Freedom Hill principal going to Haycock

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems like the abuse is more likely when the kids are special ed/special needs. I have to think that the principals are at least subconsciously making a calculation that it is easier to "correct" the "mistake" of the employee rather than try to find a replacement. The pay is low and the difficulty of working with special needs kids can be high.

This is really shocking -- when there is at least one video and multiple instances/witnesses.

The people working with the most disabled children are often appalling lacking in training and education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't even know where these two schools are located and I am pissed as a FCPS parents. Why would they move this principal to a new school? the abuse is awful and they have to know the story will eventually come out.

FCPS needs to get their sh*t together.

To be fair, they didn’t know about this when they moved him.

Now, I am confused and angry that we were told his absence was not child-related.

I’m sure they rationalized that it didn’t involve any children at Haycock. Embarrassed, no doubt, that they unloaded such a loser on the school. Think about it - Bloom is literally facing time in jail for putting kids at risk through his inaction.

I don't know about jail time. When I watched the video with lcps admin Marty Smith specifically stated not reporting the crimes was a misdemeanor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like the abuse is more likely when the kids are special ed/special needs. I have to think that the principals are at least subconsciously making a calculation that it is easier to "correct" the "mistake" of the employee rather than try to find a replacement. The pay is low and the difficulty of working with special needs kids can be high.

This is really shocking -- when there is at least one video and multiple instances/witnesses.

I'm a parent of a child with learning disabilities. My child is in college now and you wouldn't believe half the stuff I have experienced as a parent and school volunteer. The truth is that pretty much everyone considers these students, these children, as less than and probably most of you posting here at your core think that. Go read about what happens in schools where restraint and seclusion are used. This population, particularly non verbal students, are regularly abused by teachers. These kids aren't respected or valued and are viewed as unwanted problems by school administrators. Scott Bloom may have been a nice guy to some of you and your kids, but the fact that he didnt do the right thing with respect to these students shows his true values.

Scott Bloom cares about students as long as they aren't disabled.

+1 There's such truth to that statement! He didn't protect the most vulnerable population at his school. Plain and simple.

[Anonymous]

NP Here. Haycock parent. I'm not trying to defend FCPS in any way, but the 2 official communications from the administration (pasted below and both sent on September 25) did not characterize it as a personnel issue (I obviously don't know how it was characterized in any individual communications).

1st notice:

Good Morning Haycock Community:



I am writing to inform you that Principal Scott Bloom is on leave. We are pleased to announce the return of Mr. Augie Frattali to Haycock, who will serve as the interim principal.

As many of you may know, Mr. Frattali is a retired principal with over 30 years of service to FCPS. Augie served as principal at Rachel Carson Middle School from 2003-2015. Under his leadership, Haycock was recognized as a School to Watch by the National Forum for Middle School Reform and received the Virginia Governor’s Award for Educational Excellence numerous times. He has worked as a teacher and administrator both at the elementary and middle school levels. Augie was named FCPS 2010 Principal of the Year and was the recipient of the Washington Post Distinguished Educational Leadership Award. We are confident that Augie will help us ensure the highest level of academic excellence for our students and that his presence will continue to support our wonderful learning environment at Haycock for the students, staff, and the community.

Thank you for your continued support of Haycock Elementary School.



Fabio E. Zuluaga, Ed.D

Assistant Superintendent l Region 2 l


2nd notice:

Good Afternoon Haycock families,

Some of you have contacted me to express your concerns about a letter sent this morning regarding Principal Scott Bloom; I understand your concerns.

I wanted to explain to you that Fairfax County Public School employees go on leave for a variety of reasons. Due to confidentiality and privacy regulations, by law, we cannot share the specific reasons why staff members are on leave.

Interim Principal Augie Frattali has done a great job during his previous time at Haycock and he will continue to do so.

I wholeheartedly support Region 2 Assistant Superintendent Zuluaga’s decision to bring Mr. Frattali back to Haycock to serve as interim principal.

Please know that all of us are committed to continuing to provide a safe and a nurturing environment at Haycock Elementary where our students will continue to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. Thank you for your continued support and understanding.

