Secondary school BATHROOMS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Posted in the thread Safety in Schools but it could be its own thread.

What is the situation with locked bathrooms at some (all?) mcps high schools? Some of these schools have over 2000 humans who need access to bathrooms. Where do students go when lines to the bathrooms are long to last the entire lunch period? Not all high schools have open lunch for students to go use a bathroom at a nearby establishment. Can you share your kids experiences at their high school?

Ours don't have doors.
Kids (at least in boys bathrooms) are vaping and smoking weed and fighting (and filming for snap or instagram). This is also where robberies happen. Very little gets reported. Security tries their best. But stuff keeps happening.

The robbery at RM, where they lured Gaithersburg students to the school happened in the bathroom at RM.

There are over 2000 students at RM and about 5 security guards (I think?). They do the best they can, but they can’t be everywhere. So the top floor bathroom has been locked up for a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Posted in the thread Safety in Schools but it could be its own thread.

What is the situation with locked bathrooms at some (all?) mcps high schools? Some of these schools have over 2000 humans who need access to bathrooms. Where do students go when lines to the bathrooms are long to last the entire lunch period? Not all high schools have open lunch for students to go use a bathroom at a nearby establishment. Can you share your kids experiences at their high school?

Sign up at the upcoming Board of Education hearing, but switch up your topic to bathrooms. 3 BOE members want your vote this year but can't be bothered to hold a hearing about bathroom access.

My kids say it's not a problem at our school. Not sure which schools have these potty issues.

Which school? I am genuinely interested to know where this is NOT a problem.

Also, do you have girls or boys?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s been bad at WJ with locked bathrooms. It’s already a large and overcrowded school.

+1 My DD complains constantly about the commute from portables to bathroom, because closest bathroom to portables locked. Also TP runs out before lunch. It's a privilege to pee.

Ah, and yet y’all are terrified you’ll be rezoned to Woodward where your child might sit next to a poor kid rezoned from Einstein.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They need to rotate central office workers in as bathroom monitors so they will actually be of some use.

Excellent idea!!

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can't they have an area outside away from school building for those needing bathroom for other than peeing, pooping, washing hands, and applying makeup ?

Agreed. They need to have a designated area (OUTSIDE, maybe?) where kids can vape and smoke weed.

Our HS bathrooms don’t have windows, so it’s crazy how bad it can get in there with the kids smoking/vaping. Not many kids smoke traditional cigarettes anymore, but the weed smell can be overwhelming. Let the kids go elsewhere to smoke weed instead.

[Anonymous]

How about parent volunteers? I would happily pop into school for an hour a few times a month to do some rounds. Not that offenders would care about me I guess, but it’s like the whole “Dads at school” thing or whatever some schools were doing a few years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Posted in the thread Safety in Schools but it could be its own thread.

What is the situation with locked bathrooms at some (all?) mcps high schools? Some of these schools have over 2000 humans who need access to bathrooms. Where do students go when lines to the bathrooms are long to last the entire lunch period? Not all high schools have open lunch for students to go use a bathroom at a nearby establishment. Can you share your kids experiences at their high school?

Sign up at the upcoming Board of Education hearing, but switch up your topic to bathrooms. 3 BOE members want your vote this year but can't be bothered to hold a hearing about bathroom access.

My kids say it's not a problem at our school. Not sure which schools have these potty issues.

Which school? I am genuinely interested to know where this is NOT a problem.

Also, do you have girls or boys?

Yes please do share which school. We will move to that school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about parent volunteers? I would happily pop into school for an hour a few times a month to do some rounds. Not that offenders would care about me I guess, but it’s like the whole “Dads at school” thing or whatever some schools were doing a few years ago.

They won't care you are there as you have zero authority.

[Anonymous]

Why can’t they have a staff member or volunteer manning the bathroom so that they check every toilet after use to make sure the student has not clogged it? It seems extreme but less extreme than closing down toilets altogether.

[Anonymous]

When there were SROs, did they ever "manage" bathrooms?

[Anonymous]

Not enough security guards and teachers shouldn't have to give up lunch time. I'm not the poster who suggested this, but agree - county council and Exec need to walk through the hallways and visit bathrooms before they decide on funding.

[Anonymous]

The bathrooms at my child’s HS are constantly locked or unsafe. In thinking about how MCPs spends money, they really need to sort that could help keep bathrooms both safe and open. Lots of schools need more security guards and more paraeducators to be able to better create safe halls and safe bathrooms. Removing bathroom doors (leaving stalls) seems like it might help for schools with unsafe bathrooms in order to prevent bathroom closures.

I think a part of this issue and why it has gone on so long is middle and high school students can be embarrassed to talk openly about bathroom needs. Most girls experiencing periods, especially in MS, are already stressed so then advocating for bathrooms access to prevent accidents would be super embarrassing. And many kids are embarrassed to discussion poop. If schools want to require attendance, at a very basic human rights level they also need to provide reliable safe and consistent bathroom access. What kid with a sensitive stomach wants to risk popping themself at school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can't they have an area outside away from school building for those needing bathroom for other than peeing, pooping, washing hands, and applying makeup ?

Agreed. They need to have a designated area (OUTSIDE, maybe?) where kids can vape and smoke weed.

Our HS bathrooms don’t have windows, so it’s crazy how bad it can get in there with the kids smoking/vaping. Not many kids smoke traditional cigarettes anymore, but the weed smell can be overwhelming. Let the kids go elsewhere to smoke weed instead.

It's legal now, right? So go OUTSIDE!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t they have a staff member or volunteer manning the bathroom so that they check every toilet after use to make sure the student has not clogged it? It seems extreme but less extreme than closing down toilets altogether.

Not enough staff. At our MS, the teachers have to wait outside their classrooms in the hallway. To monitor student behavior and ensure kids are going to class. Not enough security guards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In addition to physical limitations (closing facilities) many schools also limit numbers of passes for students. I counted what my child is "entitled to" based on the policies at his school and he can go 5x/class during a marking period, and has 7 classes, so he can go to the bathroom 35/45 days. I guess the other days he just has to go during lunch or hold it.

I have given him permission to just leave the room if he's denied access to a bathroom and needs it. I'll deal with the discipline. His doctor is willing to write a note because my kid has suffered from health consequences related to holding pee and poop before.

+1 we ended up in the ER due to blockage from DC holding it too much.

It really makes me mad that all kids are being punished for the actions of a few. If those kids want to vape, let them vape their little hearts out. Why should my kid be punished for the bad things those kids do?

That’s just the way things are now in Montgomery County.

The Fallsgrove Panera had to quit leaving coffee cups out because people were stealing them. It’s a pain for both staff and customers who used to use them.

Our Giant had to lock the second set of doors because of too much shoplifting where people would just take stuff and walk right out. Again, more hassle for people.

We have created a culture where nobody follows rules anymore here in Montgomery County (people ignore housing codes, residency requirments for school attendance, immigration rules) and it’s accepted and embraced.

There are rules in place for expected behavior in high school bathrooms. But those rules are universally ignored and the bathrooms are a sh&tshow, so it’s easier to just close them.