Thoughts on the new Churchill principal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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)

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.

WRONG - The Board of Education wrote a MCPS Employee Code of Conduct for a reason. It lists behaviors, many listed above, that are known grooming traits of a child predator.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/staff/staff-home-page/2018-2019_EmployeeCodeofConduct.pdf

If a staff member violates standards of conduct listed in the MCPS Employee Code of Conduct, that employee can be disciplined including termination. The failure of MCPS is that they are not enforcing the code of conduct. For coaches, MCPS's actions are even more ridiculous because coaching contracts are non-tenure positions. They are issued on a season by season basis. MCPS doesn't need a reason to fire a coach. They also don't need a reason to not rehire a coach, especially if the coach is not a certified teacher and a qualified certified teacher is willing to step in as coach. Teachers actually have hiring preference under Maryland law for public school coaching positions.

Protecting your child from abuse begins with knowing the signs of a predator, reading the employee Code of Conduct, and talking with your child to make sure your child knows the standards of conduct for adults and to report to you if any actions of an adult from school depart from the norm. If your discover a violation, email the employee and cc the Principal asking for the behavior to stop.

ALL STAFF - teachers, administrators, coaches, counselors, janitorial staff, etc. - were retrained last year and retained this year on the Employee Code of Conduct. Violations are serious and MCPS should know it has a real problem if employees were told not to do these things but still are. That is how school system weeds out child predators. They will continue to violate the rules no matter how many times they are told what the rules are.

A child is extra vulnerable with a coach because there are cameras in the school building and more staff and students around in the day than in after school hours. The ability to peel a child away from the group for an opportunity to be alone with a child is endless. The opportunity is all a child predator needs to hurt your child.

There are policies, but the union contract makes it hard to fire anyone. If you have any doubts, take a look at the 165-page union contract for MCPS teachers. If that isn't enough, there are state law and regulations, which also give teachers due process rights. This article is about PG County Public Schools, but you get the idea.


https://wtop.com/prince-georges-county/2018/11/prince-georges-co-schools-says-it-cant-fire-employee-in-racial-slur-video/

Coaches are part-time, contract, non-union positions. They are hired on a season by season basis. If a coach violates the MCPS Employee Code of Conduct, MCPS has grounds to immediate terminate the employment. A principal or an athletic director can decide for any reason to not rehire a coach simply by not renewing the contract.

As far as getting rid of predatory teachers - yes, real difficult because of the union. However, MCPS could transfer the teacher to another assignment away from children while the Due Process procedures are carried out.

That's only a short-term solution if a teacher is a predator. At a different school, there was a teacher accused of molesting a child. The teacher had a long reputation for inappropriate behavior but no criminal charges were filed. He was suspended for several months while he went through due diligence. Eventually he "expressed remorse" and was put back in the classroom. The child moved to another school. Strong union for teachers. No union for kids.

At some point does MCPS ever wonder about what it does to a victim to put the child back in the classroom or athletic field with the man who is the abuser? How can a child have equal access to educational opportunities when the child is scared and traumatized? What liability is the school risking when future victims discover their abuse could have been prevented if only MCPS had acted when the first victim came forward?

The school's liability is OUR liability. The taxpayers pay for any lawsuits. Until there are consequences for the decision-makers and the union's iron fist on MCPS is loosened, this will continue to happen. The children get moved away from their abusers -- not the other way around. #metoo

The victims leave the school but their friends are left behind as chum for sharks. It's only a matter of time before another child will be hurt. #metook12

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
At some point does MCPS ever wonder about what it does to a victim to put the child back in the classroom or athletic field with the man who is the abuser?

MCPS doesn't put the teen back on the athletic field. You put your teen back on the athletic field. Athletics is an extracurricular activity and not a significant part of your teen's education. Lots of teens have problems with their coaches, and have to give up doing that sport after school. It could be the coach's incompetence in the sport, or maybe the rough language the coach uses, or maybe perceived favoritism. or a dozen of other reasons.

It should be possible to move the teen to a different classroom if she doesn't get along with the teacher.

So I suggest telling the principal about your complaints, maybe warn your friends, then get your teen out of the sport or particular class, and then move on with your life and your teen's life.

Of course if the coach or teacher is engaged in criminal or threatening behavior, then one needs to see that justice is served. But I haven't seen anyone describe any evidence of that.

