Any update on the MV school discipline issues?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there that many problem kids? Why aren't they removed from the classroom. I would be troubled if kids were throwing chairs and jumping on tables. I expect that at my IB DCPS but was hoping to avoid some of that drama
At a charter. These kids need in school suspension. Totally unacceptable.

Sounds more like ADHD or ASD. It's sad when people just assume this kind of behavior is a kid being bad by choice. There is support the school can provide for kids behaving this way, & support can be put in place in the classroom, but an in school suspension for kids this young is not going to help the problem.

It is not ADHD or ASD. I have a friend that has a child that was a victim of bullying (physical and emotional) last year. There were two children involved and neither had a disorder.

[Anonymous]

PS and this was the infamous 3rd grade class last year. I hear that grade is doing better but not other classrooms have issues. Sounds like whack-a-mole.

[Anonymous]

I really feel for parents at MV, I hope the school is able to resolve it. I know there was a very serious incident last year that was scary. I hope they are learning some lessons on how to resolve them.

[Anonymous]

The only time in her six years of public school that my child was bullied, mentally and physically, the bully came from a high ses family at an affluent public DC school. We changed schools because of it. So much happier at the poorer school it is not even funny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really feel for parents at MV, I hope the school is able to resolve it. I know there was a very serious incident last year that was scary. I hope they are learning some lessons on how to resolve them.

Last year's incident was scary but it wasn't malicious and the kid on the wrong end of that incident is still at MV and doing fine (as are most of the kids there). Although my DC's class has been pretty much immune from behavioral problems other than normal six year old stuff I have seen the school making more of an effort this year to nip things in the bud. She acted up a few weeks ago in class (not paying attention mainly) and the teacher took her out of the room pretty quickly when she wouldn't stop and then told me about it (in front of her) at pick up. Both of her teachers have been very good at communicating when she is not behaving (not that often luckily) and also when she's doing well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really feel for parents at MV, I hope the school is able to resolve it. I know there was a very serious incident last year that was scary. I hope they are learning some lessons on how to resolve them.

Last year's incident was scary but it wasn't malicious and the kid on the wrong end of that incident is still at MV and doing fine (as are most of the kids there). Although my DC's class has been pretty much immune from behavioral problems other than normal six year old stuff I have seen the school making more of an effort this year to nip things in the bud. She acted up a few weeks ago in class (not paying attention mainly) and the teacher took her out of the room pretty quickly when she wouldn't stop and then told me about it (in front of her) at pick up. Both of her teachers have been very good at communicating when she is not behaving (not that often luckily) and also when she's doing well.

There was WAY more than one incident last year and continues to be more this year. Trying to reduce it like you're doing is not helpful to anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really feel for parents at MV, I hope the school is able to resolve it. I know there was a very serious incident last year that was scary. I hope they are learning some lessons on how to resolve them.

Last year's incident was scary but it wasn't malicious and the kid on the wrong end of that incident is still at MV and doing fine (as are most of the kids there). Although my DC's class has been pretty much immune from behavioral problems other than normal six year old stuff I have seen the school making more of an effort this year to nip things in the bud. She acted up a few weeks ago in class (not paying attention mainly) and the teacher took her out of the room pretty quickly when she wouldn't stop and then told me about it (in front of her) at pick up. Both of her teachers have been very good at communicating when she is not behaving (not that often luckily) and also when she's doing well.

There was WAY more than one incident last year and continues to be more this year. Trying to reduce it like you're doing is not helpful to anyone.

For the people in the other thread - what's happening at MV is what happens when a charter expands way too fast.

[Anonymous]

Wow. And there you again, with the "bad seed" theory of education, and why your charter can't have more kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. And there you again, with the "bad seed" theory of education, and why your charter can't have more kids.

The poster has a valid point though.

