Fighting at Jackson Reed

[Anonymous]

Is it true there are multiple fights at Jackson Reed every day? I'm having a hard time reconciling that with the great things I hear about their teachers, academics, extra curriculars,.etc. Maybe the rumors of fights are exaggerated? Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

I have two at the school and haven't heard about any fights this year (that's not to say there haven't been any but just that my kids haven't mentioned them).

Last year there were several and they were getting posted on some social media site...I think that things have calmed down a bit (but also the social media hyped things a lot).

Kids can steer clear of trouble, though if you have particularly nervous/sensitive kids the chaos of the halls/lunch may bother them. But there are a lot of great teachers/opportunities.

[Anonymous]

That's helpful perspective. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it true there are multiple fights at Jackson Reed every day? I'm having a hard time reconciling that with the great things I hear about their teachers, academics, extra curriculars,.etc. Maybe the rumors of fights are exaggerated? Thanks in advance.

Who are you hearing this from? Are you a current parent?
I’m a parent of a junior and have not heard anything from her. Last year, yes, there were issues. And I know it’s not perfect. But it’s not like last year.

[Anonymous]

My kids said there were multiple fights today. It sounds like the new principal is going hard core on hall sweeps and "zero tolerance," which my kids think is actually ratcheting up tension in some instances. (They also said the hall sweeps are disruptive to class, since kids filter in 20 minutes late after waiting to get written up in the office.)

They don't talk about fights much, so I assume today was an outlier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids said there were multiple fights today. It sounds like the new principal is going hard core on hall sweeps and "zero tolerance," which my kids think is actually ratcheting up tension in some instances. (They also said the hall sweeps are disruptive to class, since kids filter in 20 minutes late after waiting to get written up in the office.)

They don't talk about fights much, so I assume today was an outlier.

That’s great! I can see why the shift could cause some temporary disruption, but it should be good after kids adjust to the idea that they actually need to get to class.

[Anonymous]

Totally agree! Very valuable initiative on part of the principal and team.

[Anonymous]

My kid will occasionally tell me about a fight at school but he's never said there were multiple in one day.

[Anonymous]

Both of my kids (junior and freshman) mentioned the multiple fights yesterday. I did not get much information other than that as to details.

[Anonymous]

How does this work for a shy kid? Is it easy to stay out of trouble? Any bullying at the school?

[Anonymous]

What is a hall sweep?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is a hall sweep?

Staff walking the halls and moving kids into class. Once the bell rings, you have to be in class. No hanging out in the hallway. This is a common practice in high schools everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does this work for a shy kid? Is it easy to stay out of trouble? Any bullying at the school?

Very easy. Kids who want trouble at Wilson can find it, and kids who don’t can easily avoid it. It’s not like the school is full of 1980’s style bullies that seek out the weak.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does this work for a shy kid? Is it easy to stay out of trouble? Any bullying at the school?

Very easy. Kids who want trouble at Wilson can find it, and kids who don’t can easily avoid it. It’s not like the school is full of 1980’s style bullies that seek out the weak.

what about the kids who are vulnerable to bullying and don’t necessarily know how to avoid trouble?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does this work for a shy kid? Is it easy to stay out of trouble? Any bullying at the school?

Very easy. Kids who want trouble at Wilson can find it, and kids who don’t can easily avoid it. It’s not like the school is full of 1980’s style bullies that seek out the weak.

what about the kids who are vulnerable to bullying and don’t necessarily know how to avoid trouble?

My sense from my kid’s time there is that non-neurotypical or geeky kids mostly don’t have a problem. Of the two kids I knew of that has a really hard time, one was a 5’4” UMC kid who tried to become a drug dealer and the other was a kid with anger issues that couldn’t stop himself from hitting and taunting much bigger kids. Of course, there are kids whose experience is different, but my kid and his friends all echoed the idea that if you are not looking for trouble you’re fine.