Washington Post article about Former Farquhar Administrator

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, Khalid Walker take the claims but does not determine whether they move forward into an investigation. That is up to Michaels Simmons and Greg Edmundson who should be directly responsibility and the most heat for this. Their names should be plastered all over the news regarding the gross mishandling of this scandal

This was written by Khalid Walker or his partner/friend. Khalid should have disagreed with his superiors if they told him this case was closed. Otherwise, Khalid is just collecting a paycheck.

How do you know he didn't?

Michaele Simmons had the ultimate say as she reviews every claim and determines whether they go forward or not

And Michaele Simmons is a former principal herself (Weller Road ES).

She’s still in compliance?

She's been the director since 2017.

[Anonymous]

Someone very close to me worked for him and was part of the article. I will not name names. But no, to clarify, his victims were not exclusively white women.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Former MCPS teacher and union bldg rep here. This goes on in other counties in MD where I worked also and my experience is that it's primarily female admin who I have observed to be blatant bullies with zero fear on their part of any repercussions. They can make a teacher's life miserable very fast. They can do an observation at the worst time, etc. They have favorites who do no wrong. There needs to be an independent state reporting agency made up of other than former school staff to hear and investigate claims of admin bullying and harassment. It's rampant in Maryland and it's a huge contributor for our teacher shortage. And, yes, I reported people myself but they were not in MCPS.

Same in VA. There are multiple threads on an APS principal that sound just like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Along with her friends, there's an awful lot of newbies at the top that McKnight brought in, like Murphy and Stockton, and none of them know what they're doing.

They're new to MCPS, but Murphy was previously superintendent of schools in Berkeley County, WV and in Arlington, and before that assistant superintendent in Fairfax. Stockton was chief of staff in Arlington and in Memphis and assistant commissioner of the Tennessee Dept. of Education.

The same Murphy?!!!?? No way. I thought it was just a coincidence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet Joel Beidleman is in one of the divine 9 fraternities and thats why he could get away with so much because mcps leaders who are also in the divine 9 knowingly covered for him. Dr. McKnight is in one of the divine 9 sororities. They all cover for each other and promote within.

He is in a fraternity. Which are the divine 9? There is a group of central office women who look at for each other. Check out Dr. Handy who was president of their principals' union too. Known to help her sisters out.

He is Omega psi phi. Purple and Gold

What's with the sorority and the fraternity members at the central office?! I know PG has a strong sorority connection and if you are a sister you can move up. I used to work in education and saw that frequently.

I wonder if it’s the same sorority that the new ACPS (VA) sup seems to be hiring from.

[Anonymous]

The bullying and retaliation behaviors were not limited to just sexual harassment. He was toxic across all gender and race lines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Along with her friends, there's an awful lot of newbies at the top that McKnight brought in, like Murphy and Stockton, and none of them know what they're doing.

They're new to MCPS, but Murphy was previously superintendent of schools in Berkeley County, WV and in Arlington, and before that assistant superintendent in Fairfax. Stockton was chief of staff in Arlington and in Memphis and assistant commissioner of the Tennessee Dept. of Education.

The same Murphy?!!!?? No way. I thought it was just a coincidence.

Yes, that's him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Along with her friends, there's an awful lot of newbies at the top that McKnight brought in, like Murphy and Stockton, and none of them know what they're doing.

They're new to MCPS, but Murphy was previously superintendent of schools in Berkeley County, WV and in Arlington, and before that assistant superintendent in Fairfax. Stockton was chief of staff in Arlington and in Memphis and assistant commissioner of the Tennessee Dept. of Education.

The same Murphy?!!!?? No way. I thought it was just a coincidence.

Yes, that's him.

So what is the back story on Patrick Murphy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bullying and retaliation behaviors were not limited to just sexual harassment. He was toxic across all gender and race lines.

Yep- he did all sorts of other intimidating and bullying. Retaliation for going against his workplace decisions in ILT or disagreeing with him on initiatives are examples. He had power to deny leave, sabotage interviews for other schools etc. I also know someone who worked at FMS and although she didn’t experience the sexual harassment she had plenty of other ptsd from him

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bullying and retaliation behaviors were not limited to just sexual harassment. He was toxic across all gender and race lines.

