Violent Fight at Magruder HS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The boy walked out of the school unassisted. I am wondering what the protocol is for calling an ambulance. I am not defending anyone but if I saw a kid get up ok...would I just call the parents? Vomiting is certainly a sign of a concussion but does it warrant an ambulance? Of course we now have hindsight to know it was much more serious. My child got a concussion at school (not in a fight) and certainly no ambulance was called/required.

Good point. My DD got a concussion at school as well. No ambulance. Although OP said that the boy had a 'fractured skull' which is more serious.

[Anonymous]

There are clear protocols in place to avoid administrators overreacting or abusing the system. But I agree that MCPS needs to do better training on concussion/head injury management.

If a child is vomiting after hitting his head it is a clear emergency and they need to get him to a hospital right away which means calling 911. Loss of consciousness is not the only thing that signals brain bleeds that require surgery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The boy walked out of the school unassisted. I am wondering what the protocol is for calling an ambulance. I am not defending anyone but if I saw a kid get up ok...would I just call the parents? Vomiting is certainly a sign of a concussion but does it warrant an ambulance? Of course we now have hindsight to know it was much more serious. My child got a concussion at school (not in a fight) and certainly no ambulance was called/required.

Good point. My DD got a concussion at school as well. No ambulance. Although OP said that the boy had a 'fractured skull' which is more serious.

I do not think the school would be able to diagnose that..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really didn't need to see that!

Well, really you do need to see that. It’s clear that Montgomery County can’t manage the kids in their school and can’t be trusted to keep the kids safe.
Maybe the schools should all be privatized if they are failing so badly. How hard is it to call an ambulance for a severely injured child before he dies? This is worse than a fraternity hazing death because there are so many so called adults there at the school. Where was the school nurse?

Were the police called?

How heartless are these students that they videotape this fight but don’t step in to aid the injured boy??

When my DC was in ES, DC was running full speed, and fell and hit DC's head on the concrete. There was a little pool of blood, and DC saw stars. They called me, but not an ambulance. It took me 40min to get him to the ER -- drive to school, then drive to ER. I was not happy. I don't understand MCPS policy on calling 911. Hitting your hard so hard you see stars and there is blood should be cause to call an ambulance. At least they could've given me that option since at the time when they called me, I didn't know how severe the injuries were. So disappointed.

What did the ER do?

Stop the bleeding and check for a concussion. DC was falling asleep in the car on the way there and not very talkative (which DC normally is). I was so scared.

Why did you not call an ambulance to the school if it was so evident that it was warranted...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really didn't need to see that!

Well, really you do need to see that. It’s clear that Montgomery County can’t manage the kids in their school and can’t be trusted to keep the kids safe.
Maybe the schools should all be privatized if they are failing so badly. How hard is it to call an ambulance for a severely injured child before he dies? This is worse than a fraternity hazing death because there are so many so called adults there at the school. Where was the school nurse?

Were the police called?

How heartless are these students that they videotape this fight but don’t step in to aid the injured boy??

When my DC was in ES, DC was running full speed, and fell and hit DC's head on the concrete. There was a little pool of blood, and DC saw stars. They called me, but not an ambulance. It took me 40min to get him to the ER -- drive to school, then drive to ER. I was not happy. I don't understand MCPS policy on calling 911. Hitting your hard so hard you see stars and there is blood should be cause to call an ambulance. At least they could've given me that option since at the time when they called me, I didn't know how severe the injuries were. So disappointed.

At our elementary school, not only was 911 called for a child who fell and hit his head, they sent a helicopter to airlift him to Children's hospital.

You are right that training and check for consistency for head trauma procedures is needed across all schools in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really didn't need to see that!

Well, really you do need to see that. It’s clear that Montgomery County can’t manage the kids in their school and can’t be trusted to keep the kids safe.
Maybe the schools should all be privatized if they are failing so badly. How hard is it to call an ambulance for a severely injured child before he dies? This is worse than a fraternity hazing death because there are so many so called adults there at the school. Where was the school nurse?

Were the police called?

