MCPS middle schools where trans kids aren't bullied?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You might have more luck at Pyle. My kids were there and it was not without some bullying, but there is a strongly supportive trans culture at Whitman, the HS it leads into and connections between both places. Erika Huck is a counselor at Pyle you might want to talk to her, she is extremely good at her job.

Agree. My child is there and there are several trans kids they are friendly with, and those kids seem to be happy and doing well. They have a solid of friends. Not sure if they never experience bullying/comments though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m so sorry your son is going through this. Unfortunately from my experience, it seems like even supposedly supportive schools still have bullying.

I am going to guess your son is on the spectrum, has mental health disorders or is quirky/been having social issues for quite sometime? Being Trans won’t solve those underlying issues. Being trans won’t make kids won’t make other kids not see those underlying issues.

From my experience, trans kids who face most bullying are those who are on the spectrum/are quirky and don’t have social skills to fit in. They are getting bullied due to lack of social skills and general quirkiness. The bullying comes out as trans insults though. But I’ve noticed the trans kid who have good enough social skills aren’t getting bullied for being trans.

Make sure you are working on his social skills even if he moves schools. Doesn’t WJ have a 2e program? That could be an option for high school but is there a middle school with a similar program?

No. They are getting bullied because of their peers' refusal/inability to accept different social skills. It's not autistic kids' fault that they are bullied.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You might have more luck at Pyle. My kids were there and it was not without some bullying, but there is a strongly supportive trans culture at Whitman, the HS it leads into and connections between both places. Erika Huck is a counselor at Pyle you might want to talk to her, she is extremely good at her job.

+100 on Erika Huck. Pyle also has an active GSA and an English department that offers books relevant to the LGBTQIA+ experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m so sorry your son is going through this. Unfortunately from my experience, it seems like even supposedly supportive schools still have bullying.

I am going to guess your son is on the spectrum, has mental health disorders or is quirky/been having social issues for quite sometime? Being Trans won’t solve those underlying issues. Being trans won’t make kids won’t make other kids not see those underlying issues.

From my experience, trans kids who face most bullying are those who are on the spectrum/are quirky and don’t have social skills to fit in. They are getting bullied due to lack of social skills and general quirkiness. The bullying comes out as trans insults though. But I’ve noticed the trans kid who have good enough social skills aren’t getting bullied for being trans.

Make sure you are working on his social skills even if he moves schools. Doesn’t WJ have a 2e program? That could be an option for high school but is there a middle school with a similar program?

No. They are getting bullied because of their peers' refusal/inability to accept different social skills. It's not autistic kids' fault that they are bullied.

+100 I have a gender diverse kid who has not experienced bullying and has a robust social life, but one of the things that makes them well-liked is that they don't carry around ableist, bullying, attitudes like the PP's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a little confused as to why you don’t request TPMS since you know what that culture is and it would be good for your child. Wouldn’t you have to transport to any school if you get cosa?

OP here. My only hesitation with requesting TPMS is that it's pretty far away. I'd need to spend more than two hours of my workday driving him to and from school. Luckily, that's not impossible for me to do, but it would be a challenge. I guess I'm hoping that there is another middle school with a similar vibe and reputation that's a little closer to home.

j

Why not have him ride the magnet bus? It's not like they check the magnet credentials for kids to ride.

The magnet bus is for magnet students. Imagine if any rando is allowed to board the bus how dangerous that might be for the students. Am sure if you request it, the school would allow your child to ride it due to the circumstance.

[Anonymous]

Also, if one kid is already on the magnet bus ask the school can they both go together? Schools usually don’t separate siblings

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m so sorry your son is going through this. Unfortunately from my experience, it seems like even supposedly supportive schools still have bullying.

I am going to guess your son is on the spectrum, has mental health disorders or is quirky/been having social issues for quite sometime? Being Trans won’t solve those underlying issues. Being trans won’t make kids won’t make other kids not see those underlying issues.

From my experience, trans kids who face most bullying are those who are on the spectrum/are quirky and don’t have social skills to fit in. They are getting bullied due to lack of social skills and general quirkiness. The bullying comes out as trans insults though. But I’ve noticed the trans kid who have good enough social skills aren’t getting bullied for being trans.

Make sure you are working on his social skills even if he moves schools. Doesn’t WJ have a 2e program? That could be an option for high school but is there a middle school with a similar program?

No. They are getting bullied because of their peers' refusal/inability to accept different social skills. It's not autistic kids' fault that they are bullied.

+100 I have a gender diverse kid who has not experienced bullying and has a robust social life, but one of the things that makes them well-liked is that they don't carry around ableist, bullying, attitudes like the PP's.

I think you confused yourself. Are you saying OP's kid is getting bullied for being ableist?

