Thoughts on the new Churchill principal?

[Anonymous]

I am disappointed the PTA meeting in which she was supposed to speak at last night was cancelled and not rescheduled till October. There was no explanation as to why the move but a Jewish holiday that starts at sundown could have necessitated the cancellation. However, couldn't this have been foreseen and planed around ahead of time for a school that has a large percentage of Jewish families?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The lack of female representation in the Athletic Department is a more urgent and dangerous problem than traffic. Heckert really needs to roll up her sleeves and fix the long standing patterns of employee misconduct by her current staff. Children have been hurt on athletic teams at Churchill and very little has been done to address the problems of bullying and sexual harassment by coaches on multiple teams.

Current athletes need to be educated as to what is considered appropriate and inappropriate standards of conduct for coaches. The damage is deep on some of the large coed teams at Churchill. Many students may need counseling services. Confidential investigations as to coaching conduct should be done on every team at the school to gage where help is needed. Ultimately, the previous school administration let this environment propagate and cleaning house is necessary to fix the situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Missed the change in drop off -- what is it?

They did a tiny bit of construction and have cones in place to form two entry lines rather than one. I think they also opened the parking lot near the stadium for drop off. (?? I've never tried that, but they indicated as much in the back-to-school letter??)

Traffic is much more backed up on the side streets in the morning than it used to be. The original traffic loop designed was flawed and the flow stops to a standstill because there is not a 4 way stop at the exit so no one can leave the loop.

In the afternoon, I have seen children driving out of the lot in the wrong direction. It is only a matter of time before a student has a head on collision or heaven forbid, strikes a pedestrian because he/she is not obeying the new traffic patterns. Perhaps the Principal or Assistant Principal can stop this behavior by withdrawing parking passes from Seniors who cannot use the proper exit for the lot.

Finally, it never made any sense for the drop off and pick up loop to be in the Senior Parking Lot. There is a lot less traffic flow in the faculty parking lot. Perhaps switch the Faculty and Senior lots around so parents could drop off and pick up in a lot where the faculty cars are just parked, not Senior cars coming and going. The change would distribute the flow of traffic better.

I think a four-way stop on the parking lot exit makes a lot of sense-- I wonder if it has been considered? It would work best if it was time-sensitive, the way that there are time-sensitive driving lanes some places. (The stop sign is covered most of the day but uncovered/opened up for an hour in the morning and hour in the afternoon.) I think that would solve a lot of the problems. (Alternatively, I wonder if the PTA could pay for a traffic cop the way that Bullis and some other schools have at morning/afternoon rush.)

[Anonymous]

The real question is how she is interacting with/evaluating the teaching staff.

My dd says her teachers don't really *know* teachers in other departments because there are so few community types of activities.

This board also has long lists of teacher-related problems ranging from lack of oversight of overnight activities (Model UN) to problems with the athletic departments to weak teaching in the math department. Those things take a long time to correct, but if she does a good job in the first year, she can at least motivate/scare teachers into doing as much self correction as they are able.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The lack of female representation in the Athletic Department is a more urgent and dangerous problem than traffic. Heckert really needs to roll up her sleeves and fix the long standing patterns of employee misconduct by her current staff. Children have been hurt on athletic teams at Churchill and very little has been done to address the problems of bullying and sexual harassment by coaches on multiple teams.

Current athletes need to be educated as to what is considered appropriate and inappropriate standards of conduct for coaches. The damage is deep on some of the large coed teams at Churchill. Many students may need counseling services. Confidential investigations as to coaching conduct should be done on every team at the school to gage where help is needed. Ultimately, the previous school administration let this environment propagate and cleaning house is necessary to fix the situation.

I hope this gets addressed. I've told my child that s/he can't try out for track or cross country because of what I've heard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does it matter why? That is a individual parental decision.

The new traffic patterns put in place under Heckert has slowed the traffic pattern causing for greater delays. Adding a 2nd loop may have helped but the old loop is too small to serve the community needs and traffic going to that lot is added to by Seniors who are trying to park their cars in the school assigned spaces. More studies and a better design for the community is needed.

It is, of course. But it's not one that the school has to bend over backward to accommodate. I'm in agreement that "let's make sure parents who choose to drive their high schoolers while eschewing the numerous other options, have a very easy time with drop off" should be pretty far down on her priority list. In fact, I'm OK with last.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Missed the change in drop off -- what is it?

