Teacher apparently assaulted at Magruder

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is at a different school but it shocks me that schools are allowed to close bathrooms like that — our school did it as well. Then kids tet UTI or miss class because they don’t have a bathroom accessible. How is that allowed? A bathroom is a basic human right. My kids say it’s often near impossible to find an open functioning bathroom.

My kid's MS did that last year. Terrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the MCPS HS where I work, we have groups of kids who routinely skip classes and walk around the hallways all day. Even security officers leave them alone because there is nothing they can do. Security officers have no power and the kids know it.
Hallways often smell of pot because kids are getting high in the bathrooms. MCPS has eliminated student accountability. The only thing I know that will get a kid detention at my school is if they are involved in a physical fight. Then the kid gets at home suspension for 3 days

Same at our HS. Instead of doing something about the vaping/pot smoking at school, our HS simply closed off the bathrooms on the 3rd floor. So, nobody can use them.

It’s sh$tty on so many levels. Stinks for the kids who are actually there and want to learn, or at least want to earn a legitimate high school diploma. And honestly, it sucks for the kids who just roam the hallways. Clearly nobody cares about them and nobody cares what happens to them.

This exactly. The situation sucks all around.
The truant kids need to be in a different place. Regular HS is not working for them. They are unable to sit in a regular classroom for various reasons.
High performing kids are negatively affected. And teachers are miserable as well. The system is completely broken. The wheels have come off the bus.
At my school, administrators harangue the teachers constantly saying that we do a bad job building relationships with students and that is why these kids are roaming the halls.

Is Mark Twain high school no longer the place where MCPS sends kids who behave badly?

Mark Twain was closed in 2008.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the MCPS HS where I work, we have groups of kids who routinely skip classes and walk around the hallways all day. Even security officers leave them alone because there is nothing they can do. Security officers have no power and the kids know it.
Hallways often smell of pot because kids are getting high in the bathrooms. MCPS has eliminated student accountability. The only thing I know that will get a kid detention at my school is if they are involved in a physical fight. Then the kid gets at home suspension for 3 days

Same at our HS. Instead of doing something about the vaping/pot smoking at school, our HS simply closed off the bathrooms on the 3rd floor. So, nobody can use them.

It’s sh$tty on so many levels. Stinks for the kids who are actually there and want to learn, or at least want to earn a legitimate high school diploma. And honestly, it sucks for the kids who just roam the hallways. Clearly nobody cares about them and nobody cares what happens to them.

This exactly. The situation sucks all around.
The truant kids need to be in a different place. Regular HS is not working for them. They are unable to sit in a regular classroom for various reasons.
High performing kids are negatively affected. And teachers are miserable as well. The system is completely broken. The wheels have come off the bus.
At my school, administrators harangue the teachers constantly saying that we do a bad job building relationships with students and that is why these kids are roaming the halls.

Is Mark Twain high school no longer the place where MCPS sends kids who behave badly?

Mark Twain was closed in 2008.

It was closed because the kids were so bad it was hard to turn things round for them. Also, there were clear issues about the ethnicity of the kids being sent that was counter to the school's equity efforts and federal/state guidelines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope the teacher presses charges.

This girl will be shuffled to either other classes or schools.

This. However, I'm sick and tired of violent students being shuffled around to other schools where they will do.it.again.

+1 It's a huge prpblem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the MCPS HS where I work, we have groups of kids who routinely skip classes and walk around the hallways all day. Even security officers leave them alone because there is nothing they can do. Security officers have no power and the kids know it.
Hallways often smell of pot because kids are getting high in the bathrooms. MCPS has eliminated student accountability. The only thing I know that will get a kid detention at my school is if they are involved in a physical fight. Then the kid gets at home suspension for 3 days

Same at our HS. Instead of doing something about the vaping/pot smoking at school, our HS simply closed off the bathrooms on the 3rd floor. So, nobody can use them.

It’s sh$tty on so many levels. Stinks for the kids who are actually there and want to learn, or at least want to earn a legitimate high school diploma. And honestly, it sucks for the kids who just roam the hallways. Clearly nobody cares about them and nobody cares what happens to them.

This exactly. The situation sucks all around.
The truant kids need to be in a different place. Regular HS is not working for them. They are unable to sit in a regular classroom for various reasons.
High performing kids are negatively affected. And teachers are miserable as well. The system is completely broken. The wheels have come off the bus.
At my school, administrators harangue the teachers constantly saying that we do a bad job building relationships with students and that is why these kids are roaming the halls.

Is Mark Twain high school no longer the place where MCPS sends kids who behave badly?

Mark Twain was closed in 2008.

It was closed because the kids were so bad it was hard to turn things round for them. Also, there were clear issues about the ethnicity of the kids being sent that was counter to the school's equity efforts and federal/state guidelines.

+1 Same concerns are often an issue when attempting to get some of these students special education support/services.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is literally no attendance policy or consequence if a kid skips or walks out of class. The kids pass no matter what do to the stupid 50% rule and lack of attendance requirements.

My worry is that the teacher will get in trouble for trying to stop the student. We have not been told anything by any admin at Magruder. We have not had any “de-escalation training”. Admin talks about “desisting” students without any ideas or references. And blames staff when we have grade differences between race/ethnicities even though one of the main reasons is attendance.

