Thoughts on the new Churchill principal?

[Anonymous]

Or work with the PTA. Didn't your PTA president get the award for most engage PTA in the county? Why not go through that route?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or work with the PTA. Didn't your PTA president get the award for most engage PTA in the county? Why not go through that route?

Why not try multiple people? I'm not sure how in tune the school PTA is with the more serious concerns expressed on this thread. The way the executive board supported the traffic changes without running it past membership really was a personal eye opener for me.

However, nothing is going to change unless you go outside the MCPS circle. Sure, reach out to Mrs. Heckert to say you tried, but then contact the PTA president, the MCCPTA president, and members on the County Council. Reaching out to multiple people helps your chances for an equitable resolution.

[Anonymous]

I can't believe the hypocrisy in this week's Wednesday Winston Weekly.

https://storage.googleapis.com/pt04-1/messages/attachments/e4b11c788df5762b07e2d797f84dd5c83f3c15bb/11-14.pdf

Jeffrey Sullivan's letter comprises the biggest chunk of this week's announcements. "To begin, abuse, bullying, hazing, and harassment, in any form have no place in the MCPS athletics program. Students who engage in such activities are not welcome in our program and, at a minimum, such activities may result in immediate dismissal from the team."

Students are dismissed but Mrs. Heckert allows coaches who engage in these behaviors to continue in their positions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe the hypocrisy in this week's Wednesday Winston Weekly.

https://storage.googleapis.com/pt04-1/messages/attachments/e4b11c788df5762b07e2d797f84dd5c83f3c15bb/11-14.pdf

Jeffrey Sullivan's letter comprises the biggest chunk of this week's announcements. "To begin, abuse, bullying, hazing, and harassment, in any form have no place in the MCPS athletics program. Students who engage in such activities are not welcome in our program and, at a minimum, such activities may result in immediate dismissal from the team."

Students are dismissed but Mrs. Heckert allows coaches who engage in these behaviors to continue in their positions.

Well if AD for MCPS doesn't work out, he should go into marketing or advertising. He sure spread word of the RAISE acronym quickly!

[Anonymous]

New to this thread but I almost can't believe that some comments are about the same school that my kids go to.

1. How can anyone say that the traffic pattern is worse this year? In the mornings we now have three ways for cars to enter the school to dropoff kids (1) Gainsborough entrance (2) right turn from Victory Land and (3) Left turn from Victory Lane. Last year we only had the right turn from Victory lane. I know that traffic is still slow (unavoidable) but can you imagine what it would be like if the only entrance were the right turn from Victory Lane again? There also seem to be more people directing traffic this year.

2. My daughter is looking forward to another year of Winter amd Spring track. She had great fun last year and we haven't heard any complaints. (Well, I do wish they were more communicative about the coach suspended for a couple of months last year)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New to this thread but I almost can't believe that some comments are about the same school that my kids go to.

1. How can anyone say that the traffic pattern is worse this year? In the mornings we now have three ways for cars to enter the school to dropoff kids (1) Gainsborough entrance (2) right turn from Victory Land and (3) Left turn from Victory Lane. Last year we only had the right turn from Victory lane. I know that traffic is still slow (unavoidable) but can you imagine what it would be like if the only entrance were the right turn from Victory Lane again? There also seem to be more people directing traffic this year.

2. My daughter is looking forward to another year of Winter amd Spring track. She had great fun last year and we haven't heard any complaints. (Well, I do wish they were more communicative about the coach suspended for a couple of months last year)

Parents should ask their children the following questions while letting them know you will love them no matter what they tell you:

Has a coach ever offered to drive her/him alone in his car? (I would highly recommend you do not give coaches written permission to drive your child under any circumstances)

Has a coach ever commented on her/his appearance or if he liked what she/he wearing to practice?

Has a coach ever used vulgar language (ex. calling girls on the team b*tches or degrade children by cursing at them)?

Do any of the coaches give hugs or touch them in any way?

Do any of the coaches make her/him feel uncomfortable? If so, why?

Does your child have a safe adult at school that she could ask questions to or go to if something happens at a practice or a meet?

Do any of the coaches privately text or email your child? (If yes, you may want to check the text and/or email messages and ask for the coach to cc you in the future.)

Has a coach given your child a gift that none of the other athletes received?

Was your child ever pulled out of class last year for a meeting with Dr. Benz and other staff? What happened during that meeting?

