Teacher shot at Newport News elementary school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many posts here note a disability. What is the disability here? Where is this coming from?

Any kid who shoots a teacher on purpose has some kind of disability. It might be undiagnosed, but he has some kind of behavioral or emotional disability. Maybe ODD or conduct disorder or some mental illness or something.

It also comes from teachers, who have all had kids they know have a disability of some kind, but we get blown off. It takes years to get a kid evaluated at times OR someone has to be seriously injured, and or it takes several serious injuries to finally get a kid eval'd and helped. I have three kids in my gen ed room this year who have something very wrong with them. It'll take them bringing a weapon for anything to happen, if even then. We're over it.

Not necessarily. What would happen if you handed a bunch of 5 year olds loaded guns and told them to go play? Young children would not understand the consequences. Many have little understanding and still blur the lines between make believe and reality. Kids this age still get into little fights with each other over trivial things. You may even recall a time when your young neurotypical child hit you and told you he wishes you would die. It’s all normal and harmless because they are not carrying loaded weapons. The adults who allowed a young child to access a real loaded weapon failed this most likely neurotypical kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want to know what happened in the months before the kid shot his teacher. I'm guessing we'll never know because the school will claim "privacy issues". Too bad that his right to privacy is super important but her right to safety is....non existent.

I read the student smashed the teachers phone before the Christmas break. It was reported to admins who did nothing. Of course.

My sister left teaching after being assaulted by a student. The admins told her that going forward with charges would reflect negatively on her in her file.

She went forward and put in her notice. She’s never been happier since switching careers.

I see a lot more teachers leaving the profession. An absolute lack of respect or care for teachers daily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want to know what happened in the months before the kid shot his teacher. I'm guessing we'll never know because the school will claim "privacy issues". Too bad that his right to privacy is super important but her right to safety is....non existent.

Trust me, there were reports and reports and reports and nothing was done. This doesn’t come out of nowhere but when we as teachers report nothing happens because almost nothing can supersede a child’s right to public education until they are catastrophically violent and for smaller concerns in a lead up, admin won’t do anything but say “call home” and “document.” When she recovers she will have a massive civil suit against the district, and win, and never have to teach again.

Why people think she will be able to sue and that she can get massive amounts of money baffles me. This is workers’ comp and even if it wasn’t, there are damage caps.

Oh, yeah, no. A teacher being shot on school grounds is not merely a workman's comp issue. She'll get money there, as well probably her pay and insurance covered for the rest of the school year along with her medical bills. She'll sue the administrators and the district itself for not protecting her when they were well aware of the problem. There isn't a jury out there that wouldn't be sympathetic to her. But, I hope she goes FAR beyond suing on her own behalf. I hope she can help teachers everywhere change the IDEA laws around protecting students at all cost, including at the expense of true safety of others.

YES!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want to know what happened in the months before the kid shot his teacher. I'm guessing we'll never know because the school will claim "privacy issues". Too bad that his right to privacy is super important but her right to safety is....non existent.

Trust me, there were reports and reports and reports and nothing was done. This doesn’t come out of nowhere but when we as teachers report nothing happens because almost nothing can supersede a child’s right to public education until they are catastrophically violent and for smaller concerns in a lead up, admin won’t do anything but say “call home” and “document.” When she recovers she will have a massive civil suit against the district, and win, and never have to teach again.

Why people think she will be able to sue and that she can get massive amounts of money baffles me. This is workers’ comp and even if it wasn’t, there are damage caps.

Oh, yeah, no. A teacher being shot on school grounds is not merely a workman's comp issue. She'll get money there, as well probably her pay and insurance covered for the rest of the school year along with her medical bills. She'll sue the administrators and the district itself for not protecting her when they were well aware of the problem. There isn't a jury out there that wouldn't be sympathetic to her. But, I hope she goes FAR beyond suing on her own behalf. I hope she can help teachers everywhere change the IDEA laws around protecting students at all cost, including at the expense of true safety of others.

Regarding IDEA, please don’t bucket overtly violent kids with kids with disabilities. My child has a physical disability and benefits from IDEA. He has never hurt another child.

I don't think that is what the PP is saying. I am a SPED teacher-IDEA has gone too far with inclusion and there are many children who do not belong in the general education classroom all day. You are right we need to protect students with disabilities but this protection should not supersede the safety of everyone else in the classroom. I repeat there are students who SHOULD not be in the classroom but plenty of IEP students who are just fine and not hurting others. Teachers are done evacuating rooms. when we do it(daily at times) this says that the other childrens education is less important then the child tearing the place up or hitting others around them. We need balance and we don't have it right now. It is beyond difficult in my county to get kids into ED schools/classrooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want to know what happened in the months before the kid shot his teacher. I'm guessing we'll never know because the school will claim "privacy issues". Too bad that his right to privacy is super important but her right to safety is....non existent.

