Enough is Enough

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As MCPS staff I’m going to go with whistleblower too. I hope more step up. I know there are plenty who would speak if the press contacted them directly and gave them anonymity.

OP here, I don't know if "MCPS Whistleblower" is a thing, I am just really frustrated with the direction this county has gone and I don't know how much parents know.
If it is a real thing, count me in. I would love to tell the press what I know. And so would about half of the teachers I work with.
Teachers are fed up.
The county got rid of suspensions a while back because there were a disproportionate amount of black and Latino students suspended and those students, who were already not performing as well as their white and Asian counterparts, were missing a ton of instructional time. The problem is, teenagers aren't dumb. They recognized pretty quickly that there are no consequences for their actions (not just fighting, but also insubordination, bullying, cursing out teachers, absences). This has lead to a slow trickle of behaviors becoming accepted, and those behaviors will continue to be allowed until something BIG happens.
So we are being trained on how to take down an assailant, meanwhile, students in our classrooms are our biggest threat.

Okay, what's the Teacher's Union's position on this? Also, what is preventing teachers from calling the cops? I know for sure if some kid became violent in my classroom, I would call the cops. It is within your rights to call the cops if you feel like your safety or a student's safety is in danger. I would say that it's your obligation to call. Who cares what the principal or what the school WANTS you to do.

While I do like knowing more information, I have to correct you.

The county did NOT get rid of suspensions. Perhaps they are applying them more cautiously, but suspensions are still a daily event within MCPS. It's up to the specific school to determine the severity of the suspension (in-house, 1 day, 3 days, 5 days, 10 days).

Have you seen the Code of Conduct?

You need a good lawyer to ensure victims are safe from the perps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm giving names, people. Pay attention.

[e-mail]
Kevin Lewis

Ha ha. Sinclair Broadcast group? Special interest right wing group? In the pockets of Trump and like Fox News? No thank you. We need real journalists...like from WaPo.

Have you seen his articles?

I would think that someone would actually take the time to review his articles before slamming him for being part of a "special interest right wing group."

And I would think the "right" would enjoy the fight in these cases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As MCPS staff I’m going to go with whistleblower too. I hope more step up. I know there are plenty who would speak if the press contacted them directly and gave them anonymity.

OP here, I don't know if "MCPS Whistleblower" is a thing, I am just really frustrated with the direction this county has gone and I don't know how much parents know.
If it is a real thing, count me in. I would love to tell the press what I know. And so would about half of the teachers I work with.
Teachers are fed up.
The county got rid of suspensions a while back because there were a disproportionate amount of black and Latino students suspended and those students, who were already not performing as well as their white and Asian counterparts, were missing a ton of instructional time. The problem is, teenagers aren't dumb. They recognized pretty quickly that there are no consequences for their actions (not just fighting, but also insubordination, bullying, cursing out teachers, absences). This has lead to a slow trickle of behaviors becoming accepted, and those behaviors will continue to be allowed until something BIG happens.
So we are being trained on how to take down an assailant, meanwhile, students in our classrooms are our biggest threat.

Okay, what's the Teacher's Union's position on this? Also, what is preventing teachers from calling the cops? I know for sure if some kid became violent in my classroom, I would call the cops. It is within your rights to call the cops if you feel like your safety or a student's safety is in danger. I would say that it's your obligation to call. Who cares what the principal or what the school WANTS you to do.

While I do like knowing more information, I have to correct you.

The county did NOT get rid of suspensions. Perhaps they are applying them more cautiously, but suspensions are still a daily event within MCPS. It's up to the specific school to determine the severity of the suspension (in-house, 1 day, 3 days, 5 days, 10 days).

Have you seen the Code of Conduct?

You need a good lawyer to ensure victims are safe from the perps.

Yes, the Code of Conduct is where this all started.
Students only get out-of-school suspensions if the victim receives outside medical attention. A scuffle, or incident that results in injury without the kid going to a doctor/hospital, results in one day in-school suspension or mediation.
It is really quite ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Donna St George at the Wash Post

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How people who have kids in MCPS HS do not find this out?! Kids are networking to with all other schools. My DD knows everything before news break out, before we get a call from school, and not about her school, about Whitman party and death, that same morning before news broke out, about Churchill suicides, about Clarksburg, about Damascus, and not just the one rape that is reported. She knows, and she is no exception, her friends know even more than she does. Situation is definitely getting out of hand overall. I am from Eastern Europe and I am saying this is a product of parental permissiveness. Security guard in Europe would have stopped the kid beating a fellow student and beaten the sh*t out of him asap.

Yes, that's exactly why parents and teachers (who care) need to organize. Start with your local PTA board members. They CAN organize and get the word out there. They'll spread the word out there that the Board of Ed will need to address it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a kid at our ES (yes, ES!) who has assaulted several students. Not one single day of suspension. Not one.