Sincerely,

Scott Brabrand

Superintendent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to a discussion on the FB page for the FCPS Special Education PTA, the deadline to add participants to the seclusion lawsuit was 2 days ago. It’s not a coincidence that this came out today

Do they have lock in closets at the ID centers or just the ED centers?

Seclusion and restraint can happen anywhere. The school doesn't have to have a lock in closet. Schools will use furniture, padding, all kids of stuff to create an are where students are secluded. Dont look for evidence of an official time out room. They manage to do this in all kinds of places. Parents you need to go to the school admin and ask. In many cases the answer you get will be a lie.

[Anonymous]

For those on this thread interested, the reporter for Washington Post who reported on this story, would like to hear from you. I reached out to him and immediately got a response. The more of us, who have experienced this or know of Scott Bloom's conduct or FCPS's indiscretions on this matter (and why he still is on "administrative leave"), who can speak to WAPO, the stronger our statements back to FCPS will be--they cannot just brush this under the rug and make it go away. Here's the WAPO story, and I just emailed him under his email (linked onto his name).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/principal-teacher-charged-in-connection-with-alleged-abuse-of-special-needs-students-at-va-school/2019/12/16/2a9d5428-2037-11ea-bed5-880264cc91a9_story.html#comments-wrapper

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't even know where these two schools are located and I am pissed as a FCPS parents. Why would they move this principal to a new school? the abuse is awful and they have to know the story will eventually come out.

FCPS needs to get their sh*t together.

To be fair, they didn’t know about this when they moved him.

Now, I am confused and angry that we were told his absence was not child-related.

I’m sure they rationalized that it didn’t involve any children at Haycock. Embarrassed, no doubt, that they unloaded such a loser on the school. Think about it - Bloom is literally facing time in jail for putting kids at risk through his inaction.

I don't know about jail time. When I watched the video with lcps admin Marty Smith specifically stated not reporting the crimes was a misdemeanor.

You’re right. It’s likely not a Class 1 misdemeanor that could lead to jail time. More likely he’ll have to pay criminal fines. And then there may be a collateral proceeding to strip him of his license..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like the abuse is more likely when the kids are special ed/special needs. I have to think that the principals are at least subconsciously making a calculation that it is easier to "correct" the "mistake" of the employee rather than try to find a replacement. The pay is low and the difficulty of working with special needs kids can be high.

This is really shocking -- when there is at least one video and multiple instances/witnesses.

I'm a parent of a child with learning disabilities. My child is in college now and you wouldn't believe half the stuff I have experienced as a parent and school volunteer. The truth is that pretty much everyone considers these students, these children, as less than and probably most of you posting here at your core think that. Go read about what happens in schools where restraint and seclusion are used. This population, particularly non verbal students, are regularly abused by teachers. These kids aren't respected or valued and are viewed as unwanted problems by school administrators. Scott Bloom may have been a nice guy to some of you and your kids, but the fact that he didnt do the right thing with respect to these students shows his true values.

Scott Bloom cares about students as long as they aren't disabled.

There is a lot of treatment of kids with SNs that would never happen to non-disabled kids in FCPS. From the poor quality of their education, to the absolute bottom-of-the-barrel people hired to be special ed aides, to the way they are spoken to and about--if you haven't experienced it you have no idea. It is a completely different educational experience. There is a casual disregard across the board ESPECIALLY for kids who can't communicate. My ds is normal intelligence/verbal but has been in a lot of ED placements--you would not believe the way adults treat disabled kids and it is tolerated because it is so hard to find warm bodies to fill those classrooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am another FHES parent. I am devastated, upset, and angry. My son is one of the special needs children at the school. "Luckily" he is also a high-functioning boy, so he can stand up for himself. I have dealt with Scott Bloom on multiple occasions and never once did he show that he was not a level headed administrator. I am very disappointed. My DS genuinely liked him and so did we.

I find it far fetched that he’d have reason to cover up this abuse. I’ll be interested to see how this shakes out in court - exactly what was reported to him, and so on. Why was this other employe allegedly keeping a log of all this abuse? Why not call the cops immediately? Lots of questions...

