VA math changes - ways to speak out

[Anonymous]

Dang. The “gifted” APS email group is full of conservative trash. Who post under their own name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the Loudoun school board is in favor of academic acceleration. As long as the state lets school districts manage it, I’m not as worried.

Based on the school board meeting yesterday, you should be very worried. The school board was not aware of the implemented changes where advancement has been taken away for five months.
Looks like they are still not aware of it, nor do they appear to be aware that the county staff is against academic acceleration and supports detracking.

Several school board member social media accounts say otherwise. Considering well over half of kids in Loudoun accelerate for math right now, I don’t see it going away completely in Loudoun. But don’t worry, I’m going to stay on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the Loudoun school board is in favor of academic acceleration. As long as the state lets school districts manage it, I’m not as worried.

Based on the school board meeting yesterday, you should be very worried. The school board was not aware of the implemented changes where advancement has been taken away for five months.
Looks like they are still not aware of it, nor do they appear to be aware that the county staff is against academic acceleration and supports detracking.

Several school board member social media accounts say otherwise. Considering well over half of kids in Loudoun accelerate for math right now, I don’t see it going away completely in Loudoun. But don’t worry, I’m going to stay on it.

That's the problem, they missed what the county staff was saying, because they have not been following this issue over the last month. Watch the school board meeting video on LCPS's website, it's about 4:30 in they start the discussion of VMPI.

The status quo right now for LCPS is that there will be no acceleration for current 4th graders and below and for current fifth graders in Math 6 next year, changed from last year due to VMPI. 2023-2024 they are teaching Essential concepts 7-10.
They have not stated they are reversing those changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the Loudoun school board is in favor of academic acceleration. As long as the state lets school districts manage it, I’m not as worried.

Based on the school board meeting yesterday, you should be very worried. The school board was not aware of the implemented changes where advancement has been taken away for five months.
Looks like they are still not aware of it, nor do they appear to be aware that the county staff is against academic acceleration and supports detracking.

Several school board member social media accounts say otherwise. Considering well over half of kids in Loudoun accelerate for math right now, I don’t see it going away completely in Loudoun. But don’t worry, I’m going to stay on it.

That's the problem, they missed what the county staff was saying, because they have not been following this issue over the last month. Watch the school board meeting video on LCPS's website, it's about 4:30 in they start the discussion of VMPI.

The status quo right now for LCPS is that there will be no acceleration for current 4th graders and below and for current fifth graders in Math 6 next year, changed from last year due to VMPI. 2023-2024 they are teaching Essential concepts 7-10.
They have not stated they are reversing those changes.

Who are these several school board members, and what social media accounts/ I haven't seen any of them say anything on twitter.

[Anonymous]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-county-schools-math-classes-tracking/2021/04/29/197aa29c-a7a2-11eb-8d25-7b30e74923ea_story.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-county-schools-math-classes-tracking/2021/04/29/197aa29c-a7a2-11eb-8d25-7b30e74923ea_story.html

I mean, that is one person's opinion and we are basically just left "hoping" that they don't take away acceleration. As the parent of a current 4th grader (and a 7th grader who is accelerated) and I am very concerned, to say the least. I wrote my LCPS school board member, who has not responded.

[Anonymous]

Taken from the VDOE website, bold by me:


"What is the timeline for implementing VMPI?
VMPI is in the development stage, and the changes being proposed are under discussion with a wide variety of stakeholders, including the Board of Education. No final decisions have been made at this time.
The changes being considered as a part of VMPI will ultimately be decided upon and put into effect with the regularly scheduled 2023 update to the Virginia Mathematics Standards of Learning. These standards cover grades K-12 and are updated once every 7 years by the Board of Education. As with all new mathematics standards, there will be many opportunities for public comment and revisions.
Any changes made to the Mathematics Standards of Learning would be scheduled for classroom level implementation in the 2025-2026 school year.

So it seems like this is still a ways away? My current 4th grader will be in 9th grade come the 2025-2026 school year and will have already taken Algebra and Geometry.

