Fight at Winston Churchill on First Day of School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good thing they removed the SROs (police) from schools this year. Not like we need them...

the high drug use at these schools goes hand in hand with gang activity

Those of us who went to MCPS/had friends at this school all know there were drugs at this school in particular as lots of money but also at every other high school in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good to hear stories about things getting back to normal. Finally a non-covid post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since SROs are no longer in schools, then what is MCPS doing to keep schools safe?

Restorative justice practices and more emphasis on mental health support.

Which is great. And absolutely needs to happen.

I just wish they hadn’t removed the SROs too. MoCo is the only county that removed them in Maryland, even though several others examined the issue in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.

Churchill doesn’t apply Restorative Justice if both students are white. Central Office won’t even help with going down that avenue if the students are white. Check with the staff in the Restorative Justice Department.

As far as mental health support, who is providing that support? There’s nobody that has been designated for that role to support students at Churchill. The school doesn’t even have a school nurse on board at a time we are in a pandemic.

School security is mostly on the perimeter, checking entrances and exits. Other school staff should patrol the hallways more often.

School nurses are not mental health professionals. All schools have counselors and most have one social worker but they aren't there to provide mental health services and if your child needs mental health services you need to get it outside school.

Restorative Justice is absurd. Suspend the kids and make their parents pay for the damage. Kid behave this way as they are allowed to get away with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good thing they removed the SROs (police) from schools this year. Not like we need them...

If students stopped fighting because a principal simply screamed at them, then an armed police officer was not needed.

The presence of police provides crime deterrence.

No it doesn’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since SROs are no longer in schools, then what is MCPS doing to keep schools safe?

Restorative justice practices and more emphasis on mental health support.

Which is great. And absolutely needs to happen.

I just wish they hadn’t removed the SROs too. MoCo is the only county that removed them in Maryland, even though several others examined the issue in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.

What exactly would an SRO done? Pulled a gun?

Presence is deterrence. Nobody ever has to touch a gun. There is far more to the spectrum of police work than an arrest/use of force.

So we agree we don’t need police with guns in the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since SROs are no longer in schools, then what is MCPS doing to keep schools safe?

Restorative justice practices and more emphasis on mental health support.

Which is great. And absolutely needs to happen.

I just wish they hadn’t removed the SROs too. MoCo is the only county that removed them in Maryland, even though several others examined the issue in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.

What exactly would an SRO done? Pulled a gun?

Presence is deterrence. Nobody ever has to touch a gun. There is far more to the spectrum of police work than an arrest/use of force.

And yet there were fights at my kid's high school with the SRO. I guess you could respond, But just think of how many more fights there would have been, if there hadn't been an SRO!

I don't know when it became standard to expect a police officer in each high school, but it wasn't always like that, and it doesn't have to be like that.

It was as part of the Clinton era community policing program which gave federal finds to high schools as a pilot program (among other grants to get cops out of their cars and back into communities). The goal was to prevent violence by est sloshing a more visible police presence in communities and to enable communities to establish bonds with officers that would lead to increased communication and trust on both sides.

And we all know the Clinton police/prison programs were a failure and caused more problems. So did “just say no”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does Churchill have security guards? My DC is in another high school. There are security guards at the entrances, in the hallways, or everywhere. They are big guys who are every friendly but firm. Very few fight in school.

Idk about Churchill specifically but Gabe Albernoz and Elrich decided to take School Resource Officers out of MCPS. They replaced them with social workers / Community Engagement Officers.

If there is an issue, the Principal would call 911 and they would send a Community Engagement Officer.

I agree that having SROs actually at the schools is a deterrent. It was a terrible idea for the County government to take SROs out of school. Combine that with the stress of Covid and will see more issues this year in schools.

Pretty much every social worker I know is not interested in breaking up fights between high school boys.

You don’t know really good social workers then.

I also don’t know 1 good cop who wants to break up fights in a HS, or deal with a teen shop lifting gum, or parking violations, or direct traffic, or a bunch of BS we have cops trained with guns doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since SROs are no longer in schools, then what is MCPS doing to keep schools safe?

Restorative justice practices and more emphasis on mental health support.

Which is great. And absolutely needs to happen.

I just wish they hadn’t removed the SROs too. MoCo is the only county that removed them in Maryland, even though several others examined the issue in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.

