All right. >> You're live. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Office of Communication. So, we'd like to say good morning to everyone and welcome to our virtual learning advisory committee meeting, our
VLAC meeting for the spring. Uh, we appreciate you joining us, those who are online as well on YouTube and watching and any visitors and public members that we have today. We certainly appreciate you, the committee members, taking time
away from your offices to be with us and we look forward to a great meeting. And I also would like to thank the staff here at DAR uh because this is a new location, they've been so gracious and allowing us to host this meeting here
and accommodating us and so we thank them. Also, the signs, uh, this is a bit of a maze here in this new building. Uh, so the facilities are directed, uh, right outside the door to the left and follow those signs as well as enjoy the
snacks and water that we've provided for you today. So, what I'd like to do is share my screen and we will begin with the meeting. As you know, my name is Reggie Fox and
I'm the educational technology specialist. I have Calypso Gilstrap with me, uh, executive director of our office of innovation and we are proud to host this meeting today. As you see, uh, we have we will have greetings from our
superintendent of public instruction. We have our deputy superintendent online with us and he'll bring you greetings and we'll go through the agenda as it's listed. So, I would like to introduce Jenna Conway, the superintendent of public
instruction. >> Hello and welcome members of the virtual learning advisory committee. Virtual learning has become an essential part of our educational system and it continues to open new doors for students across the Commonwealth. We're seeing
meaningful progress in several key areas including expanding student engagement and choice, supporting more personalized learning experiences, and increasing access to high quality instruction. Many of you are directly supporting
virtual programs that give students greater flexibility while still ensuring alignment with the standards of learning. Across Virginia, educators are using technology in thoughtful ways to deliver instruction that is both
effective and engaging. This work is made possible through strong digital resources and ongoing professional learning opportunities in both blended and online environments. Today you'll hear updates on the virtual
Virginia program and take part in important discussions around the multi-ision online provider program. These conversations will also create space for your feedback, particularly on how virtual learning, technology
infrastructure, and educational tools are impacting school divisions, staff, and families. Your leadership and insight are vital. Through your work on this committee, you are helping to expand and strengthen highquality
blended and virtual learning opportunities in Virginia's public schools. Thank you for your continued service, your collaboration, and your commitment to supporting students across the Commonwealth.
>> Thank you. >> Going to stop sharing just momentarily. >> It's time for Deputy McLar's. Welcome. >> Yes. Greetings. >> Good morning, everyone. Can you guys hear me?
>> Hold on one second. We're sharing the wrong >> hear you. >> We can hear you, but we have the extended screen. >> No problem. >> There we go. >> What are you seeing? >> The room. >> I'm seeing the room.
>> Great. >> Good morning everyone and welcome to today's uh virtual learning advisory committee. Uh my name is Dwayne McCclary. I'm the deputy superintendent of innovation, student pathways and technology. Uh have a great pleasure of supporting this dynamic team uh for
innovation uh Calypso and Mr. Fox. They have doing some great great job in supporting the students of the Commonwealth. So thank you once again for your continued commitment to expanding high quality virtual and blended learning across Virginia. As a former ITRT of myself who formerly
worked uh in Arlington, Virginia, I know the importance of this work. And so VAC plays a a vital role in supporting school divisions with online courses, inservice trainings, and a many multitude of digital instructional
resources that can help students meet their graduation requirements. So your guidance today and your strength of strategic planning and ensuring cost effective access uh to high need and uh low demand courses and digital content
is vital. So, as you focus on growing to align with the Virginia Education Technology Plan, your insights are essential and important in the shaping of virtual learning and the digital learning uh integration standards, computer science standards, and all
other DOE initiatives that impact instruction statewide. So, on behalf of the agency and and continuing uh the the the great welcome by our superintendent of instruction, Miss Jenna Conway, we thank you for your partnership and your leadership and we look forward to a
productive meeting. And now turn it back over to you, Calypso. >> Thank you. Thank you, Mr. McCclary. And thank you for taking time. Uh we know that you're out of town and working and to be present here means a lot.
The king is in DC right now and so is Deputy McCclary. I don't know. There could be some No, I'm just kidding. He's not meeting the king today. >> Say hello for us. >> Now, one thing we would like for you to
let us know what you're seeing on your side. >> I'm seeing the presentation as if you're editing. >> Yeah. >> Right. There it is. There we go. Hear that?
There we go. How's that, Mr. McCclary? >> There it is. Perfect. >> All right. Great. >> All right. >> All right. Thanks. >> All right. So, hello. Hello, I'm Calypso Gilstrap, the executive director of the office of innovation and uh
Superintendent Conway and Deputy McLaren could not be better leaders for us in this day and age where we have a new 3E framework that's I think going to really grow our virtual learning programs. Um and you guys are a really important part of that because Reggie and I um work at the department and you guys work in the
field and so we really are um hoping that you will share with us authentically what is happening in the virtual community. um you represent your regions, you represent your rep uh your your people that you represent um from boards and associations. And so just we want to remind everybody this is
actually in the law and we think that's pretty awesome. And we also have a really long history of virtual learning programs in Virginia. Um and VAC started in 2010. It's been around for a while. And just a reminder that it's really important more than ever. Um, and
hopefully today we'll walk away with some insights from you guys and helping us guide um into the next um year just like you did last year with a brand new board report that looks much slimmer, new guidance about remote learning days and an excellent new families page for
our families to help understand virtual learning. So, thanks so much for your contributions and for spending less time with us than in the car, I'm sure, for most of you today. So, >> thank you, Calypso. We appreciate you. Uh we did want you to know that uh as
we've indicated your work is important. We wanted to let you know that we developed a statewide virtual learning collaborative. The reason for this is to bring in all of the regions of Virginia,
all of the school divisions and those virtual learning representatives in addition to our multi- division online providers and virtual Virginia because the providers in virtual Virginia are the organizations, agencies, and
approved MOP that provide online courses and professional development for our staff and students across the Commonwealth. So, this collaborative is really uh an onset so that we're able to
collaborate, communicate, and increase uh the opportunity to connect with those virtual learning leaders across Virginia. We want to also identify those programs that may be out there that we don't know about. Uh so that connection
is going to be important as we continue to discuss policy with this group because you are our advisory group. We plan to get feedback from them in the field uh those who are working in the area and then we're able to provide you
know appropriate guidance uh and better uh collaboration like I said with with this group. We do have it listed. uh we're going to spotlight that on the website in our professional learning area so that we provide for th those
folks who can't attend we'll have uh some idea of what would the discussion happened at last meeting that meeting is actually on Monday at 1:00 it is a virtual meeting so uh if any of you would like to attend that uh please let
us know so now I will introduce the Dr. Brian Mock uh of Virtual Virginia executive director to give us an overview. >> Thanks Raj. Morning everybody. Today I'm going to share just high level overview
of what's going on at Virtual Virginia. Hopefully this will help our conversation later today. And if you have any questions just stop me and fire away. As you know we are made up of four programs at Virtual Virginia. Uh the backbone really is the K through2 instruction program. When most people think of Virtual Virginia that's the
