Bathroom Incident at RM Today - April 9

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sadly, there will be no consequences

The police are involved. There will be consequences.

I am SO glad that admin involved the police.

But, this is still Montgomery County and kids are able to get away with crimes because they are minors. This is well-known. So we’ll be lucky if the kid gets a slap on the wrist. And yes, the kids ‘deserves a free education’ so the kid will just get transferred to a different HS to do the same thing again elsewhere. We see this happen over and over in MCPS.

I find it interesting that every time there is an incident in MoCo schools, people like to jump immediately to being mad at what they THINK the school consequences MIGHT be.
We skip right by discussion of what went wrong in the kids' lives and society that led to it. We skip right by concern for the victim and witnesses. We skip right by the school SAYING that the police are involved and that the kid "will receive discipline". Instead, we get pre-mad about what we assume.

Interesting, but regardless, pulling a knife on someone and threatening them is a criminal act, and we have laws to remedy this.

PP here. I agree? That is my point.

Cool. So what do you think would be an appropriate legal consequence for a kid that brings a knife to school and attacks another student?

First, I think there needs to be an investigation.
And my point is that it is a criminal act and there are legal consequences. And the act itself is what matters, not where it happened. If the exact same incident had happened in a park or a mall, what would happen? Let's start there. And if there are no consequences, the inquiry would be toward our criminal justice system primarily, not the school district.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those rich schools….wow……so many problems.

Oh haha. Pp, RM is most certainly not a rich school.

RM is 30% FARMS.

By comparison, Churchill is 9.7% and Walter Johson is 16.7%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sadly, there will be no consequences

The police are involved. There will be consequences.

I am SO glad that admin involved the police.

But, this is still Montgomery County and kids are able to get away with crimes because they are minors. This is well-known. So we’ll be lucky if the kid gets a slap on the wrist. And yes, the kids ‘deserves a free education’ so the kid will just get transferred to a different HS to do the same thing again elsewhere. We see this happen over and over in MCPS.

I find it interesting that every time there is an incident in MoCo schools, people like to jump immediately to being mad at what they THINK the school consequences MIGHT be.
We skip right by discussion of what went wrong in the kids' lives and society that led to it. We skip right by concern for the victim and witnesses. We skip right by the school SAYING that the police are involved and that the kid "will receive discipline". Instead, we get pre-mad about what we assume.

Interesting, but regardless, pulling a knife on someone and threatening them is a criminal act, and we have laws to remedy this.

PP here. I agree? That is my point.

Cool. So what do you think would be an appropriate legal consequence for a kid that brings a knife to school and attacks another student?

First, I think there needs to be an investigation.
And my point is that it is a criminal act and there are legal consequences. And the act itself is what matters, not where it happened. If the exact same incident had happened in a park or a mall, what would happen? Let's start there. And if there are no consequences, the inquiry would be toward our criminal justice system primarily, not the school district.

Hah, are you new to MCPS and the County? Offender was a juvenile. They pulled a knife but did not injure. I'll be surprised if they even prosecute them. No consequences.

[Anonymous]

Oh and just a reminder -- BOE election in a few weeks. This is your chance to vote out incumbents if you don't like the direction MCPS is going.

[Anonymous]

Before gang member teenager, killed another kid in Wheaton, he got expelled from another school and sent to Magruder. He would just wander the halls, reeked of weed, stayed in his gang, and then eventually killed another kid at the Wheaton metro station.

Changing schools does not improve behavior. It should not be the first consequence after being expelled from another high school for violence or else the cycle repeats. They need full rehab, therapy, drug treatment, etc. Not maintenance until they harm again or drop out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Before gang member teenager, killed another kid in Wheaton, he got expelled from another school and sent to Magruder. He would just wander the halls, reeked of weed, stayed in his gang, and then eventually killed another kid at the Wheaton metro station.

Changing schools does not improve behavior. It should not be the first consequence after being expelled from another high school for violence or else the cycle repeats. They need full rehab, therapy, drug treatment, etc. Not maintenance until they harm again or drop out.

I agree. But the school for that (Twain) was closed years ago because there were too many kids of certain races ending up in the program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh and just a reminder -- BOE election in a few weeks. This is your chance to vote out incumbents if you don't like the direction MCPS is going.

Do not vote for Bethany Mandel.
Mandel = Moms4Liberty keep that out of our schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh and just a reminder -- BOE election in a few weeks. This is your chance to vote out incumbents if you don't like the direction MCPS is going.

Which board members are running on discipline re consequences for misbehavior?

