Swanson?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson isn't alone, there's been other bad incidents at other middle schools. The difference is that a very vocal parent clearly has a connection to Fox News and is often quoted in the Fox articles. We are Swanson parents and very concerned, but the news articles are focused on Swanson because parent(s) are drawing media attention to it.

The bathroom stuff going on is stupid but isn't going to result in kids getting killed. The 7th grader who brought the taser should concern everyone. That child has already been suspended this year multiple times for threatening other students, including telling students that he is going to get a weapon and shoot the school. This is not a secret in the 7th grade. I am worried that all the noise about the Swanson bathroom situation and the kid getting punched in gym class is drawing attention away from what is going on with this one particular child in 7th grade. He is freaking kids and teachers out, but the principal and APS administration don't seem to be taking it seriously. I think APS is downplaying the situation because they don't want to reopen the SRO debate. This kid should not be in school though. He's supposedly suspended through spring break, but the 7th graders are worried about what he might do when he comes back and whether he will get access to a real gun over the next two weeks.

I feel like this is the case with every school shooter...you hear the school and community knew about this for months prior. After the fact, it's 'WHY?'. I mean the last kid was drawing pictures of a gun and showing it to people. This isn't that far off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not having any firsthand knowledge of this kid or his actions, it sounds like he should be getting mental help, should be in an alternate school, & could have a restraining order filed against him if he’s making threats at school to keep him from returning to Swanson.

Is this a possibility in Arlington? Honest question.

Frickin' Arlington will probably just transfer him to another middle school. It's the Arlington Way, pass the buck. Way too concerned about creating waves or stepping on the offender's toes.

[Anonymous]

How the hell did the kid get his hands on a taser? And the parents are fighting suspension? We are zoned for the other NArl middle school, but my child's elementary has kids going to both. This is really disturbing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How the hell did the kid get his hands on a taser? And the parents are fighting suspension? We are zoned for the other NArl middle school, but my child's elementary has kids going to both. This is really disturbing.

Tasers are legal in Virginia.

All I can say right now is speak out. Contact APS school board, the SSRM team, the police. This kid has all the warning signs. I am sad for the parents but my first priority in terms of caring is for the safety of the other 900 students at the school.

[Anonymous]

What the heck is up with this 7th grade class? They are the talk of the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How the hell did the kid get his hands on a taser? And the parents are fighting suspension? We are zoned for the other NArl middle school, but my child's elementary has kids going to both. This is really disturbing.

Tasers are legal in Virginia.

All I can say right now is speak out. Contact APS school board, the SSRM team, the police. This kid has all the warning signs. I am sad for the parents but my first priority in terms of caring is for the safety of the other 900 students at the school.

These things aren’t mutually exclusive. The best thing for this kid would be getting him into a better placement BEFORE the police have to be involved bc he’s acted on some of his threats. His life could be ruined if it comes to that.

And of course none of this is fair to the other kids. How can anyone learn if they don’t feel safe?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What the heck is up with this 7th grade class? They are the talk of the neighborhood.

To be fair, the bathroom stuff and the kid getting punched happened in 6th grade. FWIW, my 7th grader says that there is a small group of boys (~10) that are causing all the trouble in the 7th grade. And 2-3 who are really disturbing, including the taser kid. They are terrorizing the rest of the class. My kid says you just keep your head down and try to stay off their radar.

[Anonymous]

DD (6th) had mentioned that they turned off the air drop feature on the school iPads. Guess now I know why!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD (6th) had mentioned that they turned off the air drop feature on the school iPads. Guess now I know why!

Kids were also dropping homework solutions.

Check your kids group chats - there is rampant HW cheating going on. Does your kid do well on the HW but not on tests- that's why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How the hell did the kid get his hands on a taser? And the parents are fighting suspension? We are zoned for the other NArl middle school, but my child's elementary has kids going to both. This is really disturbing.

Tasers are legal in Virginia.

All I can say right now is speak out. Contact APS school board, the SSRM team, the police. This kid has all the warning signs. I am sad for the parents but my first priority in terms of caring is for the safety of the other 900 students at the school.

These things aren’t mutually exclusive. The best thing for this kid would be getting him into a better placement BEFORE the police have to be involved bc he’s acted on some of his threats. His life could be ruined if it comes to that.

And of course none of this is fair to the other kids. How can anyone learn if they don’t feel safe?

NP. The ship to getting him into a better placement before police involvement is needed is way past. Taser = need for police involvement.
I am concerned for this child; but, sorry, I am way more concerned for the safety of everyone else than I am about whether his life could be ruined if the police are called! And you know what? SOmetims calling the police HELPS. Police do not equal life ruined for all eternity. Good grief!

