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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0bUaE2WCFHiF4t1u873Ykf5ZnjAunTYFY67Vv4jwvF82nMX86xrXqkh5VrHrHeEn4l&id=100063712594468
State reps wrote to Dr.F requesting she reconsider, closing The program.

Wow. Gotta hand it to the MVA folks. I thought they were deranged and looney tunes but clearly they've got friends in high places.

Now what? Ball is in Felder and the BOE's court.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0bUaE2WCFHiF4t1u873Ykf5ZnjAunTYFY67Vv4jwvF82nMX86xrXqkh5VrHrHeEn4l&id=100063712594468
State reps wrote to Dr.F requesting she reconsider, closing The program.

Sad that these politicians are playing a game of CYA by sending letters about things they know can't change. What's Felder going to do? Have the BOE re-vote on the budget? It's done, and a letter like this only serves to try to satisfy constituents that "well, I did my best for you, but it was that guy's fault and not mine"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was talking to my husband about this and about my mixed feelings. There are families who really need a virtual program. Their children have severe physical disabilities or severe learning disabilities. However, some of the reasons I saw other parents give were pure baloney. They don’t want to be bullied (news flash, no parent wants that!), they are afraid of school shootings, covid, fashion(!), and other focus reasons that don’t justify keeping the program open.

I think there's a little bit of confusion going on here. There are in-person programs for kids with physical disabilities and medically fragile kids. These existed before COVID, and they continued to exist after. Those kids are not being thrust into IIS, but their parents will need to work with MCPS to get the correct in-person placement.

As for kids who are significantly impacted by learning differences, that was never a perfect fit for MVA anyway. MCPS has programs for those kids, but MVA was a mainstream classroom with typically developing kids. A kid with significant learning challenges, or intellectual disability, was probably not getting FAPE in the MVA as it was. Again, those kids are not going to end up in IIS, because IIS is for short-term issues, not long-term challenges or disabilities.

Now, the group that I do think will be impacted is the kids with social-emotional challenges who may not have an IEP or 504. Those kids may end up in IIS for a short while, during which time their parents can hopefully seek the appropriate accommodations to make the transition back to in-person learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was talking to my husband about this and about my mixed feelings. There are families who really need a virtual program. Their children have severe physical disabilities or severe learning disabilities. However, some of the reasons I saw other parents give were pure baloney. They don’t want to be bullied (news flash, no parent wants that!), they are afraid of school shootings, covid, fashion(!), and other focus reasons that don’t justify keeping the program open.

+1 It was too bad for those families that really needed the MVA for medical reasons that they got lumped in with the parents who were quoted in the news media as needing the MVA because their kids would be too distracted by fashion if they went to in-person schools. Those students with real medical issues saw a big improvement in their educational experience over what the county traditionally provided (IIS) but I think they were lost in the noise of the families who were pushing the MVA because their kids were shy, didn't like social interaction, etc.

My hope is that those families with the severe medical issues get some type of state assistance so they are children can continue with an education. The boy with the disabilities in the wheelchair comes to mind. I don’t want those kids to be forgotten in all of this nonsense.

Your hope. You advocated for its closure and got it without thinking of the consequences. The state is not stepping in. These children are not going to get an education thanks to people like you who have a distorted view and it’s all about your lack of empathy. Be grateful no one just destroyed your child’s education like you did theirs.

Who advocated for its closure to the BOE? I didn't see any testimony at all in favor of closing the MVA, nor did I see any written comments to the BOE advocating for its closure or any op-eds or opinion pieces in the media. Are you implying that the debate here on an anonymous internet message board somehow swayed the BOE's decision?

This. I think people like the PP are bitter that non-MVA families didn’t rally to support the MVA. But in fairness even the MVA families didn’t really rally to support the most medically needy kids- as seen in the articles and testimony they all had their different reasons for choosing MVA.

Yes, they did. It depended on what news you read. There was a huge mix. Clearly you didn't pay attention. I am bitter they closed the school that will hurt so many kids. The reasons why parents choose it is not important. The important thing is it works for the kids. There is a reason why the BOE refused to provide data and waitlist information. If they did, they'd show the program was thriving and the reason for the number decline is they refused to let new kids in. Some of us care about all the kids, not just the medically fragile kids in the MVA. They didn't deserve this.

