This email was received on August 25th 2020 by families that had at least one student registered for the MCPS Online Academy at that time. We’ve included the whole email below for reference. All MOA parent communications are now available in MCPS MOA Parent Communication Archive: https://www.mcpsmt.org/Page/16117 Much more information is also found here: https://www.mcpsmt.org/domain/4155

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MCPS Online Academy Families:

I’d like to thank you for your eagerness to participate in our MCPS Online Academy (MOA) program this school year. To date, we have had about 1600 students K-12 register for our program. I want to commit to you that we are working to create a trusting learning environment for students and staff, with a focus on connecting ourselves deeply in our learning community even while socially distanced and online.

This email confirms that we have received your registration for the MOA. 

If you wish to remove your student from the MOA and transfer the registration back to your home school before the September 4th deadline, you must email BOTH Principal Cooper and your home school so that we can update our records.

You can find information about the MOA on our website.  We have added to our FAQ in the recent days, I encourage you to check that page for updates. Registration for MCPS Online Academy is extended until  Friday, September 4th at 4:00 p.m. 

There is no cap on how many students we will accept in the MOA.  This decision is an important decision for families and we wanted to give everyone plenty of time to get their questions answered before making the decision.

I’d like to share some important information about our program that will allow you and your students to know how to prepare for the first day of school.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Our first day of instruction is Tuesday, September 8th. Your student will receive information about their classes as well as messages from their teachers about what to do on the first day of school by Friday, September 4th.

If you are registered in the MOA, your student should not attend in-person classes which start this week.

COURSE REGISTRATION

Middle and High School students will be registered for Apex Learning courses that correlate to the courses they had already selected during course registration in the Spring of 2020. Counselors will contact your student if there is not an exact match and will have your child select an alternative course. We expect to have course registration complete by Friday, September 4th.

FOOD AND NUTRITION 

All students, including students attending the MCPS Online Academy, will have the opportunity to receive food services every school day. Regular meal prices, including free and reduced options, will apply. Anyone can pick up the meals on behalf of your student at any school building, please make sure you have your student’s ID number so that meals can be appropriately charged to your student’s account. Contact the school closest to you for pickup locations and times.

I also encourage all families to complete a Free and Reduced Meal Application this school year. Many families have had changes to their wages and work hours, so you may now qualify for support with the cost of your student’s meals. For example, a family of 4 earning $48,470 per year would qualify for reduced price meals.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES

We are planning to have a drive-through school supply pick up event on September 3rd or 4th. At this event, families will be able to pick up grade-specific learning materials like textbooks or novels, whiteboards, math manipulatives, as well as loaned laptops or chromebooks and Wifi hotspots for families who do not have those items at home. I will share more information about this pick up event in a future email.

I am looking forward to getting to know you and your students as we move forward on our learning journey together. If you have additional questions, please contact me at rcooper@mcpsmt.org.

Sincerely,

Rae Cooper

Principal

MCPS Online Academy