Swanson - surprise choice for new principal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wasn’t Swanson also where the kids were filming each other in the bathroom?

Yes and the admin did something to address it.

Also this is going on everywhere so have a convo with your kid about it. There is a thread on the general Schools forum about this issue right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loft got demoted?

Hope new principle is good on discipline.

How is Williamsburg and Hamm or are they just better at hiding problems?

My kid is at WMS and they have nothing like the problems at Swanson. From friends at Hamm, I hear it is wonderful. It is also the smallest. Swanson needs a strong admin and they need to lock down student cell phone use. At WMS cell phones are supposed to be in your lockers except lunch. At Swanson, almost the whole class has them in their pockets.

Another WMS parent. When our kids teammates tell us what’s going on at some other APS middle schools they are honestly shocked! Of course there’s normal tween/teen shenanigans, but my kids are not scared to be in the classroom like they’re hearing from some of their friends! Yes, phones are in lockers all day.

Shocked I tell you!

Instead of gossiping on the sidelines, maybe use the time to think about proactive convos to have with your own kid because as others have said these are common issues.

[Anonymous]

For a while, it was Williamsburg in the crosshairs for bad behavior, now it’s Swanson. Not saying any of it isn’t true and that one school might be experiencing more turmoil right now, but one school always has to be The Worst so that everyone else can breathe a sigh of relief that “APS sucks, but at least my kid isn’t THERE.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loft got demoted?

Hope new principle is good on discipline.

How is Williamsburg and Hamm or are they just better at hiding problems?

My kid is at WMS and they have nothing like the problems at Swanson. From friends at Hamm, I hear it is wonderful. It is also the smallest. Swanson needs a strong admin and they need to lock down student cell phone use. At WMS cell phones are supposed to be in your lockers except lunch. At Swanson, almost the whole class has them in their pockets.

It’s some version of the same shit everywhere, the Swanson stuff just got brought to the media and this board and blew up. My child and his friends are not scared to be at school and never were. I’m sure some group of kids in direct contact with the student with the issue were, which sucks and is unacceptable. But not some widely held experience.

My kid does know some WMS kids who use the N word, text anti-Semitic content, use their phones to bully other kids, and 6th graders who are already vaping though. I have seen it with my own eyes. The kids have been blocked from my child’s phone.

Point is it’s middle school. This stuff is going on. Maybe stop buzzing about everyone else and focus on your own kid.

I was actually referring to some of the stuff going on at Kenmore…

Like what? Kenmore parent here whose child doesn’t feel unsafe. Administration is really strong and well-liked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loft got demoted?

Hope new principle is good on discipline.

How is Williamsburg and Hamm or are they just better at hiding problems?

My kid is at WMS and they have nothing like the problems at Swanson. From friends at Hamm, I hear it is wonderful. It is also the smallest. Swanson needs a strong admin and they need to lock down student cell phone use. At WMS cell phones are supposed to be in your lockers except lunch. At Swanson, almost the whole class has them in their pockets.

Swanson parent here, they aren't using lockers this year - maybe that's the problem? I assume it's because of COVID but I remember that being mentioned in the parents' orientation meeting at the beginning of the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From what I have heard from staff Loft was a very good principal, which is what Swanson needs right now. Perhaps it wasn’t really a demotion but being called to her strengths or what she really loves. It’s not uncommon for admins to move back to teachers in my experience so I’m not surprised to see someone from central office going back to admin. Sometimes you don’t know how much you like something until you leave it.

I agree. My son was at Swanson when Loft was there and she seemed good. The school was well run and kids liked her. I think it's a good choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loft got demoted?

Hope new principle is good on discipline.

How is Williamsburg and Hamm or are they just better at hiding problems?

My kid is at WMS and they have nothing like the problems at Swanson. From friends at Hamm, I hear it is wonderful. It is also the smallest. Swanson needs a strong admin and they need to lock down student cell phone use. At WMS cell phones are supposed to be in your lockers except lunch. At Swanson, almost the whole class has them in their pockets.

It’s some version of the same shit everywhere, the Swanson stuff just got brought to the media and this board and blew up. My child and his friends are not scared to be at school and never were. I’m sure some group of kids in direct contact with the student with the issue were, which sucks and is unacceptable. But not some widely held experience.

My kid does know some WMS kids who use the N word, text anti-Semitic content, use their phones to bully other kids, and 6th graders who are already vaping though. I have seen it with my own eyes. The kids have been blocked from my child’s phone.

