According to AEM, “learning loss” is a phrase that can’t be used and will cause harm!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do other people have kids who don't already know that they have forgotten things? My 7 yo absolutely knows and to deny it would be gaslighting.

For instance, last fall, after months of DL she tried to do some math problems by hand. She got super frustrated because she couldn't form the numbers and kept making mistakes. We talked about how you forget things if you don't practice them. She realized that math by iPad doesn't let her practice writing numbers. She agreed to do extra practice on paper with me since they didn't do any math on paper last year and she knows that she should be able to write numbers as a second grader. Rinse and repeat for other subjects. She abaolutely knows when something she used to be able to do easily is now frustratingly hard.

Learning loss is real. Don't gaslight kids. They're smarter than you give them credit for.

But forgetting things isn’t what “learning loss” means. When people say some students experienced 12 months of learning loss, it doesn’t mean they forgot everything they learned in the past year. It means they are a year behind. Bad both ways but being a year behind as opposed to 18 months or 2 years behind is a big difference.

This is why I’m not a huge fan of the term. I think it’s confusing.

Here is an article explaining the term: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/03/10/what-learning-loss-really-means/

Learning loss absolutely included lost content and regression. It also included lack of new instruction, but it's not limited to that.

[Anonymous]

Learning loss is the delta between where kids would have been if schools were open and where they are now. It has two components: (1) material that wasn't taught or was taught poorly and (2) material that's been forgotten (regression).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think she's fake, unfortunately. she's in the APS Educators group and to enter that, you need an APS email and to disclose what school you work at. I don't know her but her posts are driving me bananas

I’m the person that said I think I know who she is. I have an acquaintance who is a teacher in APS who seems to know a lot about AEM but I don’t see them listed as a member. Their tone is very similar so it has my antenna up. It’s clearly a fake name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Learning loss is the delta between where kids would have been if schools were open and where they are now. It has two components: (1) material that wasn't taught or was taught poorly and (2) material that's been forgotten (regression).

Thank you, this is what I was trying to explain.

Forgetting is part of learning loss, but learning loss isn’t forgetting.

So learning loss is about how far behind where they should be, and we usually measure that in time. So 3 months of learning loss means you are three months behind, but a lot of people interpret it as “lost the last three months of whatever they learned before the pandemic started.”

I just think the term is confusing and we should say “kids are X amount of time behind.”

[Anonymous]

For me at least, the main issue and irritant is the general head in the sand, "everything is fine!", tone and attitude coming from APS leadership and the Board.

It's not fine. It hasn't been fine. And, it won't be fine with A LOT of work to address all of the deficiencies.

I don't think any stable and rational adult is walking around making kids feel personally responsible or at fault for the fact that they are behind.

We were speaking with friends this week, and the wife is the director of Special Ed for a county in another state. They closed for March-June of 2020, and then re-opened all last year. She said that even just from the initial three month closure they saw a 35% drop across the board in how their kids were testing as compared to the previous year. I cannot even begin to imagine the magnitude of what this insanity will reveal about how far behind APS kids are....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For me at least, the main issue and irritant is the general head in the sand, "everything is fine!", tone and attitude coming from APS leadership and the Board.

It's not fine. It hasn't been fine. And, it won't be fine with A LOT of work to address all of the deficiencies.

I don't think any stable and rational adult is walking around making kids feel personally responsible or at fault for the fact that they are behind.

We were speaking with friends this week, and the wife is the director of Special Ed for a county in another state. They closed for March-June of 2020, and then re-opened all last year. She said that even just from the initial three month closure they saw a 35% drop across the board in how their kids were testing as compared to the previous year. I cannot even begin to imagine the magnitude of what this insanity will reveal about how far behind APS kids are....

I think this summer is only going to widen that delta. Parents are burnt out with supplementing and doing their best to get kids outside. And knowledge decays exponentially and it will have been even longer since kids were in a consistent classroom environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For me at least, the main issue and irritant is the general head in the sand, "everything is fine!", tone and attitude coming from APS leadership and the Board.

It's not fine. It hasn't been fine. And, it won't be fine with A LOT of work to address all of the deficiencies.

I don't think any stable and rational adult is walking around making kids feel personally responsible or at fault for the fact that they are behind.

We were speaking with friends this week, and the wife is the director of Special Ed for a county in another state. They closed for March-June of 2020, and then re-opened all last year. She said that even just from the initial three month closure they saw a 35% drop across the board in how their kids were testing as compared to the previous year. I cannot even begin to imagine the magnitude of what this insanity will reveal about how far behind APS kids are....

Yeah I agree there is that attitude and and it’s unacceptable. I pulled out my kid in the middle of the year last year to homeschool and I’m doing it again this year. I feel so bad for kids who are really behind but maybe with my kid gone those kids will get more attention.

[Anonymous]

Further, I hope to God that there are some massive errors with this chart and data, but, is this really what APS is doing with their recovery money?????

https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/FY-2022-ARPA-Items-Descriptions.pdf

$10.5M and 111.50 Full Time Employees for a virtual school program???????

