Schools closed for students Monday Feb 2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s like people think MCPS has unique problems no one else has.

This is what I find amazing. Didn't Taylor run a school system in Virginia before coming here? This cannot be his first time doing this. If the school system could pivot to online learning for a year with two weeks notice during COVID, certainly a plan could have been put into place for instances like this. It's incredible how helpless they are acting. And yes, I get that virtual learning is not ideal for everyone but closing schools for 6 days is FAR less ideal.

...in your opinion. Based on your own circumstances and the broader set of facts that you have available.

In most people's opinions. At a certain point, we have to go with what the majority of people want. And based on what we are seeing at school systems across the country, I think its fair to say that the majority of parents would rather have some sort of virtual model vs. this ridiculousness. The school system can provide the equipment, they've done it before.

MCPS didn't complete the plan the state of Maryland required to authorize virtual learning during severe weather conditions. The one they promised to do in 2024. Too busy making snow day videos for Taylor I guess. Maybe I'll go watch that video again and I'll feel better about my kid missing a week of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two things can be true at once. Virtual learning works well for us because I have a (demanding) job where I can work from home, and my kids are neurotypical learners. Virtual learning is a dumpster fire for teachers, kids who are neurodivergent, kids with families who don’t have available computers, or kids who don’t have parents who can monitor and implement (i.e., work outside of the home, don’t speak English, etc.). Why should alllll of those families be disadvantaged just because it works for mine? It’s highly inequitable.

Great so it’s equitable in that NONE of the kids are learning. That’s something to really feel good about. Should we all sleep outside since some are homeless too?

Seriously. If NYC can do remote learning, MCPS can too.

Do you know how many languages are spoken as the primary home language among NYC public school students? 180.

The socioeconomic needs are HUGELY diverse.

And yet they make it work.

NYC provides free public wifi all over the city. We don't have anything comparable. And while MoCo has had very high rates of home internet adoption in the county in recent years, federal internet subsidies for low-income families (the Affordable Connectivity Program) expired in 2024 after the Rs refused to extend it, so there are probably many more households with no home internet connection now than there were a year and a half ago.

I know lots of students—especially neurodivergent students, students with sibling caretaking responsibilities, and students with no parents at home—would not do as well as others with virtual learning. But even setting aside those inequities (which, yes, some places—like NYC—have accepted) it doesn't even feel like an option when we know we have lots of families who don't even have a home internet connection.

Clearly you have access to the internet and most hs kids have phones. Stop using others as your talking points.

First MCPS couldn't provide virtual learning because it was too big of a school district compared to the other MCPS school districts that provided virtual learning last week. When shown that NYC, which is 10x bigger had virtual learning, then the excuse became that MoCo doesn't have enough internet compared to NYC. According to the Census, 95.3-95.7% of households have broadband internet. In NYC, it's 75% with broadband internet. NYC isn't only Manhattan. It's the Bronx and Queens and Staten Island too, which have poorer areas than MoCo. But NYC PS didn't close for a single day last week. Not one. And yes, it has school buses too.

Approximately 95.3% to 95.7% of households in Montgomery County, Maryland (MoCo), have a broadband internet subscription, according to 2020-2024 U.S. Census Bureau data. The county is recognized as one of the most connected areas in Maryland, with high-speed internet adoption rates exceeding 85%.
Key Details on MoCo Connectivity:
Broadband Adoption: 95.7% of households have a broadband subscription (2020-2024 data).
Computer Access: 98.2% of households have a computer.

+1 People are just making stuff up. Connectivity is not the reason we don't have virtual learning. Connectivity is almost 95% in MoCo as it is in Alexandria which just finished its fourth day of virtual learning in its pubilc schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You all must tell us how you know that the parents asking for school to open are the same ones pulling kids out for vacation.

Your powers are enviable.

No, those are the people demanding virtual, failing to understand we're not legally allowed to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all must tell us how you know that the parents asking for school to open are the same ones pulling kids out for vacation.

Your powers are enviable.

No, those are the people demanding virtual, failing to understand we're not legally allowed to do it.