I have already said that if he comes after my kid, I am calling the police. Do not trust MCPS to handle it at all.

If the aggressor has an IEP, there is a whole process that has to be followed before a school can even think about suspension. It's not like the old days where a child does something violent and automatically gets kicked out of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a kid at our ES (yes, ES!) who has assaulted several students. Not one single day of suspension. Not one.

I have already said that if he comes after my kid, I am calling the police. Do not trust MCPS to handle it at all.

If the aggressor has an IEP, there is a whole process that has to be followed before a school can even think about suspension. It's not like the old days where a child does something violent and automatically gets kicked out of school.

DP here, but you can raise hell as a parent and demand that your kid be moved out of that class. Seriously, this is why as a parent, it's important to get to know the principal, teachers, and staff and to be in good terms with them. Moreover, you have to be persistent and be prepared to raise hell (in other words, spread the word and tell others about it). if you feel like the school is not taking your child's safety or bullying issue seriously. If admin feels like you are NOT going to be quiet about it, then they will be forced to do something about it. I say this as a former PTA president.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Donna St George at the Wash Post

ok. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As MCPS staff I’m going to go with whistleblower too. I hope more step up. I know there are plenty who would speak if the press contacted them directly and gave them anonymity.

OP here, I don't know if "MCPS Whistleblower" is a thing, I am just really frustrated with the direction this county has gone and I don't know how much parents know.
If it is a real thing, count me in. I would love to tell the press what I know. And so would about half of the teachers I work with.
Teachers are fed up.
The county got rid of suspensions a while back because there were a disproportionate amount of black and Latino students suspended and those students, who were already not performing as well as their white and Asian counterparts, were missing a ton of instructional time. The problem is, teenagers aren't dumb. They recognized pretty quickly that there are no consequences for their actions (not just fighting, but also insubordination, bullying, cursing out teachers, absences). This has lead to a slow trickle of behaviors becoming accepted, and those behaviors will continue to be allowed until something BIG happens.
So we are being trained on how to take down an assailant, meanwhile, students in our classrooms are our biggest threat.

Okay, what's the Teacher's Union's position on this? Also, what is preventing teachers from calling the cops? I know for sure if some kid became violent in my classroom, I would call the cops. It is within your rights to call the cops if you feel like your safety or a student's safety is in danger. I would say that it's your obligation to call. Who cares what the principal or what the school WANTS you to do.

It is clear that you are not in MCPS. There is NO WAY an MCPS teacher is going to call the cops on a violent student. Impossible.

Where do you live?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How people who have kids in MCPS HS do not find this out?! Kids are networking to with all other schools. My DD knows everything before news break out, before we get a call from school, and not about her school, about Whitman party and death, that same morning before news broke out, about Churchill suicides, about Clarksburg, about Damascus, and not just the one rape that is reported. She knows, and she is no exception, her friends know even more than she does. Situation is definitely getting out of hand overall. I am from Eastern Europe and I am saying this is a product of parental permissiveness. Security guard in Europe would have stopped the kid beating a fellow student and beaten the sh*t out of him asap.

This. Parents who think OP is making stuff up should take some time and talk to their kids. If you have a kid in MCPS and you talk to him/her, you are undoubtedly hearing about these types of incidents with some regularity. I certainly do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS currently has teachers going through mandatory safety and security training, however, these incidents have happened very recently:

At Clarksburg, a security guard entered the boy's locker room to break-up a fight over a cell phone, then was jumped by three students. He was beat up pretty badly and dragged out of the locker room by the students.
At Sherwood, a substitute teacher was beat up last Monday.
Yesterday at Northwest, a student had an unloaded gun.
Last week, also at Sherwood, a student left bullets in a classroom. The school went on lockdown and was searched.

Funny, I am going to bet most of you haven't heard about a single one of these incidents.

I am sick and tired of MCPS not taking a stand when it comes to student security. No longer can they suspend students. It used to be 10 days for a fight, but students were missing too much "instructional time" so suspensions are frowned up. The county is terrified to say "no".

It is getting worse. It is going to take something major for there to be any changes made, and at this point, I don't know if THAT would even change anything.

The public deserves to know. Parents deserve to know about every single violent incident that happens within a public school building.

OP, if this stuff is true, get off the anonymous internet message board and start talking to the media. Or tell your local or state elected officials. Or both. Right now, all you're doing is rumormongering. That won't accomplish what you want to accomplish (unless what you want to accomplish is rumormongering).

I think OP is trying to get more parents to be aware of what is going on since MCPS is not interested in making parents aware of issues. And because kids’ safety is at stake.

