Anonymous
02/24/2025 22:32
Subject: Re-instituting Virtual Academy in MCPS
Anonymous wrote:Can we bring back the MVA but in a much smaller and more exclusive way? There were 2 students who were found to have moved out of state who were still attending. There were kids with no medical needs who just appreciated the comforts of school from their bed. For the first 2 years of existence, the MVA placed all of the IEP meetings and paperwork on the kids home school which I never understood why they couldn’t host their own meetings. Last year, I read IEPs for MVA students which were full of statements about the students which were simply not true (understandable given that the case manager never met the kid in person). If it comes back, someone needs to make a clear policy about who is it appropriate for.
No. Because the MVA some things like IEPs, services and testing were done in the home schools. Some of us refused testing that was not a graduation requirement for a variety of reasons. The MVA is appropriate for any child who wants to be in it and has parent support. Kids were in it for tons of reasons including being bullied or not feeling safe. Why didn’t you support those kids more so they would have done better in your school? People like you are one reason why some families choose the MVA.
Anonymous
02/24/2025 21:30
Subject: Re-instituting Virtual Academy in MCPS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Can we bring back the MVA but in a much smaller and more exclusive way? There were 2 students who were found to have moved out of state who were still attending. There were kids with no medical needs who just appreciated the comforts of school from their bed. For the first 2 years of existence, the MVA placed all of the IEP meetings and paperwork on the kids home school which I never understood why they couldn’t host their own meetings. Last year, I read IEPs for MVA students which were full of statements about the students which were simply not true (understandable given that the case manager never met the kid in person). If it comes back, someone needs to make a clear policy about who is it appropriate for.
Tests also had to be taken at the home school which added work for school test coordinators and resource teachers for ESOL as well.
Yes. It created more work for home school staff on top of what they’re already dealing with and less work for the remote MVA staff who had so much less on their plate to begin with.
Also, I’ve seen more than one student who returned to in person school with terrible anxiety that they weren’t documented to have before. Being at home for years away from peers and away from a routine seemed to me detrimental to them. I understand that staying at home can alleviate many people’s anxiety but at some point, most people have to face leaving the house and being out in public.
Anonymous
02/24/2025 21:21
Subject: Re-instituting Virtual Academy in MCPS
Anonymous wrote:Can we bring back the MVA but in a much smaller and more exclusive way? There were 2 students who were found to have moved out of state who were still attending. There were kids with no medical needs who just appreciated the comforts of school from their bed. For the first 2 years of existence, the MVA placed all of the IEP meetings and paperwork on the kids home school which I never understood why they couldn’t host their own meetings. Last year, I read IEPs for MVA students which were full of statements about the students which were simply not true (understandable given that the case manager never met the kid in person). If it comes back, someone needs to make a clear policy about who is it appropriate for.
Tests also had to be taken at the home school which added work for school test coordinators and resource teachers for ESOL as well.
Anonymous
02/24/2025 21:07
Subject: Re-instituting Virtual Academy in MCPS
Can we bring back the MVA but in a much smaller and more exclusive way? There were 2 students who were found to have moved out of state who were still attending. There were kids with no medical needs who just appreciated the comforts of school from their bed. For the first 2 years of existence, the MVA placed all of the IEP meetings and paperwork on the kids home school which I never understood why they couldn’t host their own meetings. Last year, I read IEPs for MVA students which were full of statements about the students which were simply not true (understandable given that the case manager never met the kid in person). If it comes back, someone needs to make a clear policy about who is it appropriate for.
Anonymous
02/24/2025 20:05
Subject: Re-instituting Virtual Academy in MCPS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think MD should create a virtual academy for the entire state.
The bill encourages districts that aren’t able to create their own virtual academy to team up with other districts and share academies. So maybe they all end up teaming up with whatever district has the best program and essentially create a state wide school. But the state isn’t going to do that via the bill that’s proposed - it puts the mandate on each district to figure it out.
You realize that a state wide program would cost more and be paid out of MCPS funds. Why do you keep pushing it? It’s not what anyone wants. The money is there.
That’s right. The money follows the student. So if MCPS reinstitutes the virtual academy, it just takes money away from whatever in-person school the now virtual student attends and shifts it to the virtual program. Not sure how MCPS reported to the state legislature that closing the MVA saved the county millions. It should have been pretty neutral since they money is there and is just shifting around from brick and mortar schools to the online program.
It wouldn't simply "shift" money around because a school doesn't suddenly become $18k less expensive to operate when one student moves out. Adding virtual programs would increase the overall costs of schools.
Umm, no. Fewer students means fewer teachers, fewer portables, less subsidy of lunches, fewer buildings and fewer buses.
But one or two fewer students at a school doesn't allow you to have fewer teachers, fewer portables, fewer buildings or fewer buses.
Anonymous
02/24/2025 19:47
Subject: Re-instituting Virtual Academy in MCPS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think MD should create a virtual academy for the entire state.
The bill encourages districts that aren’t able to create their own virtual academy to team up with other districts and share academies. So maybe they all end up teaming up with whatever district has the best program and essentially create a state wide school. But the state isn’t going to do that via the bill that’s proposed - it puts the mandate on each district to figure it out.
