BCC on lockdown

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously; we don't hear about violence like happening at Whitman, WJ or Churchill. Why is this? Is it because BCC is more urban and accessible by metro/bus etc? I thought BCC was just as good a school as the other three mentioned above.

I had one kid at WJ and one at BCC. BCC draws a certain portion of its student population from lower-income areas, more than any of the W schools. It also has more economic and social diversity than the other Bethesda/Potomac schools. Also, it's more urban, which makes it a frequent center of violence during games, because kids can easily come and go from the metro station.

But regarding violent behavior of certain kids at BCC... it's a little more complicated. Last year one violent kid was a transplant from another area of MCPS, who had been passed around from school to school because he kept getting into trouble. It was BCC's turn. Nothing to do with our own population of kids. Some other bad behaviors do come from BCC-area kids, and I'm sorry to say, they're mostly from the lower-income end of the range. With all that this implies: unstable home situations, undiagnosed mental health needs, possible affiliation with gangs, etc. Education is just not a priority for them.

Oblivious, I guess, Bethesda parent here. All I see is wealthy, upper middle class families in this town. Where are lower-income kids with gang affiliations living??

They all dress the same, PP. How could you differentiate them? 15% of all new apartments in the downtown must by law be rent-controlled. There are more affordable garden apartments and townhomes on the outskirts of the downtown, and part of the BCC students population gets bused in from an apartment housing tract in Silver Spring. In total, it means there's a lot more economic diversity at BCC than at WJ, Whitman, etc.

And not all of them are affiliated with gangs. Don't generalize. The PP was very precise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously; we don't hear about violence like happening at Whitman, WJ or Churchill. Why is this? Is it because BCC is more urban and accessible by metro/bus etc? I thought BCC was just as good a school as the other three mentioned above.

I had one kid at WJ and one at BCC. BCC draws a certain portion of its student population from lower-income areas, more than any of the W schools. It also has more economic and social diversity than the other Bethesda/Potomac schools. Also, it's more urban, which makes it a frequent center of violence during games, because kids can easily come and go from the metro station.

But regarding violent behavior of certain kids at BCC... it's a little more complicated. Last year one violent kid was a transplant from another area of MCPS, who had been passed around from school to school because he kept getting into trouble. It was BCC's turn. Nothing to do with our own population of kids. Some other bad behaviors do come from BCC-area kids, and I'm sorry to say, they're mostly from the lower-income end of the range. With all that this implies: unstable home situations, undiagnosed mental health needs, possible affiliation with gangs, etc. Education is just not a priority for them.

Oblivious, I guess, Bethesda parent here. All I see is wealthy, upper middle class families in this town. Where are lower-income kids with gang affiliations living??

They all dress the same, PP. How could you differentiate them? 15% of all new apartments in the downtown must by law be rent-controlled. There are more affordable garden apartments and townhomes on the outskirts of the downtown, and part of the BCC students population gets bused in from an apartment housing tract in Silver Spring. In total, it means there's a lot more economic diversity at BCC than at WJ, Whitman, etc.

And not all of them are affiliated with gangs. Don't generalize. The PP was very precise.

Bcc has always been a mixed school with lots of issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The listserv moderator is controlling, claiming she is limiting the clutter. When in fact all she is add clutter by passing along the administration’s emails. In the past, parents could discuss such incidents freely without this extreme censorship. Another list serv is necessary for this school.

I agree that passing along every message from the school was annoying. I can’t imagine that there are many parents who don’t get the Remind messages but are on the PTSA listserv. I do appreciate that they are strict about what gets approved during these incidents, though, because there are always a lot of rumors that end up not being true and don’t help an already tense situation.

I agreed with her position not to pass along messages in that period. It’s mostly rumor and unhelpful.

Frankly, it’s a volunteer position. If she said she was only going to pass along whatever messages she could get through from 8pm-9pm, it would be ok. Maybe better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking of the B-CC PTA list serv, this topic has been pretty silent on the board other than the passing along of the lockdown itself. In the past, there would be plenty of discussion but no longer. It certainly adds to a further disconnect to the school, even though I have never posted there. Frequently, I shared many of the same feelings of others who did post. I miss the PTA President from 2022-2023 school year.