I suspect most of us on this forum don't work for MCPS. Yes, we now understand that MCPS failed to make the plan it promised in 2024 to allow virtual learning during weather emergencies. But MCPS has a $3bn budget, and it should spend some of that doing, you know, planning so it doesn't look like the lazy teenager of the area school districts.

They could literally copy/paste the ones from other Maryland school districts and that would give them some freedom to pivot in a bad snow year...you know, like this one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all must tell us how you know that the parents asking for school to open are the same ones pulling kids out for vacation.

Your powers are enviable.

No, those are the people demanding virtual, failing to understand we're not legally allowed to do it.

I suspect most of us on this forum don't work for MCPS. Yes, we now understand that MCPS failed to make the plan it promised in 2024 to allow virtual learning during weather emergencies. But MCPS has a $3bn budget, and it should spend some of that doing, you know, planning so it doesn't look like the lazy teenager of the area school districts.

They could literally copy/paste the ones from other Maryland school districts and that would give them some freedom to pivot in a bad snow year...you know, like this one.

You keep saying they should copy from a plan, but you haven't linked to a current plan. How do you know it is any good?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all must tell us how you know that the parents asking for school to open are the same ones pulling kids out for vacation.

Your powers are enviable.

No, those are the people demanding virtual, failing to understand we're not legally allowed to do it.

I suspect most of us on this forum don't work for MCPS. Yes, we now understand that MCPS failed to make the plan it promised in 2024 to allow virtual learning during weather emergencies. But MCPS has a $3bn budget, and it should spend some of that doing, you know, planning so it doesn't look like the lazy teenager of the area school districts.

They could literally copy/paste the ones from other Maryland school districts and that would give them some freedom to pivot in a bad snow year...you know, like this one.

Ah the wording you used. Like it's other people's fault that MCPS isn't legally allowed to do virtual learning because of the big bad state of Maryland. When in reality MCPS failed to submit the required paperwork that other Maryland school districts did.
Here's Maryland explaining the process of setting up the plan for approval of virtual learning during Severe weather in 2024.
https://marylandpublicschools.org/stateboard/Documents/2024/0123/Virtual-Education-for-Severe-Weather-Conditions-2024-2025-School-Year.pdf
Here's the May 2024 presentation where MCPS said it would develop a plan for virtual education during Severe Weather conditions.
https://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/D5QU3H7A16AC/$file/FY2024-2025%20SY%20Virtual%20Education%20Plan%20240523%20PPT.pdf

But MCPS never did it. Cuz--more fun to do snow day videos I guess.

[Anonymous]

DELAY!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all must tell us how you know that the parents asking for school to open are the same ones pulling kids out for vacation.

Your powers are enviable.

No, those are the people demanding virtual, failing to understand we're not legally allowed to do it.

I suspect most of us on this forum don't work for MCPS. Yes, we now understand that MCPS failed to make the plan it promised in 2024 to allow virtual learning during weather emergencies. But MCPS has a $3bn budget, and it should spend some of that doing, you know, planning so it doesn't look like the lazy teenager of the area school districts.

They could literally copy/paste the ones from other Maryland school districts and that would give them some freedom to pivot in a bad snow year...you know, like this one.

Ah the wording you used. Like it's other people's fault that MCPS isn't legally allowed to do virtual learning because of the big bad state of Maryland. When in reality MCPS failed to submit the required paperwork that other Maryland school districts did.
Here's Maryland explaining the process of setting up the plan for approval of virtual learning during Severe weather in 2024.
https://marylandpublicschools.org/stateboard/Documents/2024/0123/Virtual-Education-for-Severe-Weather-Conditions-2024-2025-School-Year.pdf
Here's the May 2024 presentation where MCPS said it would develop a plan for virtual education during Severe Weather conditions.
https://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/D5QU3H7A16AC/$file/FY2024-2025%20SY%20Virtual%20Education%20Plan%20240523%20PPT.pdf

But MCPS never did it. Cuz--more fun to do snow day videos I guess.

They figured it out:
"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."