What exactly would an SRO done? Pulled a gun?

Presence is deterrence. Nobody ever has to touch a gun. There is far more to the spectrum of police work than an arrest/use of force.

So we agree we don’t need police with guns in the schools.

No. What is needed is a zero tolerance policy for violence in school. Years ago people were expelled for violence. Now they're given a cookie and told to write a note to themselves telling them why they're awesome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does Churchill have security guards? My DC is in another high school. There are security guards at the entrances, in the hallways, or everywhere. They are big guys who are every friendly but firm. Very few fight in school.

Idk about Churchill specifically but Gabe Albernoz and Elrich decided to take School Resource Officers out of MCPS. They replaced them with social workers / Community Engagement Officers.

If there is an issue, the Principal would call 911 and they would send a Community Engagement Officer.

I agree that having SROs actually at the schools is a deterrent. It was a terrible idea for the County government to take SROs out of school. Combine that with the stress of Covid and will see more issues this year in schools.

Pretty much every social worker I know is not interested in breaking up fights between high school boys.

You don’t know really good social workers then.

I also don’t know 1 good cop who wants to break up fights in a HS, or deal with a teen shop lifting gum, or parking violations, or direct traffic, or a bunch of BS we have cops trained with guns doing.

Who else is on call to do these things 24/7? Are you going to hire a bunch of people to direct traffic when there is an accident at 4am? What are they going to do for the rest of their shift?

Police have guns because we have a 2nd amendment that gives almost everyone the right to carry a gun. And for those who don't have the right, they often carry guns anyway. Like the 14 year old child who killed another young man and shot two others up in Germantown. There are more guns in America than human beings. And police are sent to the points of conflict where people, sadly, choose to use those guns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since SROs are no longer in schools, then what is MCPS doing to keep schools safe?

Restorative justice practices and more emphasis on mental health support.

Which is great. And absolutely needs to happen.

I just wish they hadn’t removed the SROs too. MoCo is the only county that removed them in Maryland, even though several others examined the issue in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.

What exactly would an SRO done? Pulled a gun?

Presence is deterrence. Nobody ever has to touch a gun. There is far more to the spectrum of police work than an arrest/use of force.

So we agree we don’t need police with guns in the schools.

No. What is needed is a zero tolerance policy for violence in school. Years ago people were expelled for violence. Now they're given a cookie and told to write a note to themselves telling them why they're awesome.

There is a lot of truth to this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get to the point, OP. Were they wearing their masks?

This cracked me up!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I don't know when it became standard to expect a police officer in each high school, but it wasn't always like that, and it doesn't have to be like that.

MoCo made SROs mandatory in high schools right after Columbine.

[Anonymous]

For all of you going on aout needing SROs obviously don't understand

1. The fight was broken up and handled (didn't require a police officer)
2. Schools had security guards before SROs and still have them now

Like the post above stated SROs were put in as community approach to policing. They have now decided not to do that anymore. Now they will spend those funds elsewhere.

Fights will happen regardless of who is responding. If you think for one second having an SRO there would have prevented a fight you are an idiot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good thing they removed the SROs (police) from schools this year. Not like we need them...

If students stopped fighting because a principal simply screamed at them, then an armed police officer was not needed.

The presence of police provides crime deterrence.

No it doesn’t.

How often are banks and stores robbed when there's a cop or even a security guard standing at the door?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since SROs are no longer in schools, then what is MCPS doing to keep schools safe?

Restorative justice practices and more emphasis on mental health support.

Which is great. And absolutely needs to happen.

I just wish they hadn’t removed the SROs too. MoCo is the only county that removed them in Maryland, even though several others examined the issue in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.

What exactly would an SRO done? Pulled a gun?

Presence is deterrence. Nobody ever has to touch a gun. There is far more to the spectrum of police work than an arrest/use of force.

So we agree we don’t need police with guns in the schools.

No. What is needed is a zero tolerance policy for violence in school. Years ago people were expelled for violence. Now they're given a cookie and told to write a note to themselves telling them why they're awesome.

There is a lot of truth to this.

I must admit I didn't feel this way until the Damascus broom incident. Some students are a danger to others and should be in a facility that can both educate them and ensure their behavior doesn't injure others. A high school with 1 or 2 thousand kids isn't the place for a student who is violent.