What are the options when a student is attacked?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with above post that nominal "restorative justice" is nothing like restorative justice as it's supposed to be practiced within communities.

These nominal practices can cause harm.

PhD psychologist here who worked in community setting with days-long restorative justice practices. Community leaders there were mentored, over time, by First Nations groups

I absolutely agree that RJ, as it is practiced in our schools, absolutely causes more harm than good. It’s so poorly implemented.

I’ve gotten to the point that I feel anger toward the RJ advocates, especially ones who don’t actually work in our schools. They haven’t seen the negative ways students respond to it, and how it can actually reinforce the behaviors it is supposed to mitigate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with above post that nominal "restorative justice" is nothing like restorative justice as it's supposed to be practiced within communities.

These nominal practices can cause harm.

PhD psychologist here who worked in community setting with days-long restorative justice practices. Community leaders there were mentored, over time, by First Nations groups

I absolutely agree that RJ, as it is practiced in our schools, absolutely causes more harm than good. It’s so poorly implemented.

I’ve gotten to the point that I feel anger toward the RJ advocates, especially ones who don’t actually work in our schools. They haven’t seen the negative ways students respond to it, and how it can actually reinforce the behaviors it is supposed to mitigate.

Testify at a BOE meeting. Tell them how RJ, as it's currently implemented, is failing everyone. We need teachers to speak out.

[Anonymous]

You call the police and you prosecute the kid / the school / the school district.

you get a very good lawyer and you put immense pressure on the school to exclude the kid who attacked yours, for general safety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with above post that nominal "restorative justice" is nothing like restorative justice as it's supposed to be practiced within communities.

These nominal practices can cause harm.

PhD psychologist here who worked in community setting with days-long restorative justice practices. Community leaders there were mentored, over time, by First Nations groups

I absolutely agree that RJ, as it is practiced in our schools, absolutely causes more harm than good. It’s so poorly implemented.

I’ve gotten to the point that I feel anger toward the RJ advocates, especially ones who don’t actually work in our schools. They haven’t seen the negative ways students respond to it, and how it can actually reinforce the behaviors it is supposed to mitigate.

Testify at a BOE meeting. Tell them how RJ, as it's currently implemented, is failing everyone. We need teachers to speak out.

Staff point out it is often ineffective or at least ineffectively implemented, the this just results in conversations about state law requirements, referral data, social justice, etc. None of it comes back to the actual issue of safety of students in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it's bullying, ask if the school practices "restorative justice". If it does, the school may expose your child to the bully so make it clear you're seeking protection and will not authorize your child exposed to the bully. If it is a serious matter and your child has an injury as evidence, file a police report. I say this because victim-blaming is not uncommon, especially if you feel the school is trying to bury the matter. If the situation is getting out of hand, NEVER file a CFP (which MCPS will encourage you to do). Go straight to a lawyer for advice. Don't be afraid to consider court or file with the Maryland Inspector General.

Don’t listen to this stupid MAGA parent. She has no clue about the benefits of restorative justice.

MAGA? You're so far off it isn't funny. I lived in a pre-covid neighborhood where kids didn't have consequencies because their parents were even worse. Neighbor shot, another stabbed and killed - passed the missing child poster on the streetlight post as I was moving out. I've been assaulted by a gang minor and I'm an adult. The only thing I wanted was the kid's arrest and incarceration, so imagine how a 9 or 12-year-old victim would feel.

This is the problem with the MCPS central office. When you don't protect the children, I don't think they're any better than the criminals themselves.

[Anonymous]

RJ is a joke. DD was assaulted on the school bus and the bully told her that if she tells anyone about it "you don't know what I'll do to you" We complained to the school. And the school made my daughter and the bully sit opposite each other, and my daughter had to tell the bully how she felt. Complete insanity. Luckily the bully moved to a different address and hence different school bus.

[Anonymous]

Frankly, I’d pull my kid out and use a cyber charter school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:RJ is a joke. DD was assaulted on the school bus and the bully told her that if she tells anyone about it "you don't know what I'll do to you" We complained to the school. And the school made my daughter and the bully sit opposite each other, and my daughter had to tell the bully how she felt. Complete insanity. Luckily the bully moved to a different address and hence different school bus.

This is what I’ve witnessed. The victim is forced to do most of the work, being forced to be vulnerable while sharing feelings and then listening to the bully’s rationalizations and excuses. And then the victim is expected to do the work of accepting a fake apology. So the cycle continues, and the bully keeps bullying because there’s no reason not to.

I find the whole process irresponsible and misguided.

[Anonymous]

As an MCPS employee this past decade. I can say with confidence the school will try to bury the issue. RJ is a joke joke joke.

Report the incident to the police and stay on top of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of those avenues are open to you. I’d file an incident report with the school for sure. Whether the incident results in a bullying report depends on the presented facts. If its a serious attack, you could file a police report, and, depending on the age of the student and the substance of the claim, additional steps could be taken.

Please tread cautiously here. The consequences for the alleged assailant can be truly devastating.

Do you really want to ruin some poor child’s life over what will ultimately be a small bump in the road?

If someone attacks my kid at school, I am calling the police. If the alleged assailant was unprepared for consequences, they should not have attacked. This is nursery school content.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of those avenues are open to you. I’d file an incident report with the school for sure. Whether the incident results in a bullying report depends on the presented facts. If its a serious attack, you could file a police report, and, depending on the age of the student and the substance of the claim, additional steps could be taken.

Please tread cautiously here. The consequences for the alleged assailant can be truly devastating.

Do you really want to ruin some poor child’s life over what will ultimately be a small bump in the road?

If someone attacks my kid at school, I am calling the police. If the alleged assailant was unprepared for consequences, they should not have attacked. This is nursery school content.

Define "attack"

[Anonymous]

Call the police. Like a PP above, I am also an mcps employee. You will never see real justice if you do not call the police and have the attacker on record.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of those avenues are open to you. I’d file an incident report with the school for sure. Whether the incident results in a bullying report depends on the presented facts. If its a serious attack, you could file a police report, and, depending on the age of the student and the substance of the claim, additional steps could be taken.

Please tread cautiously here. The consequences for the alleged assailant can be truly devastating.

Do you really want to ruin some poor child’s life over what will ultimately be a small bump in the road?

If someone attacks my kid at school, I am calling the police. If the alleged assailant was unprepared for consequences, they should not have attacked. This is nursery school content.

Define "attack"

DP but if you didn't teach your little crotchgremlin to keep their hands to themselves, I'm going to make damned sure they learn that lesson after being foolish enough to touch my kid in any nonconsensual way. And I'm not going to limit my willingness to re-educate your brat to physical attacks, if they think cyberbullying is a loophole.

This is in your child's best interest. You should've taught them to mind their own business long before I needed to get involved to protect my kid.

Fsckabuncha "restorative justice". Your kid owes meaningful amends. If they don't already know that, well, school is for learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When a student is physically attacked at school, what options do the student/parents have to proceed? File a police report? Bully report? Email principal? What about when the student who assaulted your child is in some of the same classes? What can we do to help prevent this from happening again?

Police, police, police. The school will do nothing. If the police aren't able to help, find some kids in the neighborhood to take care of the bully. The school will do nothing and the bully will only stop if they are threatened or dealt with.

[Anonymous]

Why do people think the police will do anything? I'd call the police to get it documented if I intended to sue the school or the parents, but I would never expect charges (even assuming the kid is old enough to be charged)