You realize that a state wide program would cost more and be paid out of MCPS funds. Why do you keep pushing it? It’s not what anyone wants. The money is there.
That’s right. The money follows the student. So if MCPS reinstitutes the virtual academy, it just takes money away from whatever in-person school the now virtual student attends and shifts it to the virtual program. Not sure how MCPS reported to the state legislature that closing the MVA saved the county millions. It should have been pretty neutral since they money is there and is just shifting around from brick and mortar schools to the online program.
It wasn't because some classes had as few as 10 kids, and the MVA had its own administrative structure. So they were running an entire parallel system of teachers and administrators for a small number of kids, but the fixed costs of running brick-and-mortar schools were the same.
Look at it like this. Let's say you have a school system of 1000 kids. ES1 has 250 kids. ES2 has 250 kids. MS has 500 and HS has 1000. In this system you have a superintendent, four principals, and let's say 50 teachers.
If 50 of those kids break away, and are equally distributed amongst grades, you now have 3 principals and let's say 20 teachers just for those 50 kids.
So a school system that used to have five administrators now has eight, and a system that used to have 50 teachers now has 70.
It's expensive as heck, and once the data started showing that MVA kids (particularly BIPOC kids) were doing worse than their in-person peers in both measures of learning and absenteeism, it started to feel like a lot of investment for no rewards.
If the school district moves a bunch of kids out of brick and mortar, but doesn't adjust their costs, that is poor management. Plain and simple.
Anonymous
02/24/2025 19:46
Subject: Re-instituting Virtual Academy in MCPS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think MD should create a virtual academy for the entire state.
The bill encourages districts that aren’t able to create their own virtual academy to team up with other districts and share academies. So maybe they all end up teaming up with whatever district has the best program and essentially create a state wide school. But the state isn’t going to do that via the bill that’s proposed - it puts the mandate on each district to figure it out.
You realize that a state wide program would cost more and be paid out of MCPS funds. Why do you keep pushing it? It’s not what anyone wants. The money is there.
That’s right. The money follows the student. So if MCPS reinstitutes the virtual academy, it just takes money away from whatever in-person school the now virtual student attends and shifts it to the virtual program. Not sure how MCPS reported to the state legislature that closing the MVA saved the county millions. It should have been pretty neutral since they money is there and is just shifting around from brick and mortar schools to the online program.
It wouldn't simply "shift" money around because a school doesn't suddenly become $18k less expensive to operate when one student moves out. Adding virtual programs would increase the overall costs of schools.
Umm, no. Fewer students means fewer teachers, fewer portables, less subsidy of lunches, fewer buildings and fewer buses.
Anonymous
02/24/2025 18:43
Subject: Re-instituting Virtual Academy in MCPS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think MD should create a virtual academy for the entire state.
The bill encourages districts that aren’t able to create their own virtual academy to team up with other districts and share academies. So maybe they all end up teaming up with whatever district has the best program and essentially create a state wide school. But the state isn’t going to do that via the bill that’s proposed - it puts the mandate on each district to figure it out.
You realize that a state wide program would cost more and be paid out of MCPS funds. Why do you keep pushing it? It’s not what anyone wants. The money is there.
That’s right. The money follows the student. So if MCPS reinstitutes the virtual academy, it just takes money away from whatever in-person school the now virtual student attends and shifts it to the virtual program. Not sure how MCPS reported to the state legislature that closing the MVA saved the county millions. It should have been pretty neutral since they money is there and is just shifting around from brick and mortar schools to the online program.
It wasn't because some classes had as few as 10 kids, and the MVA had its own administrative structure. So they were running an entire parallel system of teachers and administrators for a small number of kids, but the fixed costs of running brick-and-mortar schools were the same.
Look at it like this. Let's say you have a school system of 1000 kids. ES1 has 250 kids. ES2 has 250 kids. MS has 500 and HS has 1000. In this system you have a superintendent, four principals, and let's say 50 teachers.
If 50 of those kids break away, and are equally distributed amongst grades, you now have 3 principals and let's say 20 teachers just for those 50 kids.
So a school system that used to have five administrators now has eight, and a system that used to have 50 teachers now has 70.
It's expensive as heck, and once the data started showing that MVA kids (particularly BIPOC kids) were doing worse than their in-person peers in both measures of learning and absenteeism, it started to feel like a lot of investment for no rewards.
Anonymous
02/24/2025 17:55
Subject: Re-instituting Virtual Academy in MCPS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think MD should create a virtual academy for the entire state.
The bill encourages districts that aren’t able to create their own virtual academy to team up with other districts and share academies. So maybe they all end up teaming up with whatever district has the best program and essentially create a state wide school. But the state isn’t going to do that via the bill that’s proposed - it puts the mandate on each district to figure it out.
You realize that a state wide program would cost more and be paid out of MCPS funds. Why do you keep pushing it? It’s not what anyone wants. The money is there.
The money is only there if we cut something else. What do you want to cut to fund a virtual program?
Anonymous
02/24/2025 17:49
Subject: Re-instituting Virtual Academy in MCPS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think MD should create a virtual academy for the entire state.