program they think of. Uh right now we are in midstream of summer session enrollment. I'll touch on that in just a bit. An area of great growth right now. Uh the statewide LMS and outreach program. Uh as we know in the time of uh we're pivoting away from digital toys
and focusing more on digital tools, having a centralized platform in your division is key. And uh I'm glad Superintendent Conway touched on professional learning because I'm going to highlight that just a bit today. an area where we see some dynamic growth and uh some some new ways of of thinking
about professional learning in 2026. Okay, so let's start with the K through2 program. Uh year-over-year, you can see at Virtual Virginia, we have relatively high enrollment in our first column, total students. Uh you can see it's roughly 14 to 18,000 students on a given
year. This year in row one in 2526 we're at 11,06 but we're still enrolling right we are still enrolling for summer session believe it or not we're still enrolling for spring even with just a few weeks left uh we take students to the very end uh one thing I will point you to is the percentage full-time and
part-time those are roughly in a constant place 85 to 90% of the students that enroll in virtual Virginia are enrolling part-time one or two classes filling holes getting ahead taking up a class they can't take locally, a variety
of reasons, but the vast majority of students who come to us are just looking for one or two courses. We do have a stable number of full-time online learners, and we didn't we don't have 21 22 here. That was a different time here at Virtual Virginia. Uh we had a large number of full-time learners at that
time. But I think the this data really gives you an idea of who's coming to Virtual Virginia and why they're coming in our K through 12 program. Uh you can see on the left as well, that's a year-over-year map of who participates. It changes every year. It changes in one
division. Uh they may lean on us heavily one year and the next year they may not need us at all. So uh overall it's it's a varying map. It moves around and uh as of last year, we don't have this year's data done yet because we're still in enrollment. About 94% of divisions
participate in our K through2. So we're falling into a pattern. You can see that about that 85 to 90% uh participation is part-time in our K- through2 program. Summer session, as I mentioned, an area of great growth. You can see that year-over-year. This is last year
compared to previous years. So as things have normalized in our K- through2 instruction program, we see year- round learning continuing to grow here at Virtual Virginia. Uh side note, it's April. We just hit 5,000 enrollments. Last year we had eight. Still six weeks
of enrollments to go. So we anticipate be right about there in 2026. Um top five. If I had to give you a uh top five courses per summer of students looking to get ahead, it would look largely like those top
five right there. So you can glean from from last year's historical data and top five this year. Uh most of the students who enroll in virtual Virginia are trying to get ahead or fill in a class that they want to free up time in their schedule next year for uh two cohorts to
accommodate differing calendars across the state. One beginning in early June, the second in mid June for those differing school calendars. Each cohort is six weeks. So one finishes in mid July. That second cohort runs until the end of July. So kind of a tale of two stories, right?
K through 12 and program normalizing uh summer session continuing to grow year over year. Uh okay. And why do people come to virtual Virginia? We we touched on this before, but we really do have good survey results from students and parents and schools. I'm not going to jump into
each one, but I I will highlight some. Um one reason I think Virtual Virginia continues to grow is that first bullet. Students are ready. 95% of students say that they're ready for virtual learning, right? They're more comfortable over the last several years having different
experiences. They feel like virtual learning is a long-term option and a viable option for them. 91 and 92% of uh students and families are able to find the courses they like at Virtual Virginia. Maybe they can't find something locally, they're able to come
to Virtual Virginia and find what they need. And 88% of students feel prepared for that responsibility. they have that self-regulation to manage online courses. They feel prepared to tackle that. And you can see on the the left um
why students are enrolling. It's a variety of reasons. As we mentioned, many want to get ahead. Some the course isn't available at school. Some have a scheduling conflict. And there's various other reasons as well that students come to Virtual Virginia. Now, the outreach program outreach
program has been around at Virtual J for a long time. This consists of the statewide learning management system which is Canvas and then free digital resources that we make available at Virtual Virginia to support schools. We know things are changing, right? We know things are changing in your schools. So, we're changing the outreach program. Uh
over the years, we've had relatively high use about 185,000 downloads your uh program to date. So, that's that's several years combined. That's a lot. That's a lot of participation from public school divisions. Next year, we're looking forward to making more digestible resources. We know that uh
you don't maybe don't need a full math six course. Maybe you just need this. Yes, the assessments or teachers just need certain activities. So, we're going to design our outreach program around how to support schools with what you need, more direct resources and breaking things up for what teachers may need to
use in their classrooms. I'm so glad that both um Mr. McCclary and Superintendent Conway talked about blended learning. We're still doing blended learning. It's still a thing, right? um everybody's doing it and they may not know necessarily in classrooms. So, we're really excited that the LMS is
is still around in Virginia and also those resources. We're continue to diversify and improve those resources and make them available to schools for free. Uh one thing I do want to touch on is we have talked about screen time a lot lately, right? And and valid, but you know, parents are very concerned
about screen time. Uh, one way in which we can reduce screen time is to get organized. Put it all in a central location like a learning management system. Identify resources that are valid that we want to put in front of our students, right? Use technology for fewer clicks, less screen time. So, I
think that um as we as we look at new ways to to take students away from screens, getting organized is that first step and then having a place like a learning management system is a great place to get that organization going. And I'm glad we also talked about
professional learning to start today because I think this is a place we're going to talk about today quite a bit. Uh virtual Virginia professional learning program continues to grow. Uh year-over-year we see growth in this program. To date we have 12,000 uh enrollments in our professional learning program. And I put uh normally a top
five, but I wanted to put a top 10 up today because uh it represents a variety of different modalities, right? Uh, number one, a weekly recurring live meeting. Number two, a monthly live meeting with resources
online. Number three, a one-time conference, a sit and get number four, a resource hub, not facilitated, just a place for ITRTS to gather resources, a centralized location for them. Five, fine arts, a targeted focus resource
hub. And throughout you can see there are different types of professional learning deliveries all happening on the statewide learning management system. So we see professional learning growing uh at virtual Virginia but we also see it growing because there's a variety of different ways in which professional learning can be delivered here in
Virginia. And I'm going to close with a plug. So you got me up here. I got a slide in. Um, at Virtual Virginia, we are so excited to partner with VAS and with uh ALP on AI part two and many school divisions across the Commonwealth participated in AI part one. I believe
it was a 75 and above. >> 90 oh know which ones. >> So yeah, it was a high number. We exceeded that number in part two. We're at 90 right now. 90 divisions participating representing over access to over 55,000 educators across the
state. And what this is, it's school divisions have had a hard time leveraging AI, right? We are mid innovation on AI and many school divisions are leading. Some are deciding where do we jump in on AI because it changes every few months, right? Uh we remove some of the burden by creating
professional resources for you for your divisions for free. Take them, download them, customize them, delete them, uh give us feedback on them. We can make changes to them still. Uh but these are a place for divisions to get a starter point to pick up what they're doing and
to f move forward with AI because this innovation it dates us all pretty quickly. We were looking the other day at onboarding our summer learning staff and those are teachers from your divisions by the way. We get to welcome them to teach with us during the summer and we looked at our fall AI training.