Trust me, there were reports and reports and reports and nothing was done. This doesn’t come out of nowhere but when we as teachers report nothing happens because almost nothing can supersede a child’s right to public education until they are catastrophically violent and for smaller concerns in a lead up, admin won’t do anything but say “call home” and “document.” When she recovers she will have a massive civil suit against the district, and win, and never have to teach again.

Why people think she will be able to sue and that she can get massive amounts of money baffles me. This is workers’ comp and even if it wasn’t, there are damage caps.

Oh, yeah, no. A teacher being shot on school grounds is not merely a workman's comp issue. She'll get money there, as well probably her pay and insurance covered for the rest of the school year along with her medical bills. She'll sue the administrators and the district itself for not protecting her when they were well aware of the problem. There isn't a jury out there that wouldn't be sympathetic to her. But, I hope she goes FAR beyond suing on her own behalf. I hope she can help teachers everywhere change the IDEA laws around protecting students at all cost, including at the expense of true safety of others.

Regarding IDEA, please don’t bucket overtly violent kids with kids with disabilities. My child has a physical disability and benefits from IDEA. He has never hurt another child.

I don't think that is what the PP is saying. I am a SPED teacher-IDEA has gone too far with inclusion and there are many children who do not belong in the general education classroom all day. You are right we need to protect students with disabilities but this protection should not supersede the safety of everyone else in the classroom. I repeat there are students who SHOULD not be in the classroom but plenty of IEP students who are just fine and not hurting others. Teachers are done evacuating rooms. when we do it(daily at times) this says that the other childrens education is less important then the child tearing the place up or hitting others around them. We need balance and we don't have it right now. It is beyond difficult in my county to get kids into ED schools/classrooms.

+1 truth here!

[Anonymous]

Ditch restorative justice in the schools.

It is horrible for the victim and horrible for teachers.

Return to old fashioned discipline and suspensions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the teacher who posted above about more therapeutic schools, more funding to help kids before they get their IEP, etc. Yes, I'm very familiar with the current lack of staff and lack of funds. I don't know how we'll fund it or how we'll find people to staff it. Perhaps we need to start teachers who work in therapeutic schools at 150K and TA's for those schools at 75K. I suspect that'd do it. There's always money, it's our stupid government who spends on things they shouldn't and mandates things they don't fund too.

We are nearing a complete collapse of staffing in education for sure. Teachers and staff are leaving in droves. Student violence and aggression is a huge factor. Whatever the solution is it should happen fast or we're not going to be able to keep schools open.

+1 from a parent and also a Special Ed teacher. We are seriously at a breaking point. Special Education is probably going to take the biggest hit, but you're crazy if you think it won't affect every other student and subject area. Private schools with the ability to pick and choose their student populations are having trouble keeping and retaining staff, too. If we can fund bullshit wars and give buckets in foreign aid to other countries, we can absolutely invest more in education.

+1

But let’s be clear: this kind of behavior is not normal and is not just a matter of bad parenting or self control. The science is showing us that it’s actually brain damage/malformations. And probably won’t be something that can be fixed with drugs.

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-have-established-a-key-biological-difference-between-psychopaths-and-normal-people/

We need start talking about this more. It’s not mental health. It’s brain health. These kids don’t have control over their behavior. They need brain scans and medication.

[Anonymous]

Did I miss anywhere where we know this kid had an IEP? I see people bringing up IDEA but I would be shocked if a kid whose parents are so negligent as to leave a loaded gun lying around and not even notice that he took it to school are also the kind of parents invested enough in their child to go through the evaluation process and attend IEP meetings and sign the documentation. I’d be more inclined to believe he is unidentified but suffers from disabilities of some sort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did I miss anywhere where we know this kid had an IEP? I see people bringing up IDEA but I would be shocked if a kid whose parents are so negligent as to leave a loaded gun lying around and not even notice that he took it to school are also the kind of parents invested enough in their child to go through the evaluation process and attend IEP meetings and sign the documentation. I’d be more inclined to believe he is unidentified but suffers from disabilities of some sort.

I am guessing that the school has wanted an IEP for behavioral issues and that the parents were not responding. If the post from ages ago was correct and this kid was moved from a school because they tried to choke a Teacher in K, then this is a kid who needed to be moved to a specialized program. That takes a long time with willing parents and forever with unwilling parents.

But I think all of this is conjecture on our part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want to know what happened in the months before the kid shot his teacher. I'm guessing we'll never know because the school will claim "privacy issues". Too bad that his right to privacy is super important but her right to safety is....non existent.

Trust me, there were reports and reports and reports and nothing was done. This doesn’t come out of nowhere but when we as teachers report nothing happens because almost nothing can supersede a child’s right to public education until they are catastrophically violent and for smaller concerns in a lead up, admin won’t do anything but say “call home” and “document.” When she recovers she will have a massive civil suit against the district, and win, and never have to teach again.

Why people think she will be able to sue and that she can get massive amounts of money baffles me. This is workers’ comp and even if it wasn’t, there are damage caps.

