Incident at Bradley Hills - Are our MCPS kids safe?

[Anonymous]

As an MCPS teacher, no we are not safe. My children attend MCPS school too. We are sitting ducks for the next psycho who comes to school with a gun. All they have to do is walk up to any back locked exterior door, break the glass of the window, let themselves in to the building. They would have at least 3 minutes uninterrupted access to children and staff until police arrived. No one likes to talk about this but it's 100 percent fact.

I know the liberals are gonna freak out when I say this....but if we had armed security guards at school, that would make all the difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is terrifying. Do we still send our kids to school?

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Dear Bradley Hills Elementary and all the communities in the Whitman High School Cluster,

We are writing to inform you of an extremely serious incident that occurred on school property at Bradley Hills Elementary School and to share the actions being taken in response.

Today, graffiti was discovered on a fence at Bradley Hills Elementary School that included the name of the perpetrator of the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. To be clear, the use of the name of an individual responsible for such a heinous act, one that involved the loss of life of young school children, can only be interpreted as an act intended to intimidate and cause fear within the Bradley Hills School community, and the broader neighborhood and community, too. Please know that this despicable act will be met with a substantial and uniform response from multiple divisions of MCPS and the Montgomery County Police Department.

As soon as the graffiti was reported, MCPS staff documented the graffiti and a separate MCPS building services team has been assigned to begin the process of removal. We expect that team to be on site to remove the graffiti shortly, and the work will be completed before the end of the evening. The incident, of course, was reported to the Montgomery County Department of Police, and an investigation is underway and is in its early stages.

We also want to acknowledge that this comes on the heels of the incident involving an outdoor storage shed being intentionally set on fire on school grounds this past week. At this time, it is unclear whether these incidents are connected, but that possibility is being fully investigated. School camera security footage and information have been shared with the police to support their investigation.

We understand how both of these incidents are extremely unsettling and concerning for students, families, staff, and neighbors. Please know that school leaders, security team members, and our law enforcement partners are taking this very seriously. The police have committed to an increased presence as we return to school this coming Monday morning. MCPS will also have an increased security presence at the school on Monday and increased patrols of the area around the school through the weekend.

We are sharing this same message with all schools in the Whitman Cluster community and are asking for your help. If you have any information that may assist in this investigation, please contact the Montgomery County Police Department non-emergency line at 301-279-8000. You may also report information anonymously through the Maryland Safe Schools Tip Line at 1-833-632-7233 (1-833-MD-B-SAFE) or online at https://schoolsafety.maryland.gov/pages/tipline.aspx.

Acts like this absolutely do not reflect who we are as a community, and we will fully partner with the police to support their investigation of this incident.

Dr. Peter O. Moran
MCPS Chief of Schools

Marcus Jones
Chief, Division of Safety and Emergency Management

Move them to the hillside and put them in a bunker. That could be more safe and….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an MCPS teacher, no we are not safe. My children attend MCPS school too. We are sitting ducks for the next psycho who comes to school with a gun. All they have to do is walk up to any back locked exterior door, break the glass of the window, let themselves in to the building. They would have at least 3 minutes uninterrupted access to children and staff until police arrived. No one likes to talk about this but it's 100 percent fact.

I know the liberals are gonna freak out when I say this....but if we had armed security guards at school, that would make all the difference.

Armed rent a cop? Police working overtime who fall asleep w coffee and a donut. Schools aren’t prisons. Nothing to do with my politics. You want your little karla to go through the metal detector and be wanted?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The two boys who did racist graffiti at Pyle a couple summers ago had no consequences. It will be interesting to see whether something different happens under Thomas. This could easily be the work of the same dirtbags.

You don't know what their consequences were unless you asked them. MCPS doesn't tell you what consequences they impose on kids for violating school rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an MCPS teacher, no we are not safe. My children attend MCPS school too. We are sitting ducks for the next psycho who comes to school with a gun. All they have to do is walk up to any back locked exterior door, break the glass of the window, let themselves in to the building. They would have at least 3 minutes uninterrupted access to children and staff until police arrived. No one likes to talk about this but it's 100 percent fact.

I know the liberals are gonna freak out when I say this....but if we had armed security guards at school, that would make all the difference.

