Fights at Deal this week

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our schools need to be safer. Suspend a kid for fighting and other safety reasons and you get a lot of pressure as a school administrator. The SBOE and Council are taking up legislation on cell phones but no one is pushing to address physical violence and safety in our schools. This isn't just about one incident or knowing the details, there needs to be more support for schools. There also may need to be more alternative placements, whether short term or longer, when a student has proven to be a danger to others.

Absolutely! One 7th grader has been in more than five fights this year.

That kid should not be in school. Doesn't deal have social workers on staff? How do they help or are their hands tied?

Frankly that kid should have gotten charged at fight 3

[Anonymous]

Parents need to swallow their pride and protest outside the school. Get media attention

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our schools need to be safer. Suspend a kid for fighting and other safety reasons and you get a lot of pressure as a school administrator. The SBOE and Council are taking up legislation on cell phones but no one is pushing to address physical violence and safety in our schools. This isn't just about one incident or knowing the details, there needs to be more support for schools. There also may need to be more alternative placements, whether short term or longer, when a student has proven to be a danger to others.

Absolutely! One 7th grader has been in more than five fights this year.

This is why context is needed.

What kind of fights? Victim or perpetrator?

This is also why things like this shouldn't be ignored. They have a habit of escalating.

[Anonymous]

It's gotten crazy.

Brawls are now weekly at Deal.

[Anonymous]

Can uninvolved kids manage to stay out of the fray?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can uninvolved kids manage to stay out of the fray?

No because many of the halls are so narrow they get caught

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can uninvolved kids manage to stay out of the fray?

No because many of the halls are so narrow they get caught

Is this true? This sounds terrible. My kid who’s at Hardy claims the fights are only between the kids who like to fight and seems pretty unbothered by them.

But I hope this is an exaggeration regarding Deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can uninvolved kids manage to stay out of the fray?

No because many of the halls are so narrow they get caught

Is this true? This sounds terrible. My kid who’s at Hardy claims the fights are only between the kids who like to fight and seems pretty unbothered by them.

But I hope this is an exaggeration regarding Deal.

I think so. My 8th grader has never been touched by a fight. I'm not saying others haven't been jostled or worse - I don't know. But my kid has without trying has "managed to stay out of the fray."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can uninvolved kids manage to stay out of the fray?

No because many of the halls are so narrow they get caught

Is this true? This sounds terrible. My kid who’s at Hardy claims the fights are only between the kids who like to fight and seems pretty unbothered by them.

But I hope this is an exaggeration regarding Deal.

Which shows that, if the rumors are true, more details are needed because it is implied that the victim is a willing and equal participant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard from my child who heard from other kids that a child was beaten up by several kids. This is very different than a fight or "physical altercation" and I am not satisfied by the form letter just emailed. I do not want to gossip about kids, but the kids themselves are gossiping and parents are in the dark.

I had assumed you had not gotten any information from the school - if you already got that letter, why do you need more details? The specifics and personal details are not necessary for the whole school. There are protocols and confidentiality that the school needs to follow, and if it doesn't directly impact your kid/family, then you have to let it go, IMO.

Maybe the protocols need to be changed. You can't let individual kids threaten the safety of the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can uninvolved kids manage to stay out of the fray?

No because many of the halls are so narrow they get caught

Is this true? This sounds terrible. My kid who’s at Hardy claims the fights are only between the kids who like to fight and seems pretty unbothered by them.

But I hope this is an exaggeration regarding Deal.

I think so. My 8th grader has never been touched by a fight. I'm not saying others haven't been jostled or worse - I don't know. But my kid has without trying has "managed to stay out of the fray."

my post was missing a crucial "don't." I don't think it's true that kids can't stay out of the way of the fights. Mine has without trying. But I agree the school has discipline issues. There seems to be a lot of skipping class going on. Kids skip and go to classes where there is a substitute or to gym class where they can blend in with friends. Or they roam the halls avoiding adults. It shocks me a bit that this is a regular occurrence in middle school by a subset of kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can uninvolved kids manage to stay out of the fray?

No because many of the halls are so narrow they get caught

Is this true? This sounds terrible. My kid who’s at Hardy claims the fights are only between the kids who like to fight and seems pretty unbothered by them.

But I hope this is an exaggeration regarding Deal.