Oh, yeah, no. A teacher being shot on school grounds is not merely a workman's comp issue. She'll get money there, as well probably her pay and insurance covered for the rest of the school year along with her medical bills. She'll sue the administrators and the district itself for not protecting her when they were well aware of the problem. There isn't a jury out there that wouldn't be sympathetic to her. But, I hope she goes FAR beyond suing on her own behalf. I hope she can help teachers everywhere change the IDEA laws around protecting students at all cost, including at the expense of true safety of others.

Regarding IDEA, please don’t bucket overtly violent kids with kids with disabilities. My child has a physical disability and benefits from IDEA. He has never hurt another child.

I don't think that is what the PP is saying. I am a SPED teacher-IDEA has gone too far with inclusion and there are many children who do not belong in the general education classroom all day. You are right we need to protect students with disabilities but this protection should not supersede the safety of everyone else in the classroom. I repeat there are students who SHOULD not be in the classroom but plenty of IEP students who are just fine and not hurting others. Teachers are done evacuating rooms. when we do it(daily at times) this says that the other childrens education is less important then the child tearing the place up or hitting others around them. We need balance and we don't have it right now. It is beyond difficult in my county to get kids into ED schools/classrooms.

+1 truth here!

+2. My DD has an IEP and is in a Gen Ed class with the other kids in her grade with IEPs. There is a kid in her class that clearly should not be in Gen Ed and needs a contained classroom. Fortunately he hasn’t been violent, but he is incredibly disruptive all day long - crying, head banging, screaming, yelling. This is in 6 th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

+2. My DD has an IEP and is in a Gen Ed class with the other kids in her grade with IEPs. There is a kid in her class that clearly should not be in Gen Ed and needs a contained classroom. Fortunately he hasn’t been violent, but he is incredibly disruptive all day long - crying, head banging, screaming, yelling. This is in 6 th grade.

Teacher, here. You and the other parents in the class need to bombard the school’s admin with complaints that your children cannot learn in that environment and ask what action they will take.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

+2. My DD has an IEP and is in a Gen Ed class with the other kids in her grade with IEPs. There is a kid in her class that clearly should not be in Gen Ed and needs a contained classroom. Fortunately he hasn’t been violent, but he is incredibly disruptive all day long - crying, head banging, screaming, yelling. This is in 6 th grade.

Teacher, here. You and the other parents in the class need to bombard the school’s admin with complaints that your children cannot learn in that environment and ask what action they will take.

I’m another teacher and unfortunately I think you and I both know 23 sets of Gen Ed parents will never trump 1 set of sped parents who dig in their heels and insist on inclusion. The sped student has guaranteed rights under IDEA that will win each time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

+2. My DD has an IEP and is in a Gen Ed class with the other kids in her grade with IEPs. There is a kid in her class that clearly should not be in Gen Ed and needs a contained classroom. Fortunately he hasn’t been violent, but he is incredibly disruptive all day long - crying, head banging, screaming, yelling. This is in 6 th grade.

Teacher, here. You and the other parents in the class need to bombard the school’s admin with complaints that your children cannot learn in that environment and ask what action they will take.

I’m another teacher and unfortunately I think you and I both know 23 sets of Gen Ed parents will never trump 1 set of sped parents who dig in their heels and insist on inclusion. The sped student has guaranteed rights under IDEA that will win each time.

Sadly you are correct

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ditch restorative justice in the schools.

It is horrible for the victim and horrible for teachers.

Return to old fashioned discipline and suspensions.

Unfortunately, can’t happen because Biden brought back Obama-era discipline policies, e.g. proportionality doctrine wrt suspensions, RJ et centera

Also, parents who block the school’s numbers on their phones are well, unhelpful, plus their attitudes of “when my child is at school, they’re your problem”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ditch restorative justice in the schools.

It is horrible for the victim and horrible for teachers.

Return to old fashioned discipline and suspensions.

Unfortunately, can’t happen because Biden brought back Obama-era discipline policies, e.g. proportionality doctrine wrt suspensions, RJ et centera

Also, parents who block the school’s numbers on their phones are well, unhelpful, plus their attitudes of “when my child is at school, they’re your problem”

Which is part of the reason that IDEA and FAPE need to be revisited. The restrictions placed on the schools to try and find a solution to keep kids in a mainstream classroom regardless of behavior is too much. Kids should be able to be moved to a more restrictive environment when their behavior endangers a Teacher or other kids. I understand that there are disabilities and mental illness issues that can lead kids to be disregulated and that it is out of the kids control but that does not justify the danger that kids and Teachers are placed in when that happens. There should be some type of plan for more quickly moving those kids out of the mainstream classroom until they are able to participate without potentially hurting someone.

The child in this case may have attacked a Teacher at a different school and the response was to move him to a new school not find a secured classroom with additional supervision to help him and the other people in the room stay safe. That is ridiculous.

The Federal Government has not provided the funding needed so that schools can afford the 1 on 1 aides that many kids need or even the Teachers needed om Special Education and they have made it harder to properly place kids who need services. It is a giant cluster.