Thoreau Middle School in Vienna

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of the tremendous burdens the Thoreau family has shouldered over the past academic year is having Doug Tyson as its Assistant Superintendent. He was one in a string of mediocre principals at Kilmer and has saddled numerous schools in Region 1 with hires who aren't very good at their jobs.

Quite honestly, this is an overall FCPS problem! Mediocrity is the name of the game at FCPS! If you are anything more than mediocre, you realize how badly FCPS sucks and you move on elsewhere. Mediocrity runs from the top--Braband--all the way down to countless teachers, staff, and other administrators. I'm at Region 2, so different Assistant Superintendent--Fabio Z!--but "incompetance and mediocrity" are two words that succinctly describe him. I get that the district is huge and perhaps there are true stars, but from what I've gathered thanks to this forum is that by and large Fairfax County Public Schools district sucks like hell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Finally!

His whole, just in the hospital, schtick was getting old.

Surprising to me that FCPS let him get away with that when it's now clear that he was under investigation.

Let him get away with it.
FCPS formal communications at the time were that his leave was along the lines of personal issues, and that they were not at liberty to say.
I bet he still had a job and was just being investigated. What were they supposed to say? It seems like the investigations took almost a year. Imagine if they had misspoke at the time and then later it came out that he wasn't charged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading the announcement it comes across as the admin is supportive of this scum.

I get the anger, but come on people. A) the principal has been charged. A charge is not a verdict of guilt. And B) these are really messy employment/legal issues - I'm not sure what people expect other than a factual and neutral statement like this.

Here's a factual bit of information: in order for the police department to arrest you, the district attorney's office has to have evidence against you to issue the arrest warrant. They aren't going to issue the arrest warrant and then go dig up the information to see whether you are guilty. They then proceed to charge you against the crime, which means they have the EVIDENCE. They investigated for almost a year and then they charged him. Better believe there's enough to support the charge. It also sends a clear message to the other principals that shit won't be tolerated. Your job as an administrator is to report abuse when you find out. Let the others figure out whether there is any merit or not. But to not report it, you've broken the law. Good luck to him, but bet your dollar he will be in the same damn boat at Scott Bloom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of the tremendous burdens the Thoreau family has shouldered over the past academic year is having Doug Tyson as its Assistant Superintendent. He was one in a string of mediocre principals at Kilmer and has saddled numerous schools in Region 1 with hires who aren't very good at their jobs.

Quite honestly, this is an overall FCPS problem! Mediocrity is the name of the game at FCPS! If you are anything more than mediocre, you realize how badly FCPS sucks and you move on elsewhere. Mediocrity runs from the top--Braband--all the way down to countless teachers, staff, and other administrators. I'm at Region 2, so different Assistant Superintendent--Fabio Z!--but "incompetance and mediocrity" are two words that succinctly describe him. I get that the district is huge and perhaps there are true stars, but from what I've gathered thanks to this forum is that by and large Fairfax County Public Schools district sucks like hell.

You deserve better. Sounds like you should leave then.

What school system has better? In general government-run agencies as a whole don't pay enough compared to private sector. What can you expect. The best people have more options.

[Anonymous]

As a parent of two TMS kids, and someone who interacted with Mr. Azimi, I can tell you I am crushed that he will not be back at TMS any time soon. I actually wrote a letter to the sub-superintendent for our zone (Tyson?) months ago saying how great Mr. Azimi is and to not let procedural irregularities get in the way of him returning to TMS.

Mr. Azimi is a fabulous principal and while I hate to criticize the MS for my pyramid, TMS has suffered since Mr. Azimi left. His absence is noticeable. I had hoped that the Dir. of Student Serv. and the jr. principals would be able to step in for Mr. Azimi --- but they have not been able to carry on for him, and none of the short-term principals have made any impression at all. The communication used to be A+.... and ever since Mr. Azimi left it has been a D+. Pitiful for something that was once a real feature of this school.

I wouldn't assume that "they have the evidence" to convict Mr. Azimi. It seems ridiculous to even type that! He's SUCH a good, kid-focussed, principal. I would imagine there is some gray area where a parent told him that she was questioning the appropriateness of texts b/t the scub-bag teacher and a kid, but perhaps those texts could have been read in two ways (innocent but poor choice vs. sexually suggestive). Things are not always black and white.