-Magruder teacher

Why would the 50% rule allow them to pass? It's still an E.

Because the kid can get do no work at all and get E first quarter and then do enough work for a week in the 2nd quarter to get a D and pass a class. All the kids know this.

Ah! Got it. The wise thing to implement with the 50% rule would be to raise the standard for passing a class from a D to a C, but MCPS would never do that for political reasons. Which is a shame, because a D is no one’s definition of passing in the real world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the MCPS HS where I work, we have groups of kids who routinely skip classes and walk around the hallways all day. Even security officers leave them alone because there is nothing they can do. Security officers have no power and the kids know it.
Hallways often smell of pot because kids are getting high in the bathrooms. MCPS has eliminated student accountability. The only thing I know that will get a kid detention at my school is if they are involved in a physical fight. Then the kid gets at home suspension for 3 days

Same at our HS. Instead of doing something about the vaping/pot smoking at school, our HS simply closed off the bathrooms on the 3rd floor. So, nobody can use them.

It’s sh$tty on so many levels. Stinks for the kids who are actually there and want to learn, or at least want to earn a legitimate high school diploma. And honestly, it sucks for the kids who just roam the hallways. Clearly nobody cares about them and nobody cares what happens to them.

This exactly. The situation sucks all around.
The truant kids need to be in a different place. Regular HS is not working for them. They are unable to sit in a regular classroom for various reasons.
High performing kids are negatively affected. And teachers are miserable as well. The system is completely broken. The wheels have come off the bus.
At my school, administrators harangue the teachers constantly saying that we do a bad job building relationships with students and that is why these kids are roaming the halls.

Is Mark Twain high school no longer the place where MCPS sends kids who behave badly?

Mark Twain was closed in 2008.

So what happens to kids today if they get expelled? Where do they go?

[Anonymous]

It's amazing to me that parents are all up in arms about closing bathrooms. I hope people realize that one reason bathrooms are closed is because assaults/rapes happen in school bathrooms. Maybe we should all be a little more concerned about staff and student safety over having to hold it another 20 minutes.

[Anonymous]

The equity initiatives are backfiring. The standards and expectations are so low that they damage the ability make sure kids actually get an education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the MCPS HS where I work, we have groups of kids who routinely skip classes and walk around the hallways all day. Even security officers leave them alone because there is nothing they can do. Security officers have no power and the kids know it.
Hallways often smell of pot because kids are getting high in the bathrooms. MCPS has eliminated student accountability. The only thing I know that will get a kid detention at my school is if they are involved in a physical fight. Then the kid gets at home suspension for 3 days

Same at our HS. Instead of doing something about the vaping/pot smoking at school, our HS simply closed off the bathrooms on the 3rd floor. So, nobody can use them.

It’s sh$tty on so many levels. Stinks for the kids who are actually there and want to learn, or at least want to earn a legitimate high school diploma. And honestly, it sucks for the kids who just roam the hallways. Clearly nobody cares about them and nobody cares what happens to them.

This exactly. The situation sucks all around.
The truant kids need to be in a different place. Regular HS is not working for them. They are unable to sit in a regular classroom for various reasons.
High performing kids are negatively affected. And teachers are miserable as well. The system is completely broken. The wheels have come off the bus.
At my school, administrators harangue the teachers constantly saying that we do a bad job building relationships with students and that is why these kids are roaming the halls.

Is Mark Twain high school no longer the place where MCPS sends kids who behave badly?

Mark Twain was closed in 2008.

So what happens to kids today if they get expelled? Where do they go?

They almost never get expelled

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is literally no attendance policy or consequence if a kid skips or walks out of class. The kids pass no matter what do to the stupid 50% rule and lack of attendance requirements.

My worry is that the teacher will get in trouble for trying to stop the student. We have not been told anything by any admin at Magruder. We have not had any “de-escalation training”. Admin talks about “desisting” students without any ideas or references. And blames staff when we have grade differences between race/ethnicities even though one of the main reasons is attendance.

-Magruder teacher

Why would the 50% rule allow them to pass? It's still an E.

Because the kid can get do no work at all and get E first quarter and then do enough work for a week in the 2nd quarter to get a D and pass a class. All the kids know this.

Ah! Got it. The wise thing to implement with the 50% rule would be to raise the standard for passing a class from a D to a C, but MCPS would never do that for political reasons. Which is a shame, because a D is no one’s definition of passing in the real world.

Teacher here. Yes, this makes a lot of sense but MCPS will never do it.
The low standards are depressing. We should expect more of our kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The equity initiatives are backfiring. The standards and expectations are so low that they damage the ability make sure kids actually get an education.

exactly. Disservice to all kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The equity initiatives are backfiring. The standards and expectations are so low that they damage the ability make sure kids actually get an education.

+1 million

If anything, the Equity initiatives have made things equally bad for all students, of all races.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This happens to teachers do frequently that I’m surprised you think it warrants communication.

If true that’s very troubling on many levels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The equity initiatives are backfiring. The standards and expectations are so low that they damage the ability make sure kids actually get an education.

+1 million

If anything, the Equity initiatives have made things equally bad for all students, of all races.

That’s actually been the goal: lowest common denominator education outcomes.