[Anonymous]

The perpetrators aren't always students. A staff member abused a child at a W school last year but MCPS covered it up and tampered with the police investigation. The staff member is still in the school. Teachers and students know details but no media because the police could not make the arrest. Like you said, word has spread through the grapevine at other schools but everyone is too scared to call MCPS out for their bs because retaliation for being the one who speaks up is a real fact.

Schools have become a harbor for criminals and MCPS is doing nothing to improve safety. No one is safe in an MCPS school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As MCPS staff I’m going to go with whistleblower too. I hope more step up. I know there are plenty who would speak if the press contacted them directly and gave them anonymity.

OP here, I don't know if "MCPS Whistleblower" is a thing, I am just really frustrated with the direction this county has gone and I don't know how much parents know.
If it is a real thing, count me in. I would love to tell the press what I know. And so would about half of the teachers I work with.
Teachers are fed up.
The county got rid of suspensions a while back because there were a disproportionate amount of black and Latino students suspended and those students, who were already not performing as well as their white and Asian counterparts, were missing a ton of instructional time. The problem is, teenagers aren't dumb. They recognized pretty quickly that there are no consequences for their actions (not just fighting, but also insubordination, bullying, cursing out teachers, absences). This has lead to a slow trickle of behaviors becoming accepted, and those behaviors will continue to be allowed until something BIG happens.
So we are being trained on how to take down an assailant, meanwhile, students in our classrooms are our biggest threat.

Okay, what's the Teacher's Union's position on this? Also, what is preventing teachers from calling the cops? I know for sure if some kid became violent in my classroom, I would call the cops. It is within your rights to call the cops if you feel like your safety or a student's safety is in danger. I would say that it's your obligation to call. Who cares what the principal or what the school WANTS you to do.

While I do like knowing more information, I have to correct you.

The county did NOT get rid of suspensions. Perhaps they are applying them more cautiously, but suspensions are still a daily event within MCPS. It's up to the specific school to determine the severity of the suspension (in-house, 1 day, 3 days, 5 days, 10 days).

Have you seen the Code of Conduct?

You need a good lawyer to ensure victims are safe from the perps.

Teachers are not allowed to reveal incidents in schools to the public- FERPA...because the assailants are minors, and they are protected by FERPA. And no, there are no more consequences. It isnt just Moco..it's everywhere. There were too many consequences for children of color. In short, school has become a dangerous place and anyone who would be a teacher is nuts. The requirement now is to just be a sort of prison guard with a Masters in something. You need to be always on guard with regard to any and all behavior for which you have no consequences to provide, and then , of course, the onslaught from parents who might assume the problem is yours. This is from K through 12! Yes, Kindergarten! Quite apart from that, the work load and data gathering load goes beyond 60 per week. The data gathering is to give some impression that you are raising the reading level, in 9 months, from a second grade reading comprehension to a 9th grade reading comprehension (?)
People just really don't understand this paradigm anymore unless they are in the field.

[Anonymous]

Heard about the incident at clarksburg very concerning because in my neighborhood in North Potomac clarksburg has a pretty good reputation and is known for being VERY diverse so when I heard about that I was very concerned. Not shocked about Northwest incident though that seems to happen a lot there like the robberies there last month, when the windows were shot last year, etc. It's definitely disturbing though that MCPS does not address this or let everyone know, that is more important than a reputation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As MCPS staff I’m going to go with whistleblower too. I hope more step up. I know there are plenty who would speak if the press contacted them directly and gave them anonymity.

OP here, I don't know if "MCPS Whistleblower" is a thing, I am just really frustrated with the direction this county has gone and I don't know how much parents know.
If it is a real thing, count me in. I would love to tell the press what I know. And so would about half of the teachers I work with.
Teachers are fed up.
The county got rid of suspensions a while back because there were a disproportionate amount of black and Latino students suspended and those students, who were already not performing as well as their white and Asian counterparts, were missing a ton of instructional time. The problem is, teenagers aren't dumb. They recognized pretty quickly that there are no consequences for their actions (not just fighting, but also insubordination, bullying, cursing out teachers, absences). This has lead to a slow trickle of behaviors becoming accepted, and those behaviors will continue to be allowed until something BIG happens.
So we are being trained on how to take down an assailant, meanwhile, students in our classrooms are our biggest threat.

Okay, what's the Teacher's Union's position on this? Also, what is preventing teachers from calling the cops? I know for sure if some kid became violent in my classroom, I would call the cops. It is within your rights to call the cops if you feel like your safety or a student's safety is in danger. I would say that it's your obligation to call. Who cares what the principal or what the school WANTS you to do.

It is clear that you are not in MCPS. There is NO WAY an MCPS teacher is going to call the cops on a violent student. Impossible.

Where do you live?

And why is that impossible? Has MCPS informed teachers specifically that they are not allowed to contact the cops?