How is bullying handled at Cooper or Longfellow?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many parents put their kids in private school for 7th and 8th to bypass Longfellow bullying problem.

You must not be following the enrollment numbers very carefully. People make a point of moving into the district so they can send their kids to Longfellow, which overall is a fantastic school. Any recent decline in enrollment is due entirely to the AAP kids from the Langley pyramid being sent to Cooper, their base school.

Moving the AAP kids to Cooper will hopefully dilute the problem kids at both schools. Hopefully Cooper doesn't become infected with the bullying.

[Anonymous]

It's not just a junior high problem. We pulled our DC out of AAP because of the bullying in 5th. It was not worth the psychological toll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are/were at Cooper and have/had not experienced any bullying. I've asked several different ways, and my kids also say they have never witnessed any bullying against others. The principal is a very no-nonsense kind of gal.

Same experience here, after having three kids go through Cooper. Never heard of any bullying, ever - but if there was, you can be sure it would be nipped in the bud. The principal and other administrators are on top of things.

[Anonymous]

Carole Kihm at Longfellow is every bit as on top of things as Arlene Randall at Cooper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Carole Kihm at Longfellow is every bit as on top of things as Arlene Randall at Cooper.

I hope not for Coopers sake. Carole Kihm cares about test scores period. She basks in the glory of test scores. Stats on bully victimization are not on her report card. She owns the ongoing bullying problem on her watch. No one wants a Columbine incident. The school needs change. I think moving some of the AAP students to Cooper is a start. New administratiion would be a step in the right direction.

[Anonymous]

Carole Kihm was brought in as Longfellow's principal a decade ago, at a time when there was a large performance gap among students. So, yes, her mandate was to focus on test scores, and under her leadership the performance of the minority and low-income kids at Longfellow improved substantially. She won the Fairfax County Public Schools First-Year Principal of the Year award in 2009 and was also named the 2014 Outstanding Middle School Principal of Virginia by the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals.

In our experience, she was a no-nonsense principal who ran a tight ship. That was particularly necessary when Longfellow was overcrowded due to all the AAP kids from the Langley pyramid (who went to Longfellow and Kilmer, rather than Cooper, until a year or two ago).

I'm sorry if your child was bullied, and you feel the school didn't come down hard enough on the other child or children, but those situations aren't always clear-cut and Kihm is well-respected in the community. Whoever succeeds her will have large shoes to fill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Carole Kihm was brought in as Longfellow's principal a decade ago, at a time when there was a large performance gap among students. So, yes, her mandate was to focus on test scores, and under her leadership the performance of the minority and low-income kids at Longfellow improved substantially. She won the Fairfax County Public Schools First-Year Principal of the Year award in 2009 and was also named the 2014 Outstanding Middle School Principal of Virginia by the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals.

In our experience, she was a no-nonsense principal who ran a tight ship. That was particularly necessary when Longfellow was overcrowded due to all the AAP kids from the Langley pyramid (who went to Longfellow and Kilmer, rather than Cooper, until a year or two ago).

I'm sorry if your child was bullied, and you feel the school didn't come down hard enough on the other child or children, but those situations aren't always clear-cut and Kihm is well-respected in the community. Whoever succeeds her will have large shoes to fill.

The statement sounds like it could have written by Carole. Unbelievable!

[Anonymous]

Yep, that sounds like her typical load of self congratulatory crap/excuses.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry if your child was bullied, and you feel the school didn't come down hard enough on the other child or children, but those situations aren't always clear-cut and Kihm is well-respected in the community. Whoever succeeds her will have large shoes to fill.

I don't know anything about these schools--but I do know the bolded to be true.

Sometimes, bullying is obvious. Sometimes, it is subtle. And, sometimes, it is only in the eyes of the beholder.

Some people confuse what bullying is. Because one child does not like another does not make him a bully.

The administration cannot make your child popular. I say this as the parent of a child who had great difficulties making friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carole Kihm was brought in as Longfellow's principal a decade ago, at a time when there was a large performance gap among students. So, yes, her mandate was to focus on test scores, and under her leadership the performance of the minority and low-income kids at Longfellow improved substantially. She won the Fairfax County Public Schools First-Year Principal of the Year award in 2009 and was also named the 2014 Outstanding Middle School Principal of Virginia by the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals.

In our experience, she was a no-nonsense principal who ran a tight ship. That was particularly necessary when Longfellow was overcrowded due to all the AAP kids from the Langley pyramid (who went to Longfellow and Kilmer, rather than Cooper, until a year or two ago).

I'm sorry if your child was bullied, and you feel the school didn't come down hard enough on the other child or children, but those situations aren't always clear-cut and Kihm is well-respected in the community. Whoever succeeds her will have large shoes to fill.

The statement sounds like it could have written by Carole. Unbelievable!

Because only your perspective matters? We came from another school district where the administration was largely AWOL. Longfellow (with Kihm as principal) was a big improvement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Longfellow's solution to the bullying was to pull the victims out of class for victim self help sessions each week. So victims were punished twice by missing instruction time. I don't know if they still treat the victims like they are the problem instead of suspending the bullies, but I hope something gets done. The staff are worthless at Longfellow.

As parents we have a role not letting our kids be punished. Every time my kid is a victim I report it and instruct the administrators to go talk to the perpetrators who are supposed to miss instruction time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Longfellow's solution to the bullying was to pull the victims out of class for victim self help sessions each week. So victims were punished twice by missing instruction time. I don't know if they still treat the victims like they are the problem instead of suspending the bullies, but I hope something gets done. The staff are worthless at Longfellow.

As parents we have a role not letting our kids be punished. Every time my kid is a victim I report it and instruct the administrators to go talk to the perpetrators who are supposed to miss instruction time.

Parents should be advocates for their kids, but school administrators should be looking out for all the kids. That includes not rushing to judgment when some parent claims their child was the victim and someone else's child was the aggressor.

If the situation is clear-cut, then the aggressor should be disciplined and sessions where the victim is offered advice on coping and self-help strategies should be optional.

But many situations are not clear-cut, the parents of the alleged aggressor may advocate just as fiercely as the parents of the alleged victim, and the school administrators are operating in an environment in which their goal is to help all the kids mature and learn, not conduct lengthy, intensive fact-finding investigations into every incident that takes place among kids with immature brains and budding hormones.

[Anonymous]

When Carole starts handing suspensions for ongoing bullying I will believe she has an interest in change. But until then she is part of the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When Carole starts handing suspensions for ongoing bullying I will believe she has an interest in change. But until then she is part of the problem.

It's always someone else's fault, isn't it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When Carole starts handing suspensions for ongoing bullying I will believe she has an interest in change. But until then she is part of the problem.

It's always someone else's fault, isn't it?

Yes, it the fault of the person running the circus there, that would be Carole.