It was cringe. it was not up to date and things have changed so quickly with AI in the past few months that we were able to leverage these resources and update our AI training in literally just a few hours. We had a brand new AI training for our educators across the state. So,
um the goal here is to support all 132 divisions. If you are one of the 30ome divisions that has not participated, please use the QR code, get involved. Again, you don't have to go in and participate right away, but get plugged in. Go check out the resources. see if you can leverage them in your AI
guidance and your AI training. And of course, let us know how you feel about them. I believe we still have two more train the trainer sessions. We've done all eight, but there is one coming up on May 12 and I believe June 1. So, there is still time to onboard, still time to
jump on, still time to learn about these resources. And then, of course, after that, we'll have ongoing support as well for those who continue to implement um after June 30. So, really excited about this project. We've seen a lot of positive feedback so far. It is still super early. I would say in the grand
scheme of things. Um, you all have a sneak peek at the resources because we're still modifying and updating them. So, please go in, take advantage of that. Uh, leverage them however you need and let us know. Let us know what you're doing. Let us know how we can improve and we're excited to see AI part two
continue. >> Right. Thank you guys. >> All right. As always, we appreciate Brian sharing about virtual Virginia and oh sir question one question for you. Um early on in the slide where you were showing
the survey of students and 95% had indicated that they had felt they were prepared for with their reading skills. Um is there anything that so that's what one was saying about oneself correct? >> Yep.
Is there is there any additional data that you have that shows that what they said actually matched the reality? >> Good question. We could we don't have that currently, but we could dig into that a little bit. >> That would like the performance of students in virtual Virginia is
definitely on par if not above what the state average would be. Right. where we really get in the weeds and what's hard about data and virtual learning is usually kids in virtual learning are unique students and then we're trying to compare them with like a big cohort of
students. So like an 11th grader taking English 11 in virtual Virginia is difficult to compare to a student who's taking that in person because that student in virtual learning may not be in the same size class, may not have the same whatever it is. Um, and then also
one thing that virtual Virginia a lot of people don't realize is virtual Virginia does not know the demographics necessarily of that student when they come in on day one. They don't know are they special education, are they on a reading plan and those kind of things. So, um, but school divisions do know
that and they're the ones choosing to enroll that. So, I would think if a child is not ready for a virtual learning environment, the school would not recommend them for virtual learning as well. So, I I think that's probably a pretty accurate. And also, Virtual Virginia does an awesome job of Sorry,
I'm like totally uh pumping up Virtual Virginia. I'm obviously a fan of all virtual learning programs, but um they do a really great job of connecting with the school back and forth. Like the relationship between the teacher and the school is really strong. So, um so I think if a child was struggling quickly,
they would the teacher would adapt just like great teachers do. And if not, then they would be put back into a traditional classroom. >> It just with the >> That's a great question literacy. It just caught my attention. >> Yeah, that's a great question. And also because most of our students in virtual
Virginia are high school. We haven't seen Val's uh the BLA catch up to high school yet. We will next year. Um we could dive in though to see literacy rate of our full-time K5 students and see how that's doing. Um and then um the middle school program that now we do
have reading. Um it'd be interesting to look at the English stats on middle school students specifically. So, but it is the it is and we're actually going to dive into this a little bit later that it is the school's responsibility to make sure those kids get their reading plans, their testing, and their reading
specialist support. Um that would not be the responsibility of a virtual program. So >> following up on the reading question, >> um, as you're writing course content, are you targeting particular grade level,
reading level in the content? >> Yes. And first we target the standards, right? Obviously, that's where everything starts with the Virginia standard. So all of our content is built from Virginia up, but absolutely. And making that applicable to the grade level, right? >> So for the high school courses, what grade level reading level are you
targeting? I had to check for each one, but they are grade level appropriate, right, for for those. >> They also have had their curriculum adopted by the high quality instructional materials adopted by the state. So, yes, Virginia is in compliance with the HQ. >> Ronnie had a good point though, uh, and
Calypso as well. Our partnership with the schools is really strong, right? And that's what we're we're relying on the schools for a lot of that. Like, who is a good fit for virtual Virginia? Who's a good fit for virtual learning? uh you know we do accept homeschool private school students at Virtual Virginia but
the vast majority of our students over 90% are public school students and so uh we do rely on that partnership. Sometimes some school divisions will say we're a little bit too communicative at times uh but I will take that over the the opposite end of that. So um there is
a strong partnership Rodney with identifying students who are struggling early uh supporting students who need those extra supports early as well. So, uh, we do really rely on that strength of partnership with schools to make sure the students are successful.
>> To answer your question, um, Elmer is, um, one thing we're seeing that's really cool about AI is making sure that instructional coherence isn't just in English. So, like, uh, an English teacher probably does understand what a grade level reading assignment looks like. Um, and where we're seeing is
maybe science doesn't keep up the level of like if I'm in 10th grade, I'm reading at a 10th grade level. And for science, too. Um, and that's where we're seeing like AI um into using Canvas and the other statewide learning man other learning management systems is that as a teacher I can pull stuff out say like I
want to make sure this is on a 10th grade reading level and then it can change that um and we're doing a lot of professional development not us but the uh instructional teams at BOE on instructional coherence making sure like if you have high quality instructional materials you cannot change those that's
against the law but you can scaffold the materials for supplement for students who are struggling. So, um but and we're going to actually dive into this later. So, you actually gave us a great segue to talk about our activity in a in a moment, but um I think a lot of people
think virtual learning is watered down compared to in traditional classroom. And we actually are seeing the outcomes of that is actually the opposite of that when you look at the performance because those kids are taking the same so and the same uh all the different um
assessments. you look at a mastery connect and those kind of things that those kids now we also know that virtual learning students are not a snapshot of all public school students because they are selected into a special program. Anyway, sorry I'll stop talking and let Reggie get back to sharing some good news.
>> No, it's it's it's all great conversation that as you know we have two robust systems virtual learning programs in Virginia and we're proud of both. As we discuss virtual Virginia, this happens to be what you'll see a
video snapshot of is a teacher who was impacted by a medical condition but yet was able to switch to virtual teaching and providing virtual instruction to help students achieve in the state. This happens to be one of our multi-division
online providers. Uh so let let's go back and Let me see. All right, we're going to stress out the broadband. >> Granger offers professionalgrade products, easy ordering, and next day delivery, making them the go-to play for
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>> And a Rono woman is sharing her journey with MS while still getting to do what she loves. WDBJ7's Amir Massenberg has the story. >> I am not having a great day. I've spent like the whole day in bed and every noise is so amplified. Like right now
the dishwasher is running and it's so loud. >> Looking completely normal. These are the things Susie Mullins deals with living with multiple sclerosis. Before she was officially diagnosed, she went years not knowing what was happening to her, getting misdiagnosed by doctors until
one day it became unbearable. Sunday, March the 15th, 2020. My family and I, we went to church and the preacher levitated off the stage and I thought, "What's going on?" And everything started moving as fast as it could just
like this. Nothing was stationary. He was moving up, furniture, everything. >> After a trip to the emergency room at Curillion, the on call neurologist ran some tests. They let Susie know she was in fact having a flare from MS. And it took 10 days for my vision to quit
moving. It was the scariest 10 days of my life not being able to focus or see. And I remember going out on my porch. It was a spring day and everything had finally quit vibrating at the end. It just vibrated and looking out at the
mountains and it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen because I hadn't been able to see. I didn't know if I'd be able to see again. So that's how my journey started. A very life-changing journey, but one she didn't realize she was already prepared for. >> What do you think the purpose would have been for those?
