Magruder Shooter Sentenced 18 years

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mcps has all sorts of programs and initiatives geared towards understanding and accepting different genders, cultures and so forth but not one to understand special needs kids. They were left out of me too, blm, love is love and every other movement.
Shameful.

You seem to think students with special needs are a monolithic group that stands apart from everyone else in every context. You’re wrong. Our magnets have twice exceptional students who are both gifted and have SN. There are students with IEPs involved in clubs like GSA and MSP. Sometimes, they are even the leaders of these organizations.

And my guess is, invariably, they come from middle to upper income homes that have the resources to navigate multiple systems so that their twice exceptional child excels. What about the FARMS kids with an IEP or 504?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mcps has all sorts of programs and initiatives geared towards understanding and accepting different genders, cultures and so forth but not one to understand special needs kids. They were left out of me too, blm, love is love and every other movement.
Shameful.

You seem to think students with special needs are a monolithic group that stands apart from everyone else in every context. You’re wrong. Our magnets have twice exceptional students who are both gifted and have SN. There are students with IEPs involved in clubs like GSA and MSP. Sometimes, they are even the leaders of these organizations.

And my guess is, invariably, they come from middle to upper income homes that have the resources to navigate multiple systems so that their twice exceptional child excels. What about the FARMS kids with an IEP or 504?

You would be wrong.

[Anonymous]

Kids like this should be kept far away from regular school. There needs to be a separate SN school in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well-heeled rhe elephant innthe room.
MCPS does NOT care about special need kids.
A child with an iq of 79 should NEVER be at school with the general population. But McKnight, et al, would rather spend 1.5 million so you know if Larlos bus is 2 minutes late than to address the needs of special needs students. I would love to see how many seriously bullied kids are SN kids.
The child who was murdered innthe woods in Germantown seemed to have special needs, too, according to his mother.

Where is the investigative reporting on this? How many special needs children are being violently bullied and intimidated at school? Why won't MCPS do better? Special needs students should be protected.

I don’t think you have every known anyone with a 79 IQ if you think they can’t be in the same school as students with average intelligence.

+1 that seems really off to me. I work with special education kids, though not as a teacher, and so I know their IQs. I know lots of kids with 79 IQs that do fine in general education schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mcps has all sorts of programs and initiatives geared towards understanding and accepting different genders, cultures and so forth but not one to understand special needs kids. They were left out of me too, blm, love is love and every other movement.
Shameful.

You seem to think students with special needs are a monolithic group that stands apart from everyone else in every context. You’re wrong. Our magnets have twice exceptional students who are both gifted and have SN. There are students with IEPs involved in clubs like GSA and MSP. Sometimes, they are even the leaders of these organizations.

You have completely missed the point. The point was that mcps has programs designed to help other students think of their neighbors who are poc, LGBT+, etc as equal peers who are just as valuable as themselves. There are no programs designed like this for kids with developmental delays, disabilities, intellectual differences, and so forth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well-heeled rhe elephant innthe room.
MCPS does NOT care about special need kids.
A child with an iq of 79 should NEVER be at school with the general population. But McKnight, et al, would rather spend 1.5 million so you know if Larlos bus is 2 minutes late than to address the needs of special needs students. I would love to see how many seriously bullied kids are SN kids.
The child who was murdered innthe woods in Germantown seemed to have special needs, too, according to his mother.

Where is the investigative reporting on this? How many special needs children are being violently bullied and intimidated at school? Why won't MCPS do better? Special needs students should be protected.

I don’t think you have every known anyone with a 79 IQ if you think they can’t be in the same school as students with average intelligence.

No, YOU don't get it. Children who are that intellectually different SHOULD not be in the general population because their peers don't understand them, see their social missteps as intentional vonfontrations, find them odd, weak, etc. They are the target of bullies again and again and they lack the ability to self advocate in most cases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids like this should be kept far away from regular school. There needs to be a separate SN school in MCPS.

Write your congressman. Federal law requires SN kids be placed in the least restrictive environment.

[Anonymous]

As a previous SpEd teacher now gen-ed teacher, least restrictive environment really just means least supported environment. It ends up meeting no ones needs well. Parents complain when their 504/IEP isnt doing well even when all accommodations are given.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mcps has all sorts of programs and initiatives geared towards understanding and accepting different genders, cultures and so forth but not one to understand special needs kids. They were left out of me too, blm, love is love and every other movement.
Shameful.

You seem to think students with special needs are a monolithic group that stands apart from everyone else in every context. You’re wrong. Our magnets have twice exceptional students who are both gifted and have SN. There are students with IEPs involved in clubs like GSA and MSP. Sometimes, they are even the leaders of these organizations.

You have completely missed the point. The point was that mcps has programs designed to help other students think of their neighbors who are poc, LGBT+, etc as equal peers who are just as valuable as themselves. There are no programs designed like this for kids with developmental delays, disabilities, intellectual differences, and so forth.

Best Buddies has been a successful program, but really you need to think about intersectionality as students with SN do have other identities as well and find community in a lot of contexts where their contributions are valued, including student affinity groups, the arts, clubs, and sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids like this should be kept far away from regular school. There needs to be a separate SN school in MCPS.

Write your congressman. Federal law requires SN kids be placed in the least restrictive environment.

Not sure why that means that they have to be in any specific type placement.

