lots of family just be grateful with what you have and refrain from depriving. Everyone deserves equal opportunity to learn regardless of the form of teaching and learning.

When the virtual opportunity is available in our county we are so proud because our county/our BOE, MCPS are so considerate and caring. You can oppose the budget approval for your own closed minded reasoning, but STOP making comments attacking our kids!!!

[Anonymous]

The girl who won the Math Prize for Girls so many times that they hit their limit and stopped giving her prize money, attended Florida Virtual School.

https://news.mit.edu/2023/new-record-math-prize-for-girls-wins-1030

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The girl who won the Math Prize for Girls so many times that they hit their limit and stopped giving her prize money, attended Florida Virtual School.

https://news.mit.edu/2023/new-record-math-prize-for-girls-wins-1030

That’s awesome. Never thought I’d say this, but it sounds like MCPS has a lot to learn from Florida public schools given the success of their virtual program vs the struggles and poor educational results that had plagued ours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry, but no.

This was never meant to be a permanent program, and it concerns me that people want to make it one.

People are supposed to go to a physical school, and interact with other human students.

Its more concerning when theres none available in todays world.

Like, are we supposed to just talk in person all the time now? No more phone calls or virtual meetings or anything? Technology is supposed to be making our lives easier, not the other way around. And are we really supposed to go back to writing letters instead of emails?

We gotta be willing to think outside the box. It's not always easy, but we need to adapt with the times instead of just sticking to the old ways. Otherwise, it's just gonna keep feeling like there's no flexibility at all in this new digital world we're living in.

I think it’s appropriate to question whether all this technology is appropriate for kids. There have been numerous studies that suggest it’s not.

We are not pushing virtual for all kids. MVA isn’t a place to let kids go wild online. It’s all monitored by teachers/staffs and their own parents. That’s a huge difference. See it to believe it!

It’s not about being supervised, it’s about how kids learn and retain information. This is not a problem isolated to virtual learning, screens are everywhere in schools these days, but it’s still a different level in the classroom vs all online.

[Anonymous]

Oh and I had plenty of experience with “virtual” learning for my ES kids and no thanks. I would never willingly sign them up for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The girl who won the Math Prize for Girls so many times that they hit their limit and stopped giving her prize money, attended Florida Virtual School.

https://news.mit.edu/2023/new-record-math-prize-for-girls-wins-1030

That’s awesome. Never thought I’d say this, but it sounds like MCPS has a lot to learn from Florida public schools given the success of their virtual program vs the struggles and poor educational results that had plagued ours.

Yeah I’ve said this before, but for all the knocks on Florida, they do virtual really well. Their program has been around for quite a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MVA sounds like one of many luxury items MCPS needs to cut to live within their budget.

Luxury means something is not absolutely needed. Yes you may not need it but hundreds of families and kids who pay taxes and live in the county do!! Just like a normal school. Defining basic education necessity as “luxury” would be a completely misguided. These kind of essentials public services should never be treats as expendable or unimportant.

How about 100M misc contractual services an increase of 30M from previous years? Is this level of vague contractual services not considered as luxury? Do we absolutely need them in upcoming school year? Taking priority over education?

Lots of things are luxuries in MCPS, but the MVA is not one of them. Outdoor ed and field trips are luxuries, slush funds for admin are luxuries, all the extra's that in person school offers like sports, music, clubs and more are luxuries. The grants to non-profits that do not provide direct services to MCPS are luxuries. Those crazy bus contracts are luxuries. We are talking less than $5million. The fancy new offices for the BOE are luxuries.

It’s a luxury to waste money on a form of instruction that doesn’t work just because some parents think their kids should stay home.

When it comes to education, it is generally not appropriate to label it as a waste of money. The effectiveness of education can vary for different individuals and in different contexts. Just like in physical schools, not all students may thrive in every educational setting or graduate successfully. However, this does not imply that the investment in education is a waste of money.

Education is a fundamental right and a crucial societal investment. It plays a vital role in shaping individuals, imparting knowledge, fostering critical thinking skills, and preparing them for future opportunities. While not every student may achieve the desired outcomes, education still holds immense value in providing opportunities for personal growth, developing skills, and expanding knowledge.

It is important to recognize that education is a complex process influenced by various factors, including individual learning styles, support systems, and external circumstances. Different approaches and methods may be more or less effective for different students. The goal should be to continuously improve educational systems and tailor them to meet the diverse needs of learners, ensuring that every student has access to quality education.

It is inappropriate to categorize education as a waste of money based on individual outcomes or occasional challenges. Instead, it is crucial to focus on enhancing educational experiences and providing equitable opportunities for all students.

It's bizarre how the Virtual Academy supporters are just posting AI generated gibberish here instead of actually composing their thoughts.

Well use of AI. Well use of technology.

It’s actually a complete waste of time to elaborate our thoughts continuously when someone's ears are completely shut for “luxury” thoughts and it’s in fact more bizarre to spend time explaining to a grown up over and over again about why it’s not a “waste of money” on essential public education!!

A separate program now largely attended by kids who are too shy or socially awkward to go to real school is not “essential public education”

too shy? Too socially awkward? Are you accusing the MVA kids? Is this an appropriate comment?

When you don’t fully understand the unique circumstances for each and how difficult already it is for lots of family just be grateful with what you have and refrain from depriving. Everyone deserves equal opportunity to learn regardless of the form of teaching and learning.

When the virtual opportunity is available in our county we are so proud because our county/our BOE, MCPS are so considerate and caring. You can oppose the budget approval for your own closed minded reasoning, but STOP making comments attacking our kids!!!

It’s ok to choose another option if public school isn’t a good fit for your kids. That doesn’t mean you can expect taxpayers to pay for what you consider the best option for them given your “unique circumstances .” That’s really entitled IMO. Plenty of families paid for private in fall 2020 because there was no in person public school option at that time in MCPS. Others have opted for private all along for other reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh and I had plenty of experience with “virtual” learning for my ES kids and no thanks. I would never willingly sign them up for that.

Thanks for your helpful opinion Karen