[Anonymous]

"It should be possible to move the teen to a different classroom if she doesn't get along with the teacher."

Please tell me you don't really believe this? Part of learning to deal with life is figuring how to deal with people you don't like or get along with. Think of bosses, colleagues, in laws, etc. You can't save every little snowflake from people they don't like, it's part of life!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
At some point does MCPS ever wonder about what it does to a victim to put the child back in the classroom or athletic field with the man who is the abuser?

MCPS doesn't put the teen back on the athletic field. You put your teen back on the athletic field. Athletics is an extracurricular activity and not a significant part of your teen's education. Lots of teens have problems with their coaches, and have to give up doing that sport after school. It could be the coach's incompetence in the sport, or maybe the rough language the coach uses, or maybe perceived favoritism. or a dozen of other reasons.

It should be possible to move the teen to a different classroom if she doesn't get along with the teacher.

So I suggest telling the principal about your complaints, maybe warn your friends, then get your teen out of the sport or particular class, and then move on with your life and your teen's life.

Of course if the coach or teacher is engaged in criminal or threatening behavior, then one needs to see that justice is served. But I haven't seen anyone describe any evidence of that.

Did you miss the last part of PP's response about child abuse?

The indifference to protect a child and offer equal access to all educational programs including athletics is an illegal discriminatory act (Title IX). This is especially the case when a public school system fails to protect the child from continued abuse or retaliation after the child has come forward to report the abuse. This is also true for any children who have been victimized after the initial reporting of abuse to the public school system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Did you miss the last part of PP's response about child abuse?

Nothing that the PP said that happened to her teenager (if true) qualifies as child abuse. A coach was suspended for several months while MCPS investigated him, but there was no cause found to remove him. Meanwhile athletes on the track team had one less coach last Spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Did you miss the last part of PP's response about child abuse?

Nothing that the PP said that happened to her teenager (if true) qualifies as child abuse. A coach was suspended for several months while MCPS investigated him, but there was no cause found to remove him. Meanwhile athletes on the track team had one less coach last Spring.

Perhaps you are also mixing up posts from multiple PPs. The PP you responded to said abuse.

I also wouldn't put too much weight on the ability for MCPS to investigate anything.

[Anonymous]

If my child were abused, and I believed that, even though the school did not, I would not have them continue at that school. I would figure out a way to transfer them (even if it meant moving or figuring out how to afford private). Not out of a class, but out of the entire school. I wouldn't even think twice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If my child were abused, and I believed that, even though the school did not, I would not have them continue at that school. I would figure out a way to transfer them (even if it meant moving or figuring out how to afford private). Not out of a class, but out of the entire school. I wouldn't even think twice.

If it can happen at Churchill, it can happen at any MCPS school. I would pay for private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"It should be possible to move the teen to a different classroom if she doesn't get along with the teacher."

Please tell me you don't really believe this? Part of learning to deal with life is figuring how to deal with people you don't like or get along with. Think of bosses, colleagues, in laws, etc. You can't save every little snowflake from people they don't like, it's part of life!

This is exactly what all the women who became part of the #metoo movement were told. That if they are harassed or abused they should play nice. That's how abusers get away with it! They say the complaints are due to to personality conflicts or the like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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)

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.

WRONG - The Board of Education wrote a MCPS Employee Code of Conduct for a reason. It lists behaviors, many listed above, that are known grooming traits of a child predator.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/staff/staff-home-page/2018-2019_EmployeeCodeofConduct.pdf

If a staff member violates standards of conduct listed in the MCPS Employee Code of Conduct, that employee can be disciplined including termination. The failure of MCPS is that they are not enforcing the code of conduct. For coaches, MCPS's actions are even more ridiculous because coaching contracts are non-tenure positions. They are issued on a season by season basis. MCPS doesn't need a reason to fire a coach. They also don't need a reason to not rehire a coach, especially if the coach is not a certified teacher and a qualified certified teacher is willing to step in as coach. Teachers actually have hiring preference under Maryland law for public school coaching positions.

Protecting your child from abuse begins with knowing the signs of a predator, reading the employee Code of Conduct, and talking with your child to make sure your child knows the standards of conduct for adults and to report to you if any actions of an adult from school depart from the norm. If your discover a violation, email the employee and cc the Principal asking for the behavior to stop.