They did a tiny bit of construction and have cones in place to form two entry lines rather than one. I think they also opened the parking lot near the stadium for drop off. (?? I've never tried that, but they indicated as much in the back-to-school letter??)

Traffic is much more backed up on the side streets in the morning than it used to be. The original traffic loop designed was flawed and the flow stops to a standstill because there is not a 4 way stop at the exit so no one can leave the loop.

In the afternoon, I have seen children driving out of the lot in the wrong direction. It is only a matter of time before a student has a head on collision or heaven forbid, strikes a pedestrian because he/she is not obeying the new traffic patterns. Perhaps the Principal or Assistant Principal can stop this behavior by withdrawing parking passes from Seniors who cannot use the proper exit for the lot.

Finally, it never made any sense for the drop off and pick up loop to be in the Senior Parking Lot. There is a lot less traffic flow in the faculty parking lot. Perhaps switch the Faculty and Senior lots around so parents could drop off and pick up in a lot where the faculty cars are just parked, not Senior cars coming and going. The change would distribute the flow of traffic better.

I agree that the main problem with the traffic flow is the exit. Not only slows traffic, but is dangerous for either driving straight or turning left out of the lot because of poor visibility. (And turning right is terribly backed up.)

Why do so many kids get dropped off and picked up?

Because so many kids don't actually live in bounds for Churchill. Well known that many families in MCPS use alternate addresses to attend different schools. Even the teachers at Churchill know this happens. They admit it's the side effect of working at a school with a 'good reputation'. People want to attend, even if they don't live in bounds.

We live in bound and drive our child to school in the morning as it's a long walk (about 1.5 miles) and we don't have a school bus. Obviously, it's doable, but it's a long walk in the morning. It's also on the way to work so it's easy for us. That's what most of the parents do in our neighborhood, and then the kids make their way home in the afternoon by themselves (Ride on bus or walk). The Ride-on bus isn't really an option in the morning as it's not very reliable and we'd be concerned about our child getting to school late.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Missed the change in drop off -- what is it?

They did a tiny bit of construction and have cones in place to form two entry lines rather than one. I think they also opened the parking lot near the stadium for drop off. (?? I've never tried that, but they indicated as much in the back-to-school letter??)

Traffic is much more backed up on the side streets in the morning than it used to be. The original traffic loop designed was flawed and the flow stops to a standstill because there is not a 4 way stop at the exit so no one can leave the loop.

In the afternoon, I have seen children driving out of the lot in the wrong direction. It is only a matter of time before a student has a head on collision or heaven forbid, strikes a pedestrian because he/she is not obeying the new traffic patterns. Perhaps the Principal or Assistant Principal can stop this behavior by withdrawing parking passes from Seniors who cannot use the proper exit for the lot.

Finally, it never made any sense for the drop off and pick up loop to be in the Senior Parking Lot. There is a lot less traffic flow in the faculty parking lot. Perhaps switch the Faculty and Senior lots around so parents could drop off and pick up in a lot where the faculty cars are just parked, not Senior cars coming and going. The change would distribute the flow of traffic better.

I agree that the main problem with the traffic flow is the exit. Not only slows traffic, but is dangerous for either driving straight or turning left out of the lot because of poor visibility. (And turning right is terribly backed up.)

Same situation for us. 1.5 miles and no sidewalks. It's not that this is such a top priority, but it should be easy to make at least some strides on it.

Why do so many kids get dropped off and picked up?

Because so many kids don't actually live in bounds for Churchill. Well known that many families in MCPS use alternate addresses to attend different schools. Even the teachers at Churchill know this happens. They admit it's the side effect of working at a school with a 'good reputation'. People want to attend, even if they don't live in bounds.

We live in bound and drive our child to school in the morning as it's a long walk (about 1.5 miles) and we don't have a school bus. Obviously, it's doable, but it's a long walk in the morning. It's also on the way to work so it's easy for us. That's what most of the parents do in our neighborhood, and then the kids make their way home in the afternoon by themselves (Ride on bus or walk). The Ride-on bus isn't really an option in the morning as it's not very reliable and we'd be concerned about our child getting to school late.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The lack of female representation in the Athletic Department is a more urgent and dangerous problem than traffic. Heckert really needs to roll up her sleeves and fix the long standing patterns of employee misconduct by her current staff. Children have been hurt on athletic teams at Churchill and very little has been done to address the problems of bullying and sexual harassment by coaches on multiple teams.

