Concerned Cardozo Parent

[Anonymous]

Hi All,

I’m a parent of a middle schooler who came home crying yesterday because there were apparently four fights that occurred simultaneously in the afternoon. One of which had one or more students take scissors from a teacher’s desk and take them apart to form two knives where they went after other kids.

Luckily no one was stabbed, but I’m concerned that I didn’t hear anything about this from the middle school administration or principal Mola. No email, no letter sent home, or any update on their social media pages. I asked my child if they had an assembly to reassure the kids’ safety. Nothing.

Are there any other parents who feel ignored by principal Mola and the middle school administration?

If I’m overreacting, please say so.

Is this kind of violence typical of DC public schools?

Are other principals and assistant principals more or less communicative?

Thanks for listening.

[Anonymous]

So sorry that is happening. I don’t know anyone at Cardozo. I hope you can move your child to a safer school.

[Anonymous]

Definitely not typical behavior in DC schools. Sounds like a poorly run school.

[Anonymous]

A student brought some kind of gun to my elementary school and no one was ever told. Even staff were told not to talk about it and told everything from it was a toy/water gun to BB gun. Sadly weapons and fighting is fairly typical in a lot of schools around here, not just DCPS.

As an aside, all major communication goes through DCPS central office. It’s all a form letter they modify. So you may get a late email message or Remind message.

[Anonymous]

I’m really sorry to hear this happened.

I’m single mother with two kids at Deal. I’ve had my battles with Admin.

It’s been kind of icy with some of the teachers there. Most are nice, but some think they’re holier than thou.

All that’s to say that we had a bullying issue and the admin tried to protect the other family because they had “prior connections” with them.

I feel your pain. DCPS overall isn’t very good but it’s what we got. Right? *sigh 😞

[Anonymous]

My kids are at Oyster-Adams and we don’t have the same issues with communication.

We get weekly notifications and emails about upcoming events, field trips, etc.

The times where there have been concerning situations, we got messages about them from leadership within 24 hrs.

OP: Does the principal communicate as regularly with parents?

[Anonymous]

Last year at Hardy, we would not have heard about a situation like this. The principal didn't reports serious incidents as required because it would look bad for him. I guess he learned that technique for lying where ever he was AP before. He got removed from Hardy, thank goodness.

At Hardy this year, with a new, responsible principal, we would get a communication promptly.

[Anonymous]

Former teacher at a different middle school in DCPS with many similarities to Cardozo. Yes, unfortunately, this level of violence is common at DCPS middle schools (especially those outside of ward 3). Bad fist fights are more the norm since DC schools have metal detectors that prevent weapons from entering the building, but there have definitely been issues with knife threats and students jumping other students outside of the building as well.

I also think that unfortunately it is fairly common for admin not to address these types of incidents with the larger school community, either to protect the privacy of students involved, because they don’t want to advertise the level of chaos in their classrooms and hallways, or simply because they are so overwhelmed dealing with what is happening in the building that parent communication or addressing how this emotionally impacts “non problem” students becomes an afterthought.

That being said, it is common but definitely not ok! You are not overreacting. I encourage you to reach out to administrators/DCPS and complain- they listen to parents more than teachers lol so your advocacy might do some good for the next time this type of situation arises. Sorry your kid had to go through that!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are at Oyster-Adams and we don’t have the same issues with communication.

We get weekly notifications and emails about upcoming events, field trips, etc.

The times where there have been concerning situations, we got messages about them from leadership within 24 hrs.

OP: Does the principal communicate as regularly with parents?

OP here:

He seems like a nice person but the more and more he talks the less and less things happen.

I’ve also never interacted with the assistant principal in middle school.

I tried to meet her during Back-to-School Night and she just stayed on the sidelines talking to her colleagues. Not interacting. Just seemed aloof.

My kid says she’s never in the hallways and just stays in her office especially when there’s a fight or a lot of commotion.

She’s more absent than Mr. Mola.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Last year at Hardy, we would not have heard about a situation like this. The principal didn't reports serious incidents as required because it would look bad for him. I guess he learned that technique for lying where ever he was AP before. He got removed from Hardy, thank goodness.

At Hardy this year, with a new, responsible principal, we would get a communication promptly.

Parent here, I’ve heard that Hardy was difficult with communication.

I have a child at CHEC and our principal is always out. Her assistant principals do all of the harder work and communication.

[Anonymous]

Former Cardozo Teacher:

I left specifically for these reasons.

Poor communication.
Unfulfilled promises.
All talk, no action.

I got tired of coming in early, staying late, and volunteering for things that never seemed to happen quite right because Mola never did his job. The kids run the school and the teachers are blamed when things go awry.

The kids are great. The majority of the staff is still phenomenal and dedicated. The Admin. are good people doing a tough job.

I’m really sorry that your kid had a tough day but it sounds like the new A.P. isn’t doing such a great job either.

Sorry for the rant but when I saw this post, I was sadly unsurprised. I hope your child has a better 3rd and 4th quarter and the middle school gets a solid A.P. and Mola is finally given the boot.

If leadership does change, the school could be phenomenal. Cheers.

[Anonymous]

Cardozo parent:

Yeah, Mr. Mola isn’t the best listener.

In one ear, out the other.

I tried to ask him why kids are allowed to leave whenever they want and he gave me some bull about “kids need choices”.

What! Kids shouldn’t be allowed to just come and go as they please!

[Anonymous]

Sounds like this guy just makes excuses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi All,

I’m a parent of a middle schooler who came home crying yesterday because there were apparently four fights that occurred simultaneously in the afternoon. One of which had one or more students take scissors from a teacher’s desk and take them apart to form two knives where they went after other kids.

Luckily no one was stabbed, but I’m concerned that I didn’t hear anything about this from the middle school administration or principal Mola. No email, no letter sent home, or any update on their social media pages. I asked my child if they had an assembly to reassure the kids’ safety. Nothing.

Are there any other parents who feel ignored by principal Mola and the middle school administration?

If I’m overreacting, please say so.

Is this kind of violence typical of DC public schools?

Are other principals and assistant principals more or less communicative?

Thanks for listening.

Why would you send your children to Cardozo? Please move to a better school district or, if you can afford it, send them private.

[Anonymous]

Wow similar issues are happening all over DCPS in the area .We need more parents together in a big platform and open a discussion. Let's change schools bad behavior together.