Virtual Learning - Why Not MCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would have been ok with issuing paper work to be sent home as long as there was a 100% understanding that there would be zero late or missing work accepted from it. If I'm going to take the effort to give everyone a packet, you better not lose it and if you did, too bad take your zero

+100 Signed a parent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How have other counties been able to overcome the 1-1 Chromebook hurdle but mcps can’t? Or are those counties not concerned with that?

They're not because there's no learning going on during their "virtual" days.

What’s your evidence of that? I have friends in Alexandria PS and their kids were online with their teachers the way all our kids were during COVID. They even had teacher “office hours” that day so kids could get extra help.
And since they knew a storm was coming, ACPS had its act together and made sure all the kids grade 4 and up took their laptops home.

Meanwhile Taylor and his MCPS senior management prioritized “snow day videos.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How can so many other school systems implement virtual learning when there are long-predicted prolonged absences.

Every student has a Chromebook.

Is it ideal? No.

Will there be complete equitable participation? No.

Will it prevent school from going well into the summer? Yes.

I just don’t get it.

Virtual learning is an ineffective disaster.

It was great for my kids. In person is equally ineffective. Look at the test scores.

Awesome for you. Mine has ADHD and slow processing speed. Online is a disaster.

My kid has ADHD and single digit processing speed and was ok during the COVID pandemic period working online. In person is better but sometimes conditions don’t allow and I would rather have them in virtual learning now and getting some education than it be like last year where MoCo just tacked on three half days in end of June and the kids watched videos while the teachers packed up the classrooms.

There are three contingency days in the calendar before the end of the year.

What is your evidence that MCPS will use those contingency days? I don’t work for MCPS but others who say they do say those days won’t be used.

[Anonymous]

Is someone in McPS NOW working to submit a virtual learning plan to the state of Maryland as they should have months ago, knowing they only built in one snow day for the school calendar?

Other Maryland school districts like Baltimore and Anne Arundel did this months ago. Why didn’t MCPS?

It was predicted that this was going to be a tough Maryland winter and it’s turning out to be so, but MCPS is like the teenage kid who forgot to do their homework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is someone in McPS NOW working to submit a virtual learning plan to the state of Maryland as they should have months ago, knowing they only built in one snow day for the school calendar?

Other Maryland school districts like Baltimore and Anne Arundel did this months ago. Why didn’t MCPS?

It was predicted that this was going to be a tough Maryland winter and it’s turning out to be so, but MCPS is like the teenage kid who forgot to do their homework.

No, they shouldn't. Virtual should only be used as a last resort when instruction cannot practically be made up. Snow days are a known risk and can be planned for with extra days and contingency days. Virtual is not an appropriate response to snow days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would support distance learning during extended closure. Like if conditions are truly dangerous and school needs to be closed for more than a week, they could offer some kind of instruction. For ES, they could mail packets home. I would support using this to reduce makeup days by up to 2 days per week of closure (after one week)

Mail?

I just got mail delivered for the first time in a week yesterday.

Meanwhile, someone has to be able to get to work to
1) print each teacher’s packets.
2) copy all of those packets.
3) stuff envelopes
4) address the envelopes.
and 5) drop all of the envelopes off at the post office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would support distance learning during extended closure. Like if conditions are truly dangerous and school needs to be closed for more than a week, they could offer some kind of instruction. For ES, they could mail packets home. I would support using this to reduce makeup days by up to 2 days per week of closure (after one week)

Mail?

I just got mail delivered for the first time in a week yesterday.

Meanwhile, someone has to be able to get to work to
1) print each teacher’s packets.
2) copy all of those packets.
3) stuff envelopes
4) address the envelopes.
and 5) drop all of the envelopes off at the post office.

And who will pay for all the paper and printer ink? On a normal good year our school runs out of these by May

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How have other counties been able to overcome the 1-1 Chromebook hurdle but mcps can’t? Or are those counties not concerned with that?

They're not because there's no learning going on during their "virtual" days.

What’s your evidence of that? I have friends in Alexandria PS and their kids were online with their teachers the way all our kids were during COVID. They even had teacher “office hours” that day so kids could get extra help.
And since they knew a storm was coming, ACPS had its act together and made sure all the kids grade 4 and up took their laptops home.

Meanwhile Taylor and his MCPS senior management prioritized “snow day videos.”

Just like covid? There's your answer. Worthless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would support distance learning during extended closure. Like if conditions are truly dangerous and school needs to be closed for more than a week, they could offer some kind of instruction. For ES, they could mail packets home. I would support using this to reduce makeup days by up to 2 days per week of closure (after one week)

Mail?

I just got mail delivered for the first time in a week yesterday.

