Freedom Hill principal going to Haycock

[Anonymous]

Here’s the deal, PP.

This situation primarily and overwhelmingly affected families at Freedom Hill, not Haycock. And when you keep harping on the September 2019 communications to Haycock parents, rather than the conduct that affected Freedom Hill children, you reinforce the perception of some Haycock families as self-centered narcissists with no sense of perspective. Which of course decreases the interest in filling Bloom’s position and increases the odds that the next Haycock principal will be another turkey.

So tone it down or, even better, stop. Or if you’re a troll doing a first-rate caricature of a Haycock parent, well-played.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like the abuse is more likely when the kids are special ed/special needs. I have to think that the principals are at least subconsciously making a calculation that it is easier to "correct" the "mistake" of the employee rather than try to find a replacement. The pay is low and the difficulty of working with special needs kids can be high.

This is really shocking -- when there is at least one video and multiple instances/witnesses.

I'm a parent of a child with learning disabilities. My child is in college now and you wouldn't believe half the stuff I have experienced as a parent and school volunteer. The truth is that pretty much everyone considers these students, these children, as less than and probably most of you posting here at your core think that. Go read about what happens in schools where restraint and seclusion are used. This population, particularly non verbal students, are regularly abused by teachers. These kids aren't respected or valued and are viewed as unwanted problems by school administrators. Scott Bloom may have been a nice guy to some of you and your kids, but the fact that he didnt do the right thing with respect to these students shows his true values.

Scott Bloom cares about students as long as they aren't disabled.

There is a lot of treatment of kids with SNs that would never happen to non-disabled kids in FCPS. From the poor quality of their education, to the absolute bottom-of-the-barrel people hired to be special ed aides, to the way they are spoken to and about--if you haven't experienced it you have no idea. It is a completely different educational experience. There is a casual disregard across the board ESPECIALLY for kids who can't communicate. My ds is normal intelligence/verbal but has been in a lot of ED placements--you would not believe the way adults treat disabled kids and it is tolerated because it is so hard to find warm bodies to fill those classrooms.

Even the kids with disabilities who aren't intellectually disabled are often pushed out of academics. Both my son and I had to continually fight our school system just to have his basic accommodations followed. My son is very smart and if our family didn't have the resources we have to fight the school system, my kid was have been turned off and given up on school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the deal, PP.

This situation primarily and overwhelmingly affected families at Freedom Hill, not Haycock. And when you keep harping on the September 2019 communications to Haycock parents, rather than the conduct that affected Freedom Hill children, you reinforce the perception of some Haycock families as self-centered narcissists with no sense of perspective. Which of course decreases the interest in filling Bloom’s position and increases the odds that the next Haycock principal will be another turkey.

So tone it down or, even better, stop. Or if you’re a troll doing a first-rate caricature of a Haycock parent, well-played.

I am also a Haycock parent. I totally agree that the Freedom Hill families are much more personally impacted by this.

However, the fact that the central office at best took extreme liberties in portraying the situation and at worst lied should be concerning to everyone.

[Anonymous]

We really need to change the title of this thread

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly at this point I feel like we need to equip the kids to be reporters of abuse. We have seen time and again that the adults charged with this duty fail.

And for this Bloom guy, doesn’t knowing about the abuse and failing to stop it make him an accessory? I am sure he was counting on the fact these poor kids were non-verbal to protect him. What a monster.

How can a severely disabled child report abuse? Read about what happened in WV with the 3 teachers who were recorded abusing children. The mom of one of the students had to hid a recording device in her daughter's hair. Even with the recording, the school system ignored the parent until her recording went viral. My child was abused by a teacher in Loudoun and their first reaction is to attack the parents. In Loudoun any time a teacher abuses a child, the school system calls CPS on the family.

