Familiarity with a disruptive kid in the classroom (FCPS) - what to do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And this is why so many switch to private. I would in a heartbeat if money was no object. You don’t have these types of kids in privates.

Yes you do.

Kids so disruptive that they're pulling other kids hair and throwing chairs and forcing the others to vacate the classroom 3 times a week? No. Private schools that don't have special needs kids as their focus and reason-for-being would say they don't have the resources to support the child with what they need and they would be counseled out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And this is why so many switch to private. I would in a heartbeat if money was no object. You don’t have these types of kids in privates.

Yes you do.

Kids so disruptive that they're pulling other kids hair and throwing chairs and forcing the others to vacate the classroom 3 times a week? No. Private schools that don't have special needs kids as their focus and reason-for-being would say they don't have the resources to support the child with what they need and they would be counseled out.

+1 damn right. They don’t put up with that crap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And this is why so many switch to private. I would in a heartbeat if money was no object. You don’t have these types of kids in privates.

Yes you do.

Kids so disruptive that they're pulling other kids hair and throwing chairs and forcing the others to vacate the classroom 3 times a week? No. Private schools that don't have special needs kids as their focus and reason-for-being would say they don't have the resources to support the child with what they need and they would be counseled out.

+1 damn right. They don’t put up with that crap.

Depends on the size of the donation.

[Anonymous]

I guarantee you an FCPS behavior specialist is working with the teacher(s)/admin/school to come up with a plan for this student. I have had far less disruptive students in my room and had monthly behavior meetings with central office folks to discuss progress.

OP, there is nothing you can do. Best practice in this sort of event is evacuating the students and working to extinguish the behavior. You cannot remove a dangerous student in the midst of a meltdown, so you work as much as possible to mitigate triggers and teach alternate coping skills, but it's a long process and there will be a lot of evacuations in the process.

Believe me, the teachers/admin aren't in the dark about what's going on. They know. They are doing what they legally can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1-3 times a week is really not that frequent-how long are they sitting in the hall?

If the child has been at the school for several years, then everyone has just accepted the situation.

If the child is new to the school, they may be working on a behavioral plan or a move to a different school--those things take a really long time.

The same kid throwing desks and attacking other kids 1-3 times per WEEK isn't that frequent? Really?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It has come to our attention that my child's classroom has a gifted child with social issues. He will attack other kids, throw desks and disrupt the classroom. Apparently this has been doing on since the beginning of the year but we just learned of it. We have asked our kid to tell us when these incidents happen and what they are. It happens as infrequently as once a week and as frequently as three times a week. When an incident happens they clear everyone else from the classroom and they sit in the hallway until the kid can be calmed down. No one can touch the kid and a counselor and principal are brought in.

I started talking to some friends in other FCPS and apparently this is more of the norm than what I would believe or even thought. I know I am coming off as insensitive and I am not the parent of this kid with issues -- but 25 other kids are suffering in their education. How is this fair for the teacher to have these kinds of disruptions on such a regular basis. And, what is my recourse if this kid hurts my kid since apparently he almost hit another kid with a chair (but missed) in one of these outbursts. He has pulled a kids hair and shoved another.

This is a result of activism. The disruptive kid can not be removed from the classroom. That is considered "exclusion." Teachers can only use positive methods of discipline.
Sometimes, these kids have serious disabilities that lead to this behavior, but must be mainstreamed. He's probably labeled "twice-exceptional."

I taught years ago. There have always been kids who behaved like this--although, there appear to be more now. There is also a difference in a "discipline" problem and a kid with special needs. Some kids are just troublemakers because they are spoiled or neglected. Others cannot seem to help it and the parents, too, are likely desperate.
But, these parents have no understanding of what this disruption does to others. It's the death of common sense. Kids like that need to be placed elsewhere if this happens regularly.

So much ignorance here. I don't believe that you taught in schools, because then you would know the problem is lack of funding for appropriate training of staff and also lack of more appropriate placements. No parent is ok with their kid having multiple violent meltdowns that require a classroom to be cleared out. That parent is desperately fighting for their child to receive appropriate services that can actually effectively address the issues at play. But those services take money and schools are working with a finite pot.

OP, your child deserves to be comfortable and safe, as does every child in that class, including the child who is acting out. When a child in the class has unmet needs that lead to interruptions and dangers for everyone, all the parents are on the same side. It's "insensitive" to speak about the other child as if he is a problem that needs to be removed. It is not insensitive to go to the principal and express concern about that child and your child's safety and how these disruptions are affecting them. Sometimes other parents speaking up are the push principals need to get additional help or make changes.

Of course, for privacy reasons the school will not be able to tell you anything about the other child: what they are trying, what the issue is, etc. They likely will not even be able to confirm which child it is. But that's ok, you don't need that information. Just let them know that you are aware and concerned about it.

[Anonymous]

At what point does the right of the other children to safety and a public education finally trump the right of this one particular child? How long are these disruptions - 2 minutes or 20?

Serious question from an uninformed new parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1-3 times a week is really not that frequent-how long are they sitting in the hall?

If the child has been at the school for several years, then everyone has just accepted the situation.

If the child is new to the school, they may be working on a behavioral plan or a move to a different school--those things take a really long time.

The same kid throwing desks and attacking other kids 1-3 times per WEEK isn't that frequent? Really?

Nope. I have a few students who are like this. One loves to throw furniture while the other will trash the room. Only one of them (the furniture thrower) has directed his anger at others so we only need to evacuate when he gets going. This is 3-4 days per week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And this is why so many switch to private. I would in a heartbeat if money was no object. You don’t have these types of kids in privates.

Yes you do.

So true. It's one of the dozen reasons we started homeschooling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At what point does the right of the other children to safety and a public education finally trump the right of this one particular child? How long are these disruptions - 2 minutes or 20?

Serious question from an uninformed new parent.

Agreed. For two years, parents put up with this behavior from a kid. People wrote letters , removed their kid from the class/school, tried to make sure their kid would be in a different class, etc. In sept this child walked up to a kid in her class and stabbed her in the hand with a pen. When the girl reacted by pulling her hand away and pushing the other kid away, other kid picked up a chair and threw it at her, which resulted in an ER visit and stitches. The parents called the cops. The parents also threatened to sue the school for continuing to put children at risk because of this other child. She was finally removed from the school a couple of weeks ago.

One of my kids has some learning disabilities. I get the idea behind inclusiveness. But at a certain point it's just beyond ridiculous. Kids shouldn't be fearful of going to school because of one child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It has come to our attention that my child's classroom has a gifted child with social issues. He will attack other kids, throw desks and disrupt the classroom. Apparently this has been doing on since the beginning of the year but we just learned of it. We have asked our kid to tell us when these incidents happen and what they are. It happens as infrequently as once a week and as frequently as three times a week. When an incident happens they clear everyone else from the classroom and they sit in the hallway until the kid can be calmed down. No one can touch the kid and a counselor and principal are brought in.

I started talking to some friends in other FCPS and apparently this is more of the norm than what I would believe or even thought. I know I am coming off as insensitive and I am not the parent of this kid with issues -- but 25 other kids are suffering in their education. How is this fair for the teacher to have these kinds of disruptions on such a regular basis. And, what is my recourse if this kid hurts my kid since apparently he almost hit another kid with a chair (but missed) in one of these outbursts. He has pulled a kids hair and shoved another.

This is a result of activism. The disruptive kid can not be removed from the classroom. That is considered "exclusion." Teachers can only use positive methods of discipline.
Sometimes, these kids have serious disabilities that lead to this behavior, but must be mainstreamed. He's probably labeled "twice-exceptional."

I taught years ago. There have always been kids who behaved like this--although, there appear to be more now. There is also a difference in a "discipline" problem and a kid with special needs. Some kids are just troublemakers because they are spoiled or neglected. Others cannot seem to help it and the parents, too, are likely desperate.
But, these parents have no understanding of what this disruption does to others. It's the death of common sense. Kids like that need to be placed elsewhere if this happens regularly.

The child is in Fairfax. What is this "elsewhere" placement appropriate for an elementary-age gifted child with these behaviors?

There isn’t one.

Not true. Burke School comes to mind as well as some other schools (WTW) can cater to these type of students. C'mon this is FCPS. They've got something for everyone.

Burke School isn't academically appropriate for gifted students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At what point does the right of the other children to safety and a public education finally trump the right of this one particular child? How long are these disruptions - 2 minutes or 20?

Serious question from an uninformed new parent.

This kid is also not getting the free and appropriate public education to which he is legally entitled. It's not his rights vs. your kids' rights -- it's what is the school system doing for everyone so tht the child with disabilities can access his education and not act out like this.

As frustrated as you are, I promise you that the other child's parents are much more frustrated.

[Anonymous]

Ultimately only activism and changing the laws for the 99% of
the children who can behave in classroom is needed.

The reality is it doesn't matter how "gifted" a child is. If
the child does not know right from wrong, truly a basic
learned skill, and the child assaults children and throws
chairs 3 times a week in the classroom the child should
be removed from the classroom indefinitely until the
child learns behavior skills.

The removal of common sense in our classrooms in which
one child with behavior issues is allowed to disrupt a
classroom on a daily and weekly basis so that all
of the behaved children have their routines disrupted
and are required to sit in the hallway is ridiculous.

This is a major reason US students test below students
in China, Japan, Europe and Nordic countries.

Children should have behavior skills mastered in order
to be in an "average" classroom mu chless a "gifted"
classroom.

Child who is throwing chairs has 0 repercussions.
Child does not seem to be disciplined. What happens
to this child in the work force?

Signed, someone who fully believes in inclusion for
those with disability
but child should have mastered basic behavior
skills and no right from wrong and what is
acceptable behavior in a classroom.

[Anonymous]

The Parkland shooter at Parkland High School in Florida
left 17 dead. Teachers, parents, and students reported
behavior issues for years. The cops were even called several times. Seventeen students without
behavior issues are dead as a result of inaction by
the school district.

[Anonymous]

OP, my suggestion would be to contact the principal and request that another adult be added to the room in the short term to help the disruptive child and keep everyone else safe.