Does your child know more than what the school has explained publicly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New to this thread but I almost can't believe that some comments are about the same school that my kids go to.

1. How can anyone say that the traffic pattern is worse this year? In the mornings we now have three ways for cars to enter the school to dropoff kids (1) Gainsborough entrance (2) right turn from Victory Land and (3) Left turn from Victory Lane. Last year we only had the right turn from Victory lane. I know that traffic is still slow (unavoidable) but can you imagine what it would be like if the only entrance were the right turn from Victory Lane again? There also seem to be more people directing traffic this year.

2. My daughter is looking forward to another year of Winter amd Spring track. She had great fun last year and we haven't heard any complaints. (Well, I do wish they were more communicative about the coach suspended for a couple of months last year)

Tuckerman and Gainborough are both major throoughfares. The new traffic pattern has created a huge backup on Gainsborough. There can be 25 cars backed up waiting just to get to Tuckerman. Sometimes parents create gridlock at Tuckerman and Gainsborough. I almost did so accidentally. Ms. Heckert doesn't have any authority over public streets, but she sure has made a mess for parents and commuters alike. If Mrs. Heckert wants Churchill wants to be a good neighbor, she should have a professional set up the traffic pattern.

As for the people directing traffic, I think they are are security staff. They likely have zero training in traffic direction. Despite how it looks from the outside directing traffic does require skill. Those crossing guards know how to keep traffic moving. It's not fair to expect a security person to know how to do that. The security guards likely make the situation worse. It's not their fault. It's the fault of the individual who is requiring that people do jobs for which they are not qualified. Since Mrs. Heckert doesn't seem to know that she isn't qualified to do traffic engineering, it's not a surprise she doesn't know that security guards aren't qualified to direct traffic.

She doesn't know what she doesn't know. That creates a bad situation for the traffic pattern. With the complaints about coach abuse and drug use, what if she decides that she's qualified to conduct an investigation or provide counseling to kids? If there is abuse, she could totally taint an investigation and cause harm to kids by thinking she's an expert in areas way outside of her field.

Will a child have to be hurt or killed before she wakes up and brings in experts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe the hypocrisy in this week's Wednesday Winston Weekly.

https://storage.googleapis.com/pt04-1/messages/attachments/e4b11c788df5762b07e2d797f84dd5c83f3c15bb/11-14.pdf

Jeffrey Sullivan's letter comprises the biggest chunk of this week's announcements. "To begin, abuse, bullying, hazing, and harassment, in any form have no place in the MCPS athletics program. Students who engage in such activities are not welcome in our program and, at a minimum, such activities may result in immediate dismissal from the team."

Students are dismissed but Mrs. Heckert allows coaches who engage in these behaviors to continue in their positions.

Well if AD for MCPS doesn't work out, he should go into marketing or advertising. He sure spread word of the RAISE acronym quickly!

As they say, a fish rots from the head.

[Anonymous]

Overview of the MCPS Personal Body Safety lessons for Secondary Schools:

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/childabuseandneglect/Parent%20Secondary%20Personal%20Body%20Safety%20Lessons%20Overview%20and%20Resources.pdf

There are 3 types of child abuse:
1) physical abuse
2) emotional and verbal abuse
3) sexual abuse

Grooming - Grooming is when someone builds an emotional connection with a child to gain their trust for the purposes of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or trafficking. The majority of perpetrators are someone the child or family knows. As many as 93 percent of victims under the age of 18 know the abuser. They can have any relationship to the child including an older sibling or playmate, family member, a teacher, a coach or teacher, a babysitter, or the parent of another child. One in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18 years old.

Grooming Examples:
* Seeks opportunities to be alone with the child
* Makes comments about the child’s appearance that are too personal
* Communicates with the child in a personal way in private about non- school matters via text, social media and without the parent or guardian’s knowledge
* Bribes the child with special gifts, items or special privileges
* Asks a child about their romantic relationship status

Warning signs and effects of abuse:
* Significant changes in behavior and overall well-being.
* Depression, unhappiness, engaging in risky behavior [self harm/suicidal thoughts], increase in appeared physical ailments, changes in friendships, academic issues may point to some form of abuse or neglect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New to this thread but I almost can't believe that some comments are about the same school that my kids go to.