How many of you reading this post can be honest enough to admit that you resent the money/resources spent to educate these children? This is what upsets me. It is assumed that the most disabled children don't benefit from education so everyone wants them hidden from sight. In Loudoun, we have a current school board member who openly states that children with disabilities shoulw not be in school with more able students. No one has ever done anything about this guy. He's finally retiring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the deal, PP.

This situation primarily and overwhelmingly affected families at Freedom Hill, not Haycock. And when you keep harping on the September 2019 communications to Haycock parents, rather than the conduct that affected Freedom Hill children, you reinforce the perception of some Haycock families as self-centered narcissists with no sense of perspective. Which of course decreases the interest in filling Bloom’s position and increases the odds that the next Haycock principal will be another turkey.

So tone it down or, even better, stop. Or if you’re a troll doing a first-rate caricature of a Haycock parent, well-played.

I am also a Haycock parent. I totally agree that the Freedom Hill families are much more personally impacted by this.

However, the fact that the central office at best took extreme liberties in portraying the situation and at worst lied should be concerning to everyone.

This situation will only be handled appropriately if both Freedom Hill parents and Haycock parents combine their disgust (and distrust) at FCPS. I would take it one step further, all parents of FCPS children should be outraged as to how FCPS handled this situation. And, continues to handle this situation with Bloom. Because if it can happen now and we don't band together, it may happen again. This affects all FCPS families, whether or not your child attends one of the two schools that Bloom touched ... because the central issue is larger than Bloom. It's about FCPS's mishandling of Bloom, even to this day, that is the core of this thread. Not which set of parents should be more entitled to feel injustice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am another FHES parent. I am devastated, upset, and angry. My son is one of the special needs children at the school. "Luckily" he is also a high-functioning boy, so he can stand up for himself. I have dealt with Scott Bloom on multiple occasions and never once did he show that he was not a level headed administrator. I am very disappointed. My DS genuinely liked him and so did we.

I find it far fetched that he’d have reason to cover up this abuse. I’ll be interested to see how this shakes out in court - exactly what was reported to him, and so on. Why was this other employe allegedly keeping a log of all this abuse? Why not call the cops immediately? Lots of questions...

You are full of it. I can't believe you are going after the person who was going to make sure this was reported. The reality is that most school systems, all the way up to the super, will ignore this type of thing. This employee had to know it would be covered up unless someone documented. Go read about what happens in other counties. Kudos to FCPS admin and the FCPD for doing what is right here. For those of us in other counties, it is encouraging to see a school system bring this to light. It would be hiden in most other school systems.

So many thanks to the teacher who documented the abuse. They were probably afraid of retaliation but were brave enough to speak up.

[Anonymous]

I don't have a kid at FH or Haycock, but I kind of feel like people are getting their carts in front of their horses with this re: Bloom.

Looking at all the info. we have now, it is clear that there was abuse. BUT, did Bloom have that info in the spring? I can see how a person/principal could get info. that a kid has had bruises over the past several months, and not make the conclusion that the kid has been abused by the teacher. These kids may have difficulty moving/walking and a principal may have thought that could be the reason for bruises just as well as someone abusing the kid.

I think the details that have been released are inconclusive (as far as the public is concerned) on what the principal knew and when. It's natural to be careful about accusing someone of child abuse when you don't have direct evidence.

I'm not saying Bloom is innocent or guilty. I'm saying we don't really have solid info. yet to come to any conclusions.... but some of y'all have already pronounced him guilty without facts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't have a kid at FH or Haycock, but I kind of feel like people are getting their carts in front of their horses with this re: Bloom.

Looking at all the info. we have now, it is clear that there was abuse. BUT, did Bloom have that info in the spring? I can see how a person/principal could get info. that a kid has had bruises over the past several months, and not make the conclusion that the kid has been abused by the teacher. These kids may have difficulty moving/walking and a principal may have thought that could be the reason for bruises just as well as someone abusing the kid.

I think the details that have been released are inconclusive (as far as the public is concerned) on what the principal knew and when. It's natural to be careful about accusing someone of child abuse when you don't have direct evidence.