[Anonymous]

If i were a parent or administrator there I would be asking/suggesting/pushing for an expert to come in and conduct a full blown FBA (functional behavioral analysis - look it up) for each of the kids having challenges. They are not typically done because they are time intensive but it can turn around situations like have been described here very quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If i were a parent or administrator there I would be asking/suggesting/pushing for an expert to come in and conduct a full blown FBA (functional behavioral analysis - look it up) for each of the kids having challenges. They are not typically done because they are time intensive but it can turn around situations like have been described here very quickly.

FBA are not done unless the kid already has an IEP, individual education plan, and you can't have an IEP unless there is a documented disability that has "educational impact."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If i were a parent or administrator there I would be asking/suggesting/pushing for an expert to come in and conduct a full blown FBA (functional behavioral analysis - look it up) for each of the kids having challenges. They are not typically done because they are time intensive but it can turn around situations like have been described here very quickly.

FBA are not done unless the kid already has an IEP, individual education plan, and you can't have an IEP unless there is a documented disability that has "educational impact."

Typically you are right (my kid has an IEP so I'm more familiar with that process than I'd like ). But a school can always do more than they are required to and could do an FBA for any child with behavioral challenges. All that would be needed is to get the parents to agree and to invest the money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If i were a parent or administrator there I would be asking/suggesting/pushing for an expert to come in and conduct a full blown FBA (functional behavioral analysis - look it up) for each of the kids having challenges. They are not typically done because they are time intensive but it can turn around situations like have been described here very quickly.

FBA are not done unless the kid already has an IEP, individual education plan, and you can't have an IEP unless there is a documented disability that has "educational impact."

Typically you are right (my kid has an IEP so I'm more familiar with that process than I'd like ). But a school can always do more than they are required to and could do an FBA for any child with behavioral challenges. All that would be needed is to get the parents to agree and to invest the money.

Schools can do a lot of things if they wanted to but as is obvious with MV and all the behavioral problems mentioned in this thread, they don't.

[Anonymous]

This is something to keep in mind when choosing a school.

All those bright shiny teachers that MV hired are cute, but they don't have the classroom experience needed to handle the kids. This is why I've never been attracted to the newer charters. The true test comes when the cute but wiggly 3 year olds turn into huge kids with undiagnosed hyperactivity. New teachers just don't know how to handle this.

Seasoned teachers learn how to redirect their problem students. Seasoned teachers learn that you spend 70% of your time with 2-3 kids so that the other 22 kids in the classroom can actually learn once those 2-3 kids have been settled down. New teachers think each child deserves equal attention and thus fail to spot the problems before they start. Two years ago, my child was in a 2nd grad classroom with a kid who was badly behaved. The seasoned teacher knew how to spot the signs of trouble, and the class functioned pretty well as a whole. In 3rd grade, my son was in the classroom again with this problem child, and the new teacher had no idea what to do and the child ruled the roost; punching and kicking the other kids and throwing chairs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is something to keep in mind when choosing a school.

All those bright shiny teachers that MV hired are cute, but they don't have the classroom experience needed to handle the kids. This is why I've never been attracted to the newer charters. The true test comes when the cute but wiggly 3 year olds turn into huge kids with undiagnosed hyperactivity. New teachers just don't know how to handle this.

Seasoned teachers learn how to redirect their problem students. Seasoned teachers learn that you spend 70% of your time with 2-3 kids so that the other 22 kids in the classroom can actually learn once those 2-3 kids have been settled down. New teachers think each child deserves equal attention and thus fail to spot the problems before they start. Two years ago, my child was in a 2nd grad classroom with a kid who was badly behaved. The seasoned teacher knew how to spot the signs of trouble, and the class functioned pretty well as a whole. In 3rd grade, my son was in the classroom again with this problem child, and the new teacher had no idea what to do and the child ruled the roost; punching and kicking the other kids and throwing chairs.

New charters don't necessarily mean new teachers. In our research there are quite a few "new" charters that have experienced teachers. In fact MV is one of them. We found that some of their teachers are quite experienced. I think ITS average master teacher has like 15 years experience. CMI has a lot of newer teachers but they started the kids really young so have time to grow and they also have very small classes. My thought with MV is just that they are too large. I really wish they would have grown at a better pace.