Meanwhile, someone has to be able to get to work to
1) print each teacher’s packets.
2) copy all of those packets.
3) stuff envelopes
4) address the envelopes.
and 5) drop all of the envelopes off at the post office.

I think the idea is stupid, but presumably the pp meant email.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would support distance learning during extended closure. Like if conditions are truly dangerous and school needs to be closed for more than a week, they could offer some kind of instruction. For ES, they could mail packets home. I would support using this to reduce makeup days by up to 2 days per week of closure (after one week)

Mail?

I just got mail delivered for the first time in a week yesterday.

Meanwhile, someone has to be able to get to work to
1) print each teacher’s packets.
2) copy all of those packets.
3) stuff envelopes
4) address the envelopes.
and 5) drop all of the envelopes off at the post office.

I think the idea is stupid, but presumably the pp meant email.

Which is even crazier because I'd imagine like 60% of the county doesn't have a printer in their home. And I'm not just talking the FARMS kids. I make 6 figures and have not owned a home printer in over a decade. No need to have one when I can print everything at the office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How have other counties been able to overcome the 1-1 Chromebook hurdle but mcps can’t? Or are those counties not concerned with that?

They're not because there's no learning going on during their "virtual" days.

What’s your evidence of that? I have friends in Alexandria PS and their kids were online with their teachers the way all our kids were during COVID. They even had teacher “office hours” that day so kids could get extra help.
And since they knew a storm was coming, ACPS had its act together and made sure all the kids grade 4 and up took their laptops home.

Meanwhile Taylor and his MCPS senior management prioritized “snow day videos.”

Just like covid? There's your answer. Worthless.

That’s your opinion, not a fact. And as someone who had two kids during CoVID who had virtual schooling for almost a year and managed to learn, your opinion to me, is worthless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is someone in McPS NOW working to submit a virtual learning plan to the state of Maryland as they should have months ago, knowing they only built in one snow day for the school calendar?

Other Maryland school districts like Baltimore and Anne Arundel did this months ago. Why didn’t MCPS?

It was predicted that this was going to be a tough Maryland winter and it’s turning out to be so, but MCPS is like the teenage kid who forgot to do their homework.

No, they shouldn't. Virtual should only be used as a last resort when instruction cannot practically be made up. Snow days are a known risk and can be planned for with extra days and contingency days. Virtual is not an appropriate response to snow days.

That’s your opinion, and thousands of schools, run by actual educators, which had virtual learning last week acted in a way that does not support your opinion.

whatever the flaws, I’m sure virtual learning was better than the 3 half days MCPS added in end June because they didn’t plan well for snow days last year (and again failed to plan well this year.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How have other counties been able to overcome the 1-1 Chromebook hurdle but mcps can’t? Or are those counties not concerned with that?

They're not because there's no learning going on during their "virtual" days.

What’s your evidence of that? I have friends in Alexandria PS and their kids were online with their teachers the way all our kids were during COVID. They even had teacher “office hours” that day so kids could get extra help.
And since they knew a storm was coming, ACPS had its act together and made sure all the kids grade 4 and up took their laptops home.

Meanwhile Taylor and his MCPS senior management prioritized “snow day videos.”

Taylor, central office and the BOE have been clear they are anti virtual. They don’t care who they hurt and are selfish. It doesn’t work for their kids be a they are not involved parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would support distance learning during extended closure. Like if conditions are truly dangerous and school needs to be closed for more than a week, they could offer some kind of instruction. For ES, they could mail packets home. I would support using this to reduce makeup days by up to 2 days per week of closure (after one week)

Mail?

I just got mail delivered for the first time in a week yesterday.

Meanwhile, someone has to be able to get to work to
1) print each teacher’s packets.
2) copy all of those packets.
3) stuff envelopes
4) address the envelopes.
and 5) drop all of the envelopes off at the post office.

I think the idea is stupid, but presumably the pp meant email.

Which is even crazier because I'd imagine like 60% of the county doesn't have a printer in their home. And I'm not just talking the FARMS kids. I make 6 figures and have not owned a home printer in over a decade. No need to have one when I can print everything at the office.

You can clearly get online no problem so they can do the work online or buy a printer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How can so many other school systems implement virtual learning when there are long-predicted prolonged absences.

Every student has a Chromebook.

Is it ideal? No.

Will there be complete equitable participation? No.

Will it prevent school from going well into the summer? Yes.

I just don’t get it.

Virtual learning is an ineffective disaster.

It was great for my kids. In person is equally ineffective. Look at the test scores.

Awesome for you. Mine has ADHD and slow processing speed. Online is a disaster.

Then you take the work, sit down with them and help them. Hopefully the same way you do with homework. You find a way to make it work rather than saying no. The in person test scores are bad.