Wait, what? The reason the program lost more than two-thirds of its participants is because MCPS refused to let new kids in? The reason the program lost more than 40% of its participants each year for two years in a row is because MCPS wouldn’t let more in? Please explain how that works. 40% of the program each year was made up of graduating seniors or something?

Yup there was a long waitlist. The data MCPS released was very selective, they did not talk to most families and if they did they’d gave realized how well it was working. Shame.

This is not a grand conspiracy. The data they releases was the data they had collected, and it was not great for the MVA. Now, you can argue that they should have conducted yet another round of focus groups and analysis for the 23/24 school year, but it's not common to do these sorts of things every year. With limited staff time, and lots of initiatives, another set of focus groups and the dedicated time to analyze scores/attitudes was probably not highest priority.

As to the ostensible waitlist, I don't think we know one way or another whether that ever existed. Someone on this thread (a MVA advocate) was going on and on the other day about how MCPS was about buy some sort of virtual technology, and that turned out to be disinformation, so I'm not sure what we can and cannot believe.

The waitlist is a red herring and it's irrelevant whether there was one or not. The MVA supporters who keep pointing to "the waitlist" remind me of those club promoters I used to see years ago outside of clubs and bars lining people up outside behind the velvet rope. Once you waited in line for an hour and got in, you realized the place was completely empty and your wait was a waste of time.

When more than 40% of the students who try the program leave two years in a row and more than 67% of the students who actually tried the program ended up leaving within 2 years, I think that's a better indication of how good and valuable the program was overall than the fact that there were some new people who hadn't experienced the program yet who were willing to sign up and sit on a waitlist in the hopes that they could try it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was talking to my husband about this and about my mixed feelings. There are families who really need a virtual program. Their children have severe physical disabilities or severe learning disabilities. However, some of the reasons I saw other parents give were pure baloney. They don’t want to be bullied (news flash, no parent wants that!), they are afraid of school shootings, covid, fashion(!), and other focus reasons that don’t justify keeping the program open.

+1 It was too bad for those families that really needed the MVA for medical reasons that they got lumped in with the parents who were quoted in the news media as needing the MVA because their kids would be too distracted by fashion if they went to in-person schools. Those students with real medical issues saw a big improvement in their educational experience over what the county traditionally provided (IIS) but I think they were lost in the noise of the families who were pushing the MVA because their kids were shy, didn't like social interaction, etc.

My hope is that those families with the severe medical issues get some type of state assistance so they are children can continue with an education. The boy with the disabilities in the wheelchair comes to mind. I don’t want those kids to be forgotten in all of this nonsense.

Your hope. You advocated for its closure and got it without thinking of the consequences. The state is not stepping in. These children are not going to get an education thanks to people like you who have a distorted view and it’s all about your lack of empathy. Be grateful no one just destroyed your child’s education like you did theirs.

Who advocated for its closure to the BOE? I didn't see any testimony at all in favor of closing the MVA, nor did I see any written comments to the BOE advocating for its closure or any op-eds or opinion pieces in the media. Are you implying that the debate here on an anonymous internet message board somehow swayed the BOE's decision?

This. I think people like the PP are bitter that non-MVA families didn’t rally to support the MVA. But in fairness even the MVA families didn’t really rally to support the most medically needy kids- as seen in the articles and testimony they all had their different reasons for choosing MVA.

Yes, they did. It depended on what news you read. There was a huge mix. Clearly you didn't pay attention. I am bitter they closed the school that will hurt so many kids. The reasons why parents choose it is not important. The important thing is it works for the kids. There is a reason why the BOE refused to provide data and waitlist information. If they did, they'd show the program was thriving and the reason for the number decline is they refused to let new kids in. Some of us care about all the kids, not just the medically fragile kids in the MVA. They didn't deserve this.

Wait, what? The reason the program lost more than two-thirds of its participants is because MCPS refused to let new kids in? The reason the program lost more than 40% of its participants each year for two years in a row is because MCPS wouldn’t let more in? Please explain how that works. 40% of the program each year was made up of graduating seniors or something?

