BCC on lockdown

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BCC could have handled it better. I appreciated the Remind updates but my kid was told to hide in a closet for over 2 hours which seems ridiculous if there was no threat inside the building. No way to reach him so he had no idea what was going on for a very long time.

The fear was that the suspect carrying the weapon might be a BCC student looking to hide from police by returning to the building, WITH the gun. Police did not want to get into a gun fight in a building full of kids. They took some time to look at all the cameras and determine that kids could be dismissed without too much risk.

I think that was the right decision.

When a student returns to the school building, is an AP or security checking IDs as schools claim they do of each and every student at start of school in morning?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would be nice if the school provided as much info as DCUM and Bethesda Patch.

They have to get it "approved" first??

No idea. Latest text says the school will ensure that students receive lunch (because lockdown went into effect a little past 11, and lunch period starts at 11:30). They don't want parents coming to the school. Duh. Why would anyone show up if police haven't apprehended a suspect in the area?

How does lunch distribution work if everyone is lockdown and then shelter in place? What food(s) did they offer students (staff?) today?

Lunch arrived later in the day according to my kid and wasn’t the same in every classroom so I sense MCPS foraged a bit. My kids class got turkey sandwiches, friends classes got lasagna, really anything you can imagine was ready in the cafeteria at BCC or nearby schools.

And what about actually distributing it to each of those many many classrooms? Schools are huge. If lockdown isn't everyone supposed to stay put? If shelter in place, same?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:
The violent children have a similar problem: they have a school that can take them in, but due to space constraints, these children are placed back in mainstream schools after a while. Often not their home school, but another school. Sometimes violent kids attend several schools in MCPS before aging out of the system. They leave a trail of destruction, because their needs are complex and cannot be addressed (severe mental issues combined with disastrous home lives)

MCPS closed the school for students with severe behavioral issues years ago. It was called Mark Twain school, in Rockville. Back when I was in MCPS HS many decades ago, a common threat among the kids is if you did something really bad, you'd end up at Twain.

One of the reasons for closing is that the students there were disproportionately of a certain gender and race, and that was not equitable.

Hmm "not equitable" in this case also means "don't want to spend the money". I hope we can reconsider!

"While blacks make up 23 percent of the district’s student population, they make up 58 percent of the students at Mark Twain, reflective of nationwide trends labeling more black students, especially boys, with emotional and behavioral disorders."

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/1432305/montgomery-to-close-full-day-program-for-emotionally-troubled-middle-high-schoolers/

We have to stop injecting racism into everything. POVERTY TRACKS WITH CRIME. That's been well-known since civilized record keeping, began before America was even discovered.

Blacks are disproportionately represented in the low-income population, therefore blacks are disproportionately represented in the criminal population. It's not because they're black. It's because they're poor.

So irritating.

The kids with the guns are not black and not poor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:12:05, umm parents come whenever they want that is their right.

"umm" no. Parents generally do not have the immediate right to retrieve their children during the lockdown. The primary concern during such an event is the safety of all individuals on campus, and school authorities, law enforcement, and emergency responders will prioritize ensuring the students are safe and secure.

Somehow my kid was able to leave wnd walked home.

Somehow? Regardless, I am glad to hear they are safe and at home.
How do 20 random teens end up in a park nearby? Are they at BCC and just walk out? Skipped? Unrelated to the school? Frightening for all there and locally in the neighborhood.

Were ALL 20 teens from same school? If you don't know, don't spread rumors they are ALL from BCC.

I heard it was one kid each from 20 different MoCo high schools. It was a chess tournament, but one player didn't like another's aggressive move with his pawn, and then sadly it devolved into violence.

Surely you jest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would be nice if the school provided as much info as DCUM and Bethesda Patch.

They have to get it "approved" first??

No idea. Latest text says the school will ensure that students receive lunch (because lockdown went into effect a little past 11, and lunch period starts at 11:30). They don't want parents coming to the school. Duh. Why would anyone show up if police haven't apprehended a suspect in the area?

How does lunch distribution work if everyone is lockdown and then shelter in place? What food(s) did they offer students (staff?) today?

Lunch arrived later in the day according to my kid and wasn’t the same in every classroom so I sense MCPS foraged a bit. My kids class got turkey sandwiches, friends classes got lasagna, really anything you can imagine was ready in the cafeteria at BCC or nearby schools.

And what about actually distributing it to each of those many many classrooms? Schools are huge. If lockdown isn't everyone supposed to stay put? If shelter in place, same?

This was during the shelter in place phase. Lockdown everyone goes to a corner and sits quietly with the door blocked and blinds closed. Shelter in place is just do not leave the classroom. I assume staff delivered the meals to each classroom.

[Anonymous]

Seriously; we don't hear about violence like happening at Whitman, WJ or Churchill. Why is this? Is it because BCC is more urban and accessible by metro/bus etc? I thought BCC was just as good a school as the other three mentioned above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BCC could have handled it better. I appreciated the Remind updates but my kid was told to hide in a closet for over 2 hours which seems ridiculous if there was no threat inside the building. No way to reach him so he had no idea what was going on for a very long time.

