Things my 8th grader will not miss once leaving Deal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid goes to Deal now. She's a tiny 6th grader and she can handle it. Not sure why your family can't.

Your 6th grader has not gone through 3 years of this.

Agree with this. It's ok in 6th. By 8th it's exhausting for the kids and parents. The behavior at Deal is out of control. My youngest (of 3) is in 6th and I'm so done with it. leadership does nothing.

So it was a similar experience for your older ones as well? I just have one there in 6th now and thought maybe it was just a pandemic thing (especially the many long- and short-term subs, or the periods when even the sub doesn't show up and they go to the auditorium to watch movies). Curious how much it was like this pre-pandemic as well.

The not enough staff - go to auditorium and watch a movie is new this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

Fights, locked bathrooms, and unsupervised kids in the classroom are not things that should be tolerated at school. Period. I'm surprised some parents here are condoning these activities as something that's expected, as opposed to demanding that the school to do better. I wonder how many have already invested in Deal being their choice (they bought homes there assuming the public schools were good all the way through) and now will defend it no matter what happens there.

For the person who compared it to their ivy, I should probably remind you these are children we're talking about. Not adults.

Well, many parents demanded that school reopen last year, it doesn’t change anything. Parents have no collective or individual power to effect change.

I'm the ivy PP and am curious what you think parent demands will do. This isn't a situation with conflicting ideas of how to run a school; this is the reality of an urban MS, and has been for decades. Teachers and admin would obviously prefer better as well but you have a building with 1,500 hormonal teens in it and occasionally things like this happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

Fights, locked bathrooms, and unsupervised kids in the classroom are not things that should be tolerated at school. Period. I'm surprised some parents here are condoning these activities as something that's expected, as opposed to demanding that the school to do better. I wonder how many have already invested in Deal being their choice (they bought homes there assuming the public schools were good all the way through) and now will defend it no matter what happens there.

For the person who compared it to their ivy, I should probably remind you these are children we're talking about. Not adults.

Well, many parents demanded that school reopen last year, it doesn’t change anything. Parents have no collective or individual power to effect change.

I'm the ivy PP and am curious what you think parent demands will do. This isn't a situation with conflicting ideas of how to run a school; this is the reality of an urban MS, and has been for decades. Teachers and admin would obviously prefer better as well but you have a building with 1,500 hormonal teens in it and occasionally things like this happen.

Ah, the soft bigotry of low expectations. Good times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

Fights, locked bathrooms, and unsupervised kids in the classroom are not things that should be tolerated at school. Period. I'm surprised some parents here are condoning these activities as something that's expected, as opposed to demanding that the school to do better. I wonder how many have already invested in Deal being their choice (they bought homes there assuming the public schools were good all the way through) and now will defend it no matter what happens there.

For the person who compared it to their ivy, I should probably remind you these are children we're talking about. Not adults.

Well, many parents demanded that school reopen last year, it doesn’t change anything. Parents have no collective or individual power to effect change.

I'm the ivy PP and am curious what you think parent demands will do. This isn't a situation with conflicting ideas of how to run a school; this is the reality of an urban MS, and has been for decades. Teachers and admin would obviously prefer better as well but you have a building with 1,500 hormonal teens in it and occasionally things like this happen.

Ah, the soft bigotry of low expectations. Good times.

So, you don't have an answer?

[Anonymous]

It’s the size. We have 2 at Latin MS and while there is the occasional fight or discipline problems, it’s nothing like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s the size. We have 2 at Latin MS and while there is the occasional fight or discipline problems, it’s nothing like this.

Latin also has the opportunity to tell students that they are not welcome to re-enroll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

Fights, locked bathrooms, and unsupervised kids in the classroom are not things that should be tolerated at school. Period. I'm surprised some parents here are condoning these activities as something that's expected, as opposed to demanding that the school to do better. I wonder how many have already invested in Deal being their choice (they bought homes there assuming the public schools were good all the way through) and now will defend it no matter what happens there.

For the person who compared it to their ivy, I should probably remind you these are children we're talking about. Not adults.

Well, many parents demanded that school reopen last year, it doesn’t change anything. Parents have no collective or individual power to effect change.

I'm the ivy PP and am curious what you think parent demands will do. This isn't a situation with conflicting ideas of how to run a school; this is the reality of an urban MS, and has been for decades. Teachers and admin would obviously prefer better as well but you have a building with 1,500 hormonal teens in it and occasionally things like this happen.

Smart parents will vote with their feet and leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

Fights, locked bathrooms, and unsupervised kids in the classroom are not things that should be tolerated at school. Period. I'm surprised some parents here are condoning these activities as something that's expected, as opposed to demanding that the school to do better. I wonder how many have already invested in Deal being their choice (they bought homes there assuming the public schools were good all the way through) and now will defend it no matter what happens there.

For the person who compared it to their ivy, I should probably remind you these are children we're talking about. Not adults.

Well, many parents demanded that school reopen last year, it doesn’t change anything. Parents have no collective or individual power to effect change.

