15 yr old Wilson student abducted his teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Boys at St. Alban's violating gun laws:

http://www.dccriminallawyerblog.com/2010/04/dc-gun-charges-criminal-charge.html

Yes, but the difference is when St. Alban's boys "violate the gun laws" they have a BB gun, not a Tech 9 or 9mm like Wilson thugs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why compare public and private? The issue is Wilson is the geographically designated Tenleytown public high school. This depravity is unacceptable. As is the fact that police need to watch the kids getting out of school so they don't brawl by the metro. We need to demand accountability so that the school is a good option for all who choose it. Does the school retain, discipline or counsel out children with recurring discipline issues? Is there a reasonable disciplinary system in place that every adult there feels an obligation towards maintaining and does in fact back? One that hold children to high expectations, gives a chance to learn from a mistake, and then 'bye bye'? Is there a character education plan for teens in place? Peer groups? A counselor? Why the crappy dress and language? We all notice it in the neighborhood--why is no adult calling the kids to hold themselves a little higher? Positive role models?

I couldn't agree with you more. I too live in the neighborhood and would never consider Wilson for my children. And I would love to send my kids to public high school, for a whole host of reasons.

It is amazing to me that a school in Upper NW requires daily police presence on campus--that speaks volumes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This kid is a thug and I would prefer my kids not to go to a school with a concentration of them. For those extolling Wilson on this thread, how old are your kids and where do you live? Do you live near Wilson? Have you been there? Will you send your children there regardless rather than move? Would you at least apply to SWW or is that not gritty enough for your kids?

I live off of 41st street, very near Wilson. I am also there several days a week. I might send my kids there, they are in elementary right now.

I don't excuse what the 15 yr old did. I also don't think his presence in a school of how many? hundreds of kids is going to alter my kids' education in the Academy or get them killed between 8:30 and 3. really!

I disagree so strongly with your last point. First of all, it's not just one kid--there are plenty of problem kids there--just read the crime report and on just about every week 3900 Chesapeake NW lists some crime--that would be a Wilson student. Moreover, a gang or crew presence does increase the likelihood of violence at school. Just a few years back over in SE, two neighborhood crews brought their beef to school--shooting, etc. I am willing to wager that one of the reasons we haven't had drive-bys at Wilson is 1) the constant police presence, 2) distance from the home neighborhoods of the violent kids.

Finally, I would bet my house that this wasn't the first or only time this kid did something like this....

[Anonymous]

t’s not fair for these kids coming from Oak Hill or other juvenile centers to be thrust in with "normal" kids and be expected to adjust.

Well, putting aside East-side/West-Side idiocy, I think we can all agree that certainly it's better to disrupt the education of a hundred motivated kids than to deny a single troublemaker a chance at redemption.

[Anonymous]

I know 3 Wilson students who have been arrested. All 3 are white, all 3 have 2 parents at least one with advanced degrees. All 3 are inbounds.

If this child hadn't been at Wilson (and again, we don't know that he's from Oak Hill, or OOB, or anything other than that he's not 17) it most likely wouldn't have changed the fact that he was on an Adam's Morgan Street commiting crimes at 3 a.m.. Keeping him out of Wilson would not have changed the threat to this teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

t’s not fair for these kids coming from Oak Hill or other juvenile centers to be thrust in with "normal" kids and be expected to adjust.

Well, putting aside East-side/West-Side idiocy, I think we can all agree that certainly it's better to disrupt the education of a hundred motivated kids than to deny a single troublemaker a chance at redemption.

No. Depends on the consequences to my kid as a result of this disruption. Assuming her physical safety is protected, she won't end up in a particularly bad place. But it's a competitive world out there, and some of those accommodations might compromise the edge her native intelligence should give her in the future... if her school is committed to doing everything it can to nurture and stimulate her abilities. In the future, she'll be up against kids whose schools have done this for them. I'm looking for a school that will put as much emphasis as possible into developing its highest students' potentials, not one that needs to divert considerable resources toward academic/ behavioral remediation, especially for actual criminals.

[Anonymous]

Unlike EVERY OTHER SCHOOL in NWDC/MoCo area, Wilson is unique in that it has stellar students who rock AP's, are superb athletes, and perform in musicals and plays, not to mention volunteer and are student government. That is considered a normal kid here in NWDC.

Wilson ALSO has gang and violence problems. Above and beyond the regular teen stuff, it has true low socio-economic issues: homelessness, drug addiction and alcohol abuse (not just on weekends, but while AT school), gangs, as well as neglect and abuse issues that would make your head spin.

You cannot compare Wilson to any other school, there is no true comparison that makes sense. I worked there, I know.

[Anonymous]

Moreover, a gang or crew presence does increase the likelihood of violence at school. Just a few years back over in SE, two neighborhood crews brought their beef to school--shooting, etc. I am willing to wager that one of the reasons we haven't had drive-bys at Wilson is 1) the constant police presence, 2) distance from the home neighborhoods of the violent kids.

I'm the poster from from 41st street, and I too have read the crime reports religiously since I moved here in 1994. That's a pretty long time, certainly long enough to develop a sense of what is going on.

