Things my 8th grader will not miss once leaving Deal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

Fights, locked bathrooms, and unsupervised kids in the classroom are not things that should be tolerated at school. Period. I'm surprised some parents here are condoning these activities as something that's expected, as opposed to demanding that the school to do better. I wonder how many have already invested in Deal being their choice (they bought homes there assuming the public schools were good all the way through) and now will defend it no matter what happens there.

For the person who compared it to their ivy, I should probably remind you these are children we're talking about. Not adults.

Well, many parents demanded that school reopen last year, it doesn’t change anything. Parents have no collective or individual power to effect change.

I'm the ivy PP and am curious what you think parent demands will do. This isn't a situation with conflicting ideas of how to run a school; this is the reality of an urban MS, and has been for decades. Teachers and admin would obviously prefer better as well but you have a building with 1,500 hormonal teens in it and occasionally things like this happen.

Smart parents will vote with their feet and leave.

Exactly and PP above is saying locked bathrooms, the prevalent smell of pot, kids in classrooms with no adults, kids wandering the halls and going to classes where they don’t belong, and not having consequences for behavioral problems with the restorative justice BS is all normal in an urban middle school.

I think not but you can keep your head in the sand PP

It wasn’t normal for Deal even 3 years ago.

I have a feeling you are right because it seemed lots Of people wanted their kids to attend in years past. Did it change with the pandemic? If so how and why do you think? Or some other reason? It’s very curious to me.

DP here, but yes things changed with the pandemic. DCPS MS kids didn't have in-person instruction for a year and a half. Crimes committed by school aged children in DC tripled. These public school kids, even mine who attended every virtual class, have trauma from schools being closed. I'm floored that school leaders like Principal Neal supported WTU's efforts to keep schools closed. She should have known what the result would be to the kids, but she didn't care. If Robert White (endorsed by WTU and he was adamantly opposed to schools reopening) becomes Mayor then things will get even worse at every school. DC Council Members Robert White, Janeese Lewis George, Elissa Silverman, and Christina Henderson all obstructed schools reopening for the 2020-2021 school year. This harm to children is on them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

Fights, locked bathrooms, and unsupervised kids in the classroom are not things that should be tolerated at school. Period. I'm surprised some parents here are condoning these activities as something that's expected, as opposed to demanding that the school to do better. I wonder how many have already invested in Deal being their choice (they bought homes there assuming the public schools were good all the way through) and now will defend it no matter what happens there.

For the person who compared it to their ivy, I should probably remind you these are children we're talking about. Not adults.

Well, many parents demanded that school reopen last year, it doesn’t change anything. Parents have no collective or individual power to effect change.

I'm the ivy PP and am curious what you think parent demands will do. This isn't a situation with conflicting ideas of how to run a school; this is the reality of an urban MS, and has been for decades. Teachers and admin would obviously prefer better as well but you have a building with 1,500 hormonal teens in it and occasionally things like this happen.

Smart parents will vote with their feet and leave.

Exactly and PP above is saying locked bathrooms, the prevalent smell of pot, kids in classrooms with no adults, kids wandering the halls and going to classes where they don’t belong, and not having consequences for behavioral problems with the restorative justice BS is all normal in an urban middle school.

I think not but you can keep your head in the sand PP

It wasn’t normal for Deal even 3 years ago.

I have a feeling you are right because it seemed lots Of people wanted their kids to attend in years past. Did it change with the pandemic? If so how and why do you think? Or some other reason? It’s very curious to me.

DP here, but yes things changed with the pandemic. DCPS MS kids didn't have in-person instruction for a year and a half. Crimes committed by school aged children in DC tripled. These public school kids, even mine who attended every virtual class, have trauma from schools being closed. I'm floored that school leaders like Principal Neal supported WTU's efforts to keep schools closed. She should have known what the result would be to the kids, but she didn't care. If Robert White (endorsed by WTU and he was adamantly opposed to schools reopening) becomes Mayor then things will get even worse at every school. DC Council Members Robert White, Janeese Lewis George, Elissa Silverman, and Christina Henderson all obstructed schools reopening for the 2020-2021 school year. This harm to children is on them.

