Reply to BOE reconsidering the Virtual Academy, Leader in Me, and Innovative School Year Calendar

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I do think that there should be a public/free virtual education option in Maryland.  If money were no object having MCPS pay for and run a virtual program for kids with a documented need for virtual makes sense.   If we are in a money crunch it makes more sense to push Maryland to approve a virtual public like other states have done.  It also likely makes more sense for now for  MCPS to pay for individuals students who for documented reasons need a virtual option to enroll in a Maryland accredited virtual program just as MCPS pays for private school on a case by case basis for special needs students. Medically fragile students or students who live with medically fragile adults should have an option beside ISS or risking illness.  Students who have severe social anxiety may also need this option, and I am sure there are more examples. But having some students need virtual does not mean MCPS has the money to run a virtual academy just as MCPS does not run schools to meet the needs of all special education students.  MCPS must provide an appropriate education but financially that might mean paying for virtual seats at an accredited privately run virtual school.  Looking briefly online k12, an online program some states use for virtual public, costs a bit less then 5,00.00 per year for k-5.  And it looks like MCPS spends toughly 17,000 per student.  So on rough math alone it would be cheaper to pay per student as needed for an already established virtual program then to run the program.  (I am no expert but just thinking there must be a compromise somehow that deals with MCPS not being able to afford to run a virtual school while GIVING students who need virtual access to a virtual option.)[/quote]

We don't have a state option so it's a moot point.  Those of us who researched it before we got into the MVA were presented with really bad options, like Calvert with is homeschooling, and no live teaching or support.  It's easy to do those programs in elementary school but not when you kids hit middle school or high school if you are not a teacher or skilled in the subjects.  The only program I found equal that looked good was Stanford and we missed the deadline to apply.  And, it's $30K a year.

[b]You do realize that there is a good number of special ed/needs kids and medically fragile.  So, it would cost the county far more to put them in appropriate specialized placements and there aren't enough of those programs to go around[/b].

It's very frustrating when people pass judgment or make recommendations without fully understanding or knowing what's going on.

The issue with the funding is the MVA is a program, not a school.  The homeschool gets full funding for the students and the MVA gets a different pot of money.  What would make sense is to get the program accredited as a school and change the funding from the homeschool and provide it directly to the MVA and give the homeschools money if the children participate in activities (not all homeschools will allow participate, some do, and are great and inclusive and many are not).

MCPS wastes so much money on so many pet projects.  There are so many better things to cut than the MVA.

And, if you are going to cut it, at least provide accurate information and break down the numbers with all the lower-performing schools as I cannot imagine that the MVA has the lowest numbers in the county, and if they do, its probably because of the huge range of kids.

The MVA has no true impact on anyone outside the MVA so I don't get the hate and why so many advocate to shut it down.  Perhaps the other option is to shut down another school and use that to partially fund the MVA.[/quote]

That’s a good point. Could someone knowledgeable here point me to the part of the MCPS budget where the system started saving millions due to it starting to use the MVA 3 years ago in lieu of the traditional methods it historically used to meet this need?[/quote]

As if MCPS did that work. They just kept funding the home schools because it rains money in MCPS. It’s never about doing what’s most effective or cost-efficient. [/quote]

The idea of a program was to allow students to participate in activities, clubs, sports, graduation, and things like outdoor ed via the home school as well as the home school providing the testing.  The idea would be great, but it only works if the homeschools are inclusive, and some are fantastic and go above and beyond to include virtual students but many are not providing any of those things so it's not justifiable to give them the full amount when they are not providing education, services or supports to the students.

So, if you did a state option for example, if it was an accredited school, those funds would go to that school vs. the homeschool and MCPS would be losing out on those student dollars as they would be going to the state.  So, it's best to keep the money in MCPS (if they'd start to use it responsibly) and make the program a school, and fund the MVA as a traditional school.

Please hear from the students, families, and staff on their petition on change.org.   And, as your good deed for the day, a signature or two would be greatly appreciated.[/quote]

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