Another racial incident at Churchill HS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how many times the N word gets used at Kennedy ? Oops I forgot they are allowed to use it let’s get back to focusing on Churchill

Who knows what happens there? There aren't a half dozen threads about it, and even if there were it wouldn't make it okay at Churchill. The point of this thread is that things like this keep happening at Churchill. This isn't going to get any better until parents stop making excuses and face the reality that this is a problem at Churchill.

As has been pointed out numerous times, no-one said or wrote the N-word at Churchill. They only wrote "N word" the same as the PP above just did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how many times the N word gets used at Kennedy ? Oops I forgot they are allowed to use it let’s get back to focusing on Churchill

Who knows what happens there? There aren't a half dozen threads about it, and even if there were it wouldn't make it okay at Churchill. The point of this thread is that things like this keep happening at Churchill. This isn't going to get any better until parents stop making excuses and face the reality that this is a problem at Churchill.

As has been pointed out numerous times, no-one said or wrote the N-word at Churchill. They only wrote "N word" the same as the PP above just did.

Stop trying to defend the indefensible. You and others like you look ridiculous.

In the past two and a half years, there’s been a “Whites Only” sign on a boys restroom door, numerous swastikas drawn on desks, and now the events of the past week. I’m almost positive there’s more but Benz was an expert at sweeping problems under the rug. That’s why some parents loved her. Their darlings would do idiotic things and Benz would merely slap their wrist. Gosh forbid Churchill looked bad; their overblown property values might take a hit.

Now the truth about Churchill is coming out. It’s simply not a welcoming place for many students. The new principal is trying to change this and calling out outrageous behavior when it happens. The community needs to embrace change.

[Anonymous]

My dd at Hoover said that the school suspended several students for the same kind of pass about a week before it happened to Churchill. And that since then, kids are still trading passes, but they are just verbal. Kid 1: "Hey--can I have an N-word pass?" Kid 2: "Sure."

[Anonymous]

They're giving the "n" passes out at Pyle too. Also verbal. It's mostly boys, and mostly 7th and 8th graders. It's bad, because there are like six black kids in the whole school. Those kids are apparently saying "ok" when kids ask for the "pass," but do they really have much of a choice? They did a tag advisory lesson last week on not saying things like "that's so gay," but the kids rolled their eyes at the lesson because it felt like a canned lecture. Maybe some teachers could do it better than others. Better to say something than nothing, but even better to engage the kids in a real discussion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The issues at Churchill are no more common than those at all other schools in the county. It's still among the top three schools any way you look at it. Sorry haters.

+1--The jealous Churchill bashers are out in full force again

Sorry. Churchill doesn’t get a pass by saying that the issues are no more common than at other high schools.

1) The issues at Churchill need to be fixed, not dismissed and ignored.

2) There's no data to back up your assumption of how prevalent the issues are at Churchill vs. other high schools.

3) Bigotry, bullying, and harassment should be addressed proactively at every school in MCPS. It's not a numbers game. All incidents in a high school are too many.

Agree that all incidents should be addressed. Disagree that Churchill is unique. It isn't.

Yes, this is an issue at every school in the county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how many times the N word gets used at Kennedy ? Oops I forgot they are allowed to use it let’s get back to focusing on Churchill

Who knows what happens there? There aren't a half dozen threads about it, and even if there were it wouldn't make it okay at Churchill. The point of this thread is that things like this keep happening at Churchill. This isn't going to get any better until parents stop making excuses and face the reality that this is a problem at Churchill.

As has been pointed out numerous times, no-one said or wrote the N-word at Churchill. They only wrote "N word" the same as the PP above just did.

Stop trying to defend the indefensible. You and others like you look ridiculous.

In the past two and a half years, there’s been a “Whites Only” sign on a boys restroom door, numerous swastikas drawn on desks, and now the events of the past week. I’m almost positive there’s more but Benz was an expert at sweeping problems under the rug. That’s why some parents loved her. Their darlings would do idiotic things and Benz would merely slap their wrist. Gosh forbid Churchill looked bad; their overblown property values might take a hit.

