DD starts middle school in the fall, and I am scared to death.

[Anonymous]

OP middle school years were the worst in my life. MY mom says that can't be true -- we were in the "best" school district of our area and she says I had a binch of friends. I don't remember it that way...

My kids are in the so-called worst school district in the DC area but both had a wonderful time in middle school! I don't know what that tells you though, except you can't assume your child's experience will mirror yours.

[Anonymous]

For us, middle school was amazing. It was ninth and tenth grade that nearly killed me.

[Anonymous]

Regardless of how it goes, this is a learning experience for your daughter. Middle school was full of ups and downs for me - mostly downs - but at the same time was an extremely pivotal period in which I developed my sense of identity and started (slowly) becoming the person I would be in high school, college, and beyond. I would not be the same had I not had those bad middle school experience, for better or for worse.

If your daughter has a bad experience, all you can do is be there for support. Don't worry, just support. Make sure that home is a safe environment for her. She will grow past it. More than likely, though, she will have a fine time. Not great, not bad. Nothing wrong with that. It is a step in the process of life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't send my kid to that school, especially now that the principal and assistant principal got fired. Reputations are one thing, reality is another.

What are you talking about? No one got fired.

They both got fired. The P is being allowed to resign, the AP is going to be a teacher at the HS.

Post your source. This is absolutely false.

My source is a staff member at the school.

So the longest tenured principal of the four schools in the FCCPS system is now also being replaced, and he was in that position a year and a half. The other three principals are all new this year. And a new superintendent starts this month.

[Anonymous]

I have a DD who started at Carson in FCPS this year and loves it. She is not the most popular kid and not the most athletic kid, but she is very confident in herself and has found her place. She calls herself a nerd (which she probably is) and eats lunch with her fellow nerds (her description, but they share a table with popular kids she told me with a shrug). She found a couple of activities in the school she is really involved with. We have not run into any bullying problems.

I wouldn't borrow trouble. I was also concerned about the transition to MS, but she is actually much happier than she was in elementary school. I recognize that it depends a lot on the school and the kid. And that Carson is a great place for a kid like her because it is very diverse, has a huge AAP program and a lot of kids taking academics seriously in the TJ application run up. But things are different for middle schoolers than they were 30 years ago. More emphasis on mental health and anti-bullying. And in NOVA, tolerance for diversity. It could turn out to be a great move for her. And if it's not, you'll deal with it.

[Anonymous]

Encourage your child not to give a damn about drama from other students, and give her a frank talk about what happens to boys and their behavior when they are 12-14 years old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Encourage your child not to give a damn about drama from other students, and give her a frank talk about what happens to boys and their behavior when they are 12-14 years old.

as opposed to the perfect behavior of 12-14 year old girls? She will have WAY more issues with girls her age than boys. Most boys that age will not even acknowledge her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I teach middle school. Honestly, in the middle schools this large, there are friends for everyone. Even the "odd" kids get a social group, with very few exceptions.

As a mom, my recommendation is to make your house a social hang out spot if possible. Invite the kids to hang out after school, to sleep over on weekends, to join you when your family goes to dinner. Get to know her friends, so you can share in her stories.

Really? NP here and my 6th grad DS has had a hard time making new friends. He says that kids are so busy getting from class to class that nobody is really socializing and alll of his activities are outside of school. He basically has the same friends he had in elementary school.

That being said, he's very quiet and reserved and a bit shy. So maybe that's why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't send my kid to that school, especially now that the principal and assistant principal got fired. Reputations are one thing, reality is another.

What are you talking about? No one got fired.

They both got fired. The P is being allowed to resign, the AP is going to be a teacher at the HS.

Post your source. This is absolutely false.

My source is a staff member at the school.

So the longest tenured principal of the four schools in the FCCPS system is now also being replaced, and he was in that position a year and a half. The other three principals are all new this year. And a new superintendent starts this month.

To be honest, I wouldn't begrudge a principal for retiring after 20+ years at the school (Mt. Daniel) or needing to leave the area due to divorce and wanting to be with his child (MEH).

I have two kids at different schools in the system and haven't seen any changes to curriculum or teacher morale. My kids are super happy there and that's all I care about. Principals largely do administrative work and leave the teachers and curriculum teams to do their best work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't send my kid to that school, especially now that the principal and assistant principal got fired. Reputations are one thing, reality is another.

