The Virtual Academy Special Education & English Language Development department invites you to a presentation!

For: All families of Special Education and/or English Language Development students in grades K-12.

Date/Time: Tuesday, September 27, 2022 at 6:30PM

What: Information about the special education and ELD program, supports & services.

Access: We will be using Zoom for our virtual meeting. A link will be shared prior to the meeting.

*The presentation will be recorded & interpretation services will be available.*

The Instrumental Music Parent Information Meeting was held on Tuesday, September 13 from 8:00-8:30 PM following Back to School Night. Families who were unable to attend the meeting can view the recording at this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CewFAz_Lsq7oOguKLURS7tUM3iJvlZ7k/view?usp=sharing

Ms. DeStefanis has emailed all parents who registered their child for instrumental music. If you registered your child but have not yet received an email, or still wish to register, please contact Ms. Becky Destefanis by email at rebecca.m.destefanis@mcpsmd.net

Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Testing is given to all MCPS students in grades K-8 every fall, winter, and spring. This is a test that can be administered virtually to our students! Please read through the following information, and reach out to your child’s teacher if you have any questions.

WHO: All MVA K-5 students

• Several Virtual Academy staff members will be supporting testing

• Students will be in breakout rooms with homeroom teachers, math teachers, ELD teachers and/or special educators

• One room will have a staff member available for technical support and students will be sent there as needed

• Student screens (cameras) must stay on for the duration of testing (county policy)

• To ensure a limited distraction environment, we ask that testing rooms remain quiet. Students must stay on mute and raise their hand or type in the chat box if they need anything (like a bathroom break) so that we can pause the test for them

WHAT: Measure of Academic Progress (MAP)

• Grades K-2: MAP-P → Math
• Grades 3-5: MAP-M → Math & MAP-R → Reading

WHEN: Please see UPDATED schedule in image below.

WHERE: Students log in to their regular homeroom Zoom for their testing time; the students will log into the assessment following directions that we give, and will stay in Zoom for the duration of the assessment.

WHY: These assessments give teachers information about what students are already able to do, and what they are ready for next. The data helps inform our instruction. Please do not assist your child with identifying the correct answer. Helping students with the problems in any way at all will give us inaccurate data.

HELPFUL HINTS:

• Ensure you have a Lenovo Touchscreen Chromebook. If you need to exchange of pick up a device, please come to 15 West Gude Drive (2nd floor) M-F 8am-4pm PRIOR to your assigned testing day.

• Ensure that your child fully turns off the Chromebook each night to allow updates to be pushed through to the device. Closing the lid on the Chromebook, is NOT fully shutting it down and will not allow for these important updates to be made.

• Please ensure that your student has a good night’s rest the night before

• Please ensure that your student’s environment is free from distractions (quiet/ no tv/ etc.)

• All students must have their cameras on during the test

• We need to know that your student is completing the assessment by themselves

• The assessment should be completed entirely by your student

• Please encourage them to do their personal best

• If we see grown-ups or siblings helping, we will have to stop your student’s assessment

• Please make sure technology is fully charged or plugged in

• This test is UNTIMED and students will have ample time to complete the test. Most students will complete the test in about 45-60 minutes. We are allotting over two hours to make sure our students have plenty of time!

Extra Resources for additional information about MAP testing

1. MAP Student Resources site
2. The Parent Toolkit - The online home for parents interested in learning more about MAP Growth
3. The Family Guide (available in several languages here) which includes:

• An overview of MAP Growth.

• An explanation of the purpose and design of MAP Growth.

• An introduction to the RIT score and how the assessment results are used

• Students/parents/caregivers can check their device configuration here: https://check.nwea.org/ to run a self-check on their devices at NWEA Workstation Diagnostic to verify they adhere to minimum requirements b. Disable pop-up blockers that may prevent access to test.mapnwea.org

Please feel free to reach out to your child’s teachers with any comments, questions, or concerns.

Students who missed the Student Picture Day on August 19 or wish to have a re-take, can sign-up for Student Portrait Make-Up Day on September 30, 2022. Getting your child's student portraits for the 2022-2023 school is as easy as 1-2-3!

1. Please use this link to sign-up for an appointment:

https://www.appointment.com/barksdaleschoolportraits?redirect_url=/customer/calendar.php&y=2022&m=09&schedule=Montgomery%20Virtual%20Academy%20West%20Gude%20Location

2. Please use this link to select and pre-pay for your photo package. Packages will be mailed to your home. Shipping charges are included.

https://www.barksdalestorefront.com/shop/login/?ac=0089990AR

3. Please come to 15 West Gude Drive, 2nd Floor at your scheduled appointment time on September 30.

If your child had their school picture taken at our offices on August 19, their student ID card is now available for pick-up at the front desk at the MVA office.

Feel free to contact the office at 240-740-6060 for confirmation prior to pick-up, 8:00 AM-4:00 PM, Monday-Friday.

To start the school year our media specialist, Tracy Jeffcott, and media assistant Ellen Rahr will be visiting lower school classrooms to introduce students to our new MVA Library Media Center Website. Click here to view the site! The Media Center Website is also linked at the top of the Montgomery Virtual Academy website.

Research indicates that meaningful personal engagement with their teachers and peers is one of the most important predictors of student learning and achievement.

As a result of a review of the research, the Montgomery Virtual Academy (MVA) presents the following revisions to its policies and expectations around student engagement, participation, and attendance for the 2022-2023 school year and beyond.

1. All students are expected to appear on camera for the majority of every class
2. Students should actively demonstrate engagement throughout each lesson.
   
3. Students who demonstrate no engagement for the entire class period may be marked “Absent” for that class period.
   
4. The MVA continues to expand opportunities for students to engage meaningfully with teachers, staff, and each other outside of the classroom.
   

For more detailed information on these expectations, please see:

Saturday School provides low cost, core academic support aligned with Montgomery County Public Schools curriculum, plus other specialized programs. Standard registration costs $85 per child. There is a reduced fee of $40 for families who are eligible for Free and Reduced Meals (see announcement below to see if you qualify.)

Students may start any Saturday that the program is in session. Click below to register and to find the center closest to you or opt for the online option.

https://saturdayschool.org/

Centers:

• Burtonsville - at Paint Branch HS
• Kensington - at Einstein HSClarksburg - at Clarksburg HS
• Silver Spring - Montgomery Blair HS
• Gaithersburg- at Gaithersburg HS
• Silver Spring - at Springbrook HS
• Germantown - at Northwest HS
• Silver Spring - at Wheaton HS
• Virtual Only

Families who meet certain federal income standards are eligible for free or reduced-price meal benefits. All Virtual Academy families are encouraged to complete this year's application for Free and Reduced Meals. See flyer below for additional benefit that may be available to qualifying applicants. Apply online at www.MySchoolApps.com to determine if your family qualifies.

Only one application is needed for all students in a household. A new application must be completed for any family requesting assistance this school year. The online application is now open for families to submit applications.

At this time, due to changes in federal funding, weekly meal box distribution to Virtual Academy families is suspended. Families who need food assistance are asked to contact the counselors by emailing corinne.e.whited@mcpsmd.net or nicole.m.bamberger@mcpsmd.net or call the Montgomery County Food Access Call Center at 311

For more information and How-To videos visit the Food Services website: www.montgomeryschools.org/departments/food-and-nutrition/meal-payments/#FARMS

Families and students can stay engaged throughout the school year with Parent Academy TO GO, a series of webinars for families to watch at home. The webinars are available on the Parent Academy website. Registration is available here.