Anonymous wrote:Anyone else see this?

https://moderatelymoco.com/exclusive-mpia-results-mcps-virtual-academy-under-the-microscope-with-a-disappointing-report-card/?amp=1

Not surprising at all. I wonder if the program will continue?

Sorry, but any site calling itself moderately moco screams far-right to me. I wouldn't take their claims seriously without hard evidence.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At this point, it's pretty clear that virtual instruction is inferior to in-person and has been for some time. The holdouts want to delude themselves but MCPS should not enable this delusion.

It’s actually shocking to me that MCPS is allowing 900 kids to continue in virtual, including a sizeable number of elementary students. Poor kids!! I think virtual can serve a roll for a very small number of kids with IEPs or temporary medical conditions, but not as an alternative for any kid.

Agreed. 100%.

I could see virtual maybe being an option for highly motivated, disciplined, driven and organized high school upperclassmen, but honestly, those kids could probably just do dual enrollment anyway, so why bother with VA?

We did virtual last year for middle school and we had a great experience. My son said he wishes he could go back. He had a lot of issues with turning in homework and being organized so being virtual eliminated most of those issues. He’s back in person because I wanted him to have a more social experience but I truly have nothing bad to say about the virtual academy. His teachers were phenomenal and engaging. They had to have cameras on so they could see who was actually present. Although I don’t anticipate going back I would be so sad if they took it away. Many kids said they had health issues, some had bullying issues. It’s so nice that there was an option for these kids.

Anonymous wrote:I see lots of absences, is there data if these are excused or unexcused and if they’re related to medical appointments? That is a very high number.

Spoiler: they are because the family is dysfunctional in some way and does not prioritize education.

Anonymous wrote:At this point, it's pretty clear that virtual instruction is inferior to in-person and has been for some time. The holdouts want to delude themselves but MCPS should not enable this delusion.

It’s actually shocking to me that MCPS is allowing 900 kids to continue in virtual, including a sizeable number of elementary students. Poor kids!! I think virtual can serve a roll for a very small number of kids with IEPs or temporary medical conditions, but not as an alternative for any kid.

I see lots of absences, is there data if these are excused or unexcused and if they’re related to medical appointments? That is a very high number.

Anonymous wrote:Maybe some of these kids are remote due to psychological or health issues and that is why they are behind versus the remote teaching itself?

It’s possible that both are true:

Remote attracted students who have special needs that cause them to be behaving peers.

Remote as done by the Virtual Academy is less effective than in person MCPS.

That doesn’t mean it should be eliminated. There are many students who either will risk their health in the classroom or won’t have school regularly if the VA goes a way. Interim instructional services (the new Home and Hospital) is a real joke.

Anonymous wrote:Here it is again...parents in this county are so behind the times. Most districts across the country have offered virtual options since the early aughts. The fact MCPS only did in 2020 because of the pandemic is embarrassing. It's time to join the rest of the country in the 21st century without complaining because remote instruction didn't work for your kid during the pandemic. It's so absurd.

That post isn’t accurate and a clear bias. If anything they should support it as it helps with overcrowding and far cheaper. What they did not report was that home schools with under 10 kids are listed a zero. I could not figure out why mine were not listed on there. What happened during Covid virtual was very different but it takes a lot of parent involvement so if the parents are not invested it will not work. It worked well for my kids. Parents were upset they had to be involved and monitor their kids. They want to send them to school, let the kids be the schools problem and check out. When you look at that post what it does tell us is mcps is failing all together and they need to fix the academics and focus more on the students. And, give the mva more money to be successful. They should get an equal amount as every other school and program gets. Given what they have to work with, they seem to be doing well. They need to ask the families who left why they left. Most families I know who left it was for social reasons and the home schools are supposed to allow activities, sports and things like outdoor ed and graduation and they are excluding the virtual kids forcing them to come back.

Here it is again...parents in this county are so behind the times. Most districts across the country have offered virtual options since the early aughts. The fact MCPS only did in 2020 because of the pandemic is embarrassing. It's time to join the rest of the country in the 21st century without complaining because remote instruction didn't work for your kid during the pandemic. It's so absurd.

That woman has a clear bias. Things like enrollment are shared regularly.

What are they basing this on? A lot of families opted out of testing. We did. We found the teaching far better than what we got in the last in person.

At this point, it's pretty clear that virtual instruction is inferior to in-person and has been for some time. The holdouts want to delude themselves but MCPS should not enable this delusion.

Anonymous wrote:Maybe some of these kids are remote due to psychological or health issues and that is why they are behind versus the remote teaching itself?

Very possible, yes.

Maybe some of these kids are remote due to psychological or health issues and that is why they are behind versus the remote teaching itself?

Anyone else see this?

https://moderatelymoco.com/exclusive-mpia-results-mcps-virtual-academy-under-the-microscope-with-a-disappointing-report-card/?amp=1

Not surprising at all. I wonder if the program will continue?