What are you talking about? No one got fired.

They both got fired. The P is being allowed to resign, the AP is going to be a teacher at the HS.

Wrong at least about the assistant principal, he is moving out of the area due to divorce (ex left area so he is moving to be close to daughter).

Sorry but that's wrong, it's the principal who said he was moving to be near his daughter, but the truth is he was allowed to resign due to his mishandling of the math teacher who molested kids and copped a plea deal. The AP will go back to teaching so he must have had some involvement as well.

Troll.

The principal is leaving the area due to family issues. And there is no way they would let the AP remain in the system if there was misconduct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't send my kid to that school, especially now that the principal and assistant principal got fired. Reputations are one thing, reality is another.

What are you talking about? No one got fired.

They both got fired. The P is being allowed to resign, the AP is going to be a teacher at the HS.

Wrong at least about the assistant principal, he is moving out of the area due to divorce (ex left area so he is moving to be close to daughter).

Sorry but that's wrong, it's the principal who said he was moving to be near his daughter, but the truth is he was allowed to resign due to his mishandling of the math teacher who molested kids and copped a plea deal. The AP will go back to teaching so he must have had some involvement as well.

Troll.

The principal is leaving the area due to family issues. And there is no way they would let the AP remain in the system if there was misconduct.

Clearly you are not comfortable with the idea that someone else knows more about this than you do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't send my kid to that school, especially now that the principal and assistant principal got fired. Reputations are one thing, reality is another.

What are you talking about? No one got fired.

They both got fired. The P is being allowed to resign, the AP is going to be a teacher at the HS.

Wrong at least about the assistant principal, he is moving out of the area due to divorce (ex left area so he is moving to be close to daughter).

Sorry but that's wrong, it's the principal who said he was moving to be near his daughter, but the truth is he was allowed to resign due to his mishandling of the math teacher who molested kids and copped a plea deal. The AP will go back to teaching so he must have had some involvement as well.

Troll.

The principal is leaving the area due to family issues. And there is no way they would let the AP remain in the system if there was misconduct.

Clearly you are not comfortable with the idea that someone else knows more about this than you do.

You don't though since you're a bored 13 year old girl.

[Anonymous]

Am I the only one who thinks it's just like elementary school? Go to school, come home. Don't involve yourself in any drama. Don't talk bad about anyone. And just fit in in terms of personality and clothing. And time will go by just fine. I thought the kids who had the harder time were the ones who were always saying stuff about others and that started drama.

[Anonymous]

I don't think middle school now is like it was for us parents. I remember being bullied severely, seeing fist fights in corridors with blood flying and once a kid put a home made bomb in the boys bathroom hand towel dispenser, it blew up just AFTER someone had used it, so no one was injured or killed. I didn't stop going because of these events but definitely felt more free in HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't send my kid to that school, especially now that the principal and assistant principal got fired. Reputations are one thing, reality is another.

What are you talking about? No one got fired.

They both got fired. The P is being allowed to resign, the AP is going to be a teacher at the HS.

Wrong at least about the assistant principal, he is moving out of the area due to divorce (ex left area so he is moving to be close to daughter).

Sorry but that's wrong, it's the principal who said he was moving to be near his daughter, but the truth is he was allowed to resign due to his mishandling of the math teacher who molested kids and copped a plea deal. The AP will go back to teaching so he must have had some involvement as well.

Troll.

The principal is leaving the area due to family issues. And there is no way they would let the AP remain in the system if there was misconduct.

Clearly you are not comfortable with the idea that someone else knows more about this than you do.

You don't though since you're a bored 13 year old girl.

So do I have this right? You are a FCC parent but you are okay with a principal who "counseled" the perpetrator to "not be alone with students" rather than taking appropriate action against a teacher who was molesting students? You think it's a coincidence that the principal then all of a sudden wanted to move nearer his daughter? And you think a teacher who had been on an admin track first at the HS and then at the MS suddenly decided he'd like to go back to teaching? I hope you will forgive me if I conclude that your level of rationalization and denial is often seen in The Little City. Have you seen the red signs?