Mr. Azimi might be guilty of assuming that people are good and not scum-bags. He obviously thought this Snell guy was good b/c he hired him. And they spend hours together during the interview process.

I really hate to see this quality person (Mr. Azimi) taken down in this way. He is the kind of person who should be leading a school. Snell is the guilty person here. Snell is the scumbag. It is not right to have a situation where good people are punished. Mr. Azimi is not a threat. He is the kind of person who you would want for your kids' school.

This whole situation just makes me mad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent of two TMS kids, and someone who interacted with Mr. Azimi, I can tell you I am crushed that he will not be back at TMS any time soon. I actually wrote a letter to the sub-superintendent for our zone (Tyson?) months ago saying how great Mr. Azimi is and to not let procedural irregularities get in the way of him returning to TMS.

Mr. Azimi is a fabulous principal and while I hate to criticize the MS for my pyramid, TMS has suffered since Mr. Azimi left. His absence is noticeable. I had hoped that the Dir. of Student Serv. and the jr. principals would be able to step in for Mr. Azimi --- but they have not been able to carry on for him, and none of the short-term principals have made any impression at all. The communication used to be A+.... and ever since Mr. Azimi left it has been a D+. Pitiful for something that was once a real feature of this school.

I wouldn't assume that "they have the evidence" to convict Mr. Azimi. It seems ridiculous to even type that! He's SUCH a good, kid-focussed, principal. I would imagine there is some gray area where a parent told him that she was questioning the appropriateness of texts b/t the scub-bag teacher and a kid, but perhaps those texts could have been read in two ways (innocent but poor choice vs. sexually suggestive). Things are not always black and white.

Mr. Azimi might be guilty of assuming that people are good and not scum-bags. He obviously thought this Snell guy was good b/c he hired him. And they spend hours together during the interview process.

I really hate to see this quality person (Mr. Azimi) taken down in this way. He is the kind of person who should be leading a school. Snell is the guilty person here. Snell is the scumbag. It is not right to have a situation where good people are punished. Mr. Azimi is not a threat. He is the kind of person who you would want for your kids' school.

This whole situation just makes me mad.

Hi Azimi's lawyer!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent of two TMS kids, and someone who interacted with Mr. Azimi, I can tell you I am crushed that he will not be back at TMS any time soon. I actually wrote a letter to the sub-superintendent for our zone (Tyson?) months ago saying how great Mr. Azimi is and to not let procedural irregularities get in the way of him returning to TMS.

Mr. Azimi is a fabulous principal and while I hate to criticize the MS for my pyramid, TMS has suffered since Mr. Azimi left. His absence is noticeable. I had hoped that the Dir. of Student Serv. and the jr. principals would be able to step in for Mr. Azimi --- but they have not been able to carry on for him, and none of the short-term principals have made any impression at all. The communication used to be A+.... and ever since Mr. Azimi left it has been a D+. Pitiful for something that was once a real feature of this school.

I wouldn't assume that "they have the evidence" to convict Mr. Azimi. It seems ridiculous to even type that! He's SUCH a good, kid-focussed, principal. I would imagine there is some gray area where a parent told him that she was questioning the appropriateness of texts b/t the scub-bag teacher and a kid, but perhaps those texts could have been read in two ways (innocent but poor choice vs. sexually suggestive). Things are not always black and white.

Mr. Azimi might be guilty of assuming that people are good and not scum-bags. He obviously thought this Snell guy was good b/c he hired him. And they spend hours together during the interview process.

I really hate to see this quality person (Mr. Azimi) taken down in this way. He is the kind of person who should be leading a school. Snell is the guilty person here. Snell is the scumbag. It is not right to have a situation where good people are punished. Mr. Azimi is not a threat. He is the kind of person who you would want for your kids' school.

This whole situation just makes me mad.

Add to that all the additional kids coming into Thoreau who used to be at Jackson and it's a perfect storm. I would not send my kid there now, virtually or in-person, until they get things under control.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid did not go to Thoreau. But she is now a senior at Madison. The biggest thing I can say is the students from Thoreau are much better prepared for Madison band than from the other school.

Academically, I do not know.

It is middle school, though, and middle schoolers are jerks.

