APS overdose at Wakefield

[Anonymous]

I also keep thinking about the person who found the boy in the bathroom. I just can’t imagine how they are doing.

[Anonymous]

This is the result of low income housing in south Arlington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also keep thinking about the person who found the boy in the bathroom. I just can’t imagine how they are doing.

Same. I’ve been saying a prayer for them and the whole community.

I’m also grateful that students spoke up on Thursday and that the principal and police acted so quickly. I’m grateful the perp was arrested before he could cause more harm. I hope the community is able to heal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the result of low income housing in south Arlington

Just stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the result of low income housing in south Arlington

GFY

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:


As a parent of a Wakefield student, the school and the Principal deserve all the criticism they receive.

The only time the principal communicates or does something is if a parent calls him out. He still has not sent out any communication regarding the other overdose on Thursday afternoon.

It’s really pathetic had little some parents expect of the principal. He barely does the minimum but yet parents will praise him. It’s so sad they expect so little.



I don’t believe the PTA President blamed the school. She had harsh words for the SB and the superintendent. She said they knew this was coming, had been repeatedly warned, and didn’t take action that the Wakefield community repeatedly requested. I didn’t see anything other than praise for the Wakefield school community for responding how and when they did last week.

In terms of criticism of the principal for not sending an official message about what happened at school Thursday, please consider that a 14-year old student died, and the principal was likely both working with the bereaved student’s family and addressing the question of whether school would be open Friday. I remember receiving a general message that there had been an issue Thursday afternoon, and a student required medical attention. I don’t know how much more would have been appropriate.

I think the principal did an amazing job navigating what must have been an unimaginably difficult week for a school administrator.

Sounds like the parents want a press secretary assigned to the school. They can't expect the principal and other staff to be writing detailed press releases for the parents when they have to deal with the needs of students and coordinating staff during a lockdown. Maybe they could take some of the extras over at Syphax and reassign them.

[Anonymous]

A student died after overdosing at school. There is an active investigation happening that the principal is having to contend with. The staff is probably reeling. And you’re mad he didn’t email you to tell you the incredibly limited info that he would be able to share that you already know about an incident you also already know about? Get a grip .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I came late to this thread, did someone at the school administer narcan? I thought that was a pretty reliable antidote to fentanyl overdose. I hope all schools have narcan readily available.

I dont think it has ever been confirmed it was fentanyl (you can OD on reg percocet or opiods or stimulants or cough syrup. But anyway, narcan doesn't always work and obviously needs to be administered timely in order to work at all. We have no idea how long the kid was down.

This is the big problem: we in the school have no idea how long a kid has been affected. They’re being found in the bathroom after being gone a long time and some kid sees them or an adult goes to check. I never let kids sleep in my class for this very reason, but at my school, twice kids have only been discovered to be in severe medical distress (needing narcan and chest compressions) after people assumed they were sleeping and didn’t rouse them. I tell my students all the time, I do not know what is in your body. If you can’t stay awake in my class, I need you to go nap with the nurse. It’s not a game anymore. And yes schools have narcan but I need you to realize we are at an absolute crisis when teachers and school staff now have to be expected to regularly administer life saving narcotic medications to students. Like this is a dystopia. School as you know it is a dead institution; what we are working with is some bizarre ghost ship that claims to be School but functions as a completely different thing now. As a teacher it is honestly impossible to even process what the hell has happened to schools.

I would love to hear from you and other teachers on this thread:

1) what would you like to see the schools do to combat this problem.
2) do you think there have been changes in schools over the past few years - the kind of rules of engagement, if you will - that have helped to foster an environment that has allowed for it to get to this crisis point? For example, how kids are or aren’t disciplined at school. My daughters have talked about how no one is ever really suspended at the MS/HS in FCPS. And I want to say that I realize that the schools aren’t at fault here, but I do think this is an important part of the conversation

[Anonymous]

To the PP, there is nothing more schools can do or that I think should be on schools to handle this. We are doing absolutely everything we can including obtaining narcan ourselves, as I did this weekend, and bringing it to school to have on hand if it’s needed. We are sitting outside the bathrooms check student passes so we know a) who is in which bathroom and b) for how long.

Your question is well intentioned but honestly a bit frustrating for me to read because why do you think it’s on us as TEACHERS to do more to address narcotic abuse? Do you not think already that having to watch kids for signs of respiratory distress or dilated pupils while also trying to teach is too much? I was helping a teacher locate one of her students in the hall last week because he hadn’t returned to class and she strongly suspected he was on something and was panicked. We routinely see ambulances pull up right outside our classroom windows to wheel out a kid having an emergency. I am talking weekly. One day recently, it happened twice in 30 minutes. Thank god both lived. I heard my AP panicked and yelling at the locked single stall restroom the other day for a kid to come out because when he didn’t answer she feared he was in distress or dead. It is our daily fear we will find a child dead in a bathroom, we have to teach around that, and you’re asking me what more do I want schools to do??

