MCPS New Policies For Entry into Athletic Events

[Anonymous]

So ridiculous! Talk about an overreaction.
There was misbehavior at one football game so everyone must be punished.
Typical MCPS. I’m sure central office freaked out because of the negative press attention.

[Anonymous]

There were problems last year too. Athletes, students spectators, and parents need to learn to behave and quit with the trash talking and throwing fists. I'm all for MCPS getting a handle on this. Maybe in a year or two we can have fun things again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So ridiculous! Talk about an overreaction.
There was misbehavior at one football game so everyone must be punished.
Typical MCPS. I’m sure central office freaked out because of the negative press attention.

I think it was a little more than misbehavior that happened at the NW/Gaithersburg game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So ridiculous! Talk about an overreaction.
There was misbehavior at one football game so everyone must be punished.
Typical MCPS. I’m sure central office freaked out because of the negative press attention.

Personally, I feel this has nothing to do with education, and if people want to participate in sports, they should do so on their own time. Schools need to redouble their focus on academics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So ridiculous! Talk about an overreaction.
There was misbehavior at one football game so everyone must be punished.
Typical MCPS. I’m sure central office freaked out because of the negative press attention.

Personally, I feel this has nothing to do with education, and if people want to participate in sports, they should do so on their own time. Schools need to redouble their focus on academics.

Sports have been part of American education forever.

[Anonymous]

Are the fights happening with students that don’t attend either of the participating schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So ridiculous! Talk about an overreaction.
There was misbehavior at one football game so everyone must be punished.
Typical MCPS. I’m sure central office freaked out because of the negative press attention.

What exactly is such an overreaction? High school students must show ID to show they go to one of the schools, and kids MS and younger must be supervised by an adult. There have been incidents in the past where MS kids are dropped off, and then they behave ridiculously (as unsupervised young teens around older teens often do.) HS students from other schools may show up to create drama. Exactly who is the “everyone” being punished here? The people who had no business being at a particular game? Sounds right on target to me.

[Anonymous]

Sorry you have to go to the game instead of staying home and throwing back a bottle of wine.

[Anonymous]

OP, like the others, I'm curious about what aspects of the policies you object to? They don't seem unreasonable.

[Anonymous]

Why would kids from another high school want to go a game. They have their own games to attend. A possible exception is people dating across schools - maybe there is an exception for that (I know my DC's school requires permission for kids from other schools to attend prom/homecoming as a date). And agree that kids 13 and under (middle schoolers) should not just be dropped off at event without some adult supervision. It really doesn't seem to be unreasonable at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry you have to go to the game instead of staying home and throwing back a bottle of wine.

This is hilarious but true. I don’t want to have to go to games. I hate sports but my kid loves them.
And he causes no issues at any games. He is just there to watch

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would kids from another high school want to go a game. They have their own games to attend. A possible exception is people dating across schools - maybe there is an exception for that (I know my DC's school requires permission for kids from other schools to attend prom/homecoming as a date). And agree that kids 13 and under (middle schoolers) should not just be dropped off at event without some adult supervision. It really doesn't seem to be unreasonable at all.

I’m a lifelong county resident who attended a private girls school.

Back in the day, we went to football games at lots of different schools. The games were community events.

I think limiting attendance to students is a sad commentary on the violence mcps must grapple with thanks to students and young adults who are looking for trouble and apt to act out violently.

My kids are in mcps, and I’m appalled by the lack of commonsense and aggressive behavior by some students.

I’m a firm believer that you can’t put the genie back in the bottle once communities have devolved to a place where aggression and violence are typical at schools.

Sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would kids from another high school want to go a game. They have their own games to attend. A possible exception is people dating across schools - maybe there is an exception for that (I know my DC's school requires permission for kids from other schools to attend prom/homecoming as a date). And agree that kids 13 and under (middle schoolers) should not just be dropped off at event without some adult supervision. It really doesn't seem to be unreasonable at all.

Our home school is QO, which has a great football program. My child who attends a magnet program at a different school would enjoy going to a QO game with neighborhood friends, but now I’d have to attend too, and I doubt my kid would enjoy hanging with me, so I’d have to sit through a game by myself to meet the requirements for a kid who has made it to high school without ever getting in a fight or being disciplined for anything, ever.

[Anonymous]

I’m pretty sure the athletic director from one school was assaulted by a member of the coaching staff from the other school. My understanding is that changes have been put in place across the state, not just MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would kids from another high school want to go a game. They have their own games to attend. A possible exception is people dating across schools - maybe there is an exception for that (I know my DC's school requires permission for kids from other schools to attend prom/homecoming as a date). And agree that kids 13 and under (middle schoolers) should not just be dropped off at event without some adult supervision. It really doesn't seem to be unreasonable at all.

Do you have high school-aged kids? As others have noted, kids go to games at other schools for plenty of reasons. My private school kids have been to public school athletic events multiple times this fall - either to hang out with their friends who go to public school or to watch their club teammates play (that's the more common reason). I understand the concerns, but I don't have unlimited time to attend my kids' friends' high school games on the rare days when my own kids aren't playing.