Armed rent a cop? Police working overtime who fall asleep w coffee and a donut. Schools aren’t prisons. Nothing to do with my politics. You want your little karla to go through the metal detector and be wanted?

I was actually going to suggest training and arming teachers but I didn't want every person on this forum to pass out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The two boys who did racist graffiti at Pyle a couple summers ago had no consequences. It will be interesting to see whether something different happens under Thomas. This could easily be the work of the same dirtbags.

You don't know what their consequences were unless you asked them. MCPS doesn't tell you what consequences they impose on kids for violating school rules.

No shit. One can infer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an MCPS teacher, no we are not safe. My children attend MCPS school too. We are sitting ducks for the next psycho who comes to school with a gun. All they have to do is walk up to any back locked exterior door, break the glass of the window, let themselves in to the building. They would have at least 3 minutes uninterrupted access to children and staff until police arrived. No one likes to talk about this but it's 100 percent fact.

I know the liberals are gonna freak out when I say this....but if we had armed security guards at school, that would make all the difference.

Armed rent a cop? Police working overtime who fall asleep w coffee and a donut. Schools aren’t prisons. Nothing to do with my politics. You want your little karla to go through the metal detector and be wanted?

I want my Karla, Karla and Karla to go through metal detectors and have armed guards there. I want my kids to come home alive. The teacher is right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The two boys who did racist graffiti at Pyle a couple summers ago had no consequences. It will be interesting to see whether something different happens under Thomas. This could easily be the work of the same dirtbags.

You don't know what their consequences were unless you asked them. MCPS doesn't tell you what consequences they impose on kids for violating school rules.

No shit. One can infer.

It would be dumb to infer because you can't possibly know what the consequences were. They got consequences. You don't know and can't know unless the kids or their families told you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an MCPS teacher, no we are not safe. My children attend MCPS school too. We are sitting ducks for the next psycho who comes to school with a gun. All they have to do is walk up to any back locked exterior door, break the glass of the window, let themselves in to the building. They would have at least 3 minutes uninterrupted access to children and staff until police arrived. No one likes to talk about this but it's 100 percent fact.

I know the liberals are gonna freak out when I say this....but if we had armed security guards at school, that would make all the difference.

Armed rent a cop? Police working overtime who fall asleep w coffee and a donut. Schools aren’t prisons. Nothing to do with my politics. You want your little karla to go through the metal detector and be wanted?

I want my Karla, Karla and Karla to go through metal detectors and have armed guards there. I want my kids to come home alive. The teacher is right.

This. Metal detectors at the only entrances into school. Armed police. Deter bad acts, catch bad guys, closer steps to kids coming home from school alive.

And the county wonders why so many kids have dropped out of MCPS schools…. If I could afford $60k/year per kid, I’d be sending my kids to private…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The two boys who did racist graffiti at Pyle a couple summers ago had no consequences. It will be interesting to see whether something different happens under Thomas. This could easily be the work of the same dirtbags.

You don't know what their consequences were unless you asked them. MCPS doesn't tell you what consequences they impose on kids for violating school rules.

No shit. One can infer.

It would be dumb to infer because you can't possibly know what the consequences were. They got consequences. You don't know and can't know unless the kids or their families told you.

I just retired from MCPS last year and I can assure you that for the past seven years there really aren't any consequences. Kids just get transferred to other schools where they repeat their behaviors. MoCo is also very easy on crime. I feel bad for the police officers who arrest people and they're out the same day. After all, the person who stabbed a teenager in Clarksburg a few weeks ago was released hours after their arrest. Thank your county and state governments for being easy on crime. The kids know that they can practically get away with murder and there will be no consequences. Hence all the Teen Takeovers you're starting to see in the area.

[Anonymous]

Agree there are no consequences. However, metal detectors are security theater - wasted money without results. 1. Ghost guns are made of plastic and don't set off the metal detectors 2. Schools have a lot of doors, can't have metal detectors at all of them, and one kid letting in a friend, or propping a door because it's too hot or too cold and someone gets in. I don't want my kids in a school with armed guards - they had that in Uvalde and see how that worked out.

