GWMS- 6th Grade Teacher Violentlty Attacked

[Anonymous]

There exactly two posts nearly a year ago "disparaging her appearance or the appearance of her kids". I agree that type of post is out of line. Just like it's totally out of line for a person who was banned from her children's school for celebrating violence against children to be on the PTAC board and President of that board.

Who cares? There was a student literally stabbed to death in a parking lot, and another student sexually assaulted in a bathroom. There was a fight in a cafeteria where an administrator was knocked off his feet. There is a middle school that is so overcrowded that my child cannot use their locker, because they cannon access against the tide of people in the halls. My other child had no science teacher for the majority of the year, just a sub who did not teach anything.

But your concern is that someone said something trashy on Facebook?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

There exactly two posts nearly a year ago "disparaging her appearance or the appearance of her kids". I agree that type of post is out of line. Just like it's totally out of line for a person who was banned from her children's school for celebrating violence against children to be on the PTAC board and President of that board.

Who cares? There was a student literally stabbed to death in a parking lot, and another student sexually assaulted in a bathroom. There was a fight in a cafeteria where an administrator was knocked off his feet. There is a middle school that is so overcrowded that my child cannot use their locker, because they cannon access against the tide of people in the halls. My other child had no science teacher for the majority of the year, just a sub who did not teach anything.

But your concern is that someone said something trashy on Facebook?

No. My concern is that a woman who celebrated violence against children, was banned from her kids' ACPS school because of it, now is the head of a group that claims to represents parents.

A group that has never addressed any of the important issues you just listed. A group that merely offers cover to a school district and school board that has never addressed any of the issue you list. If there is a single group in town that SHOULD be talking about these issues and demanding more...it's PTAC. But they don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

There exactly two posts nearly a year ago "disparaging her appearance or the appearance of her kids". I agree that type of post is out of line. Just like it's totally out of line for a person who was banned from her children's school for celebrating violence against children to be on the PTAC board and President of that board.

Who cares? There was a student literally stabbed to death in a parking lot, and another student sexually assaulted in a bathroom. There was a fight in a cafeteria where an administrator was knocked off his feet. There is a middle school that is so overcrowded that my child cannot use their locker, because they cannon access against the tide of people in the halls. My other child had no science teacher for the majority of the year, just a sub who did not teach anything.

But your concern is that someone said something trashy on Facebook?

NP here. I don't think anyone is ranking the PTAC president as the #1 problem facing ACPS and I think we can all agree (or at least I hope we would) that what is going on inside the walls of GW, MH, ACHS, etc for years now is very troubling and concerning. It goes way further back than last years stabbing and shooting. Way further back.

However, I agree with posters that point out in the hypocrisy and just outright insanity of illogical proportions of how ACPS is run, the thought process behind most of their decisions, that is just fitting that a school system (located in one of the richest jurisdictions of Virginia) that has historically been failing FOR DECADES has such poor leadership all the way down to their beloved PTAC. That from the bottom to the top, it's all a facade, it's all for show. There is one unified message, only one, and if you are not in lock step with that message, every single person on the ACPS rung of "power" comes after you, including the PTAC president. So it is telling that a woman who publicly praised her son for punching another kid in the face on the playground during school, and thereafter was banned from further volunteering and interacting with the students at Brooks somehow is chosen and elected to be the president of all the PTA presidents. She's the "Face" of the parent population of ACPS. This should tell you all you need to know about the disfunction of ACPS.

And in any normal jurisdiction, when parents are fed up with the ways schools are run, or are upset about violence or something else happening at their school, they would organize and show up at school board and PTA meetings, they would call on their parent representation in PTAC to amplify their voice. They would demand change, they wold be vocal about that. Just look at LCPS (whether you like what happened there or not, those parents got together and did not back down). But you try ANY of those tactics in Alexandria, you have a concerns, a complaint, want to have a demonstration, speak at a meeting, get your PTA or PTAC involved, or even better you want to walk the walk and actually run for school board yourself, then forget it. You will not only get zero support, you will also be socially ostracized and harrassed. IT. IS. INSANE.

[Anonymous]

NP here. I don't think anyone is ranking the PTAC president as the #1 problem facing ACPS and I think we can all agree (or at least I hope we would) that what is going on inside the walls of GW, MH, ACHS, etc for years now is very troubling and concerning. It goes way further back than last years stabbing and shooting. Way further back.

However, I agree with posters that point out in the hypocrisy and just outright insanity of illogical proportions of how ACPS is run, the thought process behind most of their decisions, that is just fitting that a school system (located in one of the richest jurisdictions of Virginia) that has historically been failing FOR DECADES has such poor leadership all the way down to their beloved PTAC. That from the bottom to the top, it's all a facade, it's all for show. There is one unified message, only one, and if you are not in lock step with that message, every single person on the ACPS rung of "power" comes after you, including the PTAC president. So it is telling that a woman who publicly praised her son for punching another kid in the face on the playground during school, and thereafter was banned from further volunteering and interacting with the students at Brooks somehow is chosen and elected to be the president of all the PTA presidents. She's the "Face" of the parent population of ACPS. This should tell you all you need to know about the disfunction of ACPS.