Not "fair" to the other kids?!?! How can they learn if they don't feel safe??? You'r concerned about them being able to learn while this death threat of a classmate is on the loose? People should be concerned about the actual safety of these children - not about their loss of learning or whether they FEEL safe!

It's this inappropriately calm and dismissive attitude that allows the problem to perpetuate in the first place. Ask Loudoun County parents how they "feel" about the sexual offender student being given a different placement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What the heck is up with this 7th grade class? They are the talk of the neighborhood.

To be fair, the bathroom stuff and the kid getting punched happened in 6th grade. FWIW, my 7th grader says that there is a small group of boys (~10) that are causing all the trouble in the 7th grade. And 2-3 who are really disturbing, including the taser kid. They are terrorizing the rest of the class. My kid says you just keep your head down and try to stay off their radar.

This is argument for NOT insisting that peer groups matriculate to the next level together when APS is trying to change boundaries. Sometimes it really is beneficial to split kids up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
NP. The ship to getting him into a better placement before police involvement is needed is way past. Taser = need for police involvement.
I am concerned for this child; but, sorry, I am way more concerned for the safety of everyone else than I am about whether his life could be ruined if the police are called! And you know what? SOmetims calling the police HELPS. Police do not equal life ruined for all eternity. Good grief!

Not "fair" to the other kids?!?! How can they learn if they don't feel safe??? You'r concerned about them being able to learn while this death threat of a classmate is on the loose? People should be concerned about the actual safety of these children - not about their loss of learning or whether they FEEL safe!

It's this inappropriately calm and dismissive attitude that allows the problem to perpetuate in the first place. Ask Loudoun County parents how they "feel" about the sexual offender student being given a different placement.

1,000% agree. This individual is a known threat and should be treated as such. Hopefully as a human being he gets the help he needs, but he also needs to be handled as a danger to those in that building.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
NP. The ship to getting him into a better placement before police involvement is needed is way past. Taser = need for police involvement.
I am concerned for this child; but, sorry, I am way more concerned for the safety of everyone else than I am about whether his life could be ruined if the police are called! And you know what? SOmetims calling the police HELPS. Police do not equal life ruined for all eternity. Good grief!

Not "fair" to the other kids?!?! How can they learn if they don't feel safe??? You'r concerned about them being able to learn while this death threat of a classmate is on the loose? People should be concerned about the actual safety of these children - not about their loss of learning or whether they FEEL safe!

It's this inappropriately calm and dismissive attitude that allows the problem to perpetuate in the first place. Ask Loudoun County parents how they "feel" about the sexual offender student being given a different placement.

1,000% agree. This individual is a known threat and should be treated as such. Hopefully as a human being he gets the help he needs, but he also needs to be handled as a danger to those in that building.

I also agree with that!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How the hell did the kid get his hands on a taser? And the parents are fighting suspension? We are zoned for the other NArl middle school, but my child's elementary has kids going to both. This is really disturbing.

Tasers are legal in Virginia.

All I can say right now is speak out. Contact APS school board, the SSRM team, the police. This kid has all the warning signs. I am sad for the parents but my first priority in terms of caring is for the safety of the other 900 students at the school.

These things aren’t mutually exclusive. The best thing for this kid would be getting him into a better placement BEFORE the police have to be involved bc he’s acted on some of his threats. His life could be ruined if it comes to that.

And of course none of this is fair to the other kids. How can anyone learn if they don’t feel safe?

NP. The ship to getting him into a better placement before police involvement is needed is way past. Taser = need for police involvement.
I am concerned for this child; but, sorry, I am way more concerned for the safety of everyone else than I am about whether his life could be ruined if the police are called! And you know what? SOmetims calling the police HELPS. Police do not equal life ruined for all eternity. Good grief!

Not "fair" to the other kids?!?! How can they learn if they don't feel safe??? You'r concerned about them being able to learn while this death threat of a classmate is on the loose? People should be concerned about the actual safety of these children - not about their loss of learning or whether they FEEL safe!

It's this inappropriately calm and dismissive attitude that allows the problem to perpetuate in the first place. Ask Loudoun County parents how they "feel" about the sexual offender student being given a different placement.

You either totally misread my post or I wasn’t clear or both. I think this kid should be out of the classroom yesterday. He needs an alternative placement. My point was just that this would be better for everyone, including him. Anyone thinking this kid is best served by staying mainstreamed is severely misguided. And yeah, I’m also concerned for the safety of the other students. I didn’t think that needed to be said, but if it does- I agree.

[Anonymous]

^^^ oh and also I don’t think calling the police will ruin his life. But if he is allowed to continue down this road and does something violent, then he’s going to ruin a lot of lives, including his own. And it will be the fault of the school and anyone who failed to act on these warning signs/cries for help.