ACHS - Another Murdered Student

[Anonymous]

The whole community is a flock of ostriches. PTAC held a community safety forum and edited questions to foreclose meaningful answers. Bottom line is ACHS has a significant, distracting, and dangerous gang presence. A sibling of the child murdered on the 21st set-up a funding page shared among teachers and he was clearly a student. Although, I understand the wishing away that this is the reality of our school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

What on earth do you expect PTAC to do regarding an active homicide investigation that the local police department is handling? Your concerns are misplaced on a group of parents who cannot possibly prevent or address this type of violence (likely a targeted incident).


Not the PP but since PTAC portrays itself as concerned with safety they could make a statement/discuss actual safety issues in the schools. Although I'm not critical of them for staying silent about this murder because it didn't happen on school grounds or didn't spill out of a school into Bradlee the way it does when school is in session. But they absolutely should address the violence in the schools. They choose not to.

The fact that as a group they never said a word about the Minnie Howard fights and Minnie Howard rape is callous though. It's just like their refusal to offer any constructive criticism to ACPS when the schools were shut down. It's what frustrates parents and makes PTAC and the clique that runs it and has been running it for years such a joke.

Agreed that they are not a great organization. But is it common for PTAs to do much about violence in the schools? The reason that I ask is that there was a fair amount of violence in my much younger sister's school in Chicago, and my mom says she cannot recall the PTA doing much. So that makes me wonder if this is typical awfulness, or ACPS specific awfulness.

Right. Seems way beyond the scope of a PTA’s function. The expectations people have for PTAC on this board are outrageous. I’ve seen them do some fundraisers and outreach to West End schools, much more traditional PTA stuff. Do people in other jurisdictions expect their PTAs to get involved in every single controversial school issue? I don’t think so!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

What on earth do you expect PTAC to do regarding an active homicide investigation that the local police department is handling? Your concerns are misplaced on a group of parents who cannot possibly prevent or address this type of violence (likely a targeted incident).


Not the PP but since PTAC portrays itself as concerned with safety they could make a statement/discuss actual safety issues in the schools. Although I'm not critical of them for staying silent about this murder because it didn't happen on school grounds or didn't spill out of a school into Bradlee the way it does when school is in session. But they absolutely should address the violence in the schools. They choose not to.

The fact that as a group they never said a word about the Minnie Howard fights and Minnie Howard rape is callous though. It's just like their refusal to offer any constructive criticism to ACPS when the schools were shut down. It's what frustrates parents and makes PTAC and the clique that runs it and has been running it for years such a joke.

Agreed that they are not a great organization. But is it common for PTAs to do much about violence in the schools? The reason that I ask is that there was a fair amount of violence in my much younger sister's school in Chicago, and my mom says she cannot recall the PTA doing much. So that makes me wonder if this is typical awfulness, or ACPS specific awfulness.

Right. Seems way beyond the scope of a PTA’s function. The expectations people have for PTAC on this board are outrageous. I’ve seen them do some fundraisers and outreach to West End schools, much more traditional PTA stuff. Do people in other jurisdictions expect their PTAs to get involved in every single controversial school issue? I don’t think so!

I think the real problem with PTAC is that they run interference for ACPS. If PTAC just said nothing, then there would be less hatred for them. The problem is PTAC does things like praising ACPS’s administration handling of the pandemic (ie zoom school) when vast numbers of ACPS students weren’t learning and suffering negative mental health consequences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

What on earth do you expect PTAC to do regarding an active homicide investigation that the local police department is handling? Your concerns are misplaced on a group of parents who cannot possibly prevent or address this type of violence (likely a targeted incident).


Not the PP but since PTAC portrays itself as concerned with safety they could make a statement/discuss actual safety issues in the schools. Although I'm not critical of them for staying silent about this murder because it didn't happen on school grounds or didn't spill out of a school into Bradlee the way it does when school is in session. But they absolutely should address the violence in the schools. They choose not to.

The fact that as a group they never said a word about the Minnie Howard fights and Minnie Howard rape is callous though. It's just like their refusal to offer any constructive criticism to ACPS when the schools were shut down. It's what frustrates parents and makes PTAC and the clique that runs it and has been running it for years such a joke.