It’s clear the current BCC PTSA President has a hands-off approach to safety and security which is unfortunately. I saw her give comments to a local media outlet where she held MCPS blameless and said she didn’t know what people expected the school to do about students fighting in a nearby park…..

She literally put together a group of parents last year to meet regularly with Dr. Mooney and people from central office about security. Did you volunteer? Have you gone to any of the sessions the PTSA has organized on security? Also, the only reason she's still the PTSA president is because she said she'd step down after last year's lockdown and NO ONE stepped up to take over for her. We're lucky she stayed on. I don't know her personally other than seeing her at the meetings she's organized and reading her messages on the listservs, but I'm grateful to anyone who's willing to do the thankless job of being PTSA president!

Exactly

[Anonymous]

On the neighborhood listserv there is a lot of back and forth about the open lunch especially by a neighbor who is always in the schools business yet her kids go to a private school.

The open lunch at B-CC is because they don't have the capacity for lunch there so they have always had open lunch. The cafeteria there is smaller than an elementary school cafeteria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking of the B-CC PTA list serv, this topic has been pretty silent on the board other than the passing along of the lockdown itself. In the past, there would be plenty of discussion but no longer. It certainly adds to a further disconnect to the school, even though I have never posted there. Frequently, I shared many of the same feelings of others who did post. I miss the PTA President from 2022-2023 school year.

It’s clear the current BCC PTSA President has a hands-off approach to safety and security which is unfortunately. I saw her give comments to a local media outlet where she held MCPS blameless and said she didn’t know what people expected the school to do about students fighting in a nearby park…..

But that's police's role, is it not? Schools have barely enough security staff to manage things in the buildings, let alone in neighborhood parks.

MCPS not staffing appropriately to ensure there's enough security staff to intercept kids like the ones who left the building to fight and shoot at each other is precisely the kind of thing we should be laying at the feet of MCPS. Security staffing sizes is completely within the discretion and choice of MCPS.

If MCPS had a strong emphasis on security, kids wouldn't be able to get away with as much as they do. Holding the school system blameless is turning a blind eye that the system has to ensure the safety and wellbeing of its students and staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone will be able to identify this kid. There is a still of him with the gun posted here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/bethesda/s/GdQwNV1k3a

That kid looks like he's 12 though the other kids in the video look more like high school age. Has anyone heard whether the kids in the video are BCC students?

This kid looks very much like a high schooler. I have no idea what you're talking about. And yes, it has already been confirmed that many of the kids involved are BCC students.

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/02/19/bethesda-chevy-chase-students-off-campus-fight-shots-fired/

“After a video of the fight was reviewed by school officials, it was determined that some of the students involved were B-CC students and the school went into a lockdown out of an abundance of caution,” Principal Shelton Mooney said Wednesday in a letter to the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking of the B-CC PTA list serv, this topic has been pretty silent on the board other than the passing along of the lockdown itself. In the past, there would be plenty of discussion but no longer. It certainly adds to a further disconnect to the school, even though I have never posted there. Frequently, I shared many of the same feelings of others who did post. I miss the PTA President from 2022-2023 school year.

It’s clear the current BCC PTSA President has a hands-off approach to safety and security which is unfortunately. I saw her give comments to a local media outlet where she held MCPS blameless and said she didn’t know what people expected the school to do about students fighting in a nearby park…..

She literally put together a group of parents last year to meet regularly with Dr. Mooney and people from central office about security. Did you volunteer? Have you gone to any of the sessions the PTSA has organized on security? Also, the only reason she's still the PTSA president is because she said she'd step down after last year's lockdown and NO ONE stepped up to take over for her. We're lucky she stayed on. I don't know her personally other than seeing her at the meetings she's organized and reading her messages on the listservs, but I'm grateful to anyone who's willing to do the thankless job of being PTSA president!