Yup there was a long waitlist. The data MCPS released was very selective, they did not talk to most families and if they did they’d gave realized how well it was working. Shame.

This is not a grand conspiracy. The data they releases was the data they had collected, and it was not great for the MVA. Now, you can argue that they should have conducted yet another round of focus groups and analysis for the 23/24 school year, but it's not common to do these sorts of things every year. With limited staff time, and lots of initiatives, another set of focus groups and the dedicated time to analyze scores/attitudes was probably not highest priority.

As to the ostensible waitlist, I don't think we know one way or another whether that ever existed. Someone on this thread (a MVA advocate) was going on and on the other day about how MCPS was about buy some sort of virtual technology, and that turned out to be disinformation, so I'm not sure what we can and cannot believe.

The waitlist is a red herring and it's irrelevant whether there was one or not. The MVA supporters who keep pointing to "the waitlist" remind me of those club promoters I used to see years ago outside of clubs and bars lining people up outside behind the velvet rope. Once you waited in line for an hour and got in, you realized the place was completely empty and your wait was a waste of time.

When more than 40% of the students who try the program leave two years in a row and more than 67% of the students who actually tried the program ended up leaving within 2 years, I think that's a better indication of how good and valuable the program was overall than the fact that there were some new people who hadn't experienced the program yet who were willing to sign up and sit on a waitlist in the hopes that they could try it.

These are not all families who were nervous about going back in person due to Covid. This is the core group that really have found a benefit from the program and I guarantee you’ll see longevity of this core group. As far as students dropping, of course they drop from programs in MCPS. It happens all over the county. That’s why it’s so easy for students to go back to their homeschool if they find it isn’t a good fit. It’s the same for in-person schools. If you find a program isn’t working out for you, then you go back to your homeschool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was talking to my husband about this and about my mixed feelings. There are families who really need a virtual program. Their children have severe physical disabilities or severe learning disabilities. However, some of the reasons I saw other parents give were pure baloney. They don’t want to be bullied (news flash, no parent wants that!), they are afraid of school shootings, covid, fashion(!), and other focus reasons that don’t justify keeping the program open.

+1 It was too bad for those families that really needed the MVA for medical reasons that they got lumped in with the parents who were quoted in the news media as needing the MVA because their kids would be too distracted by fashion if they went to in-person schools. Those students with real medical issues saw a big improvement in their educational experience over what the county traditionally provided (IIS) but I think they were lost in the noise of the families who were pushing the MVA because their kids were shy, didn't like social interaction, etc.

My hope is that those families with the severe medical issues get some type of state assistance so they are children can continue with an education. The boy with the disabilities in the wheelchair comes to mind. I don’t want those kids to be forgotten in all of this nonsense.

Your hope. You advocated for its closure and got it without thinking of the consequences. The state is not stepping in. These children are not going to get an education thanks to people like you who have a distorted view and it’s all about your lack of empathy. Be grateful no one just destroyed your child’s education like you did theirs.

Who advocated for its closure to the BOE? I didn't see any testimony at all in favor of closing the MVA, nor did I see any written comments to the BOE advocating for its closure or any op-eds or opinion pieces in the media. Are you implying that the debate here on an anonymous internet message board somehow swayed the BOE's decision?

This. I think people like the PP are bitter that non-MVA families didn’t rally to support the MVA. But in fairness even the MVA families didn’t really rally to support the most medically needy kids- as seen in the articles and testimony they all had their different reasons for choosing MVA.

Yes, they did. It depended on what news you read. There was a huge mix. Clearly you didn't pay attention. I am bitter they closed the school that will hurt so many kids. The reasons why parents choose it is not important. The important thing is it works for the kids. There is a reason why the BOE refused to provide data and waitlist information. If they did, they'd show the program was thriving and the reason for the number decline is they refused to let new kids in. Some of us care about all the kids, not just the medically fragile kids in the MVA. They didn't deserve this.

Wait, what? The reason the program lost more than two-thirds of its participants is because MCPS refused to let new kids in? The reason the program lost more than 40% of its participants each year for two years in a row is because MCPS wouldn’t let more in? Please explain how that works. 40% of the program each year was made up of graduating seniors or something?