>> After being a history teacher for Wise County Public Schools for 12 years, Susie started teaching for the Virginia Virtual Academy before she was even diagnosed with MS. Now, in addition to her history lessons, she's sharing the struggles of MS with her students. >> Like on days I teach you all, there's a
lot of days I'm in bed by like 5:00. She's able to teach right from home >> and I would have had to retired if I was in the building still. I can't multitask. So, the idea of managing a classroom knowing I had a kid out at the bathroom, making sure they come back, making sure kids are doing their work,
all the 5,000 things teachers do at one time in brick and mortar. Online, we don't have that. >> So, even on days like this, >> please pray that it just gets normal. She can rest assured she's still able to do what she
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>> All right. Oh, a little plug for them. So you see a very powerful story of a teacher um who had some medical challenges and now virtual learning uh was able to be her
um way of continuing to impact in a positive way students in Virginia. do just want to check the display to make sure that we're displaying the correct correctly again.
So, let's you we know that you saw this slide uh previously and we wanted to use this as a jump start to start our conversation with the multi-division program today. >> Okay. So, are we passing these on?
Okay. So, we're gonna pass some stuff out um while I talk. So, um everybody in here should know what a multi- division online provider is. Um the state law passed in 2010 when we got all of our virtual learning laws um that were
updated. Um and it all starts in January with an application to become a mom, be a provider. Um it can be a company, a nonprofit, or a school division. And the difference between a MOP and any other virtual program is that they're allowed
to work across school division lines. So they can collect kids from different school divisions and put them into one program. Um, and it's been really uh popular. Almost every single one of our school division, I think it's like 90 something school divisions use a mop in some way or another. Um, so the company
will put in an application and there is a criteria to become a mop and the mop must be a sustainable company. Like we want to make sure they're not going to go out of business in the middle of the year. They must have standards aligned programs that are like a ski code. You
have to have a SC code and then you have to have a qualified teacher to teach that. So that's like basic stuff, right, for a school or program to provide. We also though need to make sure that they have a learning management system, they're able to provide technology
support for families um and that they have an administrator who's familiar with Virginia rules. So, um that is what we start with. They put in an application sometime between January 1st and January 31st. Then we have a committee at the department of education
who reviews that that application and then the superintendent we make a recommendation one way or the other and then the superintendent either agrees or disagrees with us. If we are approved then we send a letter saying you are now a provider in the commonwealth. We have discovered this year we had somebody
turn in an application and they um are a sustainable company. They meet all of our criteria, but they didn't have any courses. And so we have decided to put them into a you're still uh you're we accept your application, but you can't
be a provider because you have nothing to provide yet. Um so then they will put in for courses. So that's the same thing. From January 1st to January 31st of every year, the Department of Education accepts courses for review and they must be 90% aligned with the
standards of learning. So when you talk about like grade levels and is this a Virginia course and those type things, it has to have a SKG code. You have to have teachers that are endorsed to teach that subject area. And then you also have to have 90% of the course must be
aligned to a standard of learning in that SKD code course. Um we uh had that's a good like 250 courses turned in this year, right? Something like that. And that's pretty crazy because we don't even have new standards right now. We
just, this is just MOPS that are trying to update their courses to make sure they stay relevant and new and fresh. Um, we do have 21 MOPS right now. They are listed on our website. Um, and all of those once you become a MOP and you have courses and you have endorsed teachers, then you can enter into
contract with school divisions. It must be with a school division. You can't work with like a lab school, governor's school. It can't be a um a charter school. It must be a school division. And it must be I just learned this or we've kind of been digging around. It
must be children that live in Virginia. So you cannot have outofstate students coming into our MOP program. Um the school division is responsible for verifying all those things, entering into contract, monitoring the the MOP and those type. Then in June, we will
well in April, we ma email all the mops and say, "Okay, guys, we need to see your monitoring report and we collect all of this data. It usually is to make sure that they still meet the criteria for a mop." But we're also looking at like that they are scores passed, did the parents like the program, did they
have technology supports, those kind of things. Um, but we also will collect um data throughout the year. Believe it or not, I know this is hard to believe. I'm being very sarcastic right now, but parents like to call and complain about virtual programs in general. And so we
do collect all that data, not only on our virtual Virginia program, but also our MOP program. And we do work with the MOP. So if we get a complaint from a parent, we'll call the MOP because it is their business. We call the school division and let them know. Um, and almost 100% of them are resolved within
24 hours. So we don't have problems. Um, so the monitoring report then is turned in. We take all of the data that we have. We take what we collect from the school divisions, what we collect from the MOP, what we collect from virtual Virginia, and turn that into the annual report. I'll come back to that in a second. Um, we have you guys uh helping
us make decisions about the virtual learning um environment. If a MOP, like for instance, if we had a MOP that we were concerned about, we might bring them to you and say like, "Okay, this is what we're kind of grappling with." And those kind of things. Um, they can go on probation and that's if they don't meet
the criteria anymore. So, for instance, let's say they didn't have a licensed teacher in a certain course. Um, and we would, you know, call them up and say like, "Hey, you don't have a licensed teacher. You have to have a licensed teacher. No choice." And actually, our MOPS and Virtual Virginia have a harder
time finding those licensed teachers because they can't have probationary teachers. They can only have professional teachers because probationary teachers can work for school divisions and they're not a school division. So, 100% of their teachers have to be professionally licensed. Period. there's no probation
or uh assistant teachers or anything like that. Um so then they would go on probation. We have not had anybody on probation for a long long long long time. Um usually if we get to that point, they're usually a mop who's kind of dwindling anyway. Like maybe they're not under contract anymore. Maybe
they're out of business. So then they might go ahead and ask themselves to be removed from your mop list. Um, and then we just make them an an active mop if they still meet the criteria, but they've chosen to take themselves out of business. And then, um, worst case scenario, oh, sorry, while you're under
probation, you're not allowed to enter into any new contracts and you're not allowed to enroll any new students. So, you usually, like what we would do, like let's say in February you went under probation, we would let you finish the school year and you would have until July to get yourself back up to snuff.