Yep- he did all sorts of other intimidating and bullying. Retaliation for going against his workplace decisions in ILT or disagreeing with him on initiatives are examples. He had power to deny leave, sabotage interviews for other schools etc. I also know someone who worked at FMS and although she didn’t experience the sexual harassment she had plenty of other ptsd from him

Completely screw with your schedule. Lie about incidents and say not to worry, he's helping you out even though he actually made up the incident.i Lie when he's busted in a lie. Gaslight. Push people out. There is a lot of damage left over there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[quote/] "My former principal brought vodka to school and was just as vindictive as this guy. Just as many complaints. He is going to be admin at a different school now. We are scared of retaliation so in same position.

Hi, Alexandra Robbins here. If any of you on this thread would like to share your experiences with admin or central office for a potential future article, please feel free to email me at [e-mail]

Even if an anonymous email is sent, people can track the IP address and names can still be gathered from the information indirectly. I'll share my story here. I'm a former MCPS student who went to an East County school from K-8, and a W school from 9-12 (parents got a promotion so we moved).

My first month of freshman year, I was elected to a student council leadership position, and a couple of people decided it was OK to call me (a non-White but straight male) a "monkey" in a group chat one weekend. Someone sent it over to me. Needless to say, I had prepared to non-violently but firmly & loudly confront the two individuals. It's not my fault that I simply wanted belonging in a new environment and wanted to hone/share my talents. So, I confronted them the minute I got to school that Monday, and, of course, it was a whole scene where people were confused and "calling me angry", which feeds into long-standing stereotypes. The AP of my grade (who was a Black man) chastises me for being angry at them, even when I was literally attacked. He promises to do an investigation and loop me in, but he never speaks to the 2 perpetrators. Instead, he thinks it's a good decision to say "turn the other cheek" and play kumbaya. He was also the sponsor for the Minority Scholars Program at my school, which I also belonged to, and we worked together on student council stuff. So for all 4 years, I had to deal with his indignant, passive aggressive, quick to blame, snarky attitude -- all because he wanted to look good for our new principal and not ruffle any feathers. He became an AP at another school and pushed out of the county because he was also creepy in his mannerisms. Nobody liked him, but hey, MCAAP is a powerful union and almost every school needs a token POC administrator. He was totally ineffective otherwise. Did I probably have the ability to handle it better? Yes, but it was warranted as I stand by the substance behind it. In my time of need and in the face of blatant racism, a culture of looking the other way reared its head, and to this day, I have been scared to speak about things. This long, drawn out process has also driven me to constant depression, anxiety, binge eating, etc. and I am always reminded of it.

Then, at the same school, there was a Pre-Calculus teacher who was older and very racist. Everyone reported her form every background. She would barely help the Black kids or be very short with them. One time, I had a personal issue and tried to go to her with some homework I had made up. Keep in mind that math is not my strength due to ADHD - I'm more of a humanities person, especially English and History. It's bad enough that I hate math and only took that class because it was part of the math pathway for college. When I try to see her at the end of the day, she literally barks at me "I'm tired of grading" and shoos me out of there. I reported her to my AP and counselor, but because it's very hard to find a pre-calc teacher, she knew she was protected. "Oh, I'm conservative, people of color should work for what they want" OK, with your wrinkly ass. You know nothing about me. I used to be proud of MCPS, but we are absolutely slipping as a system because of good old boy behavior, tenure rules, half-assed processes, etc.

I ain’t reading all that. I’m happy for you, or sorry that happened to you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[quote/] "My former principal brought vodka to school and was just as vindictive as this guy. Just as many complaints. He is going to be admin at a different school now. We are scared of retaliation so in same position.

Hi, Alexandra Robbins here. If any of you on this thread would like to share your experiences with admin or central office for a potential future article, please feel free to email me at [e-mail]

Even if an anonymous email is sent, people can track the IP address and names can still be gathered from the information indirectly. I'll share my story here. I'm a former MCPS student who went to an East County school from K-8, and a W school from 9-12 (parents got a promotion so we moved).

