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Gangs in area schools
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Anonymous
Of course they fear it. But their fear isn't necessarily relative to any actual risk. |
Anonymous
| What is the gang level/activity like at Blair? |
Anonymous
| Lots of gangs at Blair. Stick with BCC, WJ and Churchill -> or go private. |
Anonymous
Huh? DD goes there and has never complained about gangs. I sort of doubt you have a kid at Blair. There may be some under-the-radar gang activity, who knows. But it's totally wrong to imply that kids there are dodging bullets from gang warfare among "lots of gangs." |
Anonymous
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Silver spring/takoma park do have a gang problem. You should call the police department and talk to the person in charge of keeping gangs under control if you want a real assessment. (http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/saotmpl.asp?url=/content/SAO/units/GangUnit.asp#Gang) I did not say there are bullets being dodged in the school I just said that your kid will be going to school with gang member - alot more than in BCC, WJ, Churchill.
On 3/24/2011 MCPS is holding a talk for parents (A Parent’s Guide to Gangs) - so there are gangs in MCPS and yes they are at Blair. You think MS-13 is living in Potomac. Also, MCPS has a gang hotline Montgomery County Gang Hotline 240-773-GANG This person is asking about gangs in MCPS - so let's be honest - Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Germantown and Wheaton havs gang problems - therefore their schools have gang problems. If you go on line and want to find out about schools there is a one sided assessment of Blair because of it's ranking - if you are a magnet school kid and you are bused to Blair great - but if you are buying a house and want your kids to be safe I would not recommend Blair school district. It's not personal - I am glad your daughter is doing well - but it is not a safe area. |
Anonymous
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I have kids at TPMS and Blair.
At TPMS, gangs spray-painted the back of the school building last year or maybe the year before, however apparently those particular gang members didn't attend TPMS. DC says that there are a few kids in gangs at TPMS, and DC knows who they are. DC says, though, that the gang members at TPMS are small in number. DC also says that most TPMS kids see the gang members as "losers," apparently because their priorities are different from the middle schoolers' priorities (i.e. popularity and different taste in music and what have you), also it sounds like there's a certain amount of socio-economic snobbery directed at the small number of gang members. Violence has definitely not been a problem at TPMS, and DC has never, ever, felt unsafe. I asked my DC at Blair specifically about gangs. DC has never heard of gangs at Blair, although DC said it was possible there are some. DC does not know who the gang kids might be. DC has seen a few fights in the hallways of Blair, but about personal not gang stuff. But any gang presence does not seem really obvious or heavy. A high-level administrator at TPMS told us a few years ago that there are gangs in virtually every public school in the county, FWIW. Including some of the schools to the west of MoCo. In short, gang violence is not a problem in either TPMS or Blair. I can't speak to other schools in Silver Spring or Wheaton. But if you're avoiding these schools because you think your kid is at risk of being hurt as a bystander to random gang violence, then you have bad information. I don't get the comment about the Blair neighborhood not being safe. I don't live there. But frankly, there is crime all through MoCo, wherever thieves see an opportunity. DC has some friends who live in the Blair vicinity, and we know various coworkers who live in the area, and it doesn't seem like crime is worse than anywhere else. Certainly these neighborhoods are not plagued by gang violence. For gang violence, try Langley Park, several miles further on University. |
Anonymous
Curious to know where your kids are? I'm going to take a wild guess that you're somewhere in Potomac or Bethesda. I'm guessing you just know these schools and neighborhoods from driving along University Blvd on your way to the Ikea, Behnkes or the appliance stores in College Park. I'm not going to say that there are no gang members in any downcounty schools. I'm sure that's true. But you write, "if you want your kids to be safe," that people should avoid these schools and neighborhoods. In other words, you imply that these schools and neighborhoods are physically unsafe. This is just ignorant. Gang activity and gang violence are simply not even remotely a part of daily life at these schools and neighborhoods. Kids and homeowners are not physically at risk. Gangs are a very, very peripheral part of life in "our" part of the county. While a few gang members may happen to be students, that doesn't support your claim that downcounty schools are "unsafe" because of gang violence. I have kids in these schools and friends in these neighborhoods, and your picture is wrong and uninformed. |
Anonymous
| I want to thank everyone for sharing their thoughts. To be honest I am very worried that there are gang members at the school. I don't want to be an over protective parent, but I feel sick when I hear "gangs". Although I have heard that there are now gangs in every Montgomery County high school, it doesn't make me feel any better. A few posters with students at Blair and Takoma Park give a more balanced picture of the environment; so perhaps my impressions are wrong. I know many students would love to come to Blair (from all over the county) to attend the magnet program, so I do feel bad/ungrateful about my feelings. Please continue to share your experiences at Blair, your comments have been helpful. |
Anonymous
It might be useful to follow up on the 1st para, by calling the police to get their views. But the other two points are pure BS. Slapping random, unrelated stuff into a post doesn't prove anything. (1) Just because MCPS is holding a talk at some unspecified location doesn't prove anything about Blair (even if this poster mentions MS-13 in the same breath, it still doesn't prove anything about Blair). OP should probably find out more about this talk (wherever it's taking place) and ask specific questions about Blair. But OP should also avoid being led by the nose by somebody's spurious references to MS-13. (2) The gang hotline in the 3rd para above is (a) county-wide, it's not an "MCPS" hotline despite what this poster says, and (b) it's for reporting tips on gang-related activity, not for asking questions. Yeesh. |
Anonymous
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I get the need to defend the school your kids go to but this person is looking for an honest opinion.