If you didn't then we would move towards revocation which would mean we completely remove you from the provider program but that also would in in January you would be able to reapply. So let's say you know you all it all went badly you got new administration or you
got a new model or something like that you can actually reapply and we would start over and you would start over that. Um we've had up to 32 mops total in the 16 years of the program. Um, and most of those mops that left left by their own choice. We didn't revoke them,
put them on probation. Um, and then the last thing that we do is we do an annual report. I think it's really awesome that virtual learning doesn't have its own report. We're actually part of the conditions of public schools in Virginia report, which is a big deal because they're we're right there with like the
gifted program and the charter schools and all the other things that we talk about about assessment, accountability, and those kind of things. So when you're reading the report, I mean, it's kind of nerdy to read it, but there's like 400 pages and virtual learning is like 17 of those those pages. So pretty cool to think that like the governor is reading
that report and we're right there with it. It's not a supplementary. So does anybody have any questions about the MOT process in general? It's so much work and fun. >> I just had a question. What was the reason or a few of the reasons why they
decided to not be a mom? usually um it's a tough marketplace in Virginia because we have so many virtual learning programs. So um some of our MOPS are national level virtual programs. They come into Virginia thinking like, "Oh, this is just another state." And then
they meet Virginiaians and they're like, "Oh, these people are tough nuts to crack." Um and we have so much local control that they they just don't get the steam to go. Um, we definitely have mops that only have like one school division and they do their thing or whatever, but it's usually like a really
big company that comes in and they just can't get it to get up to steam. The other ones have been school divisions who maybe they started off in 2010, 2012 and they were like, "All right, we're going to grow our virtual program." But now their virtual program is so strong in their own school division that they
don't want to be a mop anymore. They don't want to work outside of their own school division. They're like, "We have 400 kids in our program. we're not interested in 400 kids from somewhere else and growing it to be that big. So, that's kind of the other thing that we've seen drop off is the the school division that doesn't want to be outside
their school division anymore because they feel like their program's really healthy. So, any other questions? That's a great question. I say, did I miss any? You probably >> awesome. All right. Yay. Law. Do you want me to go over this part? >> Well, I was just going to point out
because you have that this is just leading to the activity. uh that you know that MOPS are legislated and so we have been given direction to organize this program. It's been in place as long as Calypso alluded
to that. Um and we want to talk about how the MOPS function and we want to get your feedback today. So we have an activity uh what we passed out was if you can go to the next slide. We uh we're going to look at some areas
uh in the MOP criteria as well as uh the procedures uh that Calypso talked about as a MOP applies in January and during that window and then they're able to uh
submit courses and then they're open to obtain contracts. So, so as we uh look at these things, these are some guiding questions that we're going to talk about at at the end of the activity. Uh how
does communication help to provide transparency? Uh, as Calypso alluded, sometimes uh maybe the information is interpreted differently, maybe people make mistakes. Um, maybe some details aren't
communicated as they should be. Uh, then accountability. We talked about monitoring a lot and we're talking about student performance overall through virtual Virginia as well as MOPS. And then how do we deal with ensuring that
multi-division online providers are actually following policy procedures that we don't have students outside of Virginia uh that students actually live and have residency here that we are
taking attendance uh those students are accessing their work and communicating and collaborating their teacher as well as other students. And then we alluded to the lensure requirements um that we oversee.
>> You moving the window. >> So what we'd like to do first is have you just give you time to digest this. uh just a few minutes to look at the procedures and the criteria and then
I'll give you some index cards to uh we'll do the three groups since you're seated at the tables together and uh one two three four and three and three uh just for ease today. So we'll give you a moment to read through these documents
highlight check some things. I do want to point out too, this is the original criteria. It is from 2010. So sometimes when you read it, you do have to like uh envision what that looks like today. So we do practice doesn't always, you know, the
the criteria has to match, but there might be some u words in there that you're like that is really old and we're like yes, we know, but you can apply that to the learning management system or you know high quality instructional material. So we interpret it with the new. So,
mute. Okay. >> All right. Do you need to share back the template? >> No. Or you >> I'm just going to speak the instructions. >> Speak the instructions. >> Now, after reviewing, and you can also refer to your guidelines and procedures,
but you have a stack of cards. There are some tasks, some roles on them and responsibilities and you need to make three columns. The first one is what would the responsibility be to DOE?
What would it be to the local school board? And what would it be to the division? >> Oh, no. Provider. >> No, provider. The provider. Yes. >> Yep. So, DOE's role >> the school division. >> School division. Provider. >> Everybody got it?
That's okay. I was like oh schoolboard and >> well I was thinking >> no we need to dry erase our web >> school board >> but yes we have more >> do you want or do you want Okay.
But just about the materials where I need >> here. We're gonna go back to our home base. If you want to make any changes to your rows or columns, I guess I should say columns. And then uh maybe share out
thoughts maybe where you're really struggling where did you disagree? What do you like? This is definitely what we're doing. So, and this is kind of where the advisory part of the committee comes in. So we know these are the tasks that are
involved in having a virtual program but who's responsible. So this one >> so let's talk about some generalizations what what things maybe talk about the
responsibilities of BDOE first. So kind of discussed in in a broad overarching way that uh the people in this room are individuals that are invested in paying attention and we had
a lack of consensus across groups of those clean lines of responsibility extending that if we have a lack of uh clarity what must schools families community divisions
that point. But I will say that we had some discussion in the beginning on some of the items where there seem to be some and you're splitting hairs as far as the verb that's used with the card, but the
responsibility really crosses lines. Um, is the multi-division online provider responsible for making sure that they have licensed teachers? Yes. Is the VDOE responsible for making sure? Yes. So the verb may throw you on where to
put that, but the the responsibilities if you talk about responsibilities really kind of cross lines in a number of these areas. >> So for that one specifically, we would say the MOP is the first place that's responsible because they're the ones
that hire the teacher. School division is responsible because it's going on their IPAL report and nobody wants a red flag on their IPAL master schedule report. And then it's VDOE's responsibility to follow up to make sure that if it does get flagged to address that with the school division first and
then with the MOP second. Um so that and we did have that actually happen this year that um because of the new accreditation system some of our MOPS got flagged that they're not they're not used to getting flagged and uh and they were like wait what happened and we were like new accreditation system has kicked in and we need to make sure that that SC
code that maybe you could have had a different endorsement as this endorsement. So helping those uh but you are correct. Everybody's responsible for all these things but we would say the MOP is responsible first because they are the ones that are receiving the funds for that licensed teacher but
school divisions have to hold the contractor accountable and BDOE has to hold school divisions accountable. >> All right. What else? That was great. What else? >> Well that was a theme at least. So whatever is the description around
divisions or a broader audience beyond uh an individual school division then it felt like in most most instances that would be a video BOE uh responsibility and then um so we're just talking about VOE right now, right?
