VMPI-ways to speak out

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has Fairfax County made any changes to eligibility for moving ahead in math?

Melanie Meren said recently in a Zoom that everyone is misunderstanding the initiative. Megan McLaughlin is raising concerns and asking for clarification. Ricardy Anderson has pointed people to the webinars. That’s all I have seen from SB members here.

Loudon looks much further along in planning. No shock that FCPS is out of the loop. Even rural districts have started pilots. At least this is a good one to be behind on.

Planning what though? They haven’t finalized anything yet or released a plan. Sounds like LCPS misunderstood something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has Fairfax County made any changes to eligibility for moving ahead in math?

Melanie Meren said recently in a Zoom that everyone is misunderstanding the initiative. Megan McLaughlin is raising concerns and asking for clarification. Ricardy Anderson has pointed people to the webinars. That’s all I have seen from SB members here.

Loudon looks much further along in planning. No shock that FCPS is out of the loop. Even rural districts have started pilots. At least this is a good one to be behind on.

Planning what though? They haven’t finalized anything yet or released a plan. Sounds like LCPS misunderstood something.

Well, Loudon has a whole page, to include this graphic:



https://www.lcps.org/Page/212323

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has Fairfax County made any changes to eligibility for moving ahead in math?

Melanie Meren said recently in a Zoom that everyone is misunderstanding the initiative. Megan McLaughlin is raising concerns and asking for clarification. Ricardy Anderson has pointed people to the webinars. That’s all I have seen from SB members here.

Loudon looks much further along in planning. No shock that FCPS is out of the loop. Even rural districts have started pilots. At least this is a good one to be behind on.

I’m just saying I have a post grad degree so I’m not the least educated or literate parent in VA. If I don’t understand the initiative I think it’s not clear to a lot of people!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has Fairfax County made any changes to eligibility for moving ahead in math?

Melanie Meren said recently in a Zoom that everyone is misunderstanding the initiative. Megan McLaughlin is raising concerns and asking for clarification. Ricardy Anderson has pointed people to the webinars. That’s all I have seen from SB members here.

Loudon looks much further along in planning. No shock that FCPS is out of the loop. Even rural districts have started pilots. At least this is a good one to be behind on.

Planning what though? They haven’t finalized anything yet or released a plan. Sounds like LCPS misunderstood something.

This is another district (Henry Count) that seems to have real plans, and they look like what everyone is afraid of:
https://martinsvillebulletin.com/news/local/education/watch-now-henry-county-public-schools-will-overhaul-math-instruction-for-the-first-time-since/article_99a8f40a-9898-11eb-9c1d-ff2ec6c9d153.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has Fairfax County made any changes to eligibility for moving ahead in math?

Melanie Meren said recently in a Zoom that everyone is misunderstanding the initiative. Megan McLaughlin is raising concerns and asking for clarification. Ricardy Anderson has pointed people to the webinars. That’s all I have seen from SB members here.

Loudon looks much further along in planning. No shock that FCPS is out of the loop. Even rural districts have started pilots. At least this is a good one to be behind on.

I’m just saying I have a post grad degree so I’m not the least educated or literate parent in VA. If I don’t understand the initiative I think it’s not clear to a lot of people!

That is because it hasn’t been fully hashed out or released yet.

Unbunch panties.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has Fairfax County made any changes to eligibility for moving ahead in math?

Melanie Meren said recently in a Zoom that everyone is misunderstanding the initiative. Megan McLaughlin is raising concerns and asking for clarification. Ricardy Anderson has pointed people to the webinars. That’s all I have seen from SB members here.

Loudon looks much further along in planning. No shock that FCPS is out of the loop. Even rural districts have started pilots. At least this is a good one to be behind on.

I’m just saying I have a post grad degree so I’m not the least educated or literate parent in VA. If I don’t understand the initiative I think it’s not clear to a lot of people!

That is because it hasn’t been fully hashed out or released yet.

Unbunch panties.

My panties aren’t bunched but I hope this feedback assists in the hashing out before the final plan.

[Anonymous]

The unbunching comment was meant for all, not you directly. Sorry that wasn’t clear.