You are full of it. I can't believe you are going after the person who was going to make sure this was reported. The reality is that most school systems, all the way up to the super, will ignore this type of thing. This employee had to know it would be covered up unless someone documented. Go read about what happens in other counties. Kudos to FCPS admin and the FCPD for doing what is right here. For those of us in other counties, it is encouraging to see a school system bring this to light. It would be hiden in most other school systems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am another FHES parent. I am devastated, upset, and angry. My son is one of the special needs children at the school. "Luckily" he is also a high-functioning boy, so he can stand up for himself. I have dealt with Scott Bloom on multiple occasions and never once did he show that he was not a level headed administrator. I am very disappointed. My DS genuinely liked him and so did we.

I find it far fetched that he’d have reason to cover up this abuse. I’ll be interested to see how this shakes out in court - exactly what was reported to him, and so on. Why was this other employe allegedly keeping a log of all this abuse? Why not call the cops immediately? Lots of questions...

Agree. I’ve known him for years. Always been positive and professional. My guess is that he didn’t know the extent of the abuse and thought he handled it by speaking to the teacher. If that’s the case, it was a lapse in judgment by not erring on the side of reporting it.

Are you out of your freaking mind? Are you his wife? He needs to be fired TODAY. You are one of those people who thinks students with disabilites don't matter.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]NP Here. Haycock parent. I'm not trying to defend FCPS in any way, but the 2 official communications from the administration (pasted below and both sent on September 25) did not characterize it as a personnel issue (I obviously don't know how it was characterized in any individual communications).

1st notice:

Good Morning Haycock Community:



I am writing to inform you that Principal Scott Bloom is on leave. We are pleased to announce the return of Mr. Augie Frattali to Haycock, who will serve as the interim principal.

As many of you may know, Mr. Frattali is a retired principal with over 30 years of service to FCPS. Augie served as principal at Rachel Carson Middle School from 2003-2015. Under his leadership, Haycock was recognized as a School to Watch by the National Forum for Middle School Reform and received the Virginia Governor’s Award for Educational Excellence numerous times. He has worked as a teacher and administrator both at the elementary and middle school levels. Augie was named FCPS 2010 Principal of the Year and was the recipient of the Washington Post Distinguished Educational Leadership Award. We are confident that Augie will help us ensure the highest level of academic excellence for our students and that his presence will continue to support our wonderful learning environment at Haycock for the students, staff, and the community.

Thank you for your continued support of Haycock Elementary School.



Fabio E. Zuluaga, Ed.D

Assistant Superintendent l Region 2 l


2nd notice:

Good Afternoon Haycock families,

Some of you have contacted me to express your concerns about a letter sent this morning regarding Principal Scott Bloom; I understand your concerns.

I wanted to explain to you that Fairfax County Public School employees go on leave for a variety of reasons. Due to confidentiality and privacy regulations, by law, we cannot share the specific reasons why staff members are on leave.

Interim Principal Augie Frattali has done a great job during his previous time at Haycock and he will continue to do so.

I wholeheartedly support Region 2 Assistant Superintendent Zuluaga’s decision to bring Mr. Frattali back to Haycock to serve as interim principal.

Please know that all of us are committed to continuing to provide a safe and a nurturing environment at Haycock Elementary where our students will continue to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. Thank you for your continued support and understanding.

Sincerely,

Scott Brabrand

Superintendent[/quote]

I spoke to Fabio directly on the matter after I reached out to FCPS (Brabrand specifically, noting I wanted a response) and blasted them about the insensitivity of the original email that Fabio sent, which was appalling. Within an hour I received a call back from Fabio. My only concern was to find out whether it was a child welfare issue, and I pointedly asked that question. Not once, but three times during the 5-7 minute call with him. On three separate occasions, he said, "no this is not a child welfare issue, it is a personnel matter" ... as all the commenters are noting here, you can obviously thread the needle on that statement and say he was sorta-kinda-almost-close to being accurate, but regardless of what you want to believe, his response was disingenuous because while it is a personnel issue, it is ALSO a child welfare issue, irrespective of whether he directly (or as in this case, indirectly) abused the children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I am not denying that it is a personnel issue and I understand exactly why they chose their words the way they did--I am saying that calling it a "personnel issue" and not a "child issue" is deliberately misleading. No one is saying that Bloom himself abused children. He failed to report suspected abuse of very vulnerable children and allowed it to continue. Who can deny that he is involved in a child safety issue???