So why did they do that? Just kind of weird they would close schools randomly like that.

Politics. WTU didn't want to teachers to return to work despite schools reopening across the country. WTU has a lot of political power in DC. Look what happened to Fenty, he lost the re-election when he went head to head with WTU. Plus WTU endorses Robert White and Janeese Lewis George so they of course do whatever WTU wants, even at the expense of children. So now DC public schools kids have this trauma and learning loss that many kids across the country don't have.

You screaming parents could have quit you high-paying jobs and gotten in there to teach (yes, it would be allowed with a bachelor’s degree), but noooo, you demanded unvaccinated teachers warehouse your kids for you. Too bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

Fights, locked bathrooms, and unsupervised kids in the classroom are not things that should be tolerated at school. Period. I'm surprised some parents here are condoning these activities as something that's expected, as opposed to demanding that the school to do better. I wonder how many have already invested in Deal being their choice (they bought homes there assuming the public schools were good all the way through) and now will defend it no matter what happens there.

For the person who compared it to their ivy, I should probably remind you these are children we're talking about. Not adults.

Well, many parents demanded that school reopen last year, it doesn’t change anything. Parents have no collective or individual power to effect change.

I'm the ivy PP and am curious what you think parent demands will do. This isn't a situation with conflicting ideas of how to run a school; this is the reality of an urban MS, and has been for decades. Teachers and admin would obviously prefer better as well but you have a building with 1,500 hormonal teens in it and occasionally things like this happen.

Smart parents will vote with their feet and leave.

Exactly and PP above is saying locked bathrooms, the prevalent smell of pot, kids in classrooms with no adults, kids wandering the halls and going to classes where they don’t belong, and not having consequences for behavioral problems with the restorative justice BS is all normal in an urban middle school.

I think not but you can keep your head in the sand PP

It wasn’t normal for Deal even 3 years ago.

I have a feeling you are right because it seemed lots Of people wanted their kids to attend in years past. Did it change with the pandemic? If so how and why do you think? Or some other reason? It’s very curious to me.

DP here, but yes things changed with the pandemic. DCPS MS kids didn't have in-person instruction for a year and a half. Crimes committed by school aged children in DC tripled. These public school kids, even mine who attended every virtual class, have trauma from schools being closed. I'm floored that school leaders like Principal Neal supported WTU's efforts to keep schools closed. She should have known what the result would be to the kids, but she didn't care. If Robert White (endorsed by WTU and he was adamantly opposed to schools reopening) becomes Mayor then things will get even worse at every school. DC Council Members Robert White, Janeese Lewis George, Elissa Silverman, and Christina Henderson all obstructed schools reopening for the 2020-2021 school year. This harm to children is on them.

So why did they do that? Just kind of weird they would close schools randomly like that.

Politics. WTU didn't want to teachers to return to work despite schools reopening across the country. WTU has a lot of political power in DC. Look what happened to Fenty, he lost the re-election when he went head to head with WTU. Plus WTU endorses Robert White and Janeese Lewis George so they of course do whatever WTU wants, even at the expense of children. So now DC public schools kids have this trauma and learning loss that many kids across the country don't have.

DP but absolutely hilarious that this PP thinks they were answering a serious question. You've been yelling about the WTU for almost two years now. Move on

+1. Seriously. Get a damn grip, stop living in the past and move on with your life. The endless whining and melodramatic proclamations are asinine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

So, middle school. Great attempt to slam deal tho

We live in the suburbs, but this is literally nothing like my kids middle school, omg are you serious?

Please. I went to middle school at a "good" school in Fairfax. This is par for the course.

We live in Frederick County and it's certainly nothing like described above.

How would you know?

How would I know what goes on in my son's middle school in Frederick County?? Because he tells me and I am an involved parent. The same way that Deal parents know what goes on at Deal.

