Thoughts on the new Churchill principal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The lack of female representation in the Athletic Department is a more urgent and dangerous problem than traffic. Heckert really needs to roll up her sleeves and fix the long standing patterns of employee misconduct by her current staff. Children have been hurt on athletic teams at Churchill and very little has been done to address the problems of bullying and sexual harassment by coaches on multiple teams.

Current athletes need to be educated as to what is considered appropriate and inappropriate standards of conduct for coaches. The damage is deep on some of the large coed teams at Churchill. Many students may need counseling services. Confidential investigations as to coaching conduct should be done on every team at the school to gage where help is needed. Ultimately, the previous school administration let this environment propagate and cleaning house is necessary to fix the situation.

I hope this gets addressed. I've told my child that s/he can't try out for track or cross country because of what I've heard.

Thus far, Heckert isn't doing anything to improve the climate in the school athletic programs. No new initiatives to focus on respect and safety of athletes. No new coaches. No message that past behavior by coaches will not be tolerated.

Perhaps she can address parents at the Winter Athletic parent meeting to say how she is using her leadership to move athletics in a positive direction. Something needs to be done. Ignoring problems is what the past principal did and children were hurt.

Coaches are told in the spring before the end of the school year whether or not they are coaching for the following year. This would mean that the current Athletic Director would be responsible for rehiring all the current coaches for 2018-2019.

Online there are plenty of current athletic vacancies (even at Churchill). Not all contracts are done in the spring and the current contracts should have waited for Mrs. Heckert's approval in July. As principal, she is the one ultimately responsible if her staff doesn't follow the rules of behavior.

Frankly, I am concerned at the continuity that was lost with change in both a principal and director at the same time. Surely both of them can't possibly think that was someone else's hire and then even though I am here now, I am new so I don't know what is going on in my school? That would be a stupid response if more cases continue to come forward.

Wasn't there a case file or something left by the predecessor's to bring the new staff up to speed for ongoing problems? Are Heckert and Moran closely monitoring the coaching situation at Churchill to improve the climate and protect children?

What Director are you referring to? Jesse Smith is the Athletic Director and was here last year. There are two vacancies at Churchill, JV Baseball and JV Girls Lacrosse. Based on my understanding, Coaches are told in the Spring if there contracts will be renewed. Certainly some will not accept as they either decide to step down from Coaching, or apply for other open positions. Looking at the job postings for Coaches they are from June and from September. Most of the September coaching positions seem to be in the Spring.

Waiting till July would have been difficult for fall coaching.

July 1st is the start of the fiscal year. That is when coaching contracts can be approved by a new principal. The difficulty only rests with an AD who failed to advertise for the slots that he has bad people in. Heckert would have signed coaching contracts for this year. The burden rests with Heckert to accept or reject the candidates the AD put forward.

Perhaps Heckert should research the winter and spring coaches. She could resend them if she wanted or open slots for gender diversity in the hires. To do nothing will mean that she supports past practices of inequality and inequity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:she's talking about the principal's director, not the athletic director. it was jennifer webster and now it's peter moran.

+1 MCPS and their repetitive titles. The Principal supervises the Athletic Director. The Principal is supervised by a Director of School Performance. Both the Principal and Director of School Performance are new to Churchill this year and started July 1, 2018.

[Anonymous]

Jeff Sullivan is Director of System Wide Athletics. What is his take on the Churchill situation and can the PTA bring him to a meeting?

Seriously, athletics is like its own rogue entity that does whatever it wants without anyone checking up on what is happening to children. Part of the responsibility for keeping bad people in place as coaches must rest with Jeff Sullivan who condones a program with these types of problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jeff Sullivan is Director of System Wide Athletics. What is his take on the Churchill situation and can the PTA bring him to a meeting?

Seriously, athletics is like its own rogue entity that does whatever it wants without anyone checking up on what is happening to children. Part of the responsibility for keeping bad people in place as coaches must rest with Jeff Sullivan who condones a program with these types of problems.

+1. Surely someone on leadership in the PTA reads this thread-- can Jeff Sullivan be invited to a PTA meeting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeff Sullivan is Director of System Wide Athletics. What is his take on the Churchill situation and can the PTA bring him to a meeting?

Seriously, athletics is like its own rogue entity that does whatever it wants without anyone checking up on what is happening to children. Part of the responsibility for keeping bad people in place as coaches must rest with Jeff Sullivan who condones a program with these types of problems.

+1. Surely someone on leadership in the PTA reads this thread-- can Jeff Sullivan be invited to a PTA meeting?

Why not have Jeff Sullivan and Jesse Smith (AD for Churchill) answer parent's questions jointly about what the H*LL is going at Churchill?