How many murders have their been in MoCo last year? How many were in Silver Spring and Wheaton - most. Your kids freely admit that gangs are in and around the school - so you kid is safe unless they want to run to 7-11 and because they think those kids are losers. Sounds safe to me. 9:42 said For gang violence, try Langley Park, several miles further on University. Langley Park is an open air drug market 2.6 miles from Blair - how many miles from Potomac and Bethesda? I don't live in Potomac or Bethesda but if I could afford it I would pick it over Silver Spring. Here is a link to the crime statistics. (http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/poltmpl.asp?url=/content/pol/media/crimestats.asp) Go to dist. crime tab for crime by area. |
Anonymous
How many of the murders in Silver Spring and Wheaton over the past year were of affluent, professional peopl in their onw homes, neighborhoods or workplaces? Now what about Bethesda? |
Anonymous
| To OP - another thing - the paper only report on murders that happen in Bethesda and Potomac because the others are not news - they are common. |
Anonymous
The person is indeed looking for an honest answer, which is why your scary, fake insinuations are so unhelpful. Clearly you don't live in the Takoma Park or Silver Spring area. Your comments are based on pure ignorance. You need to stop posting irrelevant and ignorant trash here: - Talking about the murder rate in the general population, OUTSIDE OF SCHOOLS, is just ludicrous. And irrelevant. - Gangs are "in and around" ALL MoCo schools. Including yours, I'm sure. - Bethesda is just over the border from DC, another major drug market. So what the heck is your point? Just because some grownup is dealing in Langley Park -- which is in PG county -- doesn't mean the gangs are killing each other in a high school in a different county, several miles away. - What is this about "running to the 7/11?" Are you saying the 7/11 at four corners (is there a 7/11 there?) is a nest of gang members? Sorry, but making crazy statements like this just undermines anything you say. - THE MAIN POINT IS THAT THERE IS NO "GANG CULTURE" AT SCHOOL. Just because a few younger gang members may be at schools (including yours!), doesn't mean they will be anywhere near your precious snowflake. Or that your little snowflake will even notice them. The gang kids are sitting at their desks in remedial classes far from your little snowflakes, or, more likely, they are truant. Nobody at Blair has to show a gang tattoo to enter the place in the mornings. There are no dime bags under the staircases. There are no gang fights in the hallways. My kid has no idea who the gang members are. You are either too dumb to understand any of this. Or, more likely, you have some axe to grind against western MoCo schools. And your MoCo public almost certainly has gang members, too. Do you know who they are? Are they even an obvious presence? Probably not. And it's exactly the same at Blair. |
Anonymous
OK, now I understand. When this poster drove along University Boulevard on her way to the College Park appliance store (because she can't afford the stores in Bethesda), she saw *gasp* some hispanics. Silver Spring and Wheaton are for those lower-class immigrants, doncha know. And she thinks that all hispanics are in gangs. Ick. |
Anonymous
The poster has an IQ of about 70. She can't even construct a solid argument and thinks that BS about relative murder rates is convincing. Ignore her. |