[Anonymous]

My child is not trans so I am not sure if this is true or not, but when she was at Westland, she had several trans friends and classmates. The school seemed pretty inclusive to me. That’s a pretty far drive for you from SS though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child is not trans so I am not sure if this is true or not, but when she was at Westland, she had several trans friends and classmates. The school seemed pretty inclusive to me. That’s a pretty far drive for you from SS though.

I agree. Westland seems to go out of its way to signal it is a safe space.

[Anonymous]

In the Silver Spring area if TPMS is too far I'd look at Loiderman and Eastern.

Both have special programs that impact the culture of the school. Loiderman has the performing arts program which attracts a lot of diverse kids of all types and helps make the school really accepting. Eastern has the communications program which does the same thing. Lots of LGBTQ kids at both schools and have not heard of any LGBTQ related bulling among DD's friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a little confused as to why you don’t request TPMS since you know what that culture is and it would be good for your child. Wouldn’t you have to transport to any school if you get cosa?

OP here. My only hesitation with requesting TPMS is that it's pretty far away. I'd need to spend more than two hours of my workday driving him to and from school. Luckily, that's not impossible for me to do, but it would be a challenge. I guess I'm hoping that there is another middle school with a similar vibe and reputation that's a little closer to home.

j

Why not have him ride the magnet bus? It's not like they check the magnet credentials for kids to ride.

The magnet bus is for magnet students. Imagine if any rando is allowed to board the bus how dangerous that might be for the students. Am sure if you request it, the school would allow your child to ride it due to the circumstance.

Don't listen to this OP. They don't check your ID on the magnet bus or anything. You can just have your child take the magnet bus if TPMS is your choice. It should also go to Eastern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m so sorry your son is going through this. Unfortunately from my experience, it seems like even supposedly supportive schools still have bullying.

I am going to guess your son is on the spectrum, has mental health disorders or is quirky/been having social issues for quite sometime? Being Trans won’t solve those underlying issues. Being trans won’t make kids won’t make other kids not see those underlying issues.

From my experience, trans kids who face most bullying are those who are on the spectrum/are quirky and don’t have social skills to fit in. They are getting bullied due to lack of social skills and general quirkiness. The bullying comes out as trans insults though. But I’ve noticed the trans kid who have good enough social skills aren’t getting bullied for being trans.

Make sure you are working on his social skills even if he moves schools. Doesn’t WJ have a 2e program? That could be an option for high school but is there a middle school with a similar program?

No. They are getting bullied because of their peers' refusal/inability to accept different social skills. It's not autistic kids' fault that they are bullied.

+100 I have a gender diverse kid who has not experienced bullying and has a robust social life, but one of the things that makes them well-liked is that they don't carry around ableist, bullying, attitudes like the PP's.

I think you confused yourself. Are you saying OP's kid is getting bullied for being ableist?

No, I'm saying PP is a bully for blaming autistic kids for getting bullied. That's the sort of attitude that gets you ostracized nowadays.

[Anonymous]

Rockville area doesn't seem to have any problems I guess? My son goes to JW and is heading to Richard Montgomery next year and there seems to be issues involving trans kids in the school.

Though I do believe LGBT-wise itself, Wood doesn't seem friendly, if you consider the fact that there was a group of kids that made a "homophobia club" last year. Considering OP lives somewhere around the Silver Spring area, the Einstein cluster could be a good choice. I have a friend whose kid came out trans during their senior year and I know Einstein to some extent has some trans and LGBT students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m so sorry your son is going through this. Unfortunately from my experience, it seems like even supposedly supportive schools still have bullying.

I am going to guess your son is on the spectrum, has mental health disorders or is quirky/been having social issues for quite sometime? Being Trans won’t solve those underlying issues. Being trans won’t make kids won’t make other kids not see those underlying issues.

From my experience, trans kids who face most bullying are those who are on the spectrum/are quirky and don’t have social skills to fit in. They are getting bullied due to lack of social skills and general quirkiness. The bullying comes out as trans insults though. But I’ve noticed the trans kid who have good enough social skills aren’t getting bullied for being trans.

Make sure you are working on his social skills even if he moves schools. Doesn’t WJ have a 2e program? That could be an option for high school but is there a middle school with a similar program?

This. Though I do think a change of scenery will be necessary in order to reset. When you do, I urge you to invest any time and money you have available in social skills building and all-purpose mental health interventions with an all-purpose psychiatrist and psychologist. I would also consider a small private school instead of a giant public one. Something like Lowell. Best of luck

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rockville area doesn't seem to have any problems I guess? My son goes to JW and is heading to Richard Montgomery next year and there seems to be issues involving trans kids in the school.

Though I do believe LGBT-wise itself, Wood doesn't seem friendly, if you consider the fact that there was a group of kids that made a "homophobia club" last year. Considering OP lives somewhere around the Silver Spring area, the Einstein cluster could be a good choice. I have a friend whose kid came out trans during their senior year and I know Einstein to some extent has some trans and LGBT students.

Is Wood a bad MS in terms of environment wise of the school life?