We were told when we went to Jesse Smith to complain, the comments made by the coaches that were sexually offensive were "just a different coaching style." I felt like I was in a time warp to the 1960's. I was horrified at his response.

[Anonymous]

A Special Ed bus in the Victory car loop yesterday blocked traffic both ways on Victory Lane because the loop was full with buses. The bus sat blocking the road for about 15 minutes.

WCHS had the police looking at the traffic conditions for the morning drop off. Please bring the police to issue tickets to bus drivers who think the rules of the road do not belong to them. The bus could have parked on the side of Victory Lane till space opened in the lot or pulled into the larger teacher lot where there was plenty of room to sit and wait.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeff Sullivan is Director of System Wide Athletics. What is his take on the Churchill situation and can the PTA bring him to a meeting?

Seriously, athletics is like its own rogue entity that does whatever it wants without anyone checking up on what is happening to children. Part of the responsibility for keeping bad people in place as coaches must rest with Jeff Sullivan who condones a program with these types of problems.

+1. Surely someone on leadership in the PTA reads this thread-- can Jeff Sullivan be invited to a PTA meeting?

Why not have Jeff Sullivan and Jesse Smith (AD for Churchill) answer parent's questions jointly about what the H*LL is going at Churchill?

We were told when we went to Jesse Smith to complain, the comments made by the coaches that were sexually offensive were "just a different coaching style." I felt like I was in a time warp to the 1960's. I was horrified at his response.

This is his standard line for any complaints brought to him about coaches. He says the same thing about Coaches that bully kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A Special Ed bus in the Victory car loop yesterday blocked traffic both ways on Victory Lane because the loop was full with buses. The bus sat blocking the road for about 15 minutes.

WCHS had the police looking at the traffic conditions for the morning drop off. Please bring the police to issue tickets to bus drivers who think the rules of the road do not belong to them. The bus could have parked on the side of Victory Lane till space opened in the lot or pulled into the larger teacher lot where there was plenty of room to sit and wait.

They really need to fix this situation now. Buses don't belong in the in the senior parking lot. End of story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeff Sullivan is Director of System Wide Athletics. What is his take on the Churchill situation and can the PTA bring him to a meeting?

Seriously, athletics is like its own rogue entity that does whatever it wants without anyone checking up on what is happening to children. Part of the responsibility for keeping bad people in place as coaches must rest with Jeff Sullivan who condones a program with these types of problems.

+1. Surely someone on leadership in the PTA reads this thread-- can Jeff Sullivan be invited to a PTA meeting?

Why not have Jeff Sullivan and Jesse Smith (AD for Churchill) answer parent's questions jointly about what the H*LL is going at Churchill?

We were told when we went to Jesse Smith to complain, the comments made by the coaches that were sexually offensive were "just a different coaching style." I felt like I was in a time warp to the 1960's. I was horrified at his response.

This is his standard line for any complaints brought to him about coaches. He says the same thing about Coaches that bully kids.

Probably the same coach. He bullies the boys but sexually harasses the girls on large coed teams. Definitely the school should be terminating this coach considering how many athletes (boys and girls) came forward to lodge complaints.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeff Sullivan is Director of System Wide Athletics. What is his take on the Churchill situation and can the PTA bring him to a meeting?

Seriously, athletics is like its own rogue entity that does whatever it wants without anyone checking up on what is happening to children. Part of the responsibility for keeping bad people in place as coaches must rest with Jeff Sullivan who condones a program with these types of problems.

+1. Surely someone on leadership in the PTA reads this thread-- can Jeff Sullivan be invited to a PTA meeting?

Surely someone on DCUM could email this thread to the PTA leadership?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeff Sullivan is Director of System Wide Athletics. What is his take on the Churchill situation and can the PTA bring him to a meeting?

Seriously, athletics is like its own rogue entity that does whatever it wants without anyone checking up on what is happening to children. Part of the responsibility for keeping bad people in place as coaches must rest with Jeff Sullivan who condones a program with these types of problems.

+1. Surely someone on leadership in the PTA reads this thread-- can Jeff Sullivan be invited to a PTA meeting?

Why not have Jeff Sullivan and Jesse Smith (AD for Churchill) answer parent's questions jointly about what the H*LL is going at Churchill?

We were told when we went to Jesse Smith to complain, the comments made by the coaches that were sexually offensive were "just a different coaching style." I felt like I was in a time warp to the 1960's. I was horrified at his response.

This is his standard line for any complaints brought to him about coaches. He says the same thing about Coaches that bully kids.