ALL STAFF - teachers, administrators, coaches, counselors, janitorial staff, etc. - were retrained last year and retained this year on the Employee Code of Conduct. Violations are serious and MCPS should know it has a real problem if employees were told not to do these things but still are. That is how school system weeds out child predators. They will continue to violate the rules no matter how many times they are told what the rules are.

A child is extra vulnerable with a coach because there are cameras in the school building and more staff and students around in the day than in after school hours. The ability to peel a child away from the group for an opportunity to be alone with a child is endless. The opportunity is all a child predator needs to hurt your child.

There are policies, but the union contract makes it hard to fire anyone. If you have any doubts, take a look at the 165-page union contract for MCPS teachers. If that isn't enough, there are state law and regulations, which also give teachers due process rights. This article is about PG County Public Schools, but you get the idea.


https://wtop.com/prince-georges-county/2018/11/prince-georges-co-schools-says-it-cant-fire-employee-in-racial-slur-video/

Coaches are part-time, contract, non-union positions. They are hired on a season by season basis. If a coach violates the MCPS Employee Code of Conduct, MCPS has grounds to immediate terminate the employment. A principal or an athletic director can decide for any reason to not rehire a coach simply by not renewing the contract.

As far as getting rid of predatory teachers - yes, real difficult because of the union. However, MCPS could transfer the teacher to another assignment away from children while the Due Process procedures are carried out.

That's only a short-term solution if a teacher is a predator. At a different school, there was a teacher accused of molesting a child. The teacher had a long reputation for inappropriate behavior but no criminal charges were filed. He was suspended for several months while he went through due diligence. Eventually he "expressed remorse" and was put back in the classroom. The child moved to another school. Strong union for teachers. No union for kids.

At some point does MCPS ever wonder about what it does to a victim to put the child back in the classroom or athletic field with the man who is the abuser? How can a child have equal access to educational opportunities when the child is scared and traumatized? What liability is the school risking when future victims discover their abuse could have been prevented if only MCPS had acted when the first victim came forward?

The school's liability is OUR liability. The taxpayers pay for any lawsuits. Until there are consequences for the decision-makers and the union's iron fist on MCPS is loosened, this will continue to happen. The children get moved away from their abusers -- not the other way around. #metoo

The victims leave the school but their friends are left behind as chum for sharks. It's only a matter of time before another child will be hurt. #metook12

+2 Predators don't suddenly have a change of heart and change their ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"It should be possible to move the teen to a different classroom if she doesn't get along with the teacher."

Please tell me you don't really believe this? Part of learning to deal with life is figuring how to deal with people you don't like or get along with. Think of bosses, colleagues, in laws, etc. You can't save every little snowflake from people they don't like, it's part of life!

This is exactly what all the women who became part of the #metoo movement were told. That if they are harassed or abused they should play nice. That's how abusers get away with it! They say the complaints are due to to personality conflicts or the like.

+1 For victims who speak out, they are treated with retaliation. On a school sports team, they are suddenly given another position on the team or benched. They are no longer coached. They are treated like an outcast. They are told by the coach and school to quit if treatment is so bad.

Are these the lessons we want for our kids? Stay silent. Ignore what you see when another child is being mistreated by a coach or teammate? Suck it up so you can still play the game?

Until Churchill and MCPS fix this type of culture, children will keep getting hurt in their athletic programs. Many teams at Churchill have this type of culture just like other schools in MCPS are now in the national spotlight because of how bad, bad can get. Hazing, bullying, and abuse will never be addressed until children are safe from retaliation when they report what they know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"It should be possible to move the teen to a different classroom if she doesn't get along with the teacher."

Please tell me you don't really believe this? Part of learning to deal with life is figuring how to deal with people you don't like or get along with. Think of bosses, colleagues, in laws, etc. You can't save every little snowflake from people they don't like, it's part of life!

This is exactly what all the women who became part of the #metoo movement were told. That if they are harassed or abused they should play nice. That's how abusers get away with it! They say the complaints are due to to personality conflicts or the like.

+1 For victims who speak out, they are treated with retaliation. On a school sports team, they are suddenly given another position on the team or benched. They are no longer coached. They are treated like an outcast. They are told by the coach and school to quit if treatment is so bad.