Current athletes need to be educated as to what is considered appropriate and inappropriate standards of conduct for coaches. The damage is deep on some of the large coed teams at Churchill. Many students may need counseling services. Confidential investigations as to coaching conduct should be done on every team at the school to gage where help is needed. Ultimately, the previous school administration let this environment propagate and cleaning house is necessary to fix the situation.

I hope this gets addressed. I've told my child that s/he can't try out for track or cross country because of what I've heard.

Multiple athletes last year came forward to describe the horrid treatment by coaches on these teams. Some have now graduated, one child tranferred to a private school, and some chose to not participate on these teams any more. Benz and the AD have ignored complaints for years. Heckert needs to have greater oversight and monitor these teams.

As a parent, my child would be interested in competing in track in shot put and other infield events. Unless the coaching staff is changed, he will never participate in track at Churchill.

[Anonymous]

I wish they had better languages and better sports. Gymnastics would be nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The real question is how she is interacting with/evaluating the teaching staff.

My dd says her teachers don't really *know* teachers in other departments because there are so few community types of activities.

This board also has long lists of teacher-related problems ranging from lack of oversight of overnight activities (Model UN) to problems with the athletic departments to weak teaching in the math department. Those things take a long time to correct, but if she does a good job in the first year, she can at least motivate/scare teachers into doing as much self correction as they are able.

If a teacher has a tainted record, the main question is why a principal would give permission for that teacher to continue with overnight trips? Past mistakes can be blamed on Benz but Heckert is to blame if these types of mistakes continue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Missed the change in drop off -- what is it?

They did a tiny bit of construction and have cones in place to form two entry lines rather than one. I think they also opened the parking lot near the stadium for drop off. (?? I've never tried that, but they indicated as much in the back-to-school letter??)

Traffic is much more backed up on the side streets in the morning than it used to be. The original traffic loop designed was flawed and the flow stops to a standstill because there is not a 4 way stop at the exit so no one can leave the loop.

In the afternoon, I have seen children driving out of the lot in the wrong direction. It is only a matter of time before a student has a head on collision or heaven forbid, strikes a pedestrian because he/she is not obeying the new traffic patterns. Perhaps the Principal or Assistant Principal can stop this behavior by withdrawing parking passes from Seniors who cannot use the proper exit for the lot.

Finally, it never made any sense for the drop off and pick up loop to be in the Senior Parking Lot. There is a lot less traffic flow in the faculty parking lot. Perhaps switch the Faculty and Senior lots around so parents could drop off and pick up in a lot where the faculty cars are just parked, not Senior cars coming and going. The change would distribute the flow of traffic better.

I agree that the main problem with the traffic flow is the exit. Not only slows traffic, but is dangerous for either driving straight or turning left out of the lot because of poor visibility. (And turning right is terribly backed up.)

Why do so many kids get dropped off and picked up?

For one, our house is situated almost 2mi away from Churchill but we have no bus service offer.

[Anonymous]

Safety improvements for children need to be implemented now. I hope she comes prepared to share how she is going to create a change at Churchill this year since questionable employees remain on staff. She could fix the situation but thus far, little measures have been taken.

[Anonymous]

I had the opportunity to meet the new principal and am impressed by the energy she brings to Churchill. We continue to have positive experiences at Churchill in the classroom and on various sports teams. Don't be scared off by the one parent who posts non stop (posts and replies to their own posts ) about their negative experiences with the cross country/track coaches and school staff. It is nothing but defamation. The team seems to have record enrollment this season! Speaks highly of the coaches! My child loves being on the team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Safety improvements for children need to be implemented now. I hope she comes prepared to share how she is going to create a change at Churchill this year since questionable employees remain on staff. She could fix the situation but thus far, little measures have been taken.

It's not so easy to remove 'questionable' employees from the staff. The obstacles are such that it may never get done. Even if the issues are egregious, it could take many months of performance improvement plans, etc. to make real change.