>> Anyway, anything you want to say Rodney, we're listening >> other stuff just following along with the game. So it's interesting uh that one group had more responsibility with the school division and then an equal
and almost equal uh so I think we're going we need to talk about that u because when a mop provides we we said that BDOE you know accepts approves and monitors
mops And that's where our responsibility lies. But then talk about the school division because now you know the MOP has the teacher has the contract with the school division. So there's a
crossover there. MOP and school divisions both engage in contract. But then if you start with the student on up, what happen? Where's talk about the school division's role? Well, I would say this that when you um
when a school division decides to work with a mock, then that doesn't relinquish their responsibility to take care of students in their school division. Wow. >> You guys mentioned earlier, it's our responsibility to kind of screen to see who's going to be successful in this
setting. >> It's, you know, can they do the work before we just say go do it. Um, in some cases, we have to put a student in there for either either credit recovery or oh, you're not going to make it. You might want to go this route, probably get a D modus. Um, but it does come down to good
counseling and then uh making sure they can fit it in. We do a lot of it in the summer summertime for a lot of kids trying to open up pathways and being able to take we're so small be able to take couple singleton courses so they will use virtual Virginia in the summer but it's not cutting for everybody. Um,
but we've seen a big increase in it and surely support um it but it's not made for everybody and I think that's where it comes back to the school if it can be successful. You said something important that you're not you're going to
monitor the student. You're going to make sure and ensure that the student is successful. Uh if the student has needs, is it the MOP's responsibility? I'm going jump on it again. you know, so we have an instructional aid in our
computer lab that has a mix between kids taking RCC community college classes or virtual Virginia classes and they monitor the virtual Virginia progresses. They don't get to see the RCC classes, >> but also make sure they're on task throughout the day. Um, so I don't know
if I've answered that from perspective, we don't send them in different saying send them home. We provide typically 90 minutes every other day or so in our school system um that they can be successful and then our instru um so it keeps it that's how we do it
and it works pretty well. >> Yeah, I think I heard McKenna Vento or special ed in this group. My thing with that was, you know, an online mob probably not going to know child. You know, there there's certain things
that come from the school division. That's where I threw that out there. >> Yep. So, on the McKenna Vento specifically, especially when you're talking about a multi- division, so where a child might not live where they're enrolled. Um, McKenna Vento is responsible of the enrolling school
division. So once you take the money for the kid, they're your kid and the residential is no longer responsible for that kid. So that's where we start getting into if you're going to choose to take non-residential transfer students in virtual programs, you have
to take the full kid and you have to take all things like military attached, are they on an IEP 504, are they on a reading plan, are they McKenna Vento? And so that goes back to the school division. Even if you don't have the child in your physical school, you must
enroll them fully. Like they have to have vaccinations even if they're not coming into the building. They must have counseling services and library services and all the things that go with an accreditation. So I think what I saw that Yep. Go ahead, please. >> Good morning. My name is Jennifer Lock
and I work with the Hampton City Schools Division and we actually have our um an online we're registered as a MOP with through the state and it's our fourth year doing it. I did bring an example of like the application and the process and it has been um phenomenal. We al also partner with virtual Virginia very
heavily um and we decided to become a MOP um and build our own virtual learning program right after the pandemic. So during that time frame we had a supervisor that was really forward thinking visionary and created we created um using our Hampton City Schools curriculum our teachers and we
have a teacher that actually teaches in um oh Pittsburgh. um she's the only out of state teacher, but she is certified to teach in Virginia. And then the rest of them are really all kind of all over Virginia. So we love that. Um currently we're K to six, but due to budgetary reasons, we're actually coming back down
to K to 5. So Dr. M, all of ours are coming to you. All of our sixth graders are coming up to you upcoming sixth graders. And then and then what we noticed as well, I just have so much that I want to share about our programs and I want to talk to you about Mr. Fox after. Um, but we have um it it's
they're immersive adventures in a sense. So, we have storylines that the students do throughout the week. Content is um like I said, it's straight from our Hampton City Schools curriculum, but our teachers have made it more virtual. So, it's engaging in that virtual sense.
Whereas, if they had a science lab um in the school division that they had to do with with different materials, we we actually give them school supplies. So, at the beginning of the year, we box kindergarten all the way through sixth grade supplies. So they have measuring kits, they have um attribute blocks, they've got I mean everything. It's a
huge for our families. And then um at that point all that curriculum ties in together at the end of the week they have a really cool um Friday immersive adventure where they tie in all of what they learned through that week into that day. And we just have honestly like students that hate to miss that day
because they just they want to see what happens at the end. Then at the very end of the year they move up to the next kind of theme. So like we have a fun land park theme. We've got like a an adventure trekker kind of thing. So each grade level they move up and then it kind of ends with a like a a twist or like a a cliffhanger and then they get
excited to learn what happened for the next grade level. Though we're really excited about the program and wanted to offer that opportunity for any of you if you're interested in joining into a class, seeing what it looks like um also creating videos for, you know, a session that we could share. We'd love to do
that. Um but the process has been fantastic. We um applied for the MOP in I believe it was 2022. Um and once you get that that big first time in, it's a just a renewal process that's pretty simple. And Mr. Fox Eclipse are fantastic to work with.
Virtual Gene, I can't say enough about um our partnership with them as well because they are um very receptive to everything that happens and enjoy that partnership as well. So >> we love it. We watch you guys. Everything you're saying, we we love it. We love it. And that's that's awesome to
hear uh you know positive feedback and of an operating mob and school division school division uh that is a mob and we learn and we can share with those that are agencies and businesses school
divisions can help us share as you have >> well and that's something that we really want to see in the statewide virtual learning collaborative is school divisions that have schools like Henriiko County has a virtual academy Virginia Beach has And because they don't move across state l across them, we don't nobody should be moving across
state lines, but because they don't cross school division lines, we don't really keep an eye on them. We just keep an eye of them like a school. But we really want to learn more from those programs because um we really think our school divisions that are doing virtual learning are doing awesome stuff. So, we
want to see that grow and have our MOPS learn from those school divisions and school divisions learn from our MOPS and our virtual Virginia program. So, it's also fun when you find out like a MOP had to hire Virtual Virginia for a class because they didn't have enough instructors or a virtual school that
usually can do their own curriculum had to hire, you know, a MOP because they didn't have enough teachers or they didn't have that one class or those kind of things. But anyway, here's the answer key what we have. But also, this is in um kind of draft form, I guess. We haven't really publicized it yet, but
that's something Reggie and I really have been working on. Um, to Ernie's point, like if you guys don't get it, we're obviously not doing a good job with our school divisions. Um, we also have new administration who may or may not know all about the virtual learning programs. Um, we are very lucky that Dr.
Smith, our secretary of education, is from Hampton and is all about innovative programs, including virtual programs and uh and mocks specifically. So, he knows what's going on. But um we wanted to better define especially going into 26 27 what are the responsibilities of each
these are not though like I don't cross this line don't touch my stuff. This is definitely like kind of where we see the natural part of each of those things. Um, and I think um, our MOPS and other virtual programs are sometimes trying to
take a little bit more of what the school division does because they think, "Oh, that's good service, right? Like, we want to do more counseling or we want to do more um, whatever it is. Um, we're going to help with special ed services." And we're like, "You're stick to instruction, please. Your job is to
instruct. That's what the that's what the law says. and we want you to be awesome at instruction and school divisions need to be awesome at all the rest of the accreditation part. So, um and school divisions need to be monitoring the MOPS so that we can monitor the school divisions. So,
>> and this is a this is a start of the conversation which is why we brought it to the today >> and we took pictures so we can look at yours columns so that maybe we can adjust some of our columns. >> Absolutely. So, you have more cards than bullets. Yeah, we this was our rough draft. So,
we then >> I'm gonna fil with secrets here. Dr. Fox, Reggie's uh Reggie's better half and um former superintendent may have helped with this activity a little bit. So, she, you know, she's a little extra. So, she brought her
superintendent's lens to this, too. So, we got a little help from her. So, >> yeah, we know y'all didn't know where to put them either. We didn't we actually started with we printed out the accreditation and then we were like this is too much. So we decided >> question about this um where it says
school divisions >> on the criteria >> criteria. Yes. >> Um and it is like you said from 2010 but it says or division to be operating as a MOP that a majority of the schools are fully accredited. Are are you meaning the term credit now or what you mean?