They really are the worst. I can say that for the ones at all of the middle schools in the area including my own children. All they want to do is hang out at Waters and then they all cause trouble. It is all middle school BS. This goes for Thoreau and Kilmer, boys and girls. They thrive on drama, group chats and whatever is happening in the town of Vienna when they ran into so and so yesterday.

My kids never went to Waters field and don't thrive on drama or chat groups about what is happening in the town of Vienna. I will agree that not much good happens from tweens/young teens hanging out in groups without their parents at Waters Field. I have heard a few stories of inappropriate behavior. This has nothing to do with TMS, though. It's a matter of kids having access to an open field and free time after school, and apparently, a way to get home. My kids took the bus home everyday, so they weren't just hanging out in random places looking for trouble after school let out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent of two TMS kids, and someone who interacted with Mr. Azimi, I can tell you I am crushed that he will not be back at TMS any time soon. I actually wrote a letter to the sub-superintendent for our zone (Tyson?) months ago saying how great Mr. Azimi is and to not let procedural irregularities get in the way of him returning to TMS.

Mr. Azimi is a fabulous principal and while I hate to criticize the MS for my pyramid, TMS has suffered since Mr. Azimi left. His absence is noticeable. I had hoped that the Dir. of Student Serv. and the jr. principals would be able to step in for Mr. Azimi --- but they have not been able to carry on for him, and none of the short-term principals have made any impression at all. The communication used to be A+.... and ever since Mr. Azimi left it has been a D+. Pitiful for something that was once a real feature of this school.

I wouldn't assume that "they have the evidence" to convict Mr. Azimi. It seems ridiculous to even type that! He's SUCH a good, kid-focussed, principal. I would imagine there is some gray area where a parent told him that she was questioning the appropriateness of texts b/t the scub-bag teacher and a kid, but perhaps those texts could have been read in two ways (innocent but poor choice vs. sexually suggestive). Things are not always black and white.

Mr. Azimi might be guilty of assuming that people are good and not scum-bags. He obviously thought this Snell guy was good b/c he hired him. And they spend hours together during the interview process.

I really hate to see this quality person (Mr. Azimi) taken down in this way. He is the kind of person who should be leading a school. Snell is the guilty person here. Snell is the scumbag. It is not right to have a situation where good people are punished. Mr. Azimi is not a threat. He is the kind of person who you would want for your kids' school.

This whole situation just makes me mad.

Add to that all the additional kids coming into Thoreau who used to be at Jackson and it's a perfect storm. I would not send my kid there now, virtually or in-person, until they get things under control.

last PP, that is not a fair representation. My kid was there for the first year of the influx of Jackson kids and it was handled well. Same as the following year (my kid was there that year as well). TMS absorbed a 30% increase in its population and never hit speed bumps. Let's not try to make drama in areas that were a success.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent of two TMS kids, and someone who interacted with Mr. Azimi, I can tell you I am crushed that he will not be back at TMS any time soon. I actually wrote a letter to the sub-superintendent for our zone (Tyson?) months ago saying how great Mr. Azimi is and to not let procedural irregularities get in the way of him returning to TMS.

Mr. Azimi is a fabulous principal and while I hate to criticize the MS for my pyramid, TMS has suffered since Mr. Azimi left. His absence is noticeable. I had hoped that the Dir. of Student Serv. and the jr. principals would be able to step in for Mr. Azimi --- but they have not been able to carry on for him, and none of the short-term principals have made any impression at all. The communication used to be A+.... and ever since Mr. Azimi left it has been a D+. Pitiful for something that was once a real feature of this school.

I wouldn't assume that "they have the evidence" to convict Mr. Azimi. It seems ridiculous to even type that! He's SUCH a good, kid-focussed, principal. I would imagine there is some gray area where a parent told him that she was questioning the appropriateness of texts b/t the scub-bag teacher and a kid, but perhaps those texts could have been read in two ways (innocent but poor choice vs. sexually suggestive). Things are not always black and white.

Mr. Azimi might be guilty of assuming that people are good and not scum-bags. He obviously thought this Snell guy was good b/c he hired him. And they spend hours together during the interview process.