I want SOCIETY to do something. I want this country to not be such a depressing hellscape that teenagers don’t feel this desperate need for escapism at any cost. I want parents educating themselves on this, checking their kids’ rooms and bags, enforcing boundaries and structure. I want better for these children but it is not on schools to somehow manage this crisis.

[Anonymous]

What specifically does the Wakefield PTA person think APS admin should have done and failed to do to prevent this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the PP, there is nothing more schools can do or that I think should be on schools to handle this. We are doing absolutely everything we can including obtaining narcan ourselves, as I did this weekend, and bringing it to school to have on hand if it’s needed. We are sitting outside the bathrooms check student passes so we know a) who is in which bathroom and b) for how long.

Your question is well intentioned but honestly a bit frustrating for me to read because why do you think it’s on us as TEACHERS to do more to address narcotic abuse? Do you not think already that having to watch kids for signs of respiratory distress or dilated pupils while also trying to teach is too much? I was helping a teacher locate one of her students in the hall last week because he hadn’t returned to class and she strongly suspected he was on something and was panicked. We routinely see ambulances pull up right outside our classroom windows to wheel out a kid having an emergency. I am talking weekly. One day recently, it happened twice in 30 minutes. Thank god both lived. I heard my AP panicked and yelling at the locked single stall restroom the other day for a kid to come out because when he didn’t answer she feared he was in distress or dead. It is our daily fear we will find a child dead in a bathroom, we have to teach around that, and you’re asking me what more do I want schools to do??

I want SOCIETY to do something. I want this country to not be such a depressing hellscape that teenagers don’t feel this desperate need for escapism at any cost. I want parents educating themselves on this, checking their kids’ rooms and bags, enforcing boundaries and structure. I want better for these children but it is not on schools to somehow manage this crisis.

Is this really what's going on? Or teens experiment with drugs as they've always done and now the risks are astronomically higher than they've ever been?

This country has more than it's fair share of problems but calling it a depressing hellscape seems a bit hyperbolic, particularly given how much of the world's population lives.

I've really started to believe the lack of accountability and expectations for these kids is also part of the problem. Time to face reality. Caught even once in the bathroom doing this? Suspended. Next time? Expelled. Get some undercover police officers in the schools to figure out who is dealing and bringing it in. And then bye. One strike and you're out. And just generally zero tolerance for kids who regularly show up in a way where they are not there to participate in learning. Clear and swift progressive discipline and then expel them.

Kids need boundaries and they need to know there are boundaries that will be enforced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously. The Wakefield PTA should be supporting its leadership not trashing them at SB meetings. They are going to lose a lot of good administrators and teachers by attacking them for something that is simply not their fault. Bad move.

Oh please, the PTA president is amazingly supportive of the Principal. She is always praising him and the administration.

If she is trashing the SB publicly, well they deserve it so who can fault her for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the PP, there is nothing more schools can do or that I think should be on schools to handle this. We are doing absolutely everything we can including obtaining narcan ourselves, as I did this weekend, and bringing it to school to have on hand if it’s needed. We are sitting outside the bathrooms check student passes so we know a) who is in which bathroom and b) for how long.

Your question is well intentioned but honestly a bit frustrating for me to read because why do you think it’s on us as TEACHERS to do more to address narcotic abuse? Do you not think already that having to watch kids for signs of respiratory distress or dilated pupils while also trying to teach is too much? I was helping a teacher locate one of her students in the hall last week because he hadn’t returned to class and she strongly suspected he was on something and was panicked. We routinely see ambulances pull up right outside our classroom windows to wheel out a kid having an emergency. I am talking weekly. One day recently, it happened twice in 30 minutes. Thank god both lived. I heard my AP panicked and yelling at the locked single stall restroom the other day for a kid to come out because when he didn’t answer she feared he was in distress or dead. It is our daily fear we will find a child dead in a bathroom, we have to teach around that, and you’re asking me what more do I want schools to do??

I want SOCIETY to do something. I want this country to not be such a depressing hellscape that teenagers don’t feel this desperate need for escapism at any cost. I want parents educating themselves on this, checking their kids’ rooms and bags, enforcing boundaries and structure. I want better for these children but it is not on schools to somehow manage this crisis.

x1 million

When we were growing up the big concerns were external, Cold War, Middle East. It was easier to compartmentalize. Now, the threat is everywhere; it’s homegrown. It’s members of our own community. It doesn’t feel like there is an escape.