[Anonymous]

LCPS chose to implement what VMPI is doing ahead of time.

4th graders in LCPS are scheduled to take essential concepts 7 in 7th grade and math8-10 after that.
They will be able to take either foundations of algebra or math 6 in 6th grade.
This can be seen if you search for VMPI on LCPS's site.

[Anonymous]

You might want to attend LCPS's curriculum committee meetings and ask them questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LCPS chose to implement what VMPI is doing ahead of time.

4th graders in LCPS are scheduled to take essential concepts 7 in 7th grade and math8-10 after that.
They will be able to take either foundations of algebra or math 6 in 6th grade.
This can be seen if you search for VMPI on LCPS's site.

^^What VMPI circulated for feedback early in the process...

FIFY

[Anonymous]

Not sure what to tell you. Both Reaser and Serotkin have told me in writing that acceleration is and will continue to be an option in LCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what to tell you. Both Reaser and Serotkin have told me in writing that acceleration is and will continue to be an option in LCPS.

I'd like to believe this, but it looked to me like they misunderstood what the county staff was saying.
I will believe that if the staff changes the chart https://www.lcps.org/Page/212323 to include additional pathways that were there before, and if they reinstate algebra for 6th grade.
It is a fact that 5th grade kids tested to enroll in prealgebra next year, when normally they would have been taking a test to enroll in algebra.
This advancement is gone. At the school board meeting Mr. Mahedavi confused this with the different class names that have been changing, and they said they did not make any changes due to VMPI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what to tell you. Both Reaser and Serotkin have told me in writing that acceleration is and will continue to be an option in LCPS.

I'd like to believe this, but it looked to me like they misunderstood what the county staff was saying.
I will believe that if the staff changes the chart https://www.lcps.org/Page/212323 to include additional pathways that were there before, and if they reinstate algebra for 6th grade.
It is a fact that 5th grade kids tested to enroll in prealgebra next year, when normally they would have been taking a test to enroll in algebra.
This advancement is gone. At the school board meeting Mr. Mahedavi confused this with the different class names that have been changing, and they said they did not make any changes due to VMPI.

The extra advancement is gone. Taking Algebra in 7th is still very advanced and still an option. Even Algebra in 8th is advanced (and was the typical advanced option when we were kids.) Very few students at my daughter’s MS take Algebra in 6th. A decent amount take it in 7th. Most take it in 8th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what to tell you. Both Reaser and Serotkin have told me in writing that acceleration is and will continue to be an option in LCPS.

I'd like to believe this, but it looked to me like they misunderstood what the county staff was saying.
I will believe that if the staff changes the chart https://www.lcps.org/Page/212323 to include additional pathways that were there before, and if they reinstate algebra for 6th grade.
It is a fact that 5th grade kids tested to enroll in prealgebra next year, when normally they would have been taking a test to enroll in algebra.
This advancement is gone. At the school board meeting Mr. Mahedavi confused this with the different class names that have been changing, and they said they did not make any changes due to VMPI.

They use the words “example” and tentative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what to tell you. Both Reaser and Serotkin have told me in writing that acceleration is and will continue to be an option in LCPS.

I'd like to believe this, but it looked to me like they misunderstood what the county staff was saying.
I will believe that if the staff changes the chart https://www.lcps.org/Page/212323 to include additional pathways that were there before, and if they reinstate algebra for 6th grade.
It is a fact that 5th grade kids tested to enroll in prealgebra next year, when normally they would have been taking a test to enroll in algebra.
This advancement is gone. At the school board meeting Mr. Mahedavi confused this with the different class names that have been changing, and they said they did not make any changes due to VMPI.

They use the words “example” and tentative.

Not so tentative for the 5th graders who have been delayed a year. Not just the 5th graders who would have qualified for algebra, but the sizable contingent that takes in 7th would be way down, as they didn't get pre-algebra (formerly math 6/7) in 6th.
It is possible they have relaxed the admissions to get into pre-algebra in 6th, but from what I've heard they just gave the same algebra test and used that for admission to pre-algebra. The numbers are not up as would be expected from an easier test.