Hahaha. You’re precious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not so simple, PP, above. Peer group is critical in middle school for most kids. My somewhat lazy and distracted, but very capable, 6th grader only works hard because most of her peers are strong, motivated students. Put her in a Title 1 program with many needy kids who struggle academically and she'd surely cruise.

Parenting. Try it sometime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

So, middle school. Great attempt to slam deal tho

I went to a private middle school and encountered none of this

I went to a PUBLIC middle school and encountered none of this.

I went to a public suburban middle school 30 years ago and encountered all of this, and much worse. DC must be full of snowflakes for so many of you to never have seen any of this.

My favorite was the boy who was OMG SHOCKED that there were — gasp — condoms in the bathrooms!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

Fights, locked bathrooms, and unsupervised kids in the classroom are not things that should be tolerated at school. Period. I'm surprised some parents here are condoning these activities as something that's expected, as opposed to demanding that the school to do better. I wonder how many have already invested in Deal being their choice (they bought homes there assuming the public schools were good all the way through) and now will defend it no matter what happens there.

For the person who compared it to their ivy, I should probably remind you these are children we're talking about. Not adults.

Well, many parents demanded that school reopen last year, it doesn’t change anything. Parents have no collective or individual power to effect change.

I'm the ivy PP and am curious what you think parent demands will do. This isn't a situation with conflicting ideas of how to run a school; this is the reality of an urban MS, and has been for decades. Teachers and admin would obviously prefer better as well but you have a building with 1,500 hormonal teens in it and occasionally things like this happen.

Smart parents will vote with their feet and leave.

Exactly and PP above is saying locked bathrooms, the prevalent smell of pot, kids in classrooms with no adults, kids wandering the halls and going to classes where they don’t belong, and not having consequences for behavioral problems with the restorative justice BS is all normal in an urban middle school.

I think not but you can keep your head in the sand PP

It wasn’t normal for Deal even 3 years ago.

I have a feeling you are right because it seemed lots Of people wanted their kids to attend in years past. Did it change with the pandemic? If so how and why do you think? Or some other reason? It’s very curious to me.

It has metal detectors way before the pandemic. That’s your first sign.

Imagine thinking in 2022 that it’s a BAD thing for any school to have metal detectors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

So, middle school. Great attempt to slam deal tho

I went to a private middle school and encountered none of this

I went to a PUBLIC middle school and encountered none of this.

I went to a public suburban middle school 30 years ago and encountered all of this, and much worse. DC must be full of snowflakes for so many of you to never have seen any of this.

My favorite was the boy who was OMG SHOCKED that there were — gasp — condoms in the bathrooms!

My 7th grader was shocked when our 7th grade neighbor told him that there were condoms in the bathroom at our neighborhood middle school (and also that there are regular fights). We’re at a private K-8 and no one is hooking up, let alone having sex. Middle schoolers shouldn’t be having sex. I’m glad I can shield my kids from this type of behavior until it’s more age-appropriate. I would not be shocked or upset to hear about condoms at high school but think it’s sad when it’s okay for middle schoolers to be having sex.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

So, middle school. Great attempt to slam deal tho

I went to a private middle school and encountered none of this

I went to a PUBLIC middle school and encountered none of this.

I went to a public suburban middle school 30 years ago and encountered all of this, and much worse. DC must be full of snowflakes for so many of you to never have seen any of this.

My favorite was the boy who was OMG SHOCKED that there were — gasp — condoms in the bathrooms!

My 7th grader was shocked when our 7th grade neighbor told him that there were condoms in the bathroom at our neighborhood middle school (and also that there are regular fights). We’re at a private K-8 and no one is hooking up, let alone having sex. Middle schoolers shouldn’t be having sex. I’m glad I can shield my kids from this type of behavior until it’s more age-appropriate. I would not be shocked or upset to hear about condoms at high school but think it’s sad when it’s okay for middle schoolers to be having sex.

LOL - doesn't matter how wealthy you are or what you pay in private school tuition or how big your gas guzzling SUV is middle school kids do stupid things including yours and the private school kids often get away with more because their parents are clueless like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

So, middle school. Great attempt to slam deal tho

I went to a private middle school and encountered none of this

I went to a PUBLIC middle school and encountered none of this.