Now the truth about Churchill is coming out. It’s simply not a welcoming place for many students. The new principal is trying to change this and calling out outrageous behavior when it happens. The community needs to embrace change.

My AA child is hurt much more by the Churchill administration's extreme overreaction to a minor incident. This is what I meant when I said that the overreaction makes the AA students look like the villains.
Save the strong reaction for the swastikas and the Whites only sign, and not for a nonthreatening Mad Magazine joke.

[Anonymous]

Mrs. Heckert is in between a rock and a hard place with this issue.

The number of passes that were going around the school forced the original email. Not all incidents get an email. This was just too pervasive to cover up like she has done with other problems.

As far as the reaction, if she appeared to go easy on the students then some parents would say she didn't do enough because she is white. I would think that the students could appeal their suspension if the actual word wasn't used or if their punishment is outside the punishment other students in MCPS have received for similar offenses.

Finally, Mrs. Heckert gets her orders from central office. I am sure they have been heavily involved from the initial discovery of the passes.

[Anonymous]

People need to calm down and stop jumping on the bandwagon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mrs. Heckert is in between a rock and a hard place with this issue.

The number of passes that were going around the school forced the original email. Not all incidents get an email. This was just too pervasive to cover up like she has done with other problems.

As far as the reaction, if she appeared to go easy on the students then some parents would say she didn't do enough because she is white. I would think that the students could appeal their suspension if the actual word wasn't used or if their punishment is outside the punishment other students in MCPS have received for similar offenses.

Finally, Mrs. Heckert gets her orders from central office. I am sure they have been heavily involved from the initial discovery of the passes.

She is taking this more seriously because as a PP said, Dr. Benz did nothing about anything that happened at the school She lived in a bubble and not sure what was the final straw that got her out but it was good riddance. She had little respect from the teachers, and her indifference to many of the issues at Churchill drove a lot of parents crazy.

When Churchill had a few students commit suicide a few years ago and there was a parent meeting, she stood up and said that she couldn't understand why kids were upset because all the kids at Churchill love each other. I knew that until she retired, nothing was going to change at Churchill.

Ms. Heckert has a big job on her hands and its going to take a few years to undo all the damage that Dr. Benz caused at Churchill.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, a few years in the life of a high schooler means more of the same treatment perhaps for the remainder of a child's high school education while waiting for Mrs. Heckert and MCPS to do something. Students don't have a few years. Would you sit by and wait for more of the same if it was your child? Mrs. Heckert and MCPS are failing in their duty to proactively protect students when they know of serious problems at Churchill.

[Anonymous]

Heckert should have suspended the kids with the pass quietly. Continue like that until the message seeps in.

[Anonymous]

Also parent of an AA Churchill student.

From my vantage point, she's handled this well. I'm not sure that anything will change, since this is so ingrained in the culture of the organization and community. But I don't know what I would have done differently if I were her. The note to parents showed she was taking it seriously. Suspending the kids sent a signal to those kids and other kids that it is a serious matter. I heard the advisory lesson wasn't treated seriously by kids (they laughed even when presented with very unfunny stories). But it's a good first step. At least I'm hoping that kids will think twice about the implications of what they are saying and doing before they take actions that could be perceived as hateful.

[Anonymous]

I hope that The colleges that they apply to get to know about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hope that The colleges that they apply to get to know about this.

Wow, you want to screw up a kid's life because they did something stupid and ignorant when they were a teenager? They didn't physically harm anyone and they have received a pretty substantial punishment (suspension). I hope you were a complete angel when you were a teenager.

[Anonymous]

So what did the kids learn? They were all ok with the joke till a AA girl overheard it and reported it to the women in charge.

So they learned as adult don't hang out with folks who will rat you out. Which is what creates issues in the workforce for minorities and women.