My first month of freshman year, I was elected to a student council leadership position, and a couple of people decided it was OK to call me (a non-White but straight male) a "monkey" in a group chat one weekend. Someone sent it over to me. Needless to say, I had prepared to non-violently but firmly & loudly confront the two individuals. It's not my fault that I simply wanted belonging in a new environment and wanted to hone/share my talents. So, I confronted them the minute I got to school that Monday, and, of course, it was a whole scene where people were confused and "calling me angry", which feeds into long-standing stereotypes. The AP of my grade (who was a Black man) chastises me for being angry at them, even when I was literally attacked. He promises to do an investigation and loop me in, but he never speaks to the 2 perpetrators. Instead, he thinks it's a good decision to say "turn the other cheek" and play kumbaya. He was also the sponsor for the Minority Scholars Program at my school, which I also belonged to, and we worked together on student council stuff. So for all 4 years, I had to deal with his indignant, passive aggressive, quick to blame, snarky attitude -- all because he wanted to look good for our new principal and not ruffle any feathers. He became an AP at another school and pushed out of the county because he was also creepy in his mannerisms. Nobody liked him, but hey, MCAAP is a powerful union and almost every school needs a token POC administrator. He was totally ineffective otherwise. Did I probably have the ability to handle it better? Yes, but it was warranted as I stand by the substance behind it. In my time of need and in the face of blatant racism, a culture of looking the other way reared its head, and to this day, I have been scared to speak about things. This long, drawn out process has also driven me to constant depression, anxiety, binge eating, etc. and I am always reminded of it.

Then, at the same school, there was a Pre-Calculus teacher who was older and very racist. Everyone reported her form every background. She would barely help the Black kids or be very short with them. One time, I had a personal issue and tried to go to her with some homework I had made up. Keep in mind that math is not my strength due to ADHD - I'm more of a humanities person, especially English and History. It's bad enough that I hate math and only took that class because it was part of the math pathway for college. When I try to see her at the end of the day, she literally barks at me "I'm tired of grading" and shoos me out of there. I reported her to my AP and counselor, but because it's very hard to find a pre-calc teacher, she knew she was protected. "Oh, I'm conservative, people of color should work for what they want" OK, with your wrinkly ass. You know nothing about me. I used to be proud of MCPS, but we are absolutely slipping as a system because of good old boy behavior, tenure rules, half-assed processes, etc.

I ain’t reading all that. I’m happy for you, or sorry that happened to you

I'll play: is it B-CC? Even though it doesn't have a W...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is he a child predator though? Yes he made comments that some were hoes and thots but did he act on them?

Calling teen girls "hoes" and "thots" (look it up) are sexually harassing ACTIONS and reprehensible (criminal?) for anyone in a position of power over students. We do not yet know the level to which his predatory behaviors rose but there is no doubt, given witness and victim statements, that he preyed repeatedly and with intention on those he had power over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Along with her friends, there's an awful lot of newbies at the top that McKnight brought in, like Murphy and Stockton, and none of them know what they're doing.

They're new to MCPS, but Murphy was previously superintendent of schools in Berkeley County, WV and in Arlington, and before that assistant superintendent in Fairfax. Stockton was chief of staff in Arlington and in Memphis and assistant commissioner of the Tennessee Dept. of Education.

The same Murphy?!!!?? No way. I thought it was just a coincidence.

Yes, that's him.

So what is the back story on Patrick Murphy?

He was a PE teacher who went straight to school admin and up from there. That is why he was often called Coach Murphy. An interesting note is that reportedly, he publicly said he and his wife prioritized their careers and therefore chose not to have kids.

He took advantage of his VA state pension and “retired” from APS and went to WV. Weird that he’d take a deputy sup job, after being a sup twice, no?

And generally NOT beloved in APS.

[Anonymous]

There should be a process where every complaint gets an outside investigation. This scenario plays out over and over again till a news agency like the Washington Post shines light on the coverup.

This one employee is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many others that were reported but MCPS swept the complaints under the rug. Sometimes the victim was a staff member. Sometimes it was a student. The end result of an internal MCPS investigation is a finding that the complaints are unsubstantiated and victims are severely retaliated.