Yup there was a long waitlist. The data MCPS released was very selective, they did not talk to most families and if they did they’d gave realized how well it was working. Shame.

This is not a grand conspiracy. The data they releases was the data they had collected, and it was not great for the MVA. Now, you can argue that they should have conducted yet another round of focus groups and analysis for the 23/24 school year, but it's not common to do these sorts of things every year. With limited staff time, and lots of initiatives, another set of focus groups and the dedicated time to analyze scores/attitudes was probably not highest priority.

As to the ostensible waitlist, I don't think we know one way or another whether that ever existed. Someone on this thread (a MVA advocate) was going on and on the other day about how MCPS was about buy some sort of virtual technology, and that turned out to be disinformation, so I'm not sure what we can and cannot believe.

The waitlist is a red herring and it's irrelevant whether there was one or not. The MVA supporters who keep pointing to "the waitlist" remind me of those club promoters I used to see years ago outside of clubs and bars lining people up outside behind the velvet rope. Once you waited in line for an hour and got in, you realized the place was completely empty and your wait was a waste of time.

When more than 40% of the students who try the program leave two years in a row and more than 67% of the students who actually tried the program ended up leaving within 2 years, I think that's a better indication of how good and valuable the program was overall than the fact that there were some new people who hadn't experienced the program yet who were willing to sign up and sit on a waitlist in the hopes that they could try it.

These are not all families who were nervous about going back in person due to Covid. This is the core group that really have found a benefit from the program and I guarantee you’ll see longevity of this core group. As far as students dropping, of course they drop from programs in MCPS. It happens all over the county. That’s why it’s so easy for students to go back to their homeschool if they find it isn’t a good fit. It’s the same for in-person schools. If you find a program isn’t working out for you, then you go back to your homeschool.

Yeah, and from the BOE perspective, when you see that more than two thirds of a new program’s participants leave, you shut it down and allocate resources to programs that do a better job satisfying the intended audience. Seems reasonable

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was talking to my husband about this and about my mixed feelings. There are families who really need a virtual program. Their children have severe physical disabilities or severe learning disabilities. However, some of the reasons I saw other parents give were pure baloney. They don’t want to be bullied (news flash, no parent wants that!), they are afraid of school shootings, covid, fashion(!), and other focus reasons that don’t justify keeping the program open.

+1 It was too bad for those families that really needed the MVA for medical reasons that they got lumped in with the parents who were quoted in the news media as needing the MVA because their kids would be too distracted by fashion if they went to in-person schools. Those students with real medical issues saw a big improvement in their educational experience over what the county traditionally provided (IIS) but I think they were lost in the noise of the families who were pushing the MVA because their kids were shy, didn't like social interaction, etc.

My hope is that those families with the severe medical issues get some type of state assistance so they are children can continue with an education. The boy with the disabilities in the wheelchair comes to mind. I don’t want those kids to be forgotten in all of this nonsense.

Your hope. You advocated for its closure and got it without thinking of the consequences. The state is not stepping in. These children are not going to get an education thanks to people like you who have a distorted view and it’s all about your lack of empathy. Be grateful no one just destroyed your child’s education like you did theirs.

Who advocated for its closure to the BOE? I didn't see any testimony at all in favor of closing the MVA, nor did I see any written comments to the BOE advocating for its closure or any op-eds or opinion pieces in the media. Are you implying that the debate here on an anonymous internet message board somehow swayed the BOE's decision?

This. I think people like the PP are bitter that non-MVA families didn’t rally to support the MVA. But in fairness even the MVA families didn’t really rally to support the most medically needy kids- as seen in the articles and testimony they all had their different reasons for choosing MVA.

Yes, they did. It depended on what news you read. There was a huge mix. Clearly you didn't pay attention. I am bitter they closed the school that will hurt so many kids. The reasons why parents choose it is not important. The important thing is it works for the kids. There is a reason why the BOE refused to provide data and waitlist information. If they did, they'd show the program was thriving and the reason for the number decline is they refused to let new kids in. Some of us care about all the kids, not just the medically fragile kids in the MVA. They didn't deserve this.

Wait, what? The reason the program lost more than two-thirds of its participants is because MCPS refused to let new kids in? The reason the program lost more than 40% of its participants each year for two years in a row is because MCPS wouldn’t let more in? Please explain how that works. 40% of the program each year was made up of graduating seniors or something?

Yup there was a long waitlist. The data MCPS released was very selective, they did not talk to most families and if they did they’d gave realized how well it was working. Shame.

This is not a grand conspiracy. The data they releases was the data they had collected, and it was not great for the MVA. Now, you can argue that they should have conducted yet another round of focus groups and analysis for the 23/24 school year, but it's not common to do these sorts of things every year. With limited staff time, and lots of initiatives, another set of focus groups and the dedicated time to analyze scores/attitudes was probably not highest priority.

As to the ostensible waitlist, I don't think we know one way or another whether that ever existed. Someone on this thread (a MVA advocate) was going on and on the other day about how MCPS was about buy some sort of virtual technology, and that turned out to be disinformation, so I'm not sure what we can and cannot believe.

The waitlist is a red herring and it's irrelevant whether there was one or not. The MVA supporters who keep pointing to "the waitlist" remind me of those club promoters I used to see years ago outside of clubs and bars lining people up outside behind the velvet rope. Once you waited in line for an hour and got in, you realized the place was completely empty and your wait was a waste of time.

When more than 40% of the students who try the program leave two years in a row and more than 67% of the students who actually tried the program ended up leaving within 2 years, I think that's a better indication of how good and valuable the program was overall than the fact that there were some new people who hadn't experienced the program yet who were willing to sign up and sit on a waitlist in the hopes that they could try it.

These are not all families who were nervous about going back in person due to Covid. This is the core group that really have found a benefit from the program and I guarantee you’ll see longevity of this core group. As far as students dropping, of course they drop from programs in MCPS. It happens all over the county. That’s why it’s so easy for students to go back to their homeschool if they find it isn’t a good fit. It’s the same for in-person schools. If you find a program isn’t working out for you, then you go back to your homeschool.

Yeah, and from the BOE perspective, when you see that more than two thirds of a new program’s participants leave, you shut it down and allocate resources to programs that do a better job satisfying the intended audience. Seems reasonable

You all just don’t get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was talking to my husband about this and about my mixed feelings. There are families who really need a virtual program. Their children have severe physical disabilities or severe learning disabilities. However, some of the reasons I saw other parents give were pure baloney. They don’t want to be bullied (news flash, no parent wants that!), they are afraid of school shootings, covid, fashion(!), and other focus reasons that don’t justify keeping the program open.

+1 It was too bad for those families that really needed the MVA for medical reasons that they got lumped in with the parents who were quoted in the news media as needing the MVA because their kids would be too distracted by fashion if they went to in-person schools. Those students with real medical issues saw a big improvement in their educational experience over what the county traditionally provided (IIS) but I think they were lost in the noise of the families who were pushing the MVA because their kids were shy, didn't like social interaction, etc.

My hope is that those families with the severe medical issues get some type of state assistance so they are children can continue with an education. The boy with the disabilities in the wheelchair comes to mind. I don’t want those kids to be forgotten in all of this nonsense.

Your hope. You advocated for its closure and got it without thinking of the consequences. The state is not stepping in. These children are not going to get an education thanks to people like you who have a distorted view and it’s all about your lack of empathy. Be grateful no one just destroyed your child’s education like you did theirs.

Who advocated for its closure to the BOE? I didn't see any testimony at all in favor of closing the MVA, nor did I see any written comments to the BOE advocating for its closure or any op-eds or opinion pieces in the media. Are you implying that the debate here on an anonymous internet message board somehow swayed the BOE's decision?

This. I think people like the PP are bitter that non-MVA families didn’t rally to support the MVA. But in fairness even the MVA families didn’t really rally to support the most medically needy kids- as seen in the articles and testimony they all had their different reasons for choosing MVA.

