Fights at Deal this week

[Anonymous]

I would like more details because my child has picked up some pretty wild gossip about what happened and I'd like to be able to set the record straight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard from my child who heard from other kids that a child was beaten up by several kids. This is very different than a fight or "physical altercation" and I am not satisfied by the form letter just emailed. I do not want to gossip about kids, but the kids themselves are gossiping and parents are in the dark.

I had assumed you had not gotten any information from the school - if you already got that letter, why do you need more details? The specifics and personal details are not necessary for the whole school. There are protocols and confidentiality that the school needs to follow, and if it doesn't directly impact your kid/family, then you have to let it go, IMO.

There's no details in the letter.

The "we are connecting with families on disciplinary action" part is very interesting wording.

[Anonymous]

My kid said that a student was beat up because they were gay. That’s what they heard. Don’t mean to spread a wild rumor if it isn’t true.

Separately, apparently two Coolidge High School students snuck into Jackson-Reed yesterday and beat up a student there so bad they were taken out in a wheelchair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard from my child who heard from other kids that a child was beaten up by several kids. This is very different than a fight or "physical altercation" and I am not satisfied by the form letter just emailed. I do not want to gossip about kids, but the kids themselves are gossiping and parents are in the dark.

I had assumed you had not gotten any information from the school - if you already got that letter, why do you need more details? The specifics and personal details are not necessary for the whole school. There are protocols and confidentiality that the school needs to follow, and if it doesn't directly impact your kid/family, then you have to let it go, IMO.

A sizeable and serious altercation in the parking lot that required EMS to be called is something that impacts the entire school.

[Anonymous]

I heard that a kid threw a metal chair across a crowded hallway today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid said that a student was beat up because they were gay. That’s what they heard. Don’t mean to spread a wild rumor if it isn’t true.

I wasn't going to post this here, but that is what I heard from my child too. This is why more info needs to be sent to parents about this incident - either to dispel the defamatory rumors or to focus the school/parent community on educating kids in order to keep lgbtq students safe at school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These are middle school kids we're talking about. Obviously going through something if there's been an uptick in fighting. I know we are all concerned for our own kids and the neighborhood if there's fighting that spills into it, but let's remember that they're trying to figure things out and shouldn't be the subject of gossip. If it were your kid, you'd feel bad about that and want people to leave it alone.

As a middle school teacher and parent myself, this is not gossip. The details of what happened should not remain private. A fight in a school is a concern for the community, and more importantly, the student body as a whole. You are too concerned with protector the fighters that fight at a school. I am more concerned with protecting the students that go to school to learn. You can not save them all. When you can not, find them a different placement.

Parrot FOX much.
These are minors you don't get to know anything but the school has taken action.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These are middle school kids we're talking about. Obviously going through something if there's been an uptick in fighting. I know we are all concerned for our own kids and the neighborhood if there's fighting that spills into it, but let's remember that they're trying to figure things out and shouldn't be the subject of gossip. If it were your kid, you'd feel bad about that and want people to leave it alone.

As a middle school teacher and parent myself, this is not gossip. The details of what happened should not remain private. A fight in a school is a concern for the community, and more importantly, the student body as a whole. You are too concerned with protector the fighters that fight at a school. I am more concerned with protecting the students that go to school to learn. You can not save them all. When you can not, find them a different placement.

Parrot FOX much.
These are minors you don't get to know anything but the school has taken action.

Nobody said anything about naming either the perpetrators or the victim.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid said that a student was beat up because they were gay. That’s what they heard. Don’t mean to spread a wild rumor if it isn’t true.

I wasn't going to post this here, but that is what I heard from my child too. This is why more info needs to be sent to parents about this incident - either to dispel the defamatory rumors or to focus the school/parent community on educating kids in order to keep lgbtq students safe at school.

Does anyone know which grade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These are middle school kids we're talking about. Obviously going through something if there's been an uptick in fighting. I know we are all concerned for our own kids and the neighborhood if there's fighting that spills into it, but let's remember that they're trying to figure things out and shouldn't be the subject of gossip. If it were your kid, you'd feel bad about that and want people to leave it alone.

Give me a break. It is a safety issue.

If kids can't behave at school, they shouldn't be at school. If their homes aren't safe and Homelife is the source of their issues and behaviors, they need help - yes, of course - and there need to be a solutions put in place via Child and Family Services, but we should not have to be afraid our kids are going to get beat up or killed because some kids are "going through something."

And if it were my kid that got beat up? I would raise hell.

If it were my kid in on the troublemaking? He'd go straight to therapy and not leave the house again without a parent until we figured things out.

[Anonymous]

This year the school seems particularly lax at addressing student behavior. I feel a little like letting things side like skipping class or small scale bullyling is leading to bigger issues.

[Anonymous]

Our schools need to be safer. Suspend a kid for fighting and other safety reasons and you get a lot of pressure as a school administrator. The SBOE and Council are taking up legislation on cell phones but no one is pushing to address physical violence and safety in our schools. This isn't just about one incident or knowing the details, there needs to be more support for schools. There also may need to be more alternative placements, whether short term or longer, when a student has proven to be a danger to others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our schools need to be safer. Suspend a kid for fighting and other safety reasons and you get a lot of pressure as a school administrator. The SBOE and Council are taking up legislation on cell phones but no one is pushing to address physical violence and safety in our schools. This isn't just about one incident or knowing the details, there needs to be more support for schools. There also may need to be more alternative placements, whether short term or longer, when a student has proven to be a danger to others.

Absolutely! One 7th grader has been in more than five fights this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our schools need to be safer. Suspend a kid for fighting and other safety reasons and you get a lot of pressure as a school administrator. The SBOE and Council are taking up legislation on cell phones but no one is pushing to address physical violence and safety in our schools. This isn't just about one incident or knowing the details, there needs to be more support for schools. There also may need to be more alternative placements, whether short term or longer, when a student has proven to be a danger to others.

Absolutely! One 7th grader has been in more than five fights this year.

That kid should not be in school. Doesn't deal have social workers on staff? How do they help or are their hands tied?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our schools need to be safer. Suspend a kid for fighting and other safety reasons and you get a lot of pressure as a school administrator. The SBOE and Council are taking up legislation on cell phones but no one is pushing to address physical violence and safety in our schools. This isn't just about one incident or knowing the details, there needs to be more support for schools. There also may need to be more alternative placements, whether short term or longer, when a student has proven to be a danger to others.

As a teacher I agree wholeheartedly alternatives, support and consequences.