Agreed that they are not a great organization. But is it common for PTAs to do much about violence in the schools? The reason that I ask is that there was a fair amount of violence in my much younger sister's school in Chicago, and my mom says she cannot recall the PTA doing much. So that makes me wonder if this is typical awfulness, or ACPS specific awfulness.

They are the ones that have morphed into a political organization. Go to their website. They just do not want to advocate for safety in the schools in an open, honest way. But I get it. If parents do not convince themselves the schools are great, they then have to admit they are sending their kids to violent, drug-filled "schools" and that is a hard to live with.

Right. Seems way beyond the scope of a PTA’s function. The expectations people have for PTAC on this board are outrageous. I’ve seen them do some fundraisers and outreach to West End schools, much more traditional PTA stuff. Do people in other jurisdictions expect their PTAs to get involved in every single controversial school issue? I don’t think so!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

What on earth do you expect PTAC to do regarding an active homicide investigation that the local police department is handling? Your concerns are misplaced on a group of parents who cannot possibly prevent or address this type of violence (likely a targeted incident).


Not the PP but since PTAC portrays itself as concerned with safety they could make a statement/discuss actual safety issues in the schools. Although I'm not critical of them for staying silent about this murder because it didn't happen on school grounds or didn't spill out of a school into Bradlee the way it does when school is in session. But they absolutely should address the violence in the schools. They choose not to.

The fact that as a group they never said a word about the Minnie Howard fights and Minnie Howard rape is callous though. It's just like their refusal to offer any constructive criticism to ACPS when the schools were shut down. It's what frustrates parents and makes PTAC and the clique that runs it and has been running it for years such a joke.

Agreed that they are not a great organization. But is it common for PTAs to do much about violence in the schools? The reason that I ask is that there was a fair amount of violence in my much younger sister's school in Chicago, and my mom says she cannot recall the PTA doing much. So that makes me wonder if this is typical awfulness, or ACPS specific awfulness.

They are the ones that have morphed into a political organization. Go to their website. They just do not want to advocate for safety in the schools in an open, honest way. But I get it. If parents do not convince themselves the schools are great, they then have to admit they are sending their kids to violent, drug-filled "schools" and that is a hard to live with.

Right. Seems way beyond the scope of a PTA’s function. The expectations people have for PTAC on this board are outrageous. I’ve seen them do some fundraisers and outreach to West End schools, much more traditional PTA stuff. Do people in other jurisdictions expect their PTAs to get involved in every single controversial school issue? I don’t think so!

Yes, and so they have good-intentioned people doing things that they aren’t trained to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

What on earth do you expect PTAC to do regarding an active homicide investigation that the local police department is handling? Your concerns are misplaced on a group of parents who cannot possibly prevent or address this type of violence (likely a targeted incident).


Not the PP but since PTAC portrays itself as concerned with safety they could make a statement/discuss actual safety issues in the schools. Although I'm not critical of them for staying silent about this murder because it didn't happen on school grounds or didn't spill out of a school into Bradlee the way it does when school is in session. But they absolutely should address the violence in the schools. They choose not to.

The fact that as a group they never said a word about the Minnie Howard fights and Minnie Howard rape is callous though. It's just like their refusal to offer any constructive criticism to ACPS when the schools were shut down. It's what frustrates parents and makes PTAC and the clique that runs it and has been running it for years such a joke.

Agreed that they are not a great organization. But is it common for PTAs to do much about violence in the schools? The reason that I ask is that there was a fair amount of violence in my much younger sister's school in Chicago, and my mom says she cannot recall the PTA doing much. So that makes me wonder if this is typical awfulness, or ACPS specific awfulness.

They are the ones that have morphed into a political organization. Go to their website. They just do not want to advocate for safety in the schools in an open, honest way. But I get it. If parents do not convince themselves the schools are great, they then have to admit they are sending their kids to violent, drug-filled "schools" and that is a hard to live with.

Right. Seems way beyond the scope of a PTA’s function. The expectations people have for PTAC on this board are outrageous. I’ve seen them do some fundraisers and outreach to West End schools, much more traditional PTA stuff. Do people in other jurisdictions expect their PTAs to get involved in every single controversial school issue? I don’t think so!