Yes, they did. It depended on what news you read. There was a huge mix. Clearly you didn't pay attention. I am bitter they closed the school that will hurt so many kids. The reasons why parents choose it is not important. The important thing is it works for the kids. There is a reason why the BOE refused to provide data and waitlist information. If they did, they'd show the program was thriving and the reason for the number decline is they refused to let new kids in. Some of us care about all the kids, not just the medically fragile kids in the MVA. They didn't deserve this.

Wait, what? The reason the program lost more than two-thirds of its participants is because MCPS refused to let new kids in? The reason the program lost more than 40% of its participants each year for two years in a row is because MCPS wouldn’t let more in? Please explain how that works. 40% of the program each year was made up of graduating seniors or something?

Yup there was a long waitlist. The data MCPS released was very selective, they did not talk to most families and if they did they’d gave realized how well it was working. Shame.

This is not a grand conspiracy. The data they releases was the data they had collected, and it was not great for the MVA. Now, you can argue that they should have conducted yet another round of focus groups and analysis for the 23/24 school year, but it's not common to do these sorts of things every year. With limited staff time, and lots of initiatives, another set of focus groups and the dedicated time to analyze scores/attitudes was probably not highest priority.

As to the ostensible waitlist, I don't think we know one way or another whether that ever existed. Someone on this thread (a MVA advocate) was going on and on the other day about how MCPS was about buy some sort of virtual technology, and that turned out to be disinformation, so I'm not sure what we can and cannot believe.

The waitlist is a red herring and it's irrelevant whether there was one or not. The MVA supporters who keep pointing to "the waitlist" remind me of those club promoters I used to see years ago outside of clubs and bars lining people up outside behind the velvet rope. Once you waited in line for an hour and got in, you realized the place was completely empty and your wait was a waste of time.

When more than 40% of the students who try the program leave two years in a row and more than 67% of the students who actually tried the program ended up leaving within 2 years, I think that's a better indication of how good and valuable the program was overall than the fact that there were some new people who hadn't experienced the program yet who were willing to sign up and sit on a waitlist in the hopes that they could try it.

These are not all families who were nervous about going back in person due to Covid. This is the core group that really have found a benefit from the program and I guarantee you’ll see longevity of this core group. As far as students dropping, of course they drop from programs in MCPS. It happens all over the county. That’s why it’s so easy for students to go back to their homeschool if they find it isn’t a good fit. It’s the same for in-person schools. If you find a program isn’t working out for you, then you go back to your homeschool.

Yeah, and from the BOE perspective, when you see that more than two thirds of a new program’s participants leave, you shut it down and allocate resources to programs that do a better job satisfying the intended audience. Seems reasonable

Or just reduce the budget for Virtual Academy and keep it for the other third that it works for. Cutting it completely is just throwing the baby out with the bath water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0bUaE2WCFHiF4t1u873Ykf5ZnjAunTYFY67Vv4jwvF82nMX86xrXqkh5VrHrHeEn4l&id=100063712594468
State reps wrote to Dr.F requesting she reconsider, closing The program.

Sad that these politicians are playing a game of CYA by sending letters about things they know can't change. What's Felder going to do? Have the BOE re-vote on the budget? It's done, and a letter like this only serves to try to satisfy constituents that "well, I did my best for you, but it was that guy's fault and not mine"

Here is what I would like my state reps to do: Either fully fund Maryland's Blueprint for Education, or repeal it. If we thought the budget cuts were painful this year, wait until free pre-k kicks in for our school district. We don't have the physical school capacity or money for the personnel for the Blueprint. The planning for the Blueprint that was cancelled by the BOE this year? $8 million, just for planning. We're going to have to throw money at this next year to ramp up. So that conundrum is what I would like my state reps to consider, not the MVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0bUaE2WCFHiF4t1u873Ykf5ZnjAunTYFY67Vv4jwvF82nMX86xrXqkh5VrHrHeEn4l&id=100063712594468
State reps wrote to Dr.F requesting she reconsider, closing The program.

Sad that these politicians are playing a game of CYA by sending letters about things they know can't change. What's Felder going to do? Have the BOE re-vote on the budget? It's done, and a letter like this only serves to try to satisfy constituents that "well, I did my best for you, but it was that guy's fault and not mine"

Here is what I would like my state reps to do: Either fully fund Maryland's Blueprint for Education, or repeal it. If we thought the budget cuts were painful this year, wait until free pre-k kicks in for our school district. We don't have the physical school capacity or money for the personnel for the Blueprint. The planning for the Blueprint that was cancelled by the BOE this year? $8 million, just for planning. We're going to have to throw money at this next year to ramp up. So that conundrum is what I would like my state reps to consider, not the MVA.