I'm OK with the constant police presence at Wilson and I wouldn't wager with you because I agree that they're keeping any gang beefs away from 3900 Chesapeake and the Tenley metro too. Is this bad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unlike EVERY OTHER SCHOOL in NWDC/MoCo area, Wilson is unique in that it has stellar students who rock AP's, are superb athletes, and perform in musicals and plays, not to mention volunteer and are student government. That is considered a normal kid here in NWDC.

Wilson ALSO has gang and violence problems. Above and beyond the regular teen stuff, it has true low socio-economic issues: homelessness, drug addiction and alcohol abuse (not just on weekends, but while AT school), gangs, as well as neglect and abuse issues that would make your head spin.

You cannot compare Wilson to any other school, there is no true comparison that makes sense. I worked there, I know.

Well, that's why it's called a comprehensive high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m the person who made the comment about the OOB kids. Maybe I didn’t explain myself in the first post, and I was going at rapid speed.

My comment wasn’t really about the kids being OOB as it was being kids who are emotionally scarred, criminals, have no expectations etc. By the time a person is 15-17 the whole molding phase is out of the window. It’s not fair for these kids coming from Oak Hill or other juvenile centers to be thrust in with "normal" kids and be expected to adjust. I know that even in my private high school it was tough adjusting then and all the kids came from pretty much the same socio-economic status. It's not fair to the teachers because they have to change their teaching style, pacing, etc. to accommodate these kids who are clearly behind, and it’s not fair to the kids already at Wilson because they're now being slowed down as well.

Think about the emotional impact of coming from a situation where you were a member of a gang, or sold drugs to buy dinner, or lived in a rat infested boarded up tenement. At age 4-6 you can mold these kids and mold them, at age 16, where hormones are raging, and the brain is undergoing substantial change it is really tough, now imagine being 17 surrounded by 14yr olds that read better than you, know more about the world than you do, it is unfair. This has nothing to do with not wanting gifted or lottery etc. kids from other parts of the city being at Wilson.

To summarize: your basic premise is that any kid who comes from a tough background is fully formed at the time he is 15 years old. And if he has had a brush with the juvenile justice system, mercy, don’t let him darken the doors! There is no way he will ever be successful, so let’s keep him out of Wilson – he may hold your “normal” kid back. And he’ll be uncomfortable, too – you’re really just thinking of him!

But, you may make an exception if he’s gifted.

I think you explained yourself just fine in your first post – this one confirmed everything we thought about you after that. You should stop now – you obviously believe this self-centered drivel, and future attempts to make yourself come across as a human being will undoubtedly fail as miserably as this one.

Signed,

Biglaw partner who had more than one stay in juvenile detenition in my youth.

[Anonymous]

12:33 Would you send your children there?

[Anonymous]

12:33 here. No, I would not. But not necessarily for the reasons I have listed. I have some fundamental issues with standardized testing and that is for ALL public schools.

I think, in adolescent development, some freedom is needed for the teen to safely stretch and see who they are. But, when I was at Wilson, that freedom could go too far, too fast, too easily. And then there is that sheer issue of size, never mind that everything is available, all of the time. The teen would need an extraordinary amount of self-control to say no to SO many different temptations...and I personally think that almost every teen is on the edge a good bit of their lives, between the ages of 12-16/17. Good parenting, solid home, caring and attentive teachers all make a difference, but we all know many teens are one bad influence away from a disastrous decision.

I don't think the privates are a promise to success and lack of challenges, but the metal detectors? The police presence? Treat them like inmates and guess what you get?

And FWIW, I saw more segregation in that school than every other school I have been in, so this idea of "one big happy family" was not true for my time there.

Things are changing there and getting better. And they deserve every great teacher, new building, and cent they get.

[Anonymous]

WP has an article on the Wilson principal.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/20/AR2010042005243.html

[Anonymous]

Wilson can't survive without the students coming from all over the city. There is not enough students in the school boundaries to honestly have it at worthy capacity. Also, please be mindful that Wilson attracts students on the premise of this so-called past glorified history. I am the first one to tell you it is not all that and had some serious issues that were swept under the rug.

If, those who feel that Wilson would be a better school if the "thug" was gone...by any chance did anyone know the young man's grade point average. You will be surprised, you would be also surprised at his attendance rate...therefore it is not like he was a "dead student" walking. I don't condone on what he did...but we can't always equate bullying to that of friends against friends. I say that the worst episodes bullying is done at the helm of relatives..and we all know that the worst type of sexual molestation is done at the helm of relatives.

C'mon this was not a video-game and all that could have been erased with a do-over. Also, Wilson has no responsibility in sharing this travesty as well as the university who granted those people at Goldman Sachs their financial degrees...and you all see what that has gotten you...crooks with a degree. Moreso, all that would have gotten you with the Wilson student was a criminal with a high-school education or the lack thereof. I am guessing if the blames lies at the education door...what middle school did he attend, elementary, pre-school, did his momma take all of her pre-natal pills, was he conceived out of wedlock and so on. See, where I am going, the issue is now and how do we not let this happen again at any and all schools and communities.

[Anonymous]

One more question. If this child is OOB, and if there are things in his history that should have served as red flags, what are posters here proposing that should have been done with him?

Send him to his home school? Why? On the grounds that those children are somehow less deserving of a safe environment?

Just not educate him, which pretty much guarantees a life of crime for him?

I don't understand how the Wilson kids are more precious and worthy of protection than the kids at Anacostia.