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

They are covering their backsides because they know this is not what they are planning.

The Virginia plan is to lower standards state wide. Period. It is clear in all of their supplemental material.

[Anonymous]

If the pushback gets them to eliminate all plans to detrack math, that would be what we all want, right? Adding more math classes for 11th and 12th grade was never what bothered people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the pushback gets them to eliminate all plans to detrack math, that would be what we all want, right? Adding more math classes for 11th and 12th grade was never what bothered people.

Bingo. You get rid of the 'no acceleration, all homogenous classrooms' thing, suddenly there's a lot less issues with the proposal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I cannot believe that more parents haven't looked into this and gotten outraged.

I think the problem is that what Virginia plans to do to the statewide math curriculum sounds so outrageous and fake that no one who hears it believes it could possibly be true, especially here in northern Virginia where we have had an accelerated STEM based, gifted strong curriculum for years.

Read the plan on the VA department of education site. You will be flabbergasted that this is actually going to happen to math in Virginia.

After seeing the math curriculum plan to lower the math standards for the entire state to the lowest in the country (lower than states like Mississippiand Alabama), I without a doubt believe that the current Virginia department of education also has plans in the work to eliminate the state gifted education mandate, as well as to eliminate all differentiation and advance curriculum.

Please dcum, go to the VA department of education and read their plans for the statewide math requirements.

This November is the single most important vote you will make on education in your lifetime. Please be informed.

I think this is because they sprung this on us and we haven't heard from FCPS or our local school about what it will look like. This is like the RTS - they leave decisions to individual schools.

Totally unclear what it means for my math-capable Level III kid who did not make it to AAP but advanced but only in Math.

[Anonymous]

Update from parent group:

We wanted to let you know that VDOE has just updated its VMPI website and it appears that there has been some shift in their approach toward VMPI which allows for greater local district autonomy in implementing VMPI and recognizes that a one-size-fits-all policy may not be the best for all students.
https://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/mathematics/vmpi/index.shtml#vmpi

In particular, VDOE included the following text:
"Local school divisions will still have plenty of flexibility to create courses aligned to the standards to meet the needs of all students; and provide opportunities for all students to advance through the curriculum based on their learning needs. School divisions will also be able to offer advanced sections and acceleration through the courses."

VDOE has not provided details yet on how the above statement will be integrated into the existing VMPI framework. VDOE holds its third community session on VMPI tomorrow night (Tuesday 4/27 at 6:30pm) focusing on the Essential Concepts courses Grades 8-10. This will be the first chance to potentially hear more information about this shift in approach. You can watch the presentation at the first link below (the session will be recorded as well) and there is an opportunity to submit questions ahead of time at the second link and in the chat box during the session itself.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrbxl9wHScrWKWIEoUWNIfQ
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSesz3YtqVqXtAioJKX0xtYbPxUW6l7dfpbwfdbQyEQ5eTgZMQ/viewform

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the pushback gets them to eliminate all plans to detrack math, that would be what we all want, right? Adding more math classes for 11th and 12th grade was never what bothered people.

Hasn't been covered much, but the changes to the classes where they are melding courses together, and more importantly adding probability, modeling, data analysis, means they have to cut topics from the courses, and turns them into watered down applieds math.

However, continued tracking would help alleviate the problems. Also, it is highly unlikely that these classes will be sufficient to take calculus, but with acceleration school districts can add a proper precalculus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the pushback gets them to eliminate all plans to detrack math, that would be what we all want, right? Adding more math classes for 11th and 12th grade was never what bothered people.

Hasn't been covered much, but the changes to the classes where they are melding courses together, and more importantly adding probability, modeling, data analysis, means they have to cut topics from the courses, and turns them into watered down applieds math.

However, continued tracking would help alleviate the problems. Also, it is highly unlikely that these classes will be sufficient to take calculus, but with acceleration school districts can add a proper precalculus.

When I say adding probability and modeling, I am not talking about the 11th and 12th grade courses, but the topics covered in grades 8-10.
Adding new classes is nice, because it is not clear that everyone needs to be taking precalculus to graduate.