>> We mean account accountability. Yeah, we actually and that's what um so we have >> we have um and thank you for adding that because we're trying to get it in front of the board of educ it's actually under review of the board of education right now and we're trying to get it to final review to be updated because we do feel
like there's a lot of older words in here but yes accreditation here means accountability and that um and >> on track >> on track yeah that they have to be a majority of their schools have to be on track if MOP is only like doing sixth through 12th grade then we would look at the heisting like the middle, you know,
level and that kind of stuff. So, but yes, if we had if we had a school division that needed intensive support, we'd probably be like, you probably shouldn't be doing virtual learning right now. So, um but we don't have anybody like that yet. So, um another rule that is kind of interesting with the MOPS um with school divisions is you
have to have more than is it 5% of your students? 10% >> 10%. So like Chesterfield, big virtual school all by itself, 10% of those students cannot be from Chesterfield to can be considered a MOP that year. So if
they only have like three kids from handover, we'd be like, you're not a MOP this year. Um, so we're not going to keep you in the And so the concern with that is if you have so many years of not having students, then we're going to probably put you on a inactive list
because we don't want to have 22 MOPS and families think, oh, I can go to any of these or school divisions think I can go to any of these and they're not active and they don't actually have students coming into our system. So, so that is actually a little tiny part of the law that uh school division must
have at least 10% of the students not be in their own school division to count as a mom. >> So, and that's a great segue to >> Yes. So, this actually segue too far. I just asked two two questions clarification. So, >> on the uh >> back to the list,
>> I think it was on the list. So one one of the cards says >> contracts by providing online courses or programs to students who reside in outside school division geographical boundary >> provides and so that's our provider
>> and then the contract >> courses >> provides the courses to students. >> Okay. So you said that's the MOP and then charges tuition for students who do not reside within the boundary. >> Okay. So, um, if you move to a non-residential
school division, then you have to pay or well, you don't have to. Your school board gets to decide, right, if there's going to be tuition. Um, and you have to have that be equal with its virtual students or out of school division. So, and the school board of the local community decides that.
>> Good questions. >> Yes. >> This is our question for you guys this this year. So we have as we've discussed with you and in the procedures that we we adopt we approve
uh and then we have proision provisional which is the language in the procedures that no longer meets the criteria. We have revocation that they don't meet the required uh the required criteria and they're no longer
a mock. we can actually remove them. We thought about if we're using the words inactive and we're using probation. Uh we wanted to get your feedback to again to be clear very clear to school divisions and to MOPS what this means
for and and how it can impact have an impact on their service that they provide. So, we were looking at the word probation as uh Calypso just indicated if because we're if we're going before the board of
education with a revitalization, a modernization of uh procedures, we're looking at if if you haven't had students for more than three years, then we are looking at maybe u a probationary
status as well as if you have to be removed, uh, you'll be removed from the website, but it doesn't mean that we're taking away your approved MOP status. So, if do you have any feedback on
that language or that status update? Does the provisional continue to be the model while on provisional? >> Yes. Can't enroll new students or enter into new contracts, >> but you'll get to finish the school
year. >> Right. And and provisional you have the ability to resolve that issue. >> You don't want somebody to be in a mop and then halfway through the year we like cut you off from school. >> Okay. >> Yeah. So, we're just
so in the law, you know, provisional it it's as though the law said you can be approved and we can take it away and then they put provisional there, but you can continue. Well, what happens between?
And so, that's what we're looking at addressing. I think uh for example, we do have a mock that has fallen into a status where they're not meeting. They're also in the area of of the
three-year mark, more than we have some up to seven years. No enrollment, no activity, no no marketing. Um and we have to monitor that. We have to collect data. we have to report.
>> Should that remain ongoing? Should we have a conversation? >> I stay alive. So, I'm sorry. >> So, would you treat school divisions and uh for-profit companies the same way where this is regarded? >> Absolutely. We're talking about moth.
>> Yeah. >> The category of moth. Yes. >> I mean, and the only reason I ask is um you know u different incentives, right? like um school divisions aren't trying to make money. We're trying to provide a service to other divisions and so you
know um what would be the reason to remove that flexibility if it's you know like if it's just not being used at the at the at the particular time. We don't we don't have an in I mean there's not an a money incentive for a school division to
provide that flexibility or that partic that potential option to another school division or another family. So why why remove it as a possibility? >> Well I think the short answer is uh
Calypso alluded to the 10%. So, if you can function as a school division to adopt students outside of your division up to 10% of your enrollment, you that may be the tipping point for
you. You may not want to go beyond that as a service. >> Well, you don't have to have you don't have to have the approval from VDOE to be a mock to do that. Once you go above that 10%, that's the area that the law has
indicated. Now, the procedures say you need to be a mom. You're recognized as a mom. >> Okay. >> I think you make a good point that maybe we need to consider then school divisions as a subcategory versus agencies or organizations or
companies. And that's something that we we >> that's something that we could advise the school division to become inactive. That's when you choose as a provider to remove yourself from the public list, but we would not take away your status as a provider. We're just saying you
aren't taking contracts right now. And so you could actually make that a year-to-year decision and we could add that to the monitoring report like are you going to be active this year? And if you're not going to be active then we take you off the list. the where we're seeing the I guess the conflict is parents call us and they're like I want
to put my kid in a mop and they don't understand that like you have to talk to your local school division and then the so the parent then goes to the school and they're like well I want my kid to go to Hampton and then the school division's like well we don't have a contract with them and so the parents
seem to be confused about like that this is a school choice um and we definitely don't want parents to think that there's uh active contracts when that provider hasn't been in our state for seven years. So, um we also want school divisions to understand the marketplace,
too. Um because it's not our job to say whether they're good or bad. It's just to say they're solvent and they're not solvent. So, >> with this you're just talking about when you say provisional no longer meets the criteria. You're specifically talking about the 10%. And also this >> because if if a mom doesn't meet another
criteria like >> align to the standard or whatever the content and they don't have kids in there for three years I don't think they should be on the list. That's just but the enrollment of kids is a whole different story. I mean if you if everything else is in place but you just
don't for some reason you don't not using it for kids this year but you still if you got three years things have changed. Right. >> Right. >> The standards I don't know. Well, they're still turning in they're still turning in their court case and stay they're still active as far as like somebody could go into contract,
>> but generally it is a business who either is not interested in being in Virginia and they're not they're not they don't have their boots on the ground. They're not entering into contract or they just haven't found the market that wants to buy their product yet. So, >> or they're not meeting the teacher or I don't that's just my personal opinion.
>> Yeah. No, that's great. That's what we that's why we're struggling with this is it's like we want to have providers and it's our job to make a healthy marketplace, but is it a healthy marketplace if we have 21 providers and six of them are not active and have been active for a really long time?
>> And are we I mean I'm sure we're paying somebody to keep up with this right somewhere. I mean it's I think we take that off >> taking the courses. Gosh, make him do that. >> If they get removed, they could always apply again later, right? Absolutely.