I'm the ivy PP and am curious what you think parent demands will do. This isn't a situation with conflicting ideas of how to run a school; this is the reality of an urban MS, and has been for decades. Teachers and admin would obviously prefer better as well but you have a building with 1,500 hormonal teens in it and occasionally things like this happen.

Doesn't sound like an occasional thing. Sounds like it's par for the course there.

There's a lot that can be done. Start with implementing a no tolerance policy on fighting. If kids don't see there are repercussions for their actions they have no incentive to change. How can you expect kids to learn if they're in fear for their safety?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

Fights, locked bathrooms, and unsupervised kids in the classroom are not things that should be tolerated at school. Period. I'm surprised some parents here are condoning these activities as something that's expected, as opposed to demanding that the school to do better. I wonder how many have already invested in Deal being their choice (they bought homes there assuming the public schools were good all the way through) and now will defend it no matter what happens there.

For the person who compared it to their ivy, I should probably remind you these are children we're talking about. Not adults.

Well, many parents demanded that school reopen last year, it doesn’t change anything. Parents have no collective or individual power to effect change.

I'm the ivy PP and am curious what you think parent demands will do. This isn't a situation with conflicting ideas of how to run a school; this is the reality of an urban MS, and has been for decades. Teachers and admin would obviously prefer better as well but you have a building with 1,500 hormonal teens in it and occasionally things like this happen.

Doesn't sound like an occasional thing. Sounds like it's par for the course there.

There's a lot that can be done. Start with implementing a no tolerance policy on fighting. If kids don't see there are repercussions for their actions they have no incentive to change. How can you expect kids to learn if they're in fear for their safety?

DCPS requires "restorative justice" now.
Bottom line - if you are going to suspend a student, there is a ton of paperwork

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

Fights, locked bathrooms, and unsupervised kids in the classroom are not things that should be tolerated at school. Period. I'm surprised some parents here are condoning these activities as something that's expected, as opposed to demanding that the school to do better. I wonder how many have already invested in Deal being their choice (they bought homes there assuming the public schools were good all the way through) and now will defend it no matter what happens there.

For the person who compared it to their ivy, I should probably remind you these are children we're talking about. Not adults.

Well, many parents demanded that school reopen last year, it doesn’t change anything. Parents have no collective or individual power to effect change.

I'm the ivy PP and am curious what you think parent demands will do. This isn't a situation with conflicting ideas of how to run a school; this is the reality of an urban MS, and has been for decades. Teachers and admin would obviously prefer better as well but you have a building with 1,500 hormonal teens in it and occasionally things like this happen.

Smart parents will vote with their feet and leave.

Exactly and PP above is saying locked bathrooms, the prevalent smell of pot, kids in classrooms with no adults, kids wandering the halls and going to classes where they don’t belong, and not having consequences for behavioral problems with the restorative justice BS is all normal in an urban middle school.

I think not but you can keep your head in the sand PP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

Fights, locked bathrooms, and unsupervised kids in the classroom are not things that should be tolerated at school. Period. I'm surprised some parents here are condoning these activities as something that's expected, as opposed to demanding that the school to do better. I wonder how many have already invested in Deal being their choice (they bought homes there assuming the public schools were good all the way through) and now will defend it no matter what happens there.

For the person who compared it to their ivy, I should probably remind you these are children we're talking about. Not adults.

Well, many parents demanded that school reopen last year, it doesn’t change anything. Parents have no collective or individual power to effect change.

I'm the ivy PP and am curious what you think parent demands will do. This isn't a situation with conflicting ideas of how to run a school; this is the reality of an urban MS, and has been for decades. Teachers and admin would obviously prefer better as well but you have a building with 1,500 hormonal teens in it and occasionally things like this happen.

Smart parents will vote with their feet and leave.

Exactly and PP above is saying locked bathrooms, the prevalent smell of pot, kids in classrooms with no adults, kids wandering the halls and going to classes where they don’t belong, and not having consequences for behavioral problems with the restorative justice BS is all normal in an urban middle school.

I think not but you can keep your head in the sand PP

It wasn’t normal for Deal even 3 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

Fights, locked bathrooms, and unsupervised kids in the classroom are not things that should be tolerated at school. Period. I'm surprised some parents here are condoning these activities as something that's expected, as opposed to demanding that the school to do better. I wonder how many have already invested in Deal being their choice (they bought homes there assuming the public schools were good all the way through) and now will defend it no matter what happens there.

For the person who compared it to their ivy, I should probably remind you these are children we're talking about. Not adults.

Well, many parents demanded that school reopen last year, it doesn’t change anything. Parents have no collective or individual power to effect change.

I'm the ivy PP and am curious what you think parent demands will do. This isn't a situation with conflicting ideas of how to run a school; this is the reality of an urban MS, and has been for decades. Teachers and admin would obviously prefer better as well but you have a building with 1,500 hormonal teens in it and occasionally things like this happen.

Smart parents will vote with their feet and leave.

Exactly and PP above is saying locked bathrooms, the prevalent smell of pot, kids in classrooms with no adults, kids wandering the halls and going to classes where they don’t belong, and not having consequences for behavioral problems with the restorative justice BS is all normal in an urban middle school.