I really hate to see this quality person (Mr. Azimi) taken down in this way. He is the kind of person who should be leading a school. Snell is the guilty person here. Snell is the scumbag. It is not right to have a situation where good people are punished. Mr. Azimi is not a threat. He is the kind of person who you would want for your kids' school.

This whole situation just makes me mad.

Hi Azimi's lawyer!

Nope. Just a parent who had quite a few opportunities to see Mr. Azimi in action. You can tell who a person is by the way they speak and the things they highlight. People with low-emotional intelligence would not have been speaking about and leading the school in the ways that Mr. Azimi did. If you want to be a good principal for MS and HS, you have to be able to relate to kids, but also be able to manage the building/staff/parents. You have to be very adaptable. I could tell that Mr. Azimi was the kind of person who "got it" and resonated with kids, but also understood child development and leading kids to the next level. When I see an injustice, I want to fix it. Or try to fix it.

This is a loss for the community as well as a unjust stain on his record.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading the announcement it comes across as the admin is supportive of this scum.

I get the anger, but come on people. A) the principal has been charged. A charge is not a verdict of guilt. And B) these are really messy employment/legal issues - I'm not sure what people expect other than a factual and neutral statement like this.

Here's a factual bit of information: in order for the police department to arrest you, the district attorney's office has to have evidence against you to issue the arrest warrant. They aren't going to issue the arrest warrant and then go dig up the information to see whether you are guilty. They then proceed to charge you against the crime, which means they have the EVIDENCE. They investigated for almost a year and then they charged him. Better believe there's enough to support the charge. It also sends a clear message to the other principals that shit won't be tolerated. Your job as an administrator is to report abuse when you find out. Let the others figure out whether there is any merit or not. But to not report it, you've broken the law. Good luck to him, but bet your dollar he will be in the same damn boat at Scott Bloom.

Here's a bit of factual information: I am a lawyer and don't need criminal law and procedure explained to me. None of what you said changes the fact that Azimi has been charged and not convicted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid did not go to Thoreau. But she is now a senior at Madison. The biggest thing I can say is the students from Thoreau are much better prepared for Madison band than from the other school.

Academically, I do not know.

It is middle school, though, and middle schoolers are jerks.

They really are the worst. I can say that for the ones at all of the middle schools in the area including my own children. All they want to do is hang out at Waters and then they all cause trouble. It is all middle school BS. This goes for Thoreau and Kilmer, boys and girls. They thrive on drama, group chats and whatever is happening in the town of Vienna when they ran into so and so yesterday.

My kids never went to Waters field and don't thrive on drama or chat groups about what is happening in the town of Vienna. I will agree that not much good happens from tweens/young teens hanging out in groups without their parents at Waters Field. I have heard a few stories of inappropriate behavior. This has nothing to do with TMS, though. It's a matter of kids having access to an open field and free time after school, and apparently, a way to get home. My kids took the bus home everyday, so they weren't just hanging out in random places looking for trouble after school let out.

Very good points. You caught me at a moment of frustration. We purchased our house because we loved the area and easy access to everything. We still do and are now dealing with a middle schooler who doesn’t have a lot of homework and has a ton of free time for the first time in years. All of this while we are trying to work. Yes, it’s a parenting issue and has nothing to do with either school. Vienna is still a great place to live.

[Anonymous]

He covered up for a child molester, that makes him scum. That makes him a direct enabler for the second offense.

Why is he still on the payroll. In the real world he would have been gone a long time ago.

The letter from the school sounded like they felt sorry for him. Not a mention of the poor victim. FCPS is a straight up mess these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of the tremendous burdens the Thoreau family has shouldered over the past academic year is having Doug Tyson as its Assistant Superintendent. He was one in a string of mediocre principals at Kilmer and has saddled numerous schools in Region 1 with hires who aren't very good at their jobs.

+1000

See Spring Hill and the last two disasters that we were supposed to call principals. Langley’s principal is another good example

[Anonymous]

Obviously Mr. Azimi is innocent unless or until convicted. If he is guilty of knowing about about or having received a report of abuse and not reporting it, as a mandatory reporter myself, I cannot tolerate such inaction. Children need immediate action when I have a suspicion of abuse. I have called CPS and notified supervisors multiple times during my career. The least I can do is pick up the phone. And it is my duty. Let the legal process resolve the questions, but to all, if you suspect abuse, report it.