I went to a public suburban middle school 30 years ago and encountered all of this, and much worse. DC must be full of snowflakes for so many of you to never have seen any of this.

My favorite was the boy who was OMG SHOCKED that there were — gasp — condoms in the bathrooms!

My 7th grader was shocked when our 7th grade neighbor told him that there were condoms in the bathroom at our neighborhood middle school (and also that there are regular fights). We’re at a private K-8 and no one is hooking up, let alone having sex. Middle schoolers shouldn’t be having sex. I’m glad I can shield my kids from this type of behavior until it’s more age-appropriate. I would not be shocked or upset to hear about condoms at high school but think it’s sad when it’s okay for middle schoolers to be having sex.

LOL - doesn't matter how wealthy you are or what you pay in private school tuition or how big your gas guzzling SUV is middle school kids do stupid things including yours and the private school kids often get away with more because their parents are clueless like you.

I don't think this is necessarily true at all. Some schools are friend groups are less precocious than others.

[Anonymous]

I didn’t encounter these things in my public junior high, except the occasional fight, but does it matter? Junior high still sucked even with soap in the bathrooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

So, middle school. Great attempt to slam deal tho

I went to a private middle school and encountered none of this

I went to a PUBLIC middle school and encountered none of this.

I went to a public suburban middle school 30 years ago and encountered all of this, and much worse. DC must be full of snowflakes for so many of you to never have seen any of this.

My favorite was the boy who was OMG SHOCKED that there were — gasp — condoms in the bathrooms!

My 7th grader was shocked when our 7th grade neighbor told him that there were condoms in the bathroom at our neighborhood middle school (and also that there are regular fights). We’re at a private K-8 and no one is hooking up, let alone having sex. Middle schoolers shouldn’t be having sex. I’m glad I can shield my kids from this type of behavior until it’s more age-appropriate. I would not be shocked or upset to hear about condoms at high school but think it’s sad when it’s okay for middle schoolers to be having sex.

LOL - doesn't matter how wealthy you are or what you pay in private school tuition or how big your gas guzzling SUV is middle school kids do stupid things including yours and the private school kids often get away with more because their parents are clueless like you.

I don't think this is necessarily true at all. Some schools are friend groups are less precocious than others.

Agreed. But that does not depend on wether the school is private or public in the way you seem to think it does. Kids in both are doing a lot more than you think. And kids in both are doing a lot less. Over the years, I have attended and my kids have attended both and seen it all in both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

So, middle school. Great attempt to slam deal tho

I went to a private middle school and encountered none of this

I went to a PUBLIC middle school and encountered none of this.

I went to a public suburban middle school 30 years ago and encountered all of this, and much worse. DC must be full of snowflakes for so many of you to never have seen any of this.

My favorite was the boy who was OMG SHOCKED that there were — gasp — condoms in the bathrooms!

My 7th grader was shocked when our 7th grade neighbor told him that there were condoms in the bathroom at our neighborhood middle school (and also that there are regular fights). We’re at a private K-8 and no one is hooking up, let alone having sex. Middle schoolers shouldn’t be having sex. I’m glad I can shield my kids from this type of behavior until it’s more age-appropriate. I would not be shocked or upset to hear about condoms at high school but think it’s sad when it’s okay for middle schoolers to be having sex.

LOL - doesn't matter how wealthy you are or what you pay in private school tuition or how big your gas guzzling SUV is middle school kids do stupid things including yours and the private school kids often get away with more because their parents are clueless like you.

I don't think this is necessarily true at all. Some schools are friend groups are less precocious than others.

Agreed. But that does not depend on wether the school is private or public in the way you seem to think it does. Kids in both are doing a lot more than you think. And kids in both are doing a lot less. Over the years, I have attended and my kids have attended both and seen it all in both.

Some kids and some schools on the whole are much more sheltered than others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

So, middle school. Great attempt to slam deal tho

I went to a private middle school and encountered none of this

I went to a PUBLIC middle school and encountered none of this.