>> There would be a like we would have a conversation with that mom and be like, "You haven't had students for seven years." And we do have to we have to pay somebody to keep up with the courses that are turned in. We have to monitor them. They go into our monitoring report. We have to check their contracts and their teacher licenses. And so it
does cost the agency money to check on this provider who has not had students for three or more years. We'll see how well we could keep up with something like that if they don't have students. >> We have a hard enough time keeping up with the 40,000 students that are in
virtual programs. So, >> yes, >> but that is kind of just a conversation we're having and um I we'll follow up with an email and if you have thoughts about a specific word or if you feel like we should create an inactive status or a official probation status, like
Reggie said, we're hoping to take this to the board of education sometime this year to freshen up and make sure that we're matching the accreditation standards as they are now and making sure that, you know, we have modern standards like WAG number two and all that kind of stuff is not reflected in our criteria right now. So, um, we would
like to update that. So, we'll get your thoughts on it. You guys can ponder it and think about it and talk to your people about it. Some of you are MOPS in this room and you might have strong feelings about that, too. So, >> thank you. Uh, just switching gears, we know we talked about remote learning as
we try to bring the meeting to a close. Uh, we value your time. We did create uh through the assistance of Blige PBS uh the the video for remote learning. It is
posted on our website uh as under the remote learning uh area. We also know that we have superintendent and design represented uh here. So if you have any feedback uh on
this, we'll we'll talk about that as well. So, all right. What's happening to my videos? >> We We thought we would be okay putting this video out like January 15th. We were wrong. We called public media and we were like,
"Hurry, this dough is coming in December. Please put this out faster." Remote learning has become an essential tool for maintaining instruction when unexpected challenges like severe weather, health concerns, or building
issues disrupt the school day. Because these situations can affect anyone, this video is designed for families, students, educators, and community members across the Commonwealth. Our goal is to help everyone understand what
effective unscheduled and scheduled remote learning looks like and how to be prepared when these days occur. In this video, we'll walk through common scenarios and highlight what really matters. Clear communication, access to key resources, device setup,
reliable internet options, and practical strategies that keep students engaged and learning. School divisions have a communications plan for unscheduled remote learning days. Families should know in advance how to stay informed
through local media, emails, phone messages, text alerts, school division websites, LMS or learning management systems, and social media to make sure everyone is updated simultaneously.
A successful remote day hinges on functional devices and access to the internet. Some schools proactively offer laptops or tablets already loaded with appropriate software and applications for learning. IT support hotlines or
virtual help desks should be available during school hours to assist with technical problems. It's important that teachers and students practice how to use applications and technology before the snow starts falling. For live online learning sessions, students should
understand how to use audio and video during live sessions with the teacher. This may include using headsets and microphones, using a chat box, or raising a hand virtually. Students must be vigilant about protecting privacy during remote
learning days. This means using strong unique passwords for school accounts, not sharing personal information, or clicking on unfamiliar links or downloading unknown files. Families and educators can support this by teaching
students how to recognize unsafe behavior by encouraging open conversations about digital safety. It's critical that schools and families have access to the tools they need to be successful on remote learning days. Be
technology ready and know your tools. Familiarize yourself with learning management systems and any required applications. Test your setup. Ensure that the students internet connection, webcam, and microphone work smoothly before live sessions. And always back up
all work. Save assignments in multiple places to avoid any loss of homework. In cases where the internet is unavailable, school divisions may offer printed learning packets in advance. Creating an effective online learning space can make a huge difference in a student's focus,
motivation, and success. Choose a dedicated quiet area free from distractions with good lighting. The learning area should be set up with a computer or other appropriate devices that can access the internet and a printer if required. A task list or
online calendar will help students manage their time effectively and should include occasional breaks to improve student focus. Remote learning days may not replicate the traditional school day at home, but instead allow for alternative and innovative instruction
to help students stay engaged. Students may experience synchronous or asynchronous learning. Synchronous learning is interacting through live video sessions. It's great for building community, asking questions, and staying motivated through shared experiences.
Asynchronous learning is like learning on demand. Students can watch recorded lectures, complete assignments, and respond to discussion questions all during the scheduled remote learning times and after school hours. Being successful on a remote learning day does
not happen by accident. It's a blend of discipline, motivation, and participation. Create a routine. Set consistent study hours and help students stick to them like they would in the classroom. Use a planner or calendar.
Track deadlines, live sessions, and discussions. Break up tasks. Divide assignments into manageable steps to stay on track and avoid burnout. Take notes. Whether watching videos or reading, making notes on key points
helps students recall information. Communicate. Don't just lurk. Contribute to the discussion and ask questions. Students shouldn't be afraid to reach out to instructors or classmates when something doesn't make sense. Apply what
you learn. Try to take what you learn and see how you can apply it in a real life scenario. Success during unscheduled remote learning days depends on adaptability, preparation, and communication. When routines are disrupted, students who
stay organized, maintain a consistent schedule, and engage with their coursework, even from home, are best positioned to thrive. >> Voice of PBS. So, we thank you uh for that.
Uh we did learn a lot about remote learning days because we had the snow days so early. We went 10 pretty quick. Um and then we had the election and there were a lot of school divisions that were like we're going to use it as a remote learning day and we're like can't do that. Sorry. You can have a
remote learning day that is not an emergency but it can't count towards your 990 or 180 days. So you can have a virtual learning day whenever you want. It just doesn't count as an instructional day. So we we learned that from the general
the attorney general's office this year when we had quite a few school divisions. It's just in the law. Um it was after COVID happened and they passed a law that in-person instruction must be 180 days or 990 hours that it has to be
in person. Um, now students can obviously be in a special program and do virtual learning full-time or part-time, but um, for it to count as a instructional day on the master schedule, it must be in person and face to face.
>> Those divisions where weather is affected. >> It's an emergency >> beyond 10 days. >> You can do 10 days of remote >> approval through a through a process which I'm sure you all know. Some of you in the southwest have definitely learned
about how to do a uh waiver with superintendent. >> So, I know Dr. Mott talked about screen time today. He mentioned that and I think that's one of the topics we'd like to bring before you as well as internet safety as it expands uh the next time in
our fall meeting. If there are other topics, of course, we want you to share those. We're looking at possibly Tuesday, October 27th or Wednesday, November 4th. Uh Amy is always letting me know what's happening
>> uh during those weeks and so if we have any state conferences or superintendents are involved in anything locally you do let us know. We know >> October 27th is our fall conference. >> Oh well we can just come >> like you automatically know it from >> Yeah.
>> We make an inerson meeting after >> where is the conference? >> Richmond. >> In Richmond. >> Hey we could do that. We should we should talk with you about piggybacking on >> and then we could have an inverse meeting. So our spring one could be in the it could be virtual >> and we could present at your conference.
>> Oh. >> So we we can combine all of those. >> We'll figure it out. >> But let us know if there's problems >> if we uh and if you'll note that again talk with Amy. Uh these are our QR
codes for subscribing. We we we are continuing the podcast uh in the third session and there's some really good ones there. >> Our Virginia update uh Virginia Education Update, that's where that superintendent's information went out about remote learning. And then of
course teacher direct. Um these are all ways that you can stay informed and communicate. So again, we thank you for today. We want to respect your time. We're at the 11:30 hour and we really appreciate your
travel here to DAR and again we thank DARS for hosting us. Um if there are any topics as uh Jennifer mentioned uh or I would like to say video or pictures or stories. We are always looking for
positive feedback and I know that we should have some from all of you uh uh all of these regions virtual Virginia uh WHRO your impact uh that you have and working with school divisions VSBASS.
So uh just share those with us so that we can uh we can have a broader audience to share them. Thank you again for today. Please take those snacks and water with you as you depart. >> Feel free to take the cards if you do. >> You're welcome.
>> Thank you very much. cost for that third.