I'm not criticizing her willingness to volunteer her time and lead the PTSA. Of course that's great and laudable.

I'm criticizing the clamp down on parents who complain about security issues on the listserv and the free pass she gave MCPS for this serious community incident in her comments to the media.

If you're an adult, you should be able to separate the two things. Her being a kind person for being willing to lead the PTSA when others declined does not mean anything she says is good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone will be able to identify this kid. There is a still of him with the gun posted here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/bethesda/s/GdQwNV1k3a

That kid looks like he's 12 though the other kids in the video look more like high school age. Has anyone heard whether the kids in the video are BCC students?

This kid looks very much like a high schooler. I have no idea what you're talking about. And yes, it has already been confirmed that many of the kids involved are BCC students.

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/02/19/bethesda-chevy-chase-students-off-campus-fight-shots-fired/

“After a video of the fight was reviewed by school officials, it was determined that some of the students involved were B-CC students and the school went into a lockdown out of an abundance of caution,” Principal Shelton Mooney said Wednesday in a letter to the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School community.

That kid is the same size as my 12 year old is what I am talking about. I am obviously not the only person unsettled to see kids/teenagers aiming a gun at other people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking of the B-CC PTA list serv, this topic has been pretty silent on the board other than the passing along of the lockdown itself. In the past, there would be plenty of discussion but no longer. It certainly adds to a further disconnect to the school, even though I have never posted there. Frequently, I shared many of the same feelings of others who did post. I miss the PTA President from 2022-2023 school year.

It’s clear the current BCC PTSA President has a hands-off approach to safety and security which is unfortunately. I saw her give comments to a local media outlet where she held MCPS blameless and said she didn’t know what people expected the school to do about students fighting in a nearby park…..

But that's police's role, is it not? Schools have barely enough security staff to manage things in the buildings, let alone in neighborhood parks.

MCPS not staffing appropriately to ensure there's enough security staff to intercept kids like the ones who left the building to fight and shoot at each other is precisely the kind of thing we should be laying at the feet of MCPS. Security staffing sizes is completely within the discretion and choice of MCPS.

If MCPS had a strong emphasis on security, kids wouldn't be able to get away with as much as they do. Holding the school system blameless is turning a blind eye that the system has to ensure the safety and wellbeing of its students and staff.

I don’t believe there is any mechanism that prevents a kid from walking out during the school day. I had pick up my kid early the other day and we all (family) discussed the merits of this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking of the B-CC PTA list serv, this topic has been pretty silent on the board other than the passing along of the lockdown itself. In the past, there would be plenty of discussion but no longer. It certainly adds to a further disconnect to the school, even though I have never posted there. Frequently, I shared many of the same feelings of others who did post. I miss the PTA President from 2022-2023 school year.

It’s clear the current BCC PTSA President has a hands-off approach to safety and security which is unfortunately. I saw her give comments to a local media outlet where she held MCPS blameless and said she didn’t know what people expected the school to do about students fighting in a nearby park…..

But that's police's role, is it not? Schools have barely enough security staff to manage things in the buildings, let alone in neighborhood parks.

MCPS not staffing appropriately to ensure there's enough security staff to intercept kids like the ones who left the building to fight and shoot at each other is precisely the kind of thing we should be laying at the feet of MCPS. Security staffing sizes is completely within the discretion and choice of MCPS.

If MCPS had a strong emphasis on security, kids wouldn't be able to get away with as much as they do. Holding the school system blameless is turning a blind eye that the system has to ensure the safety and wellbeing of its students and staff.

I don’t believe there is any mechanism that prevents a kid from walking out during the school day. I had pick up my kid early the other day and we all (family) discussed the merits of this.

They can tell a child to go back to class, redirect them but they want to leave, especially in HS no adult can legally stop them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking of the B-CC PTA list serv, this topic has been pretty silent on the board other than the passing along of the lockdown itself. In the past, there would be plenty of discussion but no longer. It certainly adds to a further disconnect to the school, even though I have never posted there. Frequently, I shared many of the same feelings of others who did post. I miss the PTA President from 2022-2023 school year.