I think not but you can keep your head in the sand PP

It wasn’t normal for Deal even 3 years ago.

I have a feeling you are right because it seemed lots Of people wanted their kids to attend in years past. Did it change with the pandemic? If so how and why do you think? Or some other reason? It’s very curious to me.

[Anonymous]

The pandemic could be the tipping point and exposes all the problems... but it does not mean that things will get better from this point forward. Overcrowding and the overall size of the school is the most pressing issue and that won't change for the better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

Fights, locked bathrooms, and unsupervised kids in the classroom are not things that should be tolerated at school. Period. I'm surprised some parents here are condoning these activities as something that's expected, as opposed to demanding that the school to do better. I wonder how many have already invested in Deal being their choice (they bought homes there assuming the public schools were good all the way through) and now will defend it no matter what happens there.

For the person who compared it to their ivy, I should probably remind you these are children we're talking about. Not adults.

Well, many parents demanded that school reopen last year, it doesn’t change anything. Parents have no collective or individual power to effect change.

I'm the ivy PP and am curious what you think parent demands will do. This isn't a situation with conflicting ideas of how to run a school; this is the reality of an urban MS, and has been for decades. Teachers and admin would obviously prefer better as well but you have a building with 1,500 hormonal teens in it and occasionally things like this happen.

Smart parents will vote with their feet and leave.

Exactly and PP above is saying locked bathrooms, the prevalent smell of pot, kids in classrooms with no adults, kids wandering the halls and going to classes where they don’t belong, and not having consequences for behavioral problems with the restorative justice BS is all normal in an urban middle school.

I think not but you can keep your head in the sand PP

It wasn’t normal for Deal even 3 years ago.

I have a feeling you are right because it seemed lots Of people wanted their kids to attend in years past. Did it change with the pandemic? If so how and why do you think? Or some other reason? It’s very curious to me.

DP here, but yes things changed with the pandemic. DCPS MS kids didn't have in-person instruction for a year and a half. Crimes committed by school aged children in DC tripled. These public school kids, even mine who attended every virtual class, have trauma from schools being closed. I'm floored that school leaders like Principal Neal supported WTU's efforts to keep schools closed. She should have known what the result would be to the kids, but she didn't care. If Robert White (endorsed by WTU and he was adamantly opposed to schools reopening) becomes Mayor then things will get even worse at every school. DC Council Members Robert White, Janeese Lewis George, Elissa Silverman, and Christina Henderson all obstructed schools reopening for the 2020-2021 school year. This harm to children is on them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a lovely dinner conversation this evening and this is the short list that was talked about:
1 - Avoiding Nerf Gun Battles in the Hallways
2 - Locked Bathrooms
3 - Going to the Bathroom and watching others give stick and poke tattoos
4 - Fights
5- Classmates pulling fire alarms
6 - Bathrooms without soap
7 - Smell of pot while walking to / from school
8 - Going to class and there not being any adults there
9 - Going to class and there being a bunch of kids there who are not in the class
10 - Having an assembly to talk about school rules and knowing it is a joke and will never be enforced

Fights, locked bathrooms, and unsupervised kids in the classroom are not things that should be tolerated at school. Period. I'm surprised some parents here are condoning these activities as something that's expected, as opposed to demanding that the school to do better. I wonder how many have already invested in Deal being their choice (they bought homes there assuming the public schools were good all the way through) and now will defend it no matter what happens there.

For the person who compared it to their ivy, I should probably remind you these are children we're talking about. Not adults.

Well, many parents demanded that school reopen last year, it doesn’t change anything. Parents have no collective or individual power to effect change.

I'm the ivy PP and am curious what you think parent demands will do. This isn't a situation with conflicting ideas of how to run a school; this is the reality of an urban MS, and has been for decades. Teachers and admin would obviously prefer better as well but you have a building with 1,500 hormonal teens in it and occasionally things like this happen.

Smart parents will vote with their feet and leave.

Exactly and PP above is saying locked bathrooms, the prevalent smell of pot, kids in classrooms with no adults, kids wandering the halls and going to classes where they don’t belong, and not having consequences for behavioral problems with the restorative justice BS is all normal in an urban middle school.

I think not but you can keep your head in the sand PP

It wasn’t normal for Deal even 3 years ago.

I have a feeling you are right because it seemed lots Of people wanted their kids to attend in years past. Did it change with the pandemic? If so how and why do you think? Or some other reason? It’s very curious to me.

DP here, but yes things changed with the pandemic. DCPS MS kids didn't have in-person instruction for a year and a half. Crimes committed by school aged children in DC tripled. These public school kids, even mine who attended every virtual class, have trauma from schools being closed. I'm floored that school leaders like Principal Neal supported WTU's efforts to keep schools closed. She should have known what the result would be to the kids, but she didn't care. If Robert White (endorsed by WTU and he was adamantly opposed to schools reopening) becomes Mayor then things will get even worse at every school. DC Council Members Robert White, Janeese Lewis George, Elissa Silverman, and Christina Henderson all obstructed schools reopening for the 2020-2021 school year. This harm to children is on them.

So why did they do that? Just kind of weird they would close schools randomly like that.