I went to a public suburban middle school 30 years ago and encountered all of this, and much worse. DC must be full of snowflakes for so many of you to never have seen any of this.

My favorite was the boy who was OMG SHOCKED that there were — gasp — condoms in the bathrooms!

My 7th grader was shocked when our 7th grade neighbor told him that there were condoms in the bathroom at our neighborhood middle school (and also that there are regular fights). We’re at a private K-8 and no one is hooking up, let alone having sex. Middle schoolers shouldn’t be having sex. I’m glad I can shield my kids from this type of behavior until it’s more age-appropriate. I would not be shocked or upset to hear about condoms at high school but think it’s sad when it’s okay for middle schoolers to be having sex.

LOL - doesn't matter how wealthy you are or what you pay in private school tuition or how big your gas guzzling SUV is middle school kids do stupid things including yours and the private school kids often get away with more because their parents are clueless like you.

My kids have never seen a fight, never seen drugs at school, never had a teacher not show up for class, and in 7th grade, they’re still teasing each other for texting a girl- nowhere near sex yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

Fights, locked bathrooms, and unsupervised kids in the classroom are not things that should be tolerated at school. Period. I'm surprised some parents here are condoning these activities as something that's expected, as opposed to demanding that the school to do better. I wonder how many have already invested in Deal being their choice (they bought homes there assuming the public schools were good all the way through) and now will defend it no matter what happens there.

For the person who compared it to their ivy, I should probably remind you these are children we're talking about. Not adults.

Well, many parents demanded that school reopen last year, it doesn’t change anything. Parents have no collective or individual power to effect change.

I'm the ivy PP and am curious what you think parent demands will do. This isn't a situation with conflicting ideas of how to run a school; this is the reality of an urban MS, and has been for decades. Teachers and admin would obviously prefer better as well but you have a building with 1,500 hormonal teens in it and occasionally things like this happen.

Smart parents will vote with their feet and leave.

Exactly and PP above is saying locked bathrooms, the prevalent smell of pot, kids in classrooms with no adults, kids wandering the halls and going to classes where they don’t belong, and not having consequences for behavioral problems with the restorative justice BS is all normal in an urban middle school.

I think not but you can keep your head in the sand PP

It wasn’t normal for Deal even 3 years ago.

I have a feeling you are right because it seemed lots Of people wanted their kids to attend in years past. Did it change with the pandemic? If so how and why do you think? Or some other reason? It’s very curious to me.

DP here, but yes things changed with the pandemic. DCPS MS kids didn't have in-person instruction for a year and a half. Crimes committed by school aged children in DC tripled. These public school kids, even mine who attended every virtual class, have trauma from schools being closed. I'm floored that school leaders like Principal Neal supported WTU's efforts to keep schools closed. She should have known what the result would be to the kids, but she didn't care. If Robert White (endorsed by WTU and he was adamantly opposed to schools reopening) becomes Mayor then things will get even worse at every school. DC Council Members Robert White, Janeese Lewis George, Elissa Silverman, and Christina Henderson all obstructed schools reopening for the 2020-2021 school year. This harm to children is on them.

So why did they do that? Just kind of weird they would close schools randomly like that.

Politics. WTU didn't want to teachers to return to work despite schools reopening across the country. WTU has a lot of political power in DC. Look what happened to Fenty, he lost the re-election when he went head to head with WTU. Plus WTU endorses Robert White and Janeese Lewis George so they of course do whatever WTU wants, even at the expense of children. So now DC public schools kids have this trauma and learning loss that many kids across the country don't have.

You screaming parents could have quit you high-paying jobs and gotten in there to teach (yes, it would be allowed with a bachelor’s degree), but noooo, you demanded unvaccinated teachers warehouse your kids for you. Too bad.

You don’t know what you are talking about. You can’t be a teacher in DCPS with only a BA. A teacher in DCPS must be licensed in DC- that requires a degree and Praxis. Most adults couldn’t just walk in and pass the content Praxis required to teach MS. Good try though.