When this email was sent, he was already on leave (and he had only been principal for a couple weeks) so no parent was saying "yikes, my kid!" And if FZ simply wanted Haycock parents to not worry about their own kids, he could have said said that Bloom had been placed on leave due to a situation from before his time at Haycock.

if we're being honest the main reason why this explanation isn't considered good enough is because Fabio has a reputation for being a bullshit artist. If it were a different County employee we'd be saying they should have phrased it differently but that would be it. Fabio doesn't get the benefit of the doubt, nor should he. The house cleaning needs to go further up the chain than Bloom.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]NP Here. Haycock parent. I'm not trying to defend FCPS in any way, but the 2 official communications from the administration (pasted below and both sent on September 25) did not characterize it as a personnel issue (I obviously don't know how it was characterized in any individual communications).

1st notice:

Good Morning Haycock Community:



I am writing to inform you that Principal Scott Bloom is on leave. We are pleased to announce the return of Mr. Augie Frattali to Haycock, who will serve as the interim principal.

As many of you may know, Mr. Frattali is a retired principal with over 30 years of service to FCPS. Augie served as principal at Rachel Carson Middle School from 2003-2015. Under his leadership, Haycock was recognized as a School to Watch by the National Forum for Middle School Reform and received the Virginia Governor’s Award for Educational Excellence numerous times. He has worked as a teacher and administrator both at the elementary and middle school levels. Augie was named FCPS 2010 Principal of the Year and was the recipient of the Washington Post Distinguished Educational Leadership Award. We are confident that Augie will help us ensure the highest level of academic excellence for our students and that his presence will continue to support our wonderful learning environment at Haycock for the students, staff, and the community.

Thank you for your continued support of Haycock Elementary School.



Fabio E. Zuluaga, Ed.D

Assistant Superintendent l Region 2 l


2nd notice:

Good Afternoon Haycock families,

Some of you have contacted me to express your concerns about a letter sent this morning regarding Principal Scott Bloom; I understand your concerns.

I wanted to explain to you that Fairfax County Public School employees go on leave for a variety of reasons. Due to confidentiality and privacy regulations, by law, we cannot share the specific reasons why staff members are on leave.

Interim Principal Augie Frattali has done a great job during his previous time at Haycock and he will continue to do so.

I wholeheartedly support Region 2 Assistant Superintendent Zuluaga’s decision to bring Mr. Frattali back to Haycock to serve as interim principal.

Please know that all of us are committed to continuing to provide a safe and a nurturing environment at Haycock Elementary where our students will continue to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. Thank you for your continued support and understanding.

Sincerely,

Scott Brabrand

Superintendent[/quote]

I think this idea that it was an HR/Personnel issue and didn't involve student safety came from people that called the central office when he went on leave in September.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those on this thread interested, the reporter for Washington Post who reported on this story, would like to hear from you. I reached out to him and immediately got a response. The more of us, who have experienced this or know of Scott Bloom's conduct or FCPS's indiscretions on this matter (and why he still is on "administrative leave"), who can speak to WAPO, the stronger our statements back to FCPS will be--they cannot just brush this under the rug and make it go away. Here's the WAPO story, and I just emailed him under his email (linked onto his name).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/principal-teacher-charged-in-connection-with-alleged-abuse-of-special-needs-students-at-va-school/2019/12/16/2a9d5428-2037-11ea-bed5-880264cc91a9_story.html#comments-wrapper

Thanks! Glad someone took the next right step.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly at this point I feel like we need to equip the kids to be reporters of abuse. We have seen time and again that the adults charged with this duty fail.

And for this Bloom guy, doesn’t knowing about the abuse and failing to stop it make him an accessory? I am sure he was counting on the fact these poor kids were non-verbal to protect him. What a monster.

The MONSTER is the school district that continues to pay him. It is unconscionable that FCPS hasn't terminated his contract by now. Today's news needed to be that "FCPS is terminating Bloom"

What does it take to actually terminate him.