1. How can anyone say that the traffic pattern is worse this year? In the mornings we now have three ways for cars to enter the school to dropoff kids (1) Gainsborough entrance (2) right turn from Victory Land and (3) Left turn from Victory Lane. Last year we only had the right turn from Victory lane. I know that traffic is still slow (unavoidable) but can you imagine what it would be like if the only entrance were the right turn from Victory Lane again? There also seem to be more people directing traffic this year.

2. My daughter is looking forward to another year of Winter amd Spring track. She had great fun last year and we haven't heard any complaints. (Well, I do wish they were more communicative about the coach suspended for a couple of months last year)

Tuckerman and Gainborough are both major throoughfares. The new traffic pattern has created a huge backup on Gainsborough. There can be 25 cars backed up waiting just to get to Tuckerman. Sometimes parents create gridlock at Tuckerman and Gainsborough. I almost did so accidentally. Ms. Heckert doesn't have any authority over public streets, but she sure has made a mess for parents and commuters alike. If Mrs. Heckert wants Churchill wants to be a good neighbor, she should have a professional set up the traffic pattern.

Last year there was no entrance from Gainsborough so the backup was shifted to people making a left turn from Gainsborough on to Victory Lane. And with only one entrance from Victory Lane, the traffic would back up to Gainsborough.

Thank you Mrs Heckert for your work in improving the traffic situation at Churchill HS!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New to this thread but I almost can't believe that some comments are about the same school that my kids go to.

1. How can anyone say that the traffic pattern is worse this year? In the mornings we now have three ways for cars to enter the school to dropoff kids (1) Gainsborough entrance (2) right turn from Victory Land and (3) Left turn from Victory Lane. Last year we only had the right turn from Victory lane. I know that traffic is still slow (unavoidable) but can you imagine what it would be like if the only entrance were the right turn from Victory Lane again? There also seem to be more people directing traffic this year.

2. My daughter is looking forward to another year of Winter amd Spring track. She had great fun last year and we haven't heard any complaints. (Well, I do wish they were more communicative about the coach suspended for a couple of months last year)

Tuckerman and Gainborough are both major throoughfares. The new traffic pattern has created a huge backup on Gainsborough. There can be 25 cars backed up waiting just to get to Tuckerman. Sometimes parents create gridlock at Tuckerman and Gainsborough. I almost did so accidentally. Ms. Heckert doesn't have any authority over public streets, but she sure has made a mess for parents and commuters alike. If Mrs. Heckert wants Churchill wants to be a good neighbor, she should have a professional set up the traffic pattern.

I agree! There are certainly still issues, but it is great that she is trying to make improvements.

Last year there was no entrance from Gainsborough so the backup was shifted to people making a left turn from Gainsborough on to Victory Lane. And with only one entrance from Victory Lane, the traffic would back up to Gainsborough.

Thank you Mrs Heckert for your work in improving the traffic situation at Churchill HS!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Says the principal who turned off the stadium lights on children and ordered them to go home.

Powder puff Mom is back.

Yes, as someone who sees plenty of real problems with MCPS, can you please stop piling onto Brandice Heckert. She’s so small potatoes and you’re distracting from much bigger issues and weakening those cases by seeming petty and whiny. She’s not going to be the one to solve most of your issues, principals are more or less neutered in MCPS. You’re wasting your time worrying about unreturned emails and powder puff football. Plus it’s getting old. We get it. You don’t like the new traffic pattern. You want her to pay closer attention to you and your emails, and you’re ticked off about how she disciplines.. I think you’re a different person than the one or ones posting about abusive coaches. Even those people recognize that Heckert isn’t going to take care of business. Half of that is because central ties her hands. Also principals don’t like to make too many waves until they have the lay of the land. Those decisions will have to be directed from higher up. I’m not criticizing you for disliking her and I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m just saying you’re misdirecting your attention. While you’re on here, she’s on twitter celebrating those same coaches and buddying up to central people. If you really want to engage the MCPS people, you have to go to twitter. That’s where they all are, chitchatting with each other and signing off eith #raise and all that stuff.

Twitter isn't anonymous. Ms. Heckert could retaliate if she knew who was complaining. The staff know this and recommend that parents go above her head or make anonymous complaints. #badnews

If you want a way to send an anonymous message to Mrs. Heckert, look in your inbox. Today, she sent an email to all parents marked "Thankful." After she spends a paragraph talking about Thanksgiving and sending a nice note to a teacher, she mentions a parent survey. It's easy to miss it if you don't scroll down, but the survey is at the bottom.