I'm not saying Bloom is innocent or guilty. I'm saying we don't really have solid info. yet to come to any conclusions.... but some of y'all have already pronounced him guilty without facts.

I mean, there was a 3 month investigation that led to him being indicted. Yes, he's innocent until proven guilty, and there may be more to the story, but there was enough evidence out there to indict him so it's not like people are making a ton of unfounded assumptions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't have a kid at FH or Haycock, but I kind of feel like people are getting their carts in front of their horses with this re: Bloom.

Looking at all the info. we have now, it is clear that there was abuse. BUT, did Bloom have that info in the spring? I can see how a person/principal could get info. that a kid has had bruises over the past several months, and not make the conclusion that the kid has been abused by the teacher. These kids may have difficulty moving/walking and a principal may have thought that could be the reason for bruises just as well as someone abusing the kid.

I think the details that have been released are inconclusive (as far as the public is concerned) on what the principal knew and when. It's natural to be careful about accusing someone of child abuse when you don't have direct evidence.

I'm not saying Bloom is innocent or guilty. I'm saying we don't really have solid info. yet to come to any conclusions.... but some of y'all have already pronounced him guilty without facts.

This is from the Fairfax Police Department press release: During their investigation, detectives learned that criminal acts toward students also occurred during the 2018-2019 school year. The complaints of suspected abuse were reported to the previous principal of Freedom Hill Elementary School, Scott Bloom, during his tenure in the 2018-2019 school year. However, the complaints were not subsequently reported to CPS or the police, as required by law. This led to a charge of fail to report against Bloom, 39, of Reston.

The response to your question (in bold) is a resounding YES. Yes he had the info. And, he didn't report it. Even if you have the slightest inkling of suspected abuse, the law is pretty clear on this--school officials (along with social workers and medical professionals) have a responsibility to report. And, let the CPS or Police adjudicate whether or not it actually occurred. It wasn't in Scott Bloom's requirement as a Principal to determine anything more than just report.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly at this point I feel like we need to equip the kids to be reporters of abuse. We have seen time and again that the adults charged with this duty fail.

And for this Bloom guy, doesn’t knowing about the abuse and failing to stop it make him an accessory? I am sure he was counting on the fact these poor kids were non-verbal to protect him. What a monster.

How can a severely disabled child report abuse? Read about what happened in WV with the 3 teachers who were recorded abusing children. The mom of one of the students had to hid a recording device in her daughter's hair. Even with the recording, the school system ignored the parent until her recording went viral. My child was abused by a teacher in Loudoun and their first reaction is to attack the parents. In Loudoun any time a teacher abuses a child, the school system calls CPS on the family.

How many of you reading this post can be honest enough to admit that you resent the money/resources spent to educate these children? This is what upsets me. It is assumed that the most disabled children don't benefit from education so everyone wants them hidden from sight. In Loudoun, we have a current school board member who openly states that children with disabilities shoulw not be in school with more able students. No one has ever done anything about this guy. He's finally retiring.

This is the PP- I also have a child who was abused at school by a staff member. The other children in the general education class who witnessed the abuse pestered their moms to tell me because they were upset for their friend. I am in no way suggesting the children with special needs should be expected to be able to report. My child is 2e completely verbal but his teacher had convinced him he was a bad kid and he didn’t want me to be ashamed of him. So he now has to deal with PTSD from those experiences.

I thank God for the ethics of the other kids who knew something was wrong and worked hard to let me know. Their moral compass is sound.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't have a kid at FH or Haycock, but I kind of feel like people are getting their carts in front of their horses with this re: Bloom.

Looking at all the info. we have now, it is clear that there was abuse. BUT, did Bloom have that info in the spring? I can see how a person/principal could get info. that a kid has had bruises over the past several months, and not make the conclusion that the kid has been abused by the teacher. These kids may have difficulty moving/walking and a principal may have thought that could be the reason for bruises just as well as someone abusing the kid.