And in any normal jurisdiction, when parents are fed up with the ways schools are run, or are upset about violence or something else happening at their school, they would organize and show up at school board and PTA meetings, they would call on their parent representation in PTAC to amplify their voice. They would demand change, they wold be vocal about that. Just look at LCPS (whether you like what happened there or not, those parents got together and did not back down). But you try ANY of those tactics in Alexandria, you have a concerns, a complaint, want to have a demonstration, speak at a meeting, get your PTA or PTAC involved, or even better you want to walk the walk and actually run for school board yourself, then forget it. You will not only get zero support, you will also be socially ostracized and harrassed. IT. IS. INSANE.
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I agree that the PTAC is very disappointing in terms of representing the interests and concerns of parents - no dispute there. I don't agree that I have experienced social ostracization for speaking out, but then again, my friendships are based around work and my own activities, so people associated with my kids' schools are fairly tangential to me anyway.

I don't think that the amount of attention this woman gets here for pettiness and stupidity, vs. the amount of concern about real issues, makes any sense or is helpful.

[Anonymous]

But are your concerns being addressed when you’ve voiced them? Or are you ignored or given the run around? Every single time I ever tried to help, volunteer, lodge a concern, try to support change I was rebuffed. I pulled my kids out of ACPS. You get no where. I have zero faith. PTAC is the least of my problems but it sure was just the icing on the cake that they do nothing without the school board’s seal of approval. They’re just a PR machine for the SB.

Good luck to you.

[Anonymous]

But are your concerns being addressed when you’ve voiced them? Or are you ignored or given the run around? Every single time I ever tried to help, volunteer, lodge a concern, try to support change I was rebuffed. I pulled my kids out of ACPS. You get no where. I have zero faith. PTAC is the least of my problems but it sure was just the icing on the cake that they do nothing without the school board’s seal of approval. They’re just a PR machine for the SB.

Good luck to you.

Sort of, yes, to a dress, but they were not concerns that the PTAC was in the position to remedy. ACPS was, and remedied some and ignored others - I was able to get my one child in a better situation within ACPS, but it really stinks that kids who have parents who, for whatever reason, cannot advocate for them as much.

[Anonymous]

But you try ANY of those tactics in Alexandria, you have a concerns, a complaint, want to have a demonstration, speak at a meeting, get your PTA or PTAC involved, or even better you want to walk the walk and actually run for school board yourself, then forget it. You will not only get zero support, you will also be socially ostracized and harrassed. IT. IS. INSANE.

And just to add, I think the larger issue is that there is a huge swath of constituents whose concerns are not being voiced or heard at all. And those are not people who live in Old Town/Del Ray/Rosemont and socializing with the PTAC in the first place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

But you try ANY of those tactics in Alexandria, you have a concerns, a complaint, want to have a demonstration, speak at a meeting, get your PTA or PTAC involved, or even better you want to walk the walk and actually run for school board yourself, then forget it. You will not only get zero support, you will also be socially ostracized and harrassed. IT. IS. INSANE.

And just to add, I think the larger issue is that there is a huge swath of constituents whose concerns are not being voiced or heard at all. And those are not people who live in Old Town/Del Ray/Rosemont and socializing with the PTAC in the first place.

Well since J-H is consistently a mess, I think there are old town residents not being heard either….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

But you try ANY of those tactics in Alexandria, you have a concerns, a complaint, want to have a demonstration, speak at a meeting, get your PTA or PTAC involved, or even better you want to walk the walk and actually run for school board yourself, then forget it. You will not only get zero support, you will also be socially ostracized and harrassed. IT. IS. INSANE.

And just to add, I think the larger issue is that there is a huge swath of constituents whose concerns are not being voiced or heard at all. And those are not people who live in Old Town/Del Ray/Rosemont and socializing with the PTAC in the first place.

My friend, this is what we’ve been screaming from the rooftops on DCUM and everywhere else FOR YEARS! You are just coming to this conclusion? And BTW there are people in every single neighborhood that aren’t being heard. so what are you going to do about it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But you try ANY of those tactics in Alexandria, you have a concerns, a complaint, want to have a demonstration, speak at a meeting, get your PTA or PTAC involved, or even better you want to walk the walk and actually run for school board yourself, then forget it. You will not only get zero support, you will also be socially ostracized and harrassed. IT. IS. INSANE.

And just to add, I think the larger issue is that there is a huge swath of constituents whose concerns are not being voiced or heard at all. And those are not people who live in Old Town/Del Ray/Rosemont and socializing with the PTAC in the first place.

My friend, this is what we’ve been screaming from the rooftops on DCUM and everywhere else FOR YEARS! You are just coming to this conclusion? And BTW there are people in every single neighborhood that aren’t being heard. so what are you going to do about it?

Disdain for the PTAC and their annoying af puppets is rampant in the east end. It's just not on SM. This is where Alxandria lets the ugly girls play prom queen.