I tend to agree with PPs that it would benefit everyone for there to be more differentiated learning environments. In this case, it would have likely saved this kid from shooting another kid which is I think what everyone would want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please start reading My MC Media. I know it's government media but it has some of the best reporting around.

https://www.mymcmedia.org/magruder-school-shooter-sentenced-to-18-years-for-assaulting-classmate/

During an emotion 90-minute courtroom hearing, Thomas’ mother talked about the pain her son and her entire family continue to endure. Two Magruder teachers described Alston’s learning and cognitive disabilities, and Alston’s attorney read a statement written by the now-18-year-old, who has been in prison since the shooting.

“First, I want to say I’m sorry,” attorney David Felson read from a statement written by Alston. Felson said that the teenager was too nervous to read it himself.

“I hope Deandre and his family can understand and forgive me,” he wrote. “I was frightened and didn’t know what to do.” He added, “I was lost,” and made “a bad decision.” He also apologized to the school and his mother, who sat quietly in the courtroom throughout the proceedings.

...

He said Alston felt bullied and scared. “It is fairly clear that Steven was bullied, harassed and terrorized” at Magruder. Students even came to his home at home point and only left when Alston’s mother threatened to call the police.

All this “left Steven in an impossible situation,” Felson said. “We know the victim wanted to kick Steven’s ass,” he said, adding, “None of this justifies Steven’s actions.”

But Alexander Bush, the Thomas family attorney, said it was “disgusting” to make it seem that Thomas was responsible for all the bullying and problems Alston was having and that the defense was attempting to blame the victim.

Resource teacher Stephanie Williams called Alston a quiet, polite student. He was “very sweet, kind, responsible.”

His 11th grade world history teacher, Chris Gamble, said Alston had “academic difficulties” and said very little. He described Alston as respectful and motivated to pass his class.

It is important to keep in mind that this is only one side of the story and a good attorney is going to frame facts in a light most favorable to his client. The victim has not told his story and I would not be surprised if his version of events was significantly different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One special needs student from magruder had to bring a gun to school to protect himself after mcps failed to do so. He will now spend as much of his life in jail as he did outside of jail.
Another special needs student from northwest left dead in the woods after his mom begged them to change his school assignment.

How many special needs students is MCPS going to sacrifice before they wake up?

So much wrong with what hive written, starting with “had to.”

[Anonymous]

A few things to add. Alston was skipping down the hallway after the shooting. I am sure he was in shock, but damn that is a haunting video to watch. The ghost gun likely misfired when smacked away from his head. Then fired again straight down the abdomen. This shooting could have been a death more easily than survivable. This was not just a close call. The kid almost died.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://mocoshow.com/blog/magruder-high-school-shooter-sentenced-to-18-years/?fbclid=IwAR2dUsyPO9Tenq9EZefjVnJIqIsixgendJQhJqF54kK9wKsgmEnzn01vB08

I'm surprised it was so harsh but good (?). I question the good because I do think it is a good idea to give a harsh sentence but what is the plan for him while in prison? I hope he won't get out early but what is the plan?

He'll be a 35 year old man when he is released from prison. He already had a bad start to life and wasn't given good guidance by his parents. What type of rehab will he really get in prison? He won't be really educated. He won't have good influences (or will he?) around him and he will leave prison as still a young man. Young men seem to commit the majority of crimes so there is a chance that he will commit more crimes when he is released. I doubt he will have even the slightest positive impact on society.

In cases like this, is it better to keep them in prison for the full 40 years so his most criminal heavy years will be spent locked up?

Yes.


I’m more concerned with public safety than his rehabilitation.

Being concerned for safety means concern for rehabilitation of criminals, almost all of whom will be released from prison eventually.

Criminality decreases substantially with age. Keeping someone out of society until they’re in their 40/50s will drastically reduce the probability of they committing crimes once they’re released. People can reasonably feel that this isn’t a just or moral thing to do, but it’s definitely effective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well-heeled rhe elephant innthe room.
MCPS does NOT care about special need kids.
A child with an iq of 79 should NEVER be at school with the general population. But McKnight, et al, would rather spend 1.5 million so you know if Larlos bus is 2 minutes late than to address the needs of special needs students. I would love to see how many seriously bullied kids are SN kids.
The child who was murdered innthe woods in Germantown seemed to have special needs, too, according to his mother.

Where is the investigative reporting on this? How many special needs children are being violently bullied and intimidated at school? Why won't MCPS do better? Special needs students should be protected.

The average IQ of black people in the United States is ~85; setting a threshold of 79 would mean that about 40% of African American kids in the US would be classified as special needs.

From Wikipedia: “ In the US, individuals identifying themselves as Asian generally tend to score higher on IQ tests than Caucasians, who tend to score higher than Hispanics, who tend to score higher than African Americans. Nevertheless, greater variation in IQ scores exists within each ethnic group than between them.[55] A 2001 meta-analysis of the results of 6,246,729 participants tested for cognitive ability or aptitude found a difference in average scores between black people and white people of 1.1 standard deviations. Consistent results were found for college and university application tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (N = 2.4 million) and Graduate Record Examination (N = 2.3 million), as well as for tests of job applicants in corporate settings (N = 0.5 million) and in the military (N = 0.4 million).[56]”

1.1 standard deviations is about 16 IQ points. If you set Caucasians in the US at 100, then the mean for African Americans would be approximately 84. So, a score of 79 would be only slightly below average.