Are these the lessons we want for our kids? Stay silent. Ignore what you see when another child is being mistreated by a coach or teammate? Suck it up so you can still play the game?

Until Churchill and MCPS fix this type of culture, children will keep getting hurt in their athletic programs. Many teams at Churchill have this type of culture just like other schools in MCPS are now in the national spotlight because of how bad, bad can get. Hazing, bullying, and abuse will never be addressed until children are safe from retaliation when they report what they know.

Until there is a new athletic director at Churchill or Mrs. Heckert gets more involved, there are no protections for children who have problems on their teams. Some of the captains on the teams publicly humiliate teammates, bully, and haze - even after the fall athlete meeting to prevent these things. Wonder how the talk by coaches missed the mark so badly that kids didn't understand the seriousness of their behavior and the potential consequences.

[Anonymous]

Or until the one, all right maybe there's two, parents on here upset about something that happened in the athletic department, but mcps disagrees with, has her kids graduate from Churchill. Then we won't hear about it anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or until the one, all right maybe there's two, parents on here upset about something that happened in the athletic department, but mcps disagrees with, has her kids graduate from Churchill. Then we won't hear about it anymore.

My children stopped participating in athletics because of a coach who caused a permanent injury to my daughter with exercises that were dished out as punishment. The coach told my daughter when she complained about the pain to suck it up or be kicked off the team. The AD admitted that the school had video of the incident, but they would not allow me to see it. That gave me a clue that the AD's only priority when there is a problem is to cover the coach, the school's, and his collective butts. The injury to my child was not important. The coach's contract was renewed the following year.

A friend's daughter played on a softball team where the kids and parents united because a coach bullied the girls. They collectively met with the AD, coach, and principal to complain. Dr. Benz and the AD rehired the coach despite what most of the team members reported.

Then there's the infamous track coaches - yes, more than one who was investigated last year. More than one targets children in creepy ways. The AD and Dr. Benz were quick to cover that mess up but it doesn't mean children are safe on those teams. Again, contracts were renewed despite multiple children coming forward to complain - boys and girls. What these children experienced didn't matter.

Many of the athletic teams at Churchill have serious problems that stem from hiring people who should not be working with children. There are parents who spoke out in the past and there will be parents who continue to advocate for child safety and respect of students in our schools. Only someone who's job is in jeopardy has a reason to try to marginalize the issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or until the one, all right maybe there's two, parents on here upset about something that happened in the athletic department, but mcps disagrees with, has her kids graduate from Churchill. Then we won't hear about it anymore.

My children stopped participating in athletics because of a coach who caused a permanent injury to my daughter with exercises that were dished out as punishment. The coach told my daughter when she complained about the pain to suck it up or be kicked off the team. The AD admitted that the school had video of the incident, but they would not allow me to see it. That gave me a clue that the AD's only priority when there is a problem is to cover the coach, the school's, and his collective butts. The injury to my child was not important. The coach's contract was renewed the following year.

A friend's daughter played on a softball team where the kids and parents united because a coach bullied the girls. They collectively met with the AD, coach, and principal to complain. Dr. Benz and the AD rehired the coach despite what most of the team members reported.

Then there's the infamous track coaches - yes, more than one who was investigated last year. More than one targets children in creepy ways. The AD and Dr. Benz were quick to cover that mess up but it doesn't mean children are safe on those teams. Again, contracts were renewed despite multiple children coming forward to complain - boys and girls. What these children experienced didn't matter.

As awful as what happened at Damascus is, I wonder if it will be a watershed moment. Kind of how the #metoo movement probably made admin sit up and look more closely at their own behavior and that of their staff. Ms Heckert just started working there and she’s not going to want to end up like a Casey Crouse. If you make enough noise and document document, she’ll be compelled to do something or risk a lawsuit. The whole country is watching MCPS right now—even BBC and Reuters etc are covering Damascus internationally. It’s a fiasco and MCPS is going to have to make some changes.



Many of the athletic teams at Churchill have serious problems that stem from hiring people who should not be working with children. There are parents who spoke out in the past and there will be parents who continue to advocate for child safety and respect of students in our schools. Only someone who's job is in jeopardy has a reason to try to marginalize the issue.