The antidote is education, hope, and support for mental health

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an MCPS teacher, no we are not safe. My children attend MCPS school too. We are sitting ducks for the next psycho who comes to school with a gun. All they have to do is walk up to any back locked exterior door, break the glass of the window, let themselves in to the building. They would have at least 3 minutes uninterrupted access to children and staff until police arrived. No one likes to talk about this but it's 100 percent fact.

I know the liberals are gonna freak out when I say this....but if we had armed security guards at school, that would make all the difference.

Armed rent a cop? Police working overtime who fall asleep w coffee and a donut. Schools aren’t prisons. Nothing to do with my politics. You want your little karla to go through the metal detector and be wanted?

I was actually going to suggest training and arming teachers but I didn't want every person on this forum to pass out.

You’re assuming that teachers want training to be armed and that county and school districts want to cover the cost of weapons and insurance. And that citizens who claim to want all these things will feel the same when the see the tax bill to cover it all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an MCPS teacher, no we are not safe. My children attend MCPS school too. We are sitting ducks for the next psycho who comes to school with a gun. All they have to do is walk up to any back locked exterior door, break the glass of the window, let themselves in to the building. They would have at least 3 minutes uninterrupted access to children and staff until police arrived. No one likes to talk about this but it's 100 percent fact.

I know the liberals are gonna freak out when I say this....but if we had armed security guards at school, that would make all the difference.

Armed rent a cop? Police working overtime who fall asleep w coffee and a donut. Schools aren’t prisons. Nothing to do with my politics. You want your little karla to go through the metal detector and be wanted?

I was actually going to suggest training and arming teachers but I didn't want every person on this forum to pass out.

You’re assuming that teachers want training to be armed and that county and school districts want to cover the cost of weapons and insurance. And that citizens who claim to want all these things will feel the same when the see the tax bill to cover it all.

Not the teachers job.

[Anonymous]

I’m a liberal who doesn’t have a gun and do
Not want one in my house and I would be all for armed guards in high schools IF I didn’t hear of many girls who have been hit on by bored adult security officers in other schools. And high schools are HUGE. Shooter goes in one door, it takes 5 minutes for the security officer (who may not be in good shape to move fast) to get anywhere near the incident. I do not think it’s the deterrent some of you actually think it is.

I’m also a an ES teacher and I can assure you that most teachers would be terrible armed—one—many of us are perimenopause or post and get poor sleep. —two—the amount of multi tasking we have to do to get through the day is unreal and the calculations to take the gun and aim it at a shooter in order to not kill any students takes the brain of someone who can focus fully and calmly on ONE thing and —three—all that without DISTRACTIONS and heightened emotions when there’s a shooter in the school.
—four—kids are unhinged these days. If they knew every teacher was carrying a weapon, many of them would try to figure out how to get it from the teacher; joke about getting it from the teacher, get it from the teacher. And kids with big anxiety? Forget about it. They’ll rarely learn if they know there’s a GUN in the classroom. And yes they’ll know because parents talk about everything in front of their kids thinking they’re not listening (they are, they talk about it in class).

None of “arming all the teachers” actually makes sense in the real world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an MCPS teacher, no we are not safe. My children attend MCPS school too. We are sitting ducks for the next psycho who comes to school with a gun. All they have to do is walk up to any back locked exterior door, break the glass of the window, let themselves in to the building. They would have at least 3 minutes uninterrupted access to children and staff until police arrived. No one likes to talk about this but it's 100 percent fact.

I know the liberals are gonna freak out when I say this....but if we had armed security guards at school, that would make all the difference.

PP, I agree, and I’m very liberal — closer to AOC than Biden. I wish we had two armed security guards at my kids’ MCPS every day.

I’d station them at the front doors during drop off & dismissal, at the playground during recess, and one indoors one outdoors during the rest of the day.

The student-teacher staffing ratio during lunch and recess should also be cut in half. It’s currently 50:1. How can that possibly be safe?

I hope everyone reading this emails your County reps today to request more in-person security at MCPS schools at all levels. Posting here is step 1. Emailing your reps is step 2. Talking to other parents at your school about their also advocating is step 3. Staying on top of your county reps is step 4.

I can think of no issue more important and critical than this.