The bill encourages districts that aren’t able to create their own virtual academy to team up with other districts and share academies. So maybe they all end up teaming up with whatever district has the best program and essentially create a state wide school. But the state isn’t going to do that via the bill that’s proposed - it puts the mandate on each district to figure it out.
You realize that a state wide program would cost more and be paid out of MCPS funds. Why do you keep pushing it? It’s not what anyone wants. The money is there.
That’s right. The money follows the student. So if MCPS reinstitutes the virtual academy, it just takes money away from whatever in-person school the now virtual student attends and shifts it to the virtual program. Not sure how MCPS reported to the state legislature that closing the MVA saved the county millions. It should have been pretty neutral since they money is there and is just shifting around from brick and mortar schools to the online program.
It wouldn't simply "shift" money around because a school doesn't suddenly become $18k less expensive to operate when one student moves out. Adding virtual programs would increase the overall costs of schools.
Anonymous
02/24/2025 17:44
Subject: Re-instituting Virtual Academy in MCPS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think MD should create a virtual academy for the entire state.
The bill encourages districts that aren’t able to create their own virtual academy to team up with other districts and share academies. So maybe they all end up teaming up with whatever district has the best program and essentially create a state wide school. But the state isn’t going to do that via the bill that’s proposed - it puts the mandate on each district to figure it out.
That's the problem. There's no existing governance structure for districts to pair up, and no clear way to create one. But there is already precedent for the state to approve private online classes.
We could go with a model that pays for such programs based on need, similar to existing private placement processes for SPED. Or Maryland could adopt a voucher program for private schools.
Almost anything would be better than trying to have individual districts attempt to create virtual programs for a tiny number of students.
Anonymous
02/24/2025 15:23
Subject: Re-instituting Virtual Academy in MCPS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Delegates to the Maryland general assembly have proposed a bill that would require all school districts to have a virtual academy for elementary, middle and high school. Fingers crossed we finally get the MVA to return to MCPS. A lot of people left it for dead when the BOE abruptly ended the MVA, but it's good to see that state-wide lawmakers are doing the right thing.
Please share the names of the delegates (and with what money) who are proposing this.
Joe Vogel and April Miller
https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/02/11/moco-delegates-bill-mcps-virtual-academy/
Too bad I don't live in either of those legislators' districts. I would vote for their opponents.
You must be a very unhappy person to be so hateful.
Anonymous
02/24/2025 15:22
Subject: Re-instituting Virtual Academy in MCPS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think MD should create a virtual academy for the entire state.
The bill encourages districts that aren’t able to create their own virtual academy to team up with other districts and share academies. So maybe they all end up teaming up with whatever district has the best program and essentially create a state wide school. But the state isn’t going to do that via the bill that’s proposed - it puts the mandate on each district to figure it out.
You realize that a state wide program would cost more and be paid out of MCPS funds. Why do you keep pushing it? It’s not what anyone wants. The money is there.
That’s right. The money follows the student. So if MCPS reinstitutes the virtual academy, it just takes money away from whatever in-person school the now virtual student attends and shifts it to the virtual program. Not sure how MCPS reported to the state legislature that closing the MVA saved the county millions. It should have been pretty neutral since they money is there and is just shifting around from brick and mortar schools to the online program.
How is this a problem? Kids should have their needs met. A good number of kids left MCPS so that money is lost now. Kids are not necessarily going to go to in-person because someone like you decides they should when their parents, doctors or just their personal wants say they are best in virtual. Why do you think you should decide for another family and the numbers are small enough per schol its not a huge deal if 2-10 kids per school go virtual.
Anonymous
02/24/2025 13:49
Subject: Re-instituting Virtual Academy in MCPS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Delegates to the Maryland general assembly have proposed a bill that would require all school districts to have a virtual academy for elementary, middle and high school. Fingers crossed we finally get the MVA to return to MCPS. A lot of people left it for dead when the BOE abruptly ended the MVA, but it's good to see that state-wide lawmakers are doing the right thing.
Please share the names of the delegates (and with what money) who are proposing this.
Joe Vogel and April Miller
https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/02/11/moco-delegates-bill-mcps-virtual-academy/
Too bad I don't live in either of those legislators' districts. I would vote for their opponents.
Anonymous
02/24/2025 11:42
Subject: Re-instituting Virtual Academy in MCPS
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think MD should create a virtual academy for the entire state.
The bill encourages districts that aren’t able to create their own virtual academy to team up with other districts and share academies. So maybe they all end up teaming up with whatever district has the best program and essentially create a state wide school. But the state isn’t going to do that via the bill that’s proposed - it puts the mandate on each district to figure it out.
You realize that a state wide program would cost more and be paid out of MCPS funds. Why do you keep pushing it? It’s not what anyone wants. The money is there.
That’s right. The money follows the student. So if MCPS reinstitutes the virtual academy, it just takes money away from whatever in-person school the now virtual student attends and shifts it to the virtual program. Not sure how MCPS reported to the state legislature that closing the MVA saved the county millions. It should have been pretty neutral since they money is there and is just shifting around from brick and mortar schools to the online program.