Where do you send your kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

What on earth do you expect PTAC to do regarding an active homicide investigation that the local police department is handling? Your concerns are misplaced on a group of parents who cannot possibly prevent or address this type of violence (likely a targeted incident).


Not the PP but since PTAC portrays itself as concerned with safety they could make a statement/discuss actual safety issues in the schools. Although I'm not critical of them for staying silent about this murder because it didn't happen on school grounds or didn't spill out of a school into Bradlee the way it does when school is in session. But they absolutely should address the violence in the schools. They choose not to.

The fact that as a group they never said a word about the Minnie Howard fights and Minnie Howard rape is callous though. It's just like their refusal to offer any constructive criticism to ACPS when the schools were shut down. It's what frustrates parents and makes PTAC and the clique that runs it and has been running it for years such a joke.

Agreed that they are not a great organization. But is it common for PTAs to do much about violence in the schools? The reason that I ask is that there was a fair amount of violence in my much younger sister's school in Chicago, and my mom says she cannot recall the PTA doing much. So that makes me wonder if this is typical awfulness, or ACPS specific awfulness.

Right. Seems way beyond the scope of a PTA’s function. The expectations people have for PTAC on this board are outrageous. I’ve seen them do some fundraisers and outreach to West End schools, much more traditional PTA stuff. Do people in other jurisdictions expect their PTAs to get involved in every single controversial school issue? I don’t think so!

They supported the removal of SROs. They entered politics on their own free will. They took deliberate steps to be political. They also have openly and aggressively targeted anyone who complained or voiced a political opinion that wasn’t in full step with whatever was coming out of Hutchings mouth. And they loved that for themselves. They get zero sympathy from me for any criticism.

[Anonymous]

They supported the removal of SROs. They entered politics on their own free will. They took deliberate steps to be political.

I am not part of the PTAC and don't know anyone who is well at all (the mom of a kid my son knew a tad in elementary has some lesser role on it, she seemed ok enough but certainly not someone I socialize with). I don't know if we need SROs - my brother taught high school in a fairly troubled public school in Chicago, and they were ok with regular security guards. However, regular security guards who are actually well-trained and professional, and don't socialize with the kids would be a good starting point for ACPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

They supported the removal of SROs. They entered politics on their own free will. They took deliberate steps to be political.

I am not part of the PTAC and don't know anyone who is well at all (the mom of a kid my son knew a tad in elementary has some lesser role on it, she seemed ok enough but certainly not someone I socialize with). I don't know if we need SROs - my brother taught high school in a fairly troubled public school in Chicago, and they were ok with regular security guards. However, regular security guards who are actually well-trained and professional, and don't socialize with the kids would be a good starting point for ACPS.

whether or not you believe in having SROs in school, PTAC became way more than a fundraiser organization, a group that wrangled volunteers for field trips, and the set of parents who structured teacher appreciation days. They decided years ago to jump straight into political matters, had very hard line opinions about things that are not PTAC related in any normal sense. They are not a regular group of PTA people like you would find anywhere else. Do I expect them to be able to do anything about a student being murdered? No. But would I would really like to see is that their basic lobbying and political support of policies that have lead us to this point in Alexandria come to a complete halt and stay out of politics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sick of people saying deteriorating city and the like. I grew up here and the neighborhoods where people complain about crime and they paid whatever price for new builds used to be no go areas. North old town, near Braddock metro, etc. The crimes there were atrocious. The city is vastly improved yet people go one next door and whine incessantly.

Murders of 17 year old boys is not "whining."

It is different crime - organized criminal gangs infiltrating our schools. A beheaded body was dumped at The Pit 4 years ago. A raid by the federal government a few months ago led to 6 MS-13 "king pin" arrests in the City. The City leadership refuses to acknowledge this reality, that is why it is deteriorating. In the years you harken back to, people were not sweeping it under the rug.

You think ms 13 wasn’t around ten, twenty, thirty years ago? You think wrong

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sick of people saying deteriorating city and the like. I grew up here and the neighborhoods where people complain about crime and they paid whatever price for new builds used to be no go areas. North old town, near Braddock metro, etc. The crimes there were atrocious. The city is vastly improved yet people go one next door and whine incessantly.