I think the details that have been released are inconclusive (as far as the public is concerned) on what the principal knew and when. It's natural to be careful about accusing someone of child abuse when you don't have direct evidence.

I'm not saying Bloom is innocent or guilty. I'm saying we don't really have solid info. yet to come to any conclusions.... but some of y'all have already pronounced him guilty without facts.

He's been arrested, so presumably there's proof that he did something bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't have a kid at FH or Haycock, but I kind of feel like people are getting their carts in front of their horses with this re: Bloom.

Looking at all the info. we have now, it is clear that there was abuse. BUT, did Bloom have that info in the spring? I can see how a person/principal could get info. that a kid has had bruises over the past several months, and not make the conclusion that the kid has been abused by the teacher. These kids may have difficulty moving/walking and a principal may have thought that could be the reason for bruises just as well as someone abusing the kid.

I think the details that have been released are inconclusive (as far as the public is concerned) on what the principal knew and when. It's natural to be careful about accusing someone of child abuse when you don't have direct evidence.

I'm not saying Bloom is innocent or guilty. I'm saying we don't really have solid info. yet to come to any conclusions.... but some of y'all have already pronounced him guilty without facts.

He's been arrested, so presumably there's proof that he did something bad.

Bloom did bad things. Bad things that mean he, at the least, should be fired. It is upsetting to see posters try to rationalize what he did. As a parent of a child with disabilities, it means so much to see a school system standing up to this. For those of you who are bashing FCPS, can you at least agree that the fact that they didn't cover this up is a big improvement from the sop?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't have a kid at FH or Haycock, but I kind of feel like people are getting their carts in front of their horses with this re: Bloom.

Looking at all the info. we have now, it is clear that there was abuse. BUT, did Bloom have that info in the spring? I can see how a person/principal could get info. that a kid has had bruises over the past several months, and not make the conclusion that the kid has been abused by the teacher. These kids may have difficulty moving/walking and a principal may have thought that could be the reason for bruises just as well as someone abusing the kid.

I think the details that have been released are inconclusive (as far as the public is concerned) on what the principal knew and when. It's natural to be careful about accusing someone of child abuse when you don't have direct evidence.

I'm not saying Bloom is innocent or guilty. I'm saying we don't really have solid info. yet to come to any conclusions.... but some of y'all have already pronounced him guilty without facts.

He's been arrested, so presumably there's proof that he did something bad.

Bloom did bad things. Bad things that mean he, at the least, should be fired. It is upsetting to see posters try to rationalize what he did. As a parent of a child with disabilities, it means so much to see a school system standing up to this. For those of you who are bashing FCPS, can you at least agree that the fact that they didn't cover this up is a big improvement from the sop?

I think you're giving FCPS far too much credit! FCPS had no choice in this matter because Fairfax Police and subsequently DA's office ran a dog-and-pony show with this arrest and eventual indictment. They did "cover" it up until now, especially when you read multiple people on this post stating that Fabio specifically misled them. They just couldn't keep it covered up. And, to your statement of FCPS showing "big improvement," they would have shown BIG IMPROVEMENT had they gotten out ahead of this story and (1) came clean, (2) explained by Bloom was still being retained while the other two were terminated, and (3) just acted more responsibly showing some level of transparency to the customers they serve. So, no, I don't think FCPS is showing ANY improvement, let alone big improvement. With the pending seclusion lawsuit, I really hope this scandals burns them heavily, especially if the Washington Post or another publication decides to go digging for skeletons in the closet.

[Anonymous]

Bloom was charged with a misdemeanor and the school is still paying for his paid leave. Plus, if you look up Failure to report child abuse, the penalty is so minimal that wouldn't even impact him.

Think a lot of people on this thread are missing the point.

"It's about FCPS's mishandling of Bloom, even to this day, that is the core of this thread."

If FCPS is mishandling a highly visible case like this, what have done before? And what is to say this won't happen again?