It’s clear the current BCC PTSA President has a hands-off approach to safety and security which is unfortunately. I saw her give comments to a local media outlet where she held MCPS blameless and said she didn’t know what people expected the school to do about students fighting in a nearby park…..

But that's police's role, is it not? Schools have barely enough security staff to manage things in the buildings, let alone in neighborhood parks.

MCPS not staffing appropriately to ensure there's enough security staff to intercept kids like the ones who left the building to fight and shoot at each other is precisely the kind of thing we should be laying at the feet of MCPS. Security staffing sizes is completely within the discretion and choice of MCPS.

If MCPS had a strong emphasis on security, kids wouldn't be able to get away with as much as they do. Holding the school system blameless is turning a blind eye that the system has to ensure the safety and wellbeing of its students and staff.

I don’t believe there is any mechanism that prevents a kid from walking out during the school day. I had pick up my kid early the other day and we all (family) discussed the merits of this.

They can tell a child to go back to class, redirect them but they want to leave, especially in HS no adult can legally stop them.

Though they should be calling the parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone will be able to identify this kid. There is a still of him with the gun posted here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/bethesda/s/GdQwNV1k3a

That kid looks like he's 12 though the other kids in the video look more like high school age. Has anyone heard whether the kids in the video are BCC students?

This kid looks very much like a high schooler. I have no idea what you're talking about. And yes, it has already been confirmed that many of the kids involved are BCC students.

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/02/19/bethesda-chevy-chase-students-off-campus-fight-shots-fired/

“After a video of the fight was reviewed by school officials, it was determined that some of the students involved were B-CC students and the school went into a lockdown out of an abundance of caution,” Principal Shelton Mooney said Wednesday in a letter to the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School community.

That kid is the same size as my 12 year old is what I am talking about. I am obviously not the only person unsettled to see kids/teenagers aiming a gun at other people.

And? You must have attended zero events at a MS and HS if you don’t understand how differently kids grow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On the neighborhood listserv there is a lot of back and forth about the open lunch especially by a neighbor who is always in the schools business yet her kids go to a private school.

The open lunch at B-CC is because they don't have the capacity for lunch there so they have always had open lunch. The cafeteria there is smaller than an elementary school cafeteria.

A lot of schools have one period lunches now and don't have the capacity. Kids eat in classrooms, when allowed, hallways and other areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking of the B-CC PTA list serv, this topic has been pretty silent on the board other than the passing along of the lockdown itself. In the past, there would be plenty of discussion but no longer. It certainly adds to a further disconnect to the school, even though I have never posted there. Frequently, I shared many of the same feelings of others who did post. I miss the PTA President from 2022-2023 school year.

It’s clear the current BCC PTSA President has a hands-off approach to safety and security which is unfortunately. I saw her give comments to a local media outlet where she held MCPS blameless and said she didn’t know what people expected the school to do about students fighting in a nearby park…..

But that's police's role, is it not? Schools have barely enough security staff to manage things in the buildings, let alone in neighborhood parks.

MCPS not staffing appropriately to ensure there's enough security staff to intercept kids like the ones who left the building to fight and shoot at each other is precisely the kind of thing we should be laying at the feet of MCPS. Security staffing sizes is completely within the discretion and choice of MCPS.

If MCPS had a strong emphasis on security, kids wouldn't be able to get away with as much as they do. Holding the school system blameless is turning a blind eye that the system has to ensure the safety and wellbeing of its students and staff.

I don’t believe there is any mechanism that prevents a kid from walking out during the school day. I had pick up my kid early the other day and we all (family) discussed the merits of this.

They can tell a child to go back to class, redirect them but they want to leave, especially in HS no adult can legally stop them.

Though they should be calling the parent.

That’s the issue - my kid is allowed to walk out and I just have to write a note within a couple days. For the*vast* majority of families, this is just fine. We are making all these measures for a few. By the way, I don’t think the issue is that a kid leaves school. The issue is when a kid who had a fight outside walks back in.