MCPS suggests additional safety measures for schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good. The only issue is when kids lose their id they cannot be easily replaced. I support all of it.

Have a digital version available. Guarantee they won’t lose their phones.

You want the school to have digital tracking capabilities on your children? That’s F’ed up.

They already do

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good. The only issue is when kids lose their id they cannot be easily replaced. I support all of it.

Have a digital version available. Guarantee they won’t lose their phones.

That’s an issue if you choose to take away the phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good. The only issue is when kids lose their id they cannot be easily replaced. I support all of it.

Have a digital version available. Guarantee they won’t lose their phones.

You want the school to have digital tracking capabilities on your children? That’s F’ed up.

They track them regardless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good. The only issue is when kids lose their id they cannot be easily replaced. I support all of it.

Have a digital version available. Guarantee they won’t lose their phones.

StudentVue already has a digital version of the ID card.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IDs? And who will be looking at then as 3,000 enter the building at 7:40? No one.

If some student is caught doing something and a teacher doesn't know their names, it is definitely helpful to have student IDs. If they wear them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IDs? And who will be looking at then as 3,000 enter the building at 7:40? No one.

RM has required student IDs upon arrival since last year’s incidents of kids from other HS being in the building during the day. There are only two entrances and they are manned by security and admin in the mornings. After the initial change, there’s been no issue with kids showing ID to enter.

I wish they would upgrade to requiring the IDs to be worn visibly, like so many workplaces do. That would help with the hall wandering since teachers could more easily identify and report kids wandering without a pass.

That's because no one actually checks them. The kids apparently joke about what they can show to get in -- their driver's license, a credit card, a starbucks card, a post-it -- basically the guards only have time to eye ball kids as they come in, so if you look vaguely like a student and flash them something, that's good enough.

[Anonymous]

Next up, school uniforms and then corporal punishment...

[Anonymous]

They need more security guards. Did you see the quote where the WJ PTA president says they've been basically begging for the full complement of security guards, and MCPS won't give them? That's why most of the bathrooms are locked -- no security guards to monitor the hallways outside the bathrooms.

I don't personally think that the metal detectors will be functional...it's hard enough to get those to work right and be staffed appropriately at airports and courthouses.

They really just need more security guards and maybe CEOs/SROs sweeping the halls to make sure kids aren't getting into trouble on campus. Kids will always get in trouble (at least some portion of it) -- but they used to do it outside school at least! The kids that wanted to fight or sell drugs would set a time/place outside the school. Now they just meet in the bathrooms.

I guess the vape alerts will be helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IDs? And who will be looking at then as 3,000 enter the building at 7:40? No one.

RM has required student IDs upon arrival since last year’s incidents of kids from other HS being in the building during the day. There are only two entrances and they are manned by security and admin in the mornings. After the initial change, there’s been no issue with kids showing ID to enter.

I wish they would upgrade to requiring the IDs to be worn visibly, like so many workplaces do. That would help with the hall wandering since teachers could more easily identify and report kids wandering without a pass.

That's because no one actually checks them. The kids apparently joke about what they can show to get in -- their driver's license, a credit card, a starbucks card, a post-it -- basically the guards only have time to eye ball kids as they come in, so if you look vaguely like a student and flash them something, that's good enough.

This is what MCPS specializes in: Looking like they're doing something without actually putting the enforcement mechanisms to make the perception a reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They need more security guards. Did you see the quote where the WJ PTA president says they've been basically begging for the full complement of security guards, and MCPS won't give them? That's why most of the bathrooms are locked -- no security guards to monitor the hallways outside the bathrooms.

I don't personally think that the metal detectors will be functional...it's hard enough to get those to work right and be staffed appropriately at airports and courthouses.

They really just need more security guards and maybe CEOs/SROs sweeping the halls to make sure kids aren't getting into trouble on campus. Kids will always get in trouble (at least some portion of it) -- but they used to do it outside school at least! The kids that wanted to fight or sell drugs would set a time/place outside the school. Now they just meet in the bathrooms.

I guess the vape alerts will be helpful.

This.

Our school (not WJ) is one with locked bathrooms.

Our kids are required to have IDs, but there aren’t enough staff to check all the kids, so it’s meaningless.

[Anonymous]

Metal detectors are a waste of time and money.

Our HS requires IDs, which sounds great, but what happens if a kid doesn’t have one? Spoiler alert - nobody notices! My kid has forgotten hers multiple times and it is a complete non-issue.

Our school has over 2000 kids. Impossible to check IDs as they all enter and then also ensure that they have their ID on them at all times.

[Anonymous]

You can have temporarily id's for those who lose it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They need more security guards. Did you see the quote where the WJ PTA president says they've been basically begging for the full complement of security guards, and MCPS won't give them? That's why most of the bathrooms are locked -- no security guards to monitor the hallways outside the bathrooms.

I don't personally think that the metal detectors will be functional...it's hard enough to get those to work right and be staffed appropriately at airports and courthouses.

They really just need more security guards and maybe CEOs/SROs sweeping the halls to make sure kids aren't getting into trouble on campus. Kids will always get in trouble (at least some portion of it) -- but they used to do it outside school at least! The kids that wanted to fight or sell drugs would set a time/place outside the school. Now they just meet in the bathrooms.

I guess the vape alerts will be helpful.

Correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Metal detectors are a waste of time and money.

Our HS requires IDs, which sounds great, but what happens if a kid doesn’t have one? Spoiler alert - nobody notices! My kid has forgotten hers multiple times and it is a complete non-issue.

Our school has over 2000 kids. Impossible to check IDs as they all enter and then also ensure that they have their ID on them at all times.

I don’t like metal detectors but they work pretty well. I used to work for a school district that used them and security guards made every single person go through them. There were lines in the morning and kids had to arrive a little earlier to school but they do work

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They should start by fixing that terrible discipline system they have now. It’s much too vague and dependent on teachers.

This. Not all kids are meant to be mainstreamed. My ES has at least one kid in her class who thows chairs. That kid should NOT be in a gen ED classroom at all or at least not without a dedicated aid who can take them out at the first sign of an issue. And there are many kids like that. They all need more help than MCPS is giving them by putting them in a class with 25 other kids.