Point is it’s middle school. This stuff is going on. Maybe stop buzzing about everyone else and focus on your own kid.

+1 I agree with all said here. My DD is at Swanson, and between the teachers and the music dept, it was been a great experience. Yes, there are more kids with troubles that can't be handled quietly, but they were there before. Ms. Loft was an excellent principal when my older kid was there.

[Anonymous]

Most of Loft's worst judgments were about how to address the needs of elementary students. So glad she no longer has any authority over elementary.

Does anyone remember the meeting where a parent asked how they were supposed to help their K or 1st student during virtual learning while working? Loft answered that she used to have to sit down with her high school student for 15 minutes as night to help him with his math homework and she expected virtual learning to be the same. It was entirely dismissive. She deserved a demotion.

[Anonymous]

Loft was a good principal at Swanson before, so I think it's wise to bring back someone with EXPERIENCE at the school. Part of the problem is also that APS left it overcrowded when they redid the boundaries. A few more planning units to Hamm (which has the room) would be a huge difference.

[Anonymous]

My son was at Swanson when Loft was principal. She was great. School experience was very good.

My son had a bullying experience that she responded to swiftly and shut it down.

I doubt this is a demotion but bringing in the firm hand to get things under control again.

[Anonymous]

My kids were there when Loft was there. She was fine. I'm not a huge fan of hers but she did keep the kids in line. I actually think it's a good choice as he's a pretty stringent on discipline.

Yes, there were still problems (kid having to be taken out by EMT after smoking weed in the bathroom for instance) but nothing like what seems like is going on now. My kids told me things going on but it seemed to be normal middle school stuff.

Kids shared lockers back then and could only carry a drawstring bag during the day-not enough space in the hallways between classes for big backpacks.

Swanson sounds like a disaster these days.

[Anonymous]

Sorry-- have to pause on the locker question here. At the beginning of the school year, we (Swanson parents) were told that none of the schools were using lockers because of COVID. They said something like "We can't control social distancing and contact tracing if kids are crowded around lockers in the hallway." I assumed that was APS policy across all schools. Are any other middle schools (other than WMS) using lockers? Or was Harber just blowing smoke at us? (FWIW, my son HATES carrying around his backpack all day, especially on anchor day when he has to put all his subjects in the backpack-- he also says it makes the hallways feel so crowded when everyone is hauling around backpacks and crashing into each other.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son was at Swanson when Loft was principal. She was great. School experience was very good.

My son had a bullying experience that she responded to swiftly and shut it down.

I doubt this is a demotion but bringing in the firm hand to get things under control again.

It was pretty obvious at the beginning of the year that Loft was on the outs with Duran. He redefined her role and took away the most substantive parts of her position. I think she took the fall internally for the learning loss that happened during COVID (which APS gas-lit parents about for most of the year). My guess is that Loft figured it was this or potentially face a total dismissal. I did hear that she was a good middle school principal, but was just not suited for high school (when she moved to Yorktown) and even less suited for an APS admin position. I'm trying to stay open-minded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loft got demoted?

Hope new principle is good on discipline.

How is Williamsburg and Hamm or are they just better at hiding problems?

My kid is at WMS and they have nothing like the problems at Swanson. From friends at Hamm, I hear it is wonderful. It is also the smallest. Swanson needs a strong admin and they need to lock down student cell phone use. At WMS cell phones are supposed to be in your lockers except lunch. At Swanson, almost the whole class has them in their pockets.

It’s some version of the same shit everywhere, the Swanson stuff just got brought to the media and this board and blew up. My child and his friends are not scared to be at school and never were. I’m sure some group of kids in direct contact with the student with the issue were, which sucks and is unacceptable. But not some widely held experience.

My kid does know some WMS kids who use the N word, text anti-Semitic content, use their phones to bully other kids, and 6th graders who are already vaping though. I have seen it with my own eyes. The kids have been blocked from my child’s phone.

Point is it’s middle school. This stuff is going on. Maybe stop buzzing about everyone else and focus on your own kid.

+1 I agree with all said here. My DD is at Swanson, and between the teachers and the music dept, it was been a great experience. Yes, there are more kids with troubles that can't be handled quietly, but they were there before. Ms. Loft was an excellent principal when my older kid was there.

+2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Loft got demoted?

Hope new principle is good on discipline.

How is Williamsburg and Hamm or are they just better at hiding problems?

VERY good at hiding problems