How heartless are these students that they videotape this fight but don’t step in to aid the injured boy??

When my DC was in ES, DC was running full speed, and fell and hit DC's head on the concrete. There was a little pool of blood, and DC saw stars. They called me, but not an ambulance. It took me 40min to get him to the ER -- drive to school, then drive to ER. I was not happy. I don't understand MCPS policy on calling 911. Hitting your hard so hard you see stars and there is blood should be cause to call an ambulance. At least they could've given me that option since at the time when they called me, I didn't know how severe the injuries were. So disappointed.

What did the ER do?

Stop the bleeding and check for a concussion. DC was falling asleep in the car on the way there and not very talkative (which DC normally is). I was so scared.

So essentially .. nothing. You could have waited for the morning and taken him to the pediatrician.

Well, you could risk your child's health, but I wouldn't. I'm not a doctor. How would I know if he had a concussion or not or had internal bleeding? I wouldn't have waited for a head injury.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really didn't need to see that!

Well, really you do need to see that. It’s clear that Montgomery County can’t manage the kids in their school and can’t be trusted to keep the kids safe.
Maybe the schools should all be privatized if they are failing so badly. How hard is it to call an ambulance for a severely injured child before he dies? This is worse than a fraternity hazing death because there are so many so called adults there at the school. Where was the school nurse?

Were the police called?

How heartless are these students that they videotape this fight but don’t step in to aid the injured boy??

When my DC was in ES, DC was running full speed, and fell and hit DC's head on the concrete. There was a little pool of blood, and DC saw stars. They called me, but not an ambulance. It took me 40min to get him to the ER -- drive to school, then drive to ER. I was not happy. I don't understand MCPS policy on calling 911. Hitting your hard so hard you see stars and there is blood should be cause to call an ambulance. At least they could've given me that option since at the time when they called me, I didn't know how severe the injuries were. So disappointed.

What did the ER do?

Stop the bleeding and check for a concussion. DC was falling asleep in the car on the way there and not very talkative (which DC normally is). I was so scared.

Why did you not call an ambulance to the school if it was so evident that it was warranted...

Because by that time, it would've probably been faster for me to get him to the ER.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The boy walked out of the school unassisted. I am wondering what the protocol is for calling an ambulance. I am not defending anyone but if I saw a kid get up ok...would I just call the parents? Vomiting is certainly a sign of a concussion but does it warrant an ambulance? Of course we now have hindsight to know it was much more serious. My child got a concussion at school (not in a fight) and certainly no ambulance was called/required.

Normal protocol is for the school to call an ambulance for a head injury. Vomiting after a head injury should have been a red flag that immediate medical attention was required.

Brain injuries progress over time due to a cascade of chemical changes, swelling, and /or bleeding. Children can mask the initial damage at first, appear fine one minute and slip into a coma the next.

They neglected to follow protocol. I agree that the signs for a head concussion were obvious when he started throwing up. They screwed up big-time!

[Anonymous]

Based on this check list it sounds like the school might have followed the proper protocol based on the child's symptoms.

But it sounds like they instinctively (or because of how hard those blows appeared to be in the fight) knew something more serious was wrong if they told the mother to take him to the ER. In that situation they should have called 911. In the video a child gets flipped over and slammed down on the back of his head.

My heart goes out to both families of the boys.





Symptoms and What to Do
Call 911 if your child shows any of these symptoms after a head injury:

unconsciousness for more than a few seconds
abnormal breathing
obvious serious wound
bleeding or clear fluid from the nose, ear, or mouth
disturbance of speech or vision
pupils of unequal size
weakness or paralysis
neck pain or stiffness
seizure

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really didn't need to see that!

Well, really you do need to see that. It’s clear that Montgomery County can’t manage the kids in their school and can’t be trusted to keep the kids safe.
Maybe the schools should all be privatized if they are failing so badly. How hard is it to call an ambulance for a severely injured child before he dies? This is worse than a fraternity hazing death because there are so many so called adults there at the school. Where was the school nurse?

Were the police called?

How heartless are these students that they videotape this fight but don’t step in to aid the injured boy??