I think so. My 8th grader has never been touched by a fight. I'm not saying others haven't been jostled or worse - I don't know. But my kid has without trying has "managed to stay out of the fray."

my post was missing a crucial "don't." I don't think it's true that kids can't stay out of the way of the fights. Mine has without trying. But I agree the school has discipline issues. There seems to be a lot of skipping class going on. Kids skip and go to classes where there is a substitute or to gym class where they can blend in with friends. Or they roam the halls avoiding adults. It shocks me a bit that this is a regular occurrence in middle school by a subset of kids.

Any school with that many kids stuffed into it will have discipline issues, and to pretend that it shouldn't is ignoring reality. Doesn't matter where it's located (urban or suburban), doesn't matter what the school's socioeconomic makeup is, you're going to have discipline issues with that many middle-school kids on one campus. And from the times I've had to pick up my kid early from Deal, the admins/security personnel are *very* strict about kids roaming the hallways after the bell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can uninvolved kids manage to stay out of the fray?

No because many of the halls are so narrow they get caught

Is this true? This sounds terrible. My kid who’s at Hardy claims the fights are only between the kids who like to fight and seems pretty unbothered by them.

But I hope this is an exaggeration regarding Deal.

I think so. My 8th grader has never been touched by a fight. I'm not saying others haven't been jostled or worse - I don't know. But my kid has without trying has "managed to stay out of the fray."

my post was missing a crucial "don't." I don't think it's true that kids can't stay out of the way of the fights. Mine has without trying. But I agree the school has discipline issues. There seems to be a lot of skipping class going on. Kids skip and go to classes where there is a substitute or to gym class where they can blend in with friends. Or they roam the halls avoiding adults. It shocks me a bit that this is a regular occurrence in middle school by a subset of kids.

Any school with that many kids stuffed into it will have discipline issues, and to pretend that it shouldn't is ignoring reality. Doesn't matter where it's located (urban or suburban), doesn't matter what the school's socioeconomic makeup is, you're going to have discipline issues with that many middle-school kids on one campus. And from the times I've had to pick up my kid early from Deal, the admins/security personnel are *very* strict about kids roaming the hallways after the bell.

I agree. The skipping classes question to me is whether or not it might be a leading indicator for what appears to be a bullying problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These are middle school kids we're talking about. Obviously going through something if there's been an uptick in fighting. I know we are all concerned for our own kids and the neighborhood if there's fighting that spills into it, but let's remember that they're trying to figure things out and shouldn't be the subject of gossip. If it were your kid, you'd feel bad about that and want people to leave it alone.

As a middle school teacher and parent myself, this is not gossip. The details of what happened should not remain private. A fight in a school is a concern for the community, and more importantly, the student body as a whole. You are too concerned with protector the fighters that fight at a school. I am more concerned with protecting the students that go to school to learn. You can not save them all. When you can not, find them a different placement.

Parrot FOX much.
These are minors you don't get to know anything but the school has taken action.

You are ridiculous. A few kids disrupt the environment for all the students. This should not be allowed to happen repeatedly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can uninvolved kids manage to stay out of the fray?

No because many of the halls are so narrow they get caught

Is this true? This sounds terrible. My kid who’s at Hardy claims the fights are only between the kids who like to fight and seems pretty unbothered by them.

But I hope this is an exaggeration regarding Deal.

I think so. My 8th grader has never been touched by a fight. I'm not saying others haven't been jostled or worse - I don't know. But my kid has without trying has "managed to stay out of the fray."

my post was missing a crucial "don't." I don't think it's true that kids can't stay out of the way of the fights. Mine has without trying. But I agree the school has discipline issues. There seems to be a lot of skipping class going on. Kids skip and go to classes where there is a substitute or to gym class where they can blend in with friends. Or they roam the halls avoiding adults. It shocks me a bit that this is a regular occurrence in middle school by a subset of kids.

Any school with that many kids stuffed into it will have discipline issues, and to pretend that it shouldn't is ignoring reality. Doesn't matter where it's located (urban or suburban), doesn't matter what the school's socioeconomic makeup is, you're going to have discipline issues with that many middle-school kids on one campus. And from the times I've had to pick up my kid early from Deal, the admins/security personnel are *very* strict about kids roaming the hallways after the bell.

They’re strict when it’s close to the main office where visitors see…