I’ve been very happy with how our MS has been handling these issues. Kids *are* getting disciplined (detentions, suspensions) but also the team is proactively trying to get kids involved in other things. They recognize that kids make mistakes and want them to learn from them and do better next time. So there is discipline but also a chance to grow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the PP, there is nothing more schools can do or that I think should be on schools to handle this. We are doing absolutely everything we can including obtaining narcan ourselves, as I did this weekend, and bringing it to school to have on hand if it’s needed. We are sitting outside the bathrooms check student passes so we know a) who is in which bathroom and b) for how long.

Your question is well intentioned but honestly a bit frustrating for me to read because why do you think it’s on us as TEACHERS to do more to address narcotic abuse? Do you not think already that having to watch kids for signs of respiratory distress or dilated pupils while also trying to teach is too much? I was helping a teacher locate one of her students in the hall last week because he hadn’t returned to class and she strongly suspected he was on something and was panicked. We routinely see ambulances pull up right outside our classroom windows to wheel out a kid having an emergency. I am talking weekly. One day recently, it happened twice in 30 minutes. Thank god both lived. I heard my AP panicked and yelling at the locked single stall restroom the other day for a kid to come out because when he didn’t answer she feared he was in distress or dead. It is our daily fear we will find a child dead in a bathroom, we have to teach around that, and you’re asking me what more do I want schools to do??

I want SOCIETY to do something. I want this country to not be such a depressing hellscape that teenagers don’t feel this desperate need for escapism at any cost. I want parents educating themselves on this, checking their kids’ rooms and bags, enforcing boundaries and structure. I want better for these children but it is not on schools to somehow manage this crisis.

Is this really what's going on? Or teens experiment with drugs as they've always done and now the risks are astronomically higher than they've ever been?

This country has more than it's fair share of problems but calling it a depressing hellscape seems a bit hyperbolic, particularly given how much of the world's population lives.

I've really started to believe the lack of accountability and expectations for these kids is also part of the problem. Time to face reality. Caught even once in the bathroom doing this? Suspended. Next time? Expelled. Get some undercover police officers in the schools to figure out who is dealing and bringing it in. And then bye. One strike and you're out. And just generally zero tolerance for kids who regularly show up in a way where they are not there to participate in learning. Clear and swift progressive discipline and then expel them.

Kids need boundaries and they need to know there are boundaries that will be enforced.

You may think it is hyperbole but it’s important you realize that that IS the mindset of most teenagers. They don’t see a very bright future. They see unaffordable college or college followed by a job with stagnant wages that will never allow them to buy a house . They see climate change. They see a future where they are guaranteed to have fewer opportunities for success than any generation before them. Yes experimentation is normal but there is a generational ennui and disaffection, compounded by of course the last 3 years of seeing every institution fail, that has profoundly altered their worldview. You ignore this or deny it at the risk of completely minimizing a huge driver of their behaviors and choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the PP, there is nothing more schools can do or that I think should be on schools to handle this. We are doing absolutely everything we can including obtaining narcan ourselves, as I did this weekend, and bringing it to school to have on hand if it’s needed. We are sitting outside the bathrooms check student passes so we know a) who is in which bathroom and b) for how long.

Your question is well intentioned but honestly a bit frustrating for me to read because why do you think it’s on us as TEACHERS to do more to address narcotic abuse? Do you not think already that having to watch kids for signs of respiratory distress or dilated pupils while also trying to teach is too much? I was helping a teacher locate one of her students in the hall last week because he hadn’t returned to class and she strongly suspected he was on something and was panicked. We routinely see ambulances pull up right outside our classroom windows to wheel out a kid having an emergency. I am talking weekly. One day recently, it happened twice in 30 minutes. Thank god both lived. I heard my AP panicked and yelling at the locked single stall restroom the other day for a kid to come out because when he didn’t answer she feared he was in distress or dead. It is our daily fear we will find a child dead in a bathroom, we have to teach around that, and you’re asking me what more do I want schools to do??

I want SOCIETY to do something. I want this country to not be such a depressing hellscape that teenagers don’t feel this desperate need for escapism at any cost. I want parents educating themselves on this, checking their kids’ rooms and bags, enforcing boundaries and structure. I want better for these children but it is not on schools to somehow manage this crisis.

The school could provide Narcan and narcan training to every single student in the building.

The school could offer an anonymous way for students to contact the existing SRO - the officer isn't resident in the school but one is still assigned - and make sure they publicize this over and over and over - day in and day out

The school could offer an assembly to students with a professional who discusses what fentanyl is and how it gets in pills and what can happen. I think they should offer fentanyl test strips. No students won't use them when they are in a group but if a kid is going to pop some pills while they are not in a group, yeah, they might think twice and test. Better to give them the info then to pretend it doesn't exist.

The school could ask for better monitoring of the security persons employed by the school by their employer. They can reach out and say they want someone to come in from the company bc they are having issues. The security persons are contracted and they can even ask they be replaced if they feel their is a problem with one or more of them.