Murders of 17 year old boys is not "whining."

It is different crime - organized criminal gangs infiltrating our schools. A beheaded body was dumped at The Pit 4 years ago. A raid by the federal government a few months ago led to 6 MS-13 "king pin" arrests in the City. The City leadership refuses to acknowledge this reality, that is why it is deteriorating. In the years you harken back to, people were not sweeping it under the rug.

You think ms 13 wasn’t around ten, twenty, thirty years ago? You think wrong

And Alexandria assisted in enforcing federal immigration laws and there were not 2 million arrivals across the southern border - policies of this City have had a profound negative effect on the schools. The "progressives" of Alexandria cannot talk about our schools deteriorating without indicting the ludicrous "progressive" policies of the City. This includes the large-scale affordable housing projects and guaranteed income to non-citizens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

They supported the removal of SROs. They entered politics on their own free will. They took deliberate steps to be political.

I am not part of the PTAC and don't know anyone who is well at all (the mom of a kid my son knew a tad in elementary has some lesser role on it, she seemed ok enough but certainly not someone I socialize with). I don't know if we need SROs - my brother taught high school in a fairly troubled public school in Chicago, and they were ok with regular security guards. However, regular security guards who are actually well-trained and professional, and don't socialize with the kids would be a good starting point for ACPS.

whether or not you believe in having SROs in school, PTAC became way more than a fundraiser organization, a group that wrangled volunteers for field trips, and the set of parents who structured teacher appreciation days. They decided years ago to jump straight into political matters, had very hard line opinions about things that are not PTAC related in any normal sense. They are not a regular group of PTA people like you would find anywhere else. Do I expect them to be able to do anything about a student being murdered? No. But would I would really like to see is that their basic lobbying and political support of policies that have lead us to this point in Alexandria come to a complete halt and stay out of politics.

One of them basically attacked anyone that questioned the continued school closures due to Covid. I saw her call someone a "Nazi" for saying the closures should be reconsidered.

Looking back now, its clear to anyone and everyone that the schools should not have been fully closed, especially for the youngest students who suffered the most.

All those kids that killed themselves during the lock down? Yeah, their blood is on the hands of people like the PTAC.

Yes, "Nazi" is a favorite as is "racist". Disagree with them on any issue and the delicate little flowers just name call because they don't have a single argument beyond - ACPS is always right and you're racist. Heck, they do it even if they think you disagree with them. You don't have to actually do or say anything. Nasty bunch. The irony is that they work so hard and throw around the word racist just to ensure that their own kids benefit the most from the systemically racist school system.

I will give them credit for so fiercely defending their ACPS and school board friends. Last year's PTAC treasurer served at the same time as Tammy Ignacio's campaign treasurer. And one of the other PTAC board members (I think the only thing the woman does is sit on various PTAs and PTAC and comment on the facebook pages of the PTAs at the schools her kids went to almost a decade ago) hosted a fundraiser for Ignacio. That's a lot of tight knit loyalty.

[Anonymous]

PTAC needs to be taken over from within. Time to recruit people who aren't well known or vocal to pretend to be followers like the PTAC board members. Anyone can join and someone just has to be a member of one of the ptas to run for the board. There is a nominating committee but nominations can be taken from the floor. The election is in May. It would be easy enough to gather other PTA members to go to that meeting and vote for new people.

It's time for the west end to take over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PTAC needs to be taken over from within. Time to recruit people who aren't well known or vocal to pretend to be followers like the PTAC board members. Anyone can join and someone just has to be a member of one of the ptas to run for the board. There is a nominating committee but nominations can be taken from the floor. The election is in May. It would be easy enough to gather other PTA members to go to that meeting and vote for new people.

It's time for the west end to take over.

Is there a deep pool of candidates…?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PTAC needs to be taken over from within. Time to recruit people who aren't well known or vocal to pretend to be followers like the PTAC board members. Anyone can join and someone just has to be a member of one of the ptas to run for the board. There is a nominating committee but nominations can be taken from the floor. The election is in May. It would be easy enough to gather other PTA members to go to that meeting and vote for new people.

It's time for the west end to take over.

Is there a deep pool of candidates…?

No, PTAC elects the same people over and over, some for the same roles and others bounce around to different roles.