Paint Branch High Fights

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am black and there is no way on earth I would let my high schooler attend any of the NEC schools. We are zoned for paint branch. The place is a joke. My quiet and studious child would be utterly miserable. I don't entirely blame the principal and MCPS. These parents need to step up and do a better job of parenting. If my child ever does something as stupid as being involved in a fight, that child would have to face me at home and the consequences won't be pretty. There is no way, children should be acting like a bunch of animals and hoodlums in a school setting. Smh! Pathetic to say the least.

PBHS was a good school pre covid. Our neighbors kids all went and were happy. Our sitter went there and liked if. They have some great programs. Lots of support for the football team and jrotc program. All MCPS schools are struggling right now, even school with a wealthier student body. Don’t let one or two bad weeks tarnish your entire opinion.

It still is a fine school. This is just media spin by right wing operatives. The photo is of some kids tripping on the stairs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Liberals destroyed public schools and now their kids are stuck in them. I couldn’t be more pleased that they are being punished and made miserable. They need the discipline of Mother Nature for abandoning common sense.

Who destroyed the schools in Mississippi, Arkansas, WV, Texas, and Florida?

[Anonymous]

Liberal policies aren’t responsible. I wish it was that easy to identify and solve. Check out the teachers Reddit page. Most complaints are from teachers in the south. Coastal areas with strong unions seems to have more positive situations. But all schools and teachers are dealing with more behavavior problems. A lot of it STEMs from department of Ed equity initiatives from both Republican and Democratic administrations. Our leaders send their kids to privates so they don’t care enough about public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Liberals destroyed public schools and now their kids are stuck in them. I couldn’t be more pleased that they are being punished and made miserable. They need the discipline of Mother Nature for abandoning common sense.

Who destroyed the schools in Mississippi, Arkansas, WV, Texas, and Florida?

Liberals.

Liberals flock to the education indoctrination jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am black and there is no way on earth I would let my high schooler attend any of the NEC schools. We are zoned for paint branch. The place is a joke. My quiet and studious child would be utterly miserable. I don't entirely blame the principal and MCPS. These parents need to step up and do a better job of parenting. If my child ever does something as stupid as being involved in a fight, that child would have to face me at home and the consequences won't be pretty. There is no way, children should be acting like a bunch of animals and hoodlums in a school setting. Smh! Pathetic to say the least.

+1 Any responsible, loving parent of a student who wants to learn would agree with you. When parents, teachers, and administrators allow students to engage in these types of behaviors with no consequences, we are truly abandoning our kids and setting them up for a lifetime of pain and failure.

[Anonymous]

Culture warriors are all over this thread! No surprise, I guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am black and there is no way on earth I would let my high schooler attend any of the NEC schools. We are zoned for paint branch. The place is a joke. My quiet and studious child would be utterly miserable. I don't entirely blame the principal and MCPS. These parents need to step up and do a better job of parenting. If my child ever does something as stupid as being involved in a fight, that child would have to face me at home and the consequences won't be pretty. There is no way, children should be acting like a bunch of animals and hoodlums in a school setting. Smh! Pathetic to say the least.

We’re in the NEC. Home school is Blake. Our family consists of different races. We’ve been really happy. There are fights everywhere. The schools are great. Mine haven’t found it difficult to stay away from trouble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am black and there is no way on earth I would let my high schooler attend any of the NEC schools. We are zoned for paint branch. The place is a joke. My quiet and studious child would be utterly miserable. I don't entirely blame the principal and MCPS. These parents need to step up and do a better job of parenting. If my child ever does something as stupid as being involved in a fight, that child would have to face me at home and the consequences won't be pretty. There is no way, children should be acting like a bunch of animals and hoodlums in a school setting. Smh! Pathetic to say the least.

We’re in the NEC. Home school is Blake. Our family consists of different races. We’ve been really happy. There are fights everywhere. The schools are great. Mine haven’t found it difficult to stay away from trouble.

No, there aren't fights everywhere. Many public schools have administrators who wouldn't allow them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Liberals destroyed public schools and now their kids are stuck in them. I couldn’t be more pleased that they are being punished and made miserable. They need the discipline of Mother Nature for abandoning common sense.

Who destroyed the schools in Mississippi, Arkansas, WV, Texas, and Florida?

Liberals.

Liberals flock to the education indoctrination jobs.

Ha! Liberal indoctrination jobs in the South? You must be kidding. Most teachers there are not that liberal, nor are the school systems and curriculums. If anything the liberal teachers left or are leaving resulting in extreme teacher shortages. But have fun learning from a Zoom math teacher while sitting in a classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The kids are not okay. SMH.

They are not. As a former MCPS middle school teacher (resigned last year) this is one of the reasons why I left. Nothing is being done to help them. Lots of incentives on paper but no follow through. MCPS has made it a point to make it seem like there are all of these programs to help students with any social and emotional needs however that is not the case. Those programs are put into short periods (Advisory if the school has it) to check a box. Students are literally crying for help and nothing is being done. The increase in fights and drug use all stems from it. We are unfortunately going to continue to see a rise of this issues until parents are fully aware of what’s going on in schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I watched the videos and was expecting to be horrifed. I hate all types of violence but honestly this was no different than the fights that occured in my high school in the early 90's. It just looks like a regular fight. Yes, fights are bad. But they happen.

If you look at it in isolation, you might not see the big deal. But it's the nature, frequency and lack of disciplinary consequences that make these fights concerning.

Thankfully, the fight this time didn't involve weapons, but when these fights happen, often time the loser will up the ante in a payback session with a gun, knife or brass knuckles and that's where things turn really tragic.

That's precisely what happened with Magruder. It was a planned physical fight that escalated to a gun shooting because someone always ups the ante when they feel threatened or humiliated.

There have always been fights, just now it's easier for kids to get guns. Just like there have always been drugs, just now there's fentanyl. Guns and fentanyl are not MCPS issues, they are issues for general society.

Exactly this. Kids are making kid mistakes with deadly adult consequences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am black and there is no way on earth I would let my high schooler attend any of the NEC schools. We are zoned for paint branch. The place is a joke. My quiet and studious child would be utterly miserable. I don't entirely blame the principal and MCPS. These parents need to step up and do a better job of parenting. If my child ever does something as stupid as being involved in a fight, that child would have to face me at home and the consequences won't be pretty. There is no way, children should be acting like a bunch of animals and hoodlums in a school setting. Smh! Pathetic to say the least.

We’re in the NEC. Home school is Blake. Our family consists of different races. We’ve been really happy. There are fights everywhere. The schools are great. Mine haven’t found it difficult to stay away from trouble.

So nothing to see here, right? Everything is fine. Don't believe your lying eyes and ears.

This is some dystopian level of delusion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Liberal policies aren’t responsible. I wish it was that easy to identify and solve. Check out the teachers Reddit page. Most complaints are from teachers in the south. Coastal areas with strong unions seems to have more positive situations. But all schools and teachers are dealing with more behavavior problems. A lot of it STEMs from department of Ed equity initiatives from both Republican and Democratic administrations. Our leaders send their kids to privates so they don’t care enough about public schools.

Bingo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my daughter goes to paint branch and dreads it every single morning. she is the quiet, studious type and absolutely hates the environment at paