MS and HS Bathrooms - Normalizing Dangerous Areas at School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it highly disturbing that we normalize that it’s ok for bathrooms at many FCPS MS and HS to be unsafe. Like most parents, we advise children to avoid them due to drugs/vaping/violence/rape/etc.

We are in big trouble as a community by telling our children to avoid a primal necessity, like going to bathroom, because it is dangerous.

Why has no PTA or parent group pushed this on FCPS? Kids should not avoid drinking water and going to the bathroom because of safety concerns. What solutions are there for FCPS to monitor and supervise our children better at school so they are safe?

Has anyone else reflected on the normalization and desensitization of this safety issue that’s unresolved and unfair to our children? Have any schools addressed this?

Seeing as how Americans don't seem to care about the fact that kids can be gunned down in their classrooms, they will NEVER care about this. Find another hill to die on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry, when was it unsafe???


Do kids really not go to the bathroom cuz they fear for their life? This is new to me.

Exactly which FCPS HIGH SCHOOLS has unsafe bathrooms?


Where are the receipts??

All of them. Maybe not physical fights but definitely drugs

As long as your kid isn't doing the drug, it's not unsafe. My kid avoids bathrooms, not because she feels unsafe but for fear of being in there and accused of doing the drugs, vaping, etc... due to mere proximity. So she goes to the nurse and feigns sick when she has to pee. She says it works every time. I'm sure after the 2nd time the nurse caught on but she hasn't stopped her so . . .

[Anonymous]

My kids are at a FCPS middle school and high school and don’t feel unsafe in the bathrooms.

Are there things like broken soap dispensers and some kids vaping? yes. Do they feel at risk or unsafe? Not at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it highly disturbing that we normalize that it’s ok for bathrooms at many FCPS MS and HS to be unsafe. Like most parents, we advise children to avoid them due to drugs/vaping/violence/rape/etc.

We are in big trouble as a community by telling our children to avoid a primal necessity, like going to bathroom, because it is dangerous.

Why has no PTA or parent group pushed this on FCPS? Kids should not avoid drinking water and going to the bathroom because of safety concerns. What solutions are there for FCPS to monitor and supervise our children better at school so they are safe?

Has anyone else reflected on the normalization and desensitization of this safety issue that’s unresolved and unfair to our children? Have any schools addressed this?

Seeing as how Americans don't seem to care about the fact that kids can be gunned down in their classrooms, they will NEVER care about this. Find another hill to die on.

It's not that Americans don't care. It's that collectively we decided not to solve any hard problems in this country in the past several decades. Immigration, the insolvency of social security, gun violence, our children actually being taught to read, lots of things. The report in BMJ about America's death rate during the Covid-19 pandemic because of how we handled that crisis was scathing.

We'd rather fiddle around the edges and fight the so-called culture wars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there robots that can monitor this type of thing?

Sounds like an expensive piece of tech to let kids who don't care about rules break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are at a FCPS middle school and high school and don’t feel unsafe in the bathrooms.

Are there things like broken soap dispensers and some kids vaping? yes. Do they feel at risk or unsafe? Not at all.

It's a big county. The issues facing students at Carson and Sandburg are not the same

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’re right, it sucks that kids feel unsafe using the bathrooms. Everyone should feel comfortable with that basic need. I teach high school and it breaks my heart when kids are scared to go.

But what do you suggest? Schools are trying all sorts of things, and none of it is making a dent (closing popular drug bathrooms so there are less to monitor, putting cameras in the hallway to review who goes in there for more than 5 minutes, ehallpass to monitor who is out of class when, limiting hall passes for prior offenders)

I think the only things that would work would be literally stationing an adult inside the bathroom as a monitor. A) that’s cost prohibitive, b) no one is going to sign up to sit in a hs bathroom for 8 hours a day, and c) I think you’d get a lot of pushback about adults in restrooms with kids.

Alternatively, we could put airport security scanners in every school and scan every bag, instrument case, sports equipment, jacket, shoes. It would take 2 hours for kids to get in and they’d miss 75% of contraband) because vape devices literally look like flash drives or pens), but it might discourage some.

Do you have other ideas? I’m serious, I’m happy to bring them to admin. We brainstorm around this a lot and haven’t had any grand ideas.

What about having two additional security guards, whose only job is to randomly check bathrooms. A male and a female. They randomly check the bathrooms throughout the day. If caught, make the punishment severe. Have them wear some kind of audio recording as a check on guards themselves.

Dream on. If schools could impose punishments, we wouldn't be having this problem in the first place.

This is what's really needed. More ability to discipline offenders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are at a FCPS middle school and high school and don’t feel unsafe in the bathrooms.

Are there things like broken soap dispensers and some kids vaping? yes. Do they feel at risk or unsafe? Not at all.

It's a big county. The issues facing students at Carson and Sandburg are not the same

Interestingly, one of the posts in this very thread was about the restrooms being closed at Carson due to vandalism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’re right, it sucks that kids feel unsafe using the bathrooms. Everyone should feel comfortable with that basic need. I teach high school and it breaks my heart when kids are scared to go.

But what do you suggest? Schools are trying all sorts of things, and none of it is making a dent (closing popular drug bathrooms so there are less to monitor, putting cameras in the hallway to review who goes in there for more than 5 minutes, ehallpass to monitor who is out of class when, limiting hall passes for prior offenders)

I think the only things that would work would be literally stationing an adult inside the bathroom as a monitor. A) that’s cost prohibitive, b) no one is going to sign up to sit in a hs bathroom for 8 hours a day, and c) I think you’d get a lot of pushback about adults in restrooms with kids.

Alternatively, we could put airport security scanners in every school and scan every bag, instrument case, sports equipment, jacket, shoes. It would take 2 hours for kids to get in and they’d miss 75% of contraband) because vape devices literally look like flash drives or pens), but it might discourage some.

Do you have other ideas? I’m serious, I’m happy to bring them to admin. We brainstorm around this a lot and haven’t had any grand ideas.

What about having two additional security guards, whose only job is to randomly check bathrooms. A male and a female. They randomly check the bathrooms throughout the day. If caught, make the punishment severe. Have them wear some kind of audio recording as a check on guards themselves.

Dream on. If schools could impose punishments, we wouldn't be having this problem in the first place.

This is what's really needed. More ability to discipline offenders.

+1. An HS teacher was telling me that she knew a kid was high at school, but without the kid's parent's permission she couldn't search the backpack where she knew weed was. The parent came and picked the completely-out-of-it, obviously high kid up but never gave permission to search the backpack so nothing else was done...all while the parent was complaining that the school should do something about her kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’re right, it sucks that kids feel unsafe using the bathrooms. Everyone should feel comfortable with that basic need. I teach high school and it breaks my heart when kids are scared to go.

But what do you suggest? Schools are trying all sorts of things, and none of it is making a dent (closing popular drug bathrooms so there are less to monitor, putting cameras in the hallway to review who goes in there for more than 5 minutes, ehallpass to monitor who is out of class when, limiting hall passes for prior offenders)

I think the only things that would work would be literally stationing an adult inside the bathroom as a monitor. A) that’s cost prohibitive, b) no one is going to sign up to sit in a hs bathroom for 8 hours a day, and c) I think you’d get a lot of pushback about adults in restrooms with kids.

Alternatively, we could put airport security scanners in every school and scan every bag, instrument case, sports equipment, jacket, shoes. It would take 2 hours for kids to get in and they’d miss 75% of contraband) because vape devices literally look like flash drives or pens), but it might discourage some.

Do you have other ideas? I’m serious, I’m happy to bring them to admin. We brainstorm around this a lot and haven’t had any grand ideas.

What about having two additional security guards, whose only job is to randomly check bathrooms. A male and a female. They randomly check the bathrooms throughout the day. If caught, make the punishment severe. Have them wear some kind of audio recording as a check on guards themselves.

Dream on. If schools could impose punishments, we wouldn't be having this problem in the first place.

This is what's really needed. More ability to discipline offenders.