+1. Also, if the state reps are in fact invested in virtual education, why aren’t they lobbying the state of MD itself to establish a virtual program??

[Anonymous]

Educator here. The fact is that research indicates that young people, especially elementary school kids, do not learn well from zoom. Effective learning is active rather than passive. That is how we are wired to learn. Taking a class virtually here and there is okay but having your entire education online is problematic. Are there a few exceptions? Of course. But public education cannot be built around exceptions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0bUaE2WCFHiF4t1u873Ykf5ZnjAunTYFY67Vv4jwvF82nMX86xrXqkh5VrHrHeEn4l&id=100063712594468
State reps wrote to Dr.F requesting she reconsider, closing The program.

Wow. Gotta hand it to the MVA folks. I thought they were deranged and looney tunes but clearly they've got friends in high places.

Now what? Ball is in Felder and the BOE's court.

If it were your kids, wouldn't you fight for them. Perhaps you are the looney and deranged one given you are so invested in being nasty and evil to people you don't know who have no impact on your life.

The MVA families will not stop till funding is approved and the school remains.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Educator here. The fact is that research indicates that young people, especially elementary school kids, do not learn well from zoom. Effective learning is active rather than passive. That is how we are wired to learn. Taking a class virtually here and there is okay but having your entire education online is problematic. Are there a few exceptions? Of course. But public education cannot be built around exceptions.

Can you give us the MCPS data from the last two years to prove your facts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0bUaE2WCFHiF4t1u873Ykf5ZnjAunTYFY67Vv4jwvF82nMX86xrXqkh5VrHrHeEn4l&id=100063712594468
State reps wrote to Dr.F requesting she reconsider, closing The program.

Sad that these politicians are playing a game of CYA by sending letters about things they know can't change. What's Felder going to do? Have the BOE re-vote on the budget? It's done, and a letter like this only serves to try to satisfy constituents that "well, I did my best for you, but it was that guy's fault and not mine"

Here is what I would like my state reps to do: Either fully fund Maryland's Blueprint for Education, or repeal it. If we thought the budget cuts were painful this year, wait until free pre-k kicks in for our school district. We don't have the physical school capacity or money for the personnel for the Blueprint. The planning for the Blueprint that was cancelled by the BOE this year? $8 million, just for planning. We're going to have to throw money at this next year to ramp up. So that conundrum is what I would like my state reps to consider, not the MVA.

+1. Also, if the state reps are in fact invested in virtual education, why aren’t they lobbying the state of MD itself to establish a virtual program??

Ok, we have told you many times before. State is not responsible MCPS is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0bUaE2WCFHiF4t1u873Ykf5ZnjAunTYFY67Vv4jwvF82nMX86xrXqkh5VrHrHeEn4l&id=100063712594468
State reps wrote to Dr.F requesting she reconsider, closing The program.

Sad that these politicians are playing a game of CYA by sending letters about things they know can't change. What's Felder going to do? Have the BOE re-vote on the budget? It's done, and a letter like this only serves to try to satisfy constituents that "well, I did my best for you, but it was that guy's fault and not mine"

Here is what I would like my state reps to do: Either fully fund Maryland's Blueprint for Education, or repeal it. If we thought the budget cuts were painful this year, wait until free pre-k kicks in for our school district. We don't have the physical school capacity or money for the personnel for the Blueprint. The planning for the Blueprint that was cancelled by the BOE this year? $8 million, just for planning. We're going to have to throw money at this next year to ramp up. So that conundrum is what I would like my state reps to consider, not the MVA.

+1. Also, if the state reps are in fact invested in virtual education, why aren’t they lobbying the state of MD itself to establish a virtual program??

Ok, we have told you many times before. State is not responsible MCPS is.

No one is "responsible." MCPS can choose to have a luxury program like MVA or it can choose not to have one. The state is the same.