The fear was that the suspect carrying the weapon might be a BCC student looking to hide from police by returning to the building, WITH the gun. Police did not want to get into a gun fight in a building full of kids. They took some time to look at all the cameras and determine that kids could be dismissed without too much risk.

I think that was the right decision.

When a student returns to the school building, is an AP or security checking IDs as schools claim they do of each and every student at start of school in morning?

Every time someone says “checking IDs is stupid, my kids flashed a chik-fil-a gift card and got in” I want to ask them if they seriously want to have their kid stand in a line with 2,000 other kids so security can check their ID against faces of kids they know attend the school. The IDs serve a purpose to keep unknown kids out. Kids that go to the school who are known by security because they walk by every year for four years straight don’t need IDs checked in detail every day. If the school wants to keep a kid who attends the school out of the building they will let security know. If a kid that security doesn’t recognize tries to enter the building, they will ask for that kids ID.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sigh, I bet this leads them to bringing in metal detectors

Umm. That $ went to failed bus tracking app. Remember? And other nonsense.

Nonesense is right. All I remember last year is the head of the PTSA attacking some poor mom on the listserv for not "checking her privilege" when the mom suggested maybe BCC needed more resource officers. This was after either a gun or bomb threat. Can't remember. These incidents began to blend together.

No child has ever been punished as far as I know at BCC. Restorative Justice is a joke. Parents weren't allowed to know if the carjacking kids were allowed back to school. I'm glad my child has graduated and is at a safe college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously; we don't hear about violence like happening at Whitman, WJ or Churchill. Why is this? Is it because BCC is more urban and accessible by metro/bus etc? I thought BCC was just as good a school as the other three mentioned above.

The only good schools are W schools however don't worry MCPS wants to ensure diversity and change the composition to include alternative school participants

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously; we don't hear about violence like happening at Whitman, WJ or Churchill. Why is this? Is it because BCC is more urban and accessible by metro/bus etc? I thought BCC was just as good a school as the other three mentioned above.

I had one kid at WJ and one at BCC. BCC draws a certain portion of its student population from lower-income areas, more than any of the W schools. It also has more economic and social diversity than the other Bethesda/Potomac schools. Also, it's more urban, which makes it a frequent center of violence during games, because kids can easily come and go from the metro station.

But regarding violent behavior of certain kids at BCC... it's a little more complicated. Last year one violent kid was a transplant from another area of MCPS, who had been passed around from school to school because he kept getting into trouble. It was BCC's turn. Nothing to do with our own population of kids. Some other bad behaviors do come from BCC-area kids, and I'm sorry to say, they're mostly from the lower-income end of the range. With all that this implies: unstable home situations, undiagnosed mental health needs, possible affiliation with gangs, etc. Education is just not a priority for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously; we don't hear about violence like happening at Whitman, WJ or Churchill. Why is this? Is it because BCC is more urban and accessible by metro/bus etc? I thought BCC was just as good a school as the other three mentioned above.

You're not paying attention.

This fight at Whitman just made the news: https://www.fox5dc.com/video/1590551

And a student was apprehended with a gun at Walter Johnson last school year: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2023/10/24/walter-johnson-high-school-student-arrested-monday-with-loaded-gun-on-campus/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously; we don't hear about violence like happening at Whitman, WJ or Churchill. Why is this? Is it because BCC is more urban and accessible by metro/bus etc? I thought BCC was just as good a school as the other three mentioned above.

The only good schools are W schools however don't worry MCPS wants to ensure diversity and change the composition to include alternative school participants

Didn't PPs say the video circulating had white kids fighting? Kids that attend a "diverse" "W" BCC?

[Anonymous]

Speaking of the B-CC PTA list serv, this topic has been pretty silent on the board other than the passing along of the lockdown itself. In the past, there would be plenty of discussion but no longer. It certainly adds to a further disconnect to the school, even though I have never posted there. Frequently, I shared many of the same feelings of others who did post. I miss the PTA President from 2022-2023 school year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously; we don't hear about violence like happening at Whitman, WJ or Churchill. Why is this? Is it because BCC is more urban and accessible by metro/bus etc? I thought BCC was just as good a school as the other three mentioned above.

We do....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously; we don't hear about violence like happening at Whitman, WJ or Churchill. Why is this? Is it because BCC is more urban and accessible by metro/bus etc? I thought BCC was just as good a school as the other three mentioned above.

I had one kid at WJ and one at BCC. BCC draws a certain portion of its student population from lower-income areas, more than any of the W schools. It also has more economic and social diversity than the other Bethesda/Potomac schools. Also, it's more urban, which makes it a frequent center of violence during games, because kids can easily come and go from the metro station.

But regarding violent behavior of certain kids at BCC... it's a little more complicated. Last year one violent kid was a transplant from another area of MCPS, who had been passed around from school to school because he kept getting into trouble. It was BCC's turn. Nothing to do with our own population of kids. Some other bad behaviors do come from BCC-area kids, and I'm sorry to say, they're mostly from the lower-income end of the range. With all that this implies: unstable home situations, undiagnosed mental health needs, possible affiliation with gangs, etc. Education is just not a priority for them.

Oblivious, I guess, Bethesda parent here. All I see is wealthy, upper middle class families in this town. Where are lower-income kids with gang affiliations living??