+1. An HS teacher was telling me that she knew a kid was high at school, but without the kid's parent's permission she couldn't search the backpack where she knew weed was. The parent came and picked the completely-out-of-it, obviously high kid up but never gave permission to search the backpack so nothing else was done...all while the parent was complaining that the school should do something about her kid.

No parent would give permission for that search. I'd punish the kid when I got home, but I'm not putting a suspension or expulsion or criminal charges on their record if I have a choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’re right, it sucks that kids feel unsafe using the bathrooms. Everyone should feel comfortable with that basic need. I teach high school and it breaks my heart when kids are scared to go.

But what do you suggest? Schools are trying all sorts of things, and none of it is making a dent (closing popular drug bathrooms so there are less to monitor, putting cameras in the hallway to review who goes in there for more than 5 minutes, ehallpass to monitor who is out of class when, limiting hall passes for prior offenders)

I think the only things that would work would be literally stationing an adult inside the bathroom as a monitor. A) that’s cost prohibitive, b) no one is going to sign up to sit in a hs bathroom for 8 hours a day, and c) I think you’d get a lot of pushback about adults in restrooms with kids.

Alternatively, we could put airport security scanners in every school and scan every bag, instrument case, sports equipment, jacket, shoes. It would take 2 hours for kids to get in and they’d miss 75% of contraband) because vape devices literally look like flash drives or pens), but it might discourage some.

Do you have other ideas? I’m serious, I’m happy to bring them to admin. We brainstorm around this a lot and haven’t had any grand ideas.

What about having two additional security guards, whose only job is to randomly check bathrooms. A male and a female. They randomly check the bathrooms throughout the day. If caught, make the punishment severe. Have them wear some kind of audio recording as a check on guards themselves.

Dream on. If schools could impose punishments, we wouldn't be having this problem in the first place.

This is what's really needed. More ability to discipline offenders.

+1. An HS teacher was telling me that she knew a kid was high at school, but without the kid's parent's permission she couldn't search the backpack where she knew weed was. The parent came and picked the completely-out-of-it, obviously high kid up but never gave permission to search the backpack so nothing else was done...all while the parent was complaining that the school should do something about her kid.

No parent would give permission for that search. I'd punish the kid when I got home, but I'm not putting a suspension or expulsion or criminal charges on their record if I have a choice.

+ 1

I would NEVER consent to a search. Are you insane?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bathrooms in the classrooms (no this isn’t really possible except in Renos or new builds) BUT it would solve the problem.

I work in a MS and I actually love that idea. Every time students don't want to do something in class - let alone want an excuse to wander the building or do something like vape - they ask to go to the bathroom. It would be great to have it in the room. If I have a student I think legitimately needs to take a walk for a few minutes I can create a different reason for them to leave the room.

[Anonymous]

Teachers don't search - administrators or the SRO would be the ones to do it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are at a FCPS middle school and high school and don’t feel unsafe in the bathrooms.

Are there things like broken soap dispensers and some kids vaping? yes. Do they feel at risk or unsafe? Not at all.

It's a big county. The issues facing students at Carson and Sandburg are not the same

+1 MS and HS are unsafe in our schools. Glad yours is great, but that’s an anomaly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it highly disturbing that we normalize that it’s ok for bathrooms at many FCPS MS and HS to be unsafe. Like most parents, we advise children to avoid them due to drugs/vaping/violence/rape/etc.

We are in big trouble as a community by telling our children to avoid a primal necessity, like going to bathroom, because it is dangerous.

Why has no PTA or parent group pushed this on FCPS? Kids should not avoid drinking water and going to the bathroom because of safety concerns. What solutions are there for FCPS to monitor and supervise our children better at school so they are safe?

Has anyone else reflected on the normalization and desensitization of this safety issue that’s unresolved and unfair to our children? Have any schools addressed this?

PTA and ppals are too busy sticking their heads in the sand and counting $$$$$. They are also filling their mouths talking about equity and rights + responsibilities.
When I brought the concern, they denied the mess in the bathrooms. They looked at me as a troublemaker.