What happened at the Kennedy graduation?

[Anonymous]

I heard there was a fight?
And that a parent got involved in the fight as well. If true, that sounds terrible.

[Anonymous]

If the parent was trying to protect their kid from harm, I understand that.

[Anonymous]

Oh boy, KHS news. Again. Can't the school get a break?

[Anonymous]

JOHN F. KENNEDY HIGH SCHOOL
1901 Randolph Road, Silver Spring, Maryland 20902
Main Office [phone] Main Office Fax [phone] Counseling [phone]
June 5, 2024
Hello John F. Kennedy High School Students, Staff, and Families,
I am writing first to acknowledge that today's graduation ceremony was beautiful and a wonderful celebration of our students and their achievements.
However, it is with regret that I also write to inform you that following graduation, outside on the steps of Constitution Hall, several fights occurred. Some recent graduates were a part of the conflict, but mostly these conflicts involved adults and community members. School staff attempted to intervene and were not successful in suppressing the conflicts. During the incident, some members of the crowd were pepper sprayed by an adult who was involved in the conflict. Police were summoned to the scene and perhaps due to the traffic congestion in the area, it took some time before they were actually on scene. Police separated the parties and began taking statements. What happened is now a police matter, and they will continue to process the incident and follow up with any legal action merited by the situation.
Current students who we find to have been involved in the incident will receive consequences aligned with the
MCPS Student Code of Conduct. We will also continue to engage in restorative conversations with all students, relying on the particular expertise of Dr. Tarik Harris, who is in the building through the end of the year.
I want to thank everyone who tried to intervene and who made appropriate choices. This incident is an embarrassment to our community and is unfair to our students and their families who were there to celebrate.
These types of altercations are unacceptable and do not represent the values of our larger John F. Kennedy High School community. I will be reaching out to share additional community resources where community and family members may engage in mediation to better resolve their conflicts.
If you have questions, concerns or information related to today's incident, please contact me at the school or Mr.
Steve Washington, the head of security. Any information we receive will be kept confidential.
Thank you,
Ms. Vickie Adamson
Principal
John F. Kennedy High School

[Anonymous]

Wow. What is wrong with some of these parents? Thank you for posting the letter

[Anonymous]

So sad. I feel bad for everyone impacted by this. At least it didn’t happen during the ceremony. There’s a story in the news coming from out of state showing parent rushing the stage and attacking the superintendent of that school district during the graduation ceremony. All that to say, it could have been worse.

[Anonymous]

This is what teachers have to deal with today. Kids whose parents would have been on Jerry Springer. And then if we can’t magically bring them up to grade level and teach them appropriate behavior, we’re failures.

[Anonymous]

My guess is graduation will be on the football field next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My guess is graduation will be on the football field next year.

Good one!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My guess is graduation will be on the football field next year.

Lol

[Anonymous]

Every decent family knows you bicker at home and in the car en route to , but not at the graduation 😂

[Anonymous]

Wish I knew what it was about: apparently parents and community members were mostly involved. Hmm. Gangs?

[Anonymous]

That's why when people say, "the school isn't responsible for violence, the parents need to step up" you have to understand there are many many parents who are teaching children to be violent. That's why the school has tp protect your children from them.

[Anonymous]

MCPS needs to crack down on discipline.
Folks should know there is zero tolerance for this sort of behavior. It is not fair to the 95% of decent kids who just want a normal high school experience. Why does MCPS allow a small number of miscreants to run the show?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:JOHN F. KENNEDY HIGH SCHOOL
1901 Randolph Road, Silver Spring, Maryland 20902
Main Office [phone] Main Office Fax [phone] Counseling [phone]
June 5, 2024
Hello John F. Kennedy High School Students, Staff, and Families,
I am writing first to acknowledge that today's graduation ceremony was beautiful and a wonderful celebration of our students and their achievements.
However, it is with regret that I also write to inform you that following graduation, outside on the steps of Constitution Hall, several fights occurred. Some recent graduates were a part of the conflict, but mostly these conflicts involved adults and community members. School staff attempted to intervene and were not successful in suppressing the conflicts. During the incident, some members of the crowd were pepper sprayed by an adult who was involved in the conflict. Police were summoned to the scene and perhaps due to the traffic congestion in the area, it took some time before they were actually on scene. Police separated the parties and began taking statements. What happened is now a police matter, and they will continue to process the incident and follow up with any legal action merited by the situation.
Current students who we find to have been involved in the incident will receive consequences aligned with the
MCPS Student Code of Conduct. We will also continue to engage in restorative conversations with all students, relying on the particular expertise of Dr. Tarik Harris, who is in the building through the end of the year.
I want to thank everyone who tried to intervene and who made appropriate choices. This incident is an embarrassment to our community and is unfair to our students and their families who were there to celebrate.
These types of altercations are unacceptable and do not represent the values of our larger John F. Kennedy High School community. I will be reaching out to share additional community resources where community and family members may engage in mediation to better resolve their conflicts.
If you have questions, concerns or information related to today's incident, please contact me at the school or Mr.
Steve Washington, the head of security. Any information we receive will be kept confidential.
Thank you,
Ms. Vickie Adamson
Principal
John F. Kennedy High School

They say they're keeping the details confidential, but it sounds like another cover-up to me!