When my DC was in ES, DC was running full speed, and fell and hit DC's head on the concrete. There was a little pool of blood, and DC saw stars. They called me, but not an ambulance. It took me 40min to get him to the ER -- drive to school, then drive to ER. I was not happy. I don't understand MCPS policy on calling 911. Hitting your hard so hard you see stars and there is blood should be cause to call an ambulance. At least they could've given me that option since at the time when they called me, I didn't know how severe the injuries were. So disappointed.

What did the ER do?

Stop the bleeding and check for a concussion. DC was falling asleep in the car on the way there and not very talkative (which DC normally is). I was so scared.

So essentially .. nothing. You could have waited for the morning and taken him to the pediatrician.

Well, you could risk your child's health, but I wouldn't. I'm not a doctor. How would I know if he had a concussion or not or had internal bleeding? I wouldn't have waited for a head injury.

The kid could have died - you are a moron! Are you the school nurse from Magruder ? Vomiting and drowsiness after a head injury is an emergency.

[Anonymous]

This kid should get an appropriate private school placement now, paid for by MCPS. Somewhere where he will be safe. Of course many kids should be getting that - explain to me again why we don’t have charter schools here?

Has the kid who beat him been arrested or is he at school beating up other kids??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This kid should get an appropriate private school placement now, paid for by MCPS. Somewhere where he will be safe. Of course many kids should be getting that - explain to me again why we don’t have charter schools here?

Has the kid who beat him been arrested or is he at school beating up other kids??

For every kid that has every been in a fight at any school? And what if there is a fight as his private?? What then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This kid should get an appropriate private school placement now, paid for by MCPS. Somewhere where he will be safe. Of course many kids should be getting that - explain to me again why we don’t have charter schools here?

Has the kid who beat him been arrested or is he at school beating up other kids??

Because they're not a good use of public money.

Don't kids in private schools get in fights? If they do, what does the private school do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This kid should get an appropriate private school placement now, paid for by MCPS. Somewhere where he will be safe. Of course many kids should be getting that - explain to me again why we don’t have charter schools here?

Has the kid who beat him been arrested or is he at school beating up other kids??

Because they're not a good use of public money.

Don't kids in private schools get in fights? If they do, what does the private school do?

Is the issue here that two ninth grade boys got into a fight?
Or that it was allowed to go on so long before an adult intervened?
Or that the school chose to tell the mother when she arrived an hour later to take injured kid to an ER rather than call ambulance directly?
MCPS principals don’t like to call police or ambulances, because it shows up in their school report as an incident. Perhaps MCPS needs to review their policies so that there isn’t an incentive for principals to avoid calling for help. In a school with few incidents, a principal can afford to call an ambulance or police. In a school where it happens a lot more, the principal is feeling pressure to get those incidents down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This kid should get an appropriate private school placement now, paid for by MCPS. Somewhere where he will be safe. Of course many kids should be getting that - explain to me again why we don’t have charter schools here?

Has the kid who beat him been arrested or is he at school beating up other kids??

Because they're not a good use of public money.

Don't kids in private schools get in fights? If they do, what does the private school do?

Is the issue here that two ninth grade boys got into a fight?
Or that it was allowed to go on so long before an adult intervened?
Or that the school chose to tell the mother when she arrived an hour later to take injured kid to an ER rather than call ambulance directly?
MCPS principals don’t like to call police or ambulances, because it shows up in their school report as an incident. Perhaps MCPS needs to review their policies so that there isn’t an incentive for principals to avoid calling for help. In a school with few incidents, a principal can afford to call an ambulance or police. In a school where it happens a lot more, the principal is feeling pressure to get those incidents down.

All of the issues you posted are valid concerns that MCPS should addressed.

A principal needs to feel obligated to make the call to the police or an ambulance with out fearing retribution for looking out for the welfare of students. Student safety should always be the top priority.

When schools have a higher number of incidents than others, perhaps extra staff should be assigned to help the school administration to fix the problem. Tracking the data was designed for identifying areas that need extra resources.