Only $1M and 12 Full Time Employee Reading and Match Coaches to address learning loss in ES??????????

What in the literal F***

[Anonymous]

$10.5M and 111.50 Full Time Employees for a virtual school program???????

Basically APS is using the funds to fill a budget gap. These 111 teachers are being moved from other APS schools, where they would have been paid under the standard budget. By paying them with COVID funds, APS saves that amount in their normal budget. To put it another way, APS isn't adding headcount, just moving it around to match what students have selected.

Can we note the 900k+ for new "assessments"? Seriously?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Further, I hope to God that there are some massive errors with this chart and data, but, is this really what APS is doing with their recovery money?????

https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/FY-2022-ARPA-Items-Descriptions.pdf

$10.5M and 111.50 Full Time Employees for a virtual school program???????

Only $1M and 12 Full Time Employee Reading and Match Coaches to address learning loss in ES??????????

What in the literal F***

UNBELIVEABLE. I saw these posts on APE but assume it was them cherry-picking, but WOW it’s even worse than I thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Further, I hope to God that there are some massive errors with this chart and data, but, is this really what APS is doing with their recovery money?????

https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/FY-2022-ARPA-Items-Descriptions.pdf

$10.5M and 111.50 Full Time Employees for a virtual school program???????

Only $1M and 12 Full Time Employee Reading and Match Coaches to address learning loss in ES??????????

What in the literal F***

UNBELIVEABLE. I saw these posts on APE but assume it was them cherry-picking, but WOW it’s even worse than I thought.

Virtual schools are the future. Saves APS $$ on building new schools (like a 4th comprehensive high school).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Further, I hope to God that there are some massive errors with this chart and data, but, is this really what APS is doing with their recovery money?????

https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/FY-2022-ARPA-Items-Descriptions.pdf

$10.5M and 111.50 Full Time Employees for a virtual school program???????

Only $1M and 12 Full Time Employee Reading and Match Coaches to address learning loss in ES??????????

What in the literal F***

UNBELIVEABLE. I saw these posts on APE but assume it was them cherry-picking, but WOW it’s even worse than I thought.

Virtual schools are the future. Saves APS $$ on building new schools (like a 4th comprehensive high school).

I guess it will be the future for kids whose parents can’t afford private....because NO ONE who can afford otherwise would do virtual. So much for equity!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Further, I hope to God that there are some massive errors with this chart and data, but, is this really what APS is doing with their recovery money?????

https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/FY-2022-ARPA-Items-Descriptions.pdf

$10.5M and 111.50 Full Time Employees for a virtual school program???????

Only $1M and 12 Full Time Employee Reading and Match Coaches to address learning loss in ES??????????

What in the literal F***

UNBELIVEABLE. I saw these posts on APE but assume it was them cherry-picking, but WOW it’s even worse than I thought.

Virtual schools are the future. Saves APS $$ on building new schools (like a 4th comprehensive high school).

I guess it will be the future for kids whose parents can’t afford private....because NO ONE who can afford otherwise would do virtual. So much for equity!

I could see parents going for it for certain subjects. I wouldn't fuss if my high schooler took health as a virtual class, especially if there was an in person component. I might even agree to a virtual PE class where the kid logs physical activity. Neither replaces a high school, but could supplement around the margins.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Further, I hope to God that there are some massive errors with this chart and data, but, is this really what APS is doing with their recovery money?????

https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/FY-2022-ARPA-Items-Descriptions.pdf

$10.5M and 111.50 Full Time Employees for a virtual school program???????

Only $1M and 12 Full Time Employee Reading and Match Coaches to address learning loss in ES??????????

What in the literal F***

I haven't been the biggest fan of APS teachers - well ever - but I mean wow, that's a slap in the face to teachers and to staff. I mean they could have at least used some of that money to increase the summer school bonus or use it to cover a portion of health insurance or co pays for the next year for teachers and staff. I mean there has to be something better they could do with $10 M than duplicate a virtual program that already exists in VA and is free for families to access! I personally would like to see bonuses to the people who showed up at the high schools to be proctors for months on end when teachers couldn't be bothered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Further, I hope to God that there are some massive errors with this chart and data, but, is this really what APS is doing with their recovery money?????

https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/FY-2022-ARPA-Items-Descriptions.pdf

$10.5M and 111.50 Full Time Employees for a virtual school program???????

Only $1M and 12 Full Time Employee Reading and Match Coaches to address learning loss in ES??????????

What in the literal F***

UNBELIVEABLE. I saw these posts on APE but assume it was them cherry-picking, but WOW it’s even worse than I thought.

Virtual schools are the future. Saves APS $$ on building new schools (like a 4th comprehensive high school).

I guess it will be the future for kids whose parents can’t afford private....because NO ONE who can afford otherwise would do virtual. So much for equity!

There are plenty of people that want to chose virtual. I mean sure, not a majority, but a fair amount.

I graduated in HS in 2000 and I even had friends who chose virtual then (charter schools in AZ).