Be constructive, but take the change to communicate with her about the real problems at the school without any fear of retaliation. If enough respond, maybe she will make changes in important areas, instead of focusing on senior skip day and powderpuff football!

[Anonymous]

Good for her for including a survey. Other than the annual ones he has to do, our middle school principal would never risk that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New to this thread but I almost can't believe that some comments are about the same school that my kids go to.

1. How can anyone say that the traffic pattern is worse this year? In the mornings we now have three ways for cars to enter the school to dropoff kids (1) Gainsborough entrance (2) right turn from Victory Land and (3) Left turn from Victory Lane. Last year we only had the right turn from Victory lane. I know that traffic is still slow (unavoidable) but can you imagine what it would be like if the only entrance were the right turn from Victory Lane again? There also seem to be more people directing traffic this year.

2. My daughter is looking forward to another year of Winter amd Spring track. She had great fun last year and we haven't heard any complaints. (Well, I do wish they were more communicative about the coach suspended for a couple of months last year)

Tuckerman and Gainborough are both major throoughfares. The new traffic pattern has created a huge backup on Gainsborough. There can be 25 cars backed up waiting just to get to Tuckerman. Sometimes parents create gridlock at Tuckerman and Gainsborough. I almost did so accidentally. Ms. Heckert doesn't have any authority over public streets, but she sure has made a mess for parents and commuters alike. If Mrs. Heckert wants Churchill wants to be a good neighbor, she should have a professional set up the traffic pattern.

I agree! There are certainly still issues, but it is great that she is trying to make improvements.

Last year there was no entrance from Gainsborough so the backup was shifted to people making a left turn from Gainsborough on to Victory Lane. And with only one entrance from Victory Lane, the traffic would back up to Gainsborough.

Thank you Mrs Heckert for your work in improving the traffic situation at Churchill HS!

The traffic now is backed up way further and it's impacting residents who live blocks away from the school. Children are being asked to walk through the parking lot and dodge cars with parents dropping off kids. How is this an improvement? Why is she doing this herself when there are professionals employed by the county who are there to help? #clueless

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New to this thread but I almost can't believe that some comments are about the same school that my kids go to.

1. How can anyone say that the traffic pattern is worse this year? In the mornings we now have three ways for cars to enter the school to dropoff kids (1) Gainsborough entrance (2) right turn from Victory Land and (3) Left turn from Victory Lane. Last year we only had the right turn from Victory lane. I know that traffic is still slow (unavoidable) but can you imagine what it would be like if the only entrance were the right turn from Victory Lane again? There also seem to be more people directing traffic this year.

2. My daughter is looking forward to another year of Winter amd Spring track. She had great fun last year and we haven't heard any complaints. (Well, I do wish they were more communicative about the coach suspended for a couple of months last year)

Parents should ask their children the following questions while letting them know you will love them no matter what they tell you:

Has a coach ever offered to drive her/him alone in his car? (I would highly recommend you do not give coaches written permission to drive your child under any circumstances)

Has a coach ever commented on her/his appearance or if he liked what she/he wearing to practice?

Has a coach ever used vulgar language (ex. calling girls on the team b*tches or degrade children by cursing at them)?

Do any of the coaches give hugs or touch them in any way?

Do any of the coaches make her/him feel uncomfortable? If so, why?

Does your child have a safe adult at school that she could ask questions to or go to if something happens at a practice or a meet?

Do any of the coaches privately text or email your child? (If yes, you may want to check the text and/or email messages and ask for the coach to cc you in the future.)

Has a coach given your child a gift that none of the other athletes received?

Was your child ever pulled out of class last year for a meeting with Dr. Benz and other staff? What happened during that meeting?

Does your child know more than what the school has explained publicly?

Let's not limit this to coaches. This can occur in any area where the teachers develop a personal relationship that continues from year to year so they can build trust. This can happen where a school has only one teacher who teaches a particular subject so a child who is interested in the subject has a class with the teacher for several years in a row. The child might be interested in the area and want to please the teacher. The teacher may respond out of a desire to teach an interested student, but other times there is something scarier at play. There have been reports of grooming and abuse by music and technology teachers at other schools. Some of it has gone on for years. Even when the principal wants to do something, unless there are criminal charges, it is hard to fire a teacher.