Are Elementary level Public Schools in DC area typically fence free?

[Anonymous]

My sister's child is attending K at local Public school and all our family is shocked to find out that the school has ZERO fence whatsoever.
Provided this is an elementary school and the kids just roam freee on the huge yard that is surrounded by neighbouring homes and park..
that is very unsettling to say at least. Is this typical for this country and this area that public school are depraved of this kind of basic safety feature?
Technically every child could take off at any moment during the recess and on the flip at any time a stranger or pervert could emerge from the park or
the woods. How typical this situation is. Do private schools better protect children?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sister's child is attending K at local Public school and all our family is shocked to find out that the school has ZERO fence whatsoever.
Provided this is an elementary school and the kids just roam freee on the huge yard that is surrounded by neighbouring homes and park..
that is very unsettling to say at least. Is this typical for this country and this area that public school are depraved of this kind of basic safety feature?
Technically every child could take off at any moment during the recess and on the flip at any time a stranger or pervert could emerge from the park or
the woods. How typical this situation is. Do private schools better protect children?

I live in Montgomery County, near the DC line. Neither of the public schools in our neighborhood have fenced in yards. Kids are supervised by grown-ups at recess, so there is no chance that a stranger could take them nor could they wander off. Both schools, however, are bordered by low traffic streets and do not have any "woods" on the border.

I can think of some public elementaries in DC that have fences and some that do not. All recesses were supervised by adults. The schools with fences general ran next to very busy urban streets.

[Anonymous]

That's why there are recess monitors guarding the perimeter. If any adult showed up that was not known, it would be found out immediately. And to answer your unasked but obviously thought question, yes, we do care less about our children than people who send their children to private school. And yes we are depraved and indifferent to our children's needs. Get a grip.

[Anonymous]

Well, you posted on the MD forum, so you're going to get MD responses - if you want to know what urban schools are like, you should post elsewhere. I suspect they may have more fencing. At our close-in MCPS school, there is not a fence, and there is a wooded section on one side. We have multiple paraeducators and parent volunteers, and it would be impossible for an adult to come onto the playground without being seen immediately. I understand the OP's angst, but I'd recommend visiting your children's school during recess to see for yourself, or talking with the administrators and the PTA about the security procedures in place.

[Anonymous]

At Janney we have huge berms of hard red clay surrounded by razor wire. there is a pit approx 40 feet? deep. On rainy days the kids have a choice of sliding down the plastic sheet covered berms directly into the razor wire or directly into the 40 foot pit. The kids just laugh and laugh. Until the blood and head wounds ensue.

Also, unleashed rescue pitbulls patrol the perimeter, but they are very safe. But I consider the nut-free lunch policy to be deal breaker in spite of all the other goodies.

[Anonymous]

Personally the fences drive me crazy as its difficult to get onto the field and to the school. Harriett Tubman comes to mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At Janney we have huge berms of hard red clay surrounded by razor wire. there is a pit approx 40 feet? deep. On rainy days the kids have a choice of sliding down the plastic sheet covered berms directly into the razor wire or directly into the 40 foot pit. The kids just laugh and laugh. Until the blood and head wounds ensue.

Also, unleashed rescue pitbulls patrol the perimeter, but they are very safe. But I consider the nut-free lunch policy to be deal breaker in spite of all the other goodies.

Trespassers who make it beyond the razor wire will be smeared in expensive sunflower butter.

[Anonymous]

I volunteered 2 times this year during recess in my dc's mcps school and I have to say it's not that reassuring. There are a ton of kids running around and what appears to be 2 or 3 very tired, overworked aides. Kind of scary.

[Anonymous]

That's right. Feces?. Yack. No worries, we have great monitoring system in place. Three socer mamas monitoring 400 hyper-active kids are entirely safe. Under their sharp eye nothing can happen. If such a mama can supervise 3 kids at home then clearly she is fit to take care of additional 97, singlehandedly while chatting on the cell. If anybody looking slightly suspicious comes anywhere near the parameter a Ninja mama trained in the newest moves and hotest Far East martial arts kicks him hundred yeards into the air, some of them even can kick them into the outer space but this is not a standard skill around here. Anyhow, when the fellow lands he is being scratched without mercy and kissed and hugged untill he surrenders his bad habits. Otherwise, if a pervert individual is observing kids from across the peaceful street across with nothing between him and kids then nothing can be done I guess.

[Anonymous]

Yes, we have lined our school yard with dog poop-- we find it just as effective as razor wire and more fun for the kids.

[Anonymous]

Get a grip poster here - my 2 cents again - And yet, and yet - people put their children (elementary age at that) on public buses (gasp!) all the time in big cities to get to public school without incident. Arm your child appropriately against stranger danger (don't help out strange people looking to find their dogs - run, don't walk, to your caregiver - teacher, parent immediately if someone you don't know tries to talk to you), and everything will be OK. Take a deep breath and let the leash go every once in awhile. Further, children are at much more danger from friends and family than from some stranger preying on a school playground.