[Anonymous]

My kid was at school yesterday and did not even realize this happened. I like the principal a lot and appreciate getting these emails (and that it was referred to police) but I do think we are getting a lot more info than we did a decade ago and so things seem a little worse than they are. I agree this is not behavior we want in schools but I can remember knives being pulled at my school in the 80s, so it’s not like this is a sign of end days.

I just hope this doesn’t lead to more locking of bathrooms! That is something that affects all kids.

I do think that one thing that has changed over recent decades is that there are now so many cameras in schools that all the bad behavior gets pushed into the bathrooms. That includes everything from scrolling tiktok to assault. It was the unintended effect of putting security cameras everywhere but the bathrooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh and just a reminder -- BOE election in a few weeks. This is your chance to vote out incumbents if you don't like the direction MCPS is going.

Which board members are running on discipline re consequences for misbehavior?

I know a lot of people on this board hate the apple ballot but I think the teacher endorsed candidates are more concerned about this, as it’s a major issue affecting the teachers ability to feel safe at work and to be able to teach their students (which most of them really want to do). The teachers are sick of not having any support for kids with problem behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I hope the student is expelled and not just moved around.

Every student has a right to an education.

Indeed, but it's crucial to acknowledge that different schools have distinct needs. Schools in areas with higher rates of poverty require support that diverges from the needs of wealthier schools. This is a significant reason why wealthier individuals often self-segregate, seeking educational environments that cater to their children's specific needs, including both academic support and emotional assistance, such as dealing with conflicts. Conversely, schools in less affluent areas may need to prioritize basic necessities, including food, water, and education on violence prevention. Public schools struggle to address this wide spectrum of needs adequately. Therefore, there's a compelling case for tailoring schools based on economic status to meet the unique requirements of both impoverished and wealthy communities. In fact, the housing market has, to some extent, already enforced this segregation based on the economic capabilities of families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sadly, there will be no consequences

The police are involved. There will be consequences.

I am SO glad that admin involved the police.

But, this is still Montgomery County and kids are able to get away with crimes because they are minors. This is well-known. So we’ll be lucky if the kid gets a slap on the wrist. And yes, the kids ‘deserves a free education’ so the kid will just get transferred to a different HS to do the same thing again elsewhere. We see this happen over and over in MCPS.

I find it interesting that every time there is an incident in MoCo schools, people like to jump immediately to being mad at what they THINK the school consequences MIGHT be.
We skip right by discussion of what went wrong in the kids' lives and society that led to it. We skip right by concern for the victim and witnesses. We skip right by the school SAYING that the police are involved and that the kid "will receive discipline". Instead, we get pre-mad about what we assume.

Interesting, but regardless, pulling a knife on someone and threatening them is a criminal act, and we have laws to remedy this.

PP here. I agree? That is my point.

Cool. So what do you think would be an appropriate legal consequence for a kid that brings a knife to school and attacks another student?

First, I think there needs to be an investigation.
And my point is that it is a criminal act and there are legal consequences. And the act itself is what matters, not where it happened. If the exact same incident had happened in a park or a mall, what would happen? Let's start there. And if there are no consequences, the inquiry would be toward our criminal justice system primarily, not the school district.

We are in agreement! There needs to be an investigation. That is why it is great that police were actually called and that Rockville City Police are now investigating (according to the principal’s letter).

The issue is that in the past, MCPS has swept issues that happen at school under the rug. Read the WaPo article about the Damascus rape. Admin at Damascus did NOT want to involve the police and did not do so until a parent went to MCPD. Same with the Rockville case.

And you are also correct that the criminal justice system is a big part of the problem.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous

We are in agreement! There needs to be an investigation. That is why it is great that police were actually called and that Rockville City Police are now investigating (according to the principal’s letter).

The issue is that in the past, MCPS has swept issues that happen at school under the rug. Read the WaPo article about the Damascus rape. Admin at Damascus did NOT want to involve the police and did not do so until a parent went to MCPD. Same with the Rockville case.

This is why we need a Clery Act for K-12. It is in place for universities -- crimes reported on campus must be publicized. No sweeping under the rug. K-12s are not required to comply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I hope the student is expelled and not just moved around.

They'll do a restorative justice circle and give him a bag of chips and a sticker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those rich schools….wow……so many problems.

Oh haha. Pp, RM is most certainly not a rich school.

RM is 30% FARMS.

By comparison, Churchill is 9.7% and Walter Johson is 16.7%.

Yes, RM has lower FARMS rate than Moco as a whole and the majority of MCPS schools.