Probably the same coach. He bullies the boys but sexually harasses the girls on large coed teams. Definitely the school should be terminating this coach considering how many athletes (boys and girls) came forward to lodge complaints.

No it is a different Coach. That is why I said he uses the same line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeff Sullivan is Director of System Wide Athletics. What is his take on the Churchill situation and can the PTA bring him to a meeting?

Seriously, athletics is like its own rogue entity that does whatever it wants without anyone checking up on what is happening to children. Part of the responsibility for keeping bad people in place as coaches must rest with Jeff Sullivan who condones a program with these types of problems.

+1. Surely someone on leadership in the PTA reads this thread-- can Jeff Sullivan be invited to a PTA meeting?

Surely someone on DCUM could email this thread to the PTA leadership?

The PTA president will need parents to give him specifics such as the teams, the coaches, and what happened to your child. He can unite you with the other families that has come forward if he knows who you are. He is pushing for change. Please contact him and come to the October 17th PTA meeting at Churchill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeff Sullivan is Director of System Wide Athletics. What is his take on the Churchill situation and can the PTA bring him to a meeting?

Seriously, athletics is like its own rogue entity that does whatever it wants without anyone checking up on what is happening to children. Part of the responsibility for keeping bad people in place as coaches must rest with Jeff Sullivan who condones a program with these types of problems.

+1. Surely someone on leadership in the PTA reads this thread-- can Jeff Sullivan be invited to a PTA meeting?

Why not have Jeff Sullivan and Jesse Smith (AD for Churchill) answer parent's questions jointly about what the H*LL is going at Churchill?

We were told when we went to Jesse Smith to complain, the comments made by the coaches that were sexually offensive were "just a different coaching style." I felt like I was in a time warp to the 1960's. I was horrified at his response.

This is his standard line for any complaints brought to him about coaches. He says the same thing about Coaches that bully kids.

Probably the same coach. He bullies the boys but sexually harasses the girls on large coed teams. Definitely the school should be terminating this coach considering how many athletes (boys and girls) came forward to lodge complaints.

No it is a different Coach. That is why I said he uses the same line.

Makes you wonder why some people gravitate to a job to work with children and why MCPS keeps them in these types of positions where they have an unlimited supply of victims. The AD sure has a knack for hiring rotten apples. Kind of says something about his own ethics and personality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeff Sullivan is Director of System Wide Athletics. What is his take on the Churchill situation and can the PTA bring him to a meeting?

Seriously, athletics is like its own rogue entity that does whatever it wants without anyone checking up on what is happening to children. Part of the responsibility for keeping bad people in place as coaches must rest with Jeff Sullivan who condones a program with these types of problems.

+1. Surely someone on leadership in the PTA reads this thread-- can Jeff Sullivan be invited to a PTA meeting?

Why not have Jeff Sullivan and Jesse Smith (AD for Churchill) answer parent's questions jointly about what the H*LL is going at Churchill?

We were told when we went to Jesse Smith to complain, the comments made by the coaches that were sexually offensive were "just a different coaching style." I felt like I was in a time warp to the 1960's. I was horrified at his response.

This is his standard line for any complaints brought to him about coaches. He says the same thing about Coaches that bully kids.

I completely believe these posters, but I've actually noticed the opposite problem with him. The girls' JV softball coach was fired last year and I've never heard a reasonable explanation for why. Dd says she heard that a parent may have complained that he referred to 'special needs' when a player did something dumb. If so, that kind of statement would be inappropriate but would also pale in comparison to what seems to be described on this board.

The explanation may just be that he protects his buddies and not others or doesn't like being stood up to (the JV coach also seemed to do that a few times about some resource issues, which he reported in detail to parents). But in all, the coach was very good-- worked a ton with the kids in off season, taught them good technique and skills, tried to include all players as much as was feasible. The kids wrote a letter requesting reinstatement and several parents wrote, too. So it seems odd to me that he won't fire the coaches described on this board, but cheerfully fired this one.

Probably the same coach. He bullies the boys but sexually harasses the girls on large coed teams. Definitely the school should be terminating this coach considering how many athletes (boys and girls) came forward to lodge complaints.

No it is a different Coach. That is why I said he uses the same line.

Makes you wonder why some people gravitate to a job to work with children and why MCPS keeps them in these types of positions where they have an unlimited supply of victims. The AD sure has a knack for hiring rotten apples. Kind of says something about his own ethics and personality.

[Anonymous]

Dear Mrs. Heckert -

Are you working on school athletic climate? Have you met with the AD to review past complaints? Surely there's a file of information you can review. Or is your suggestion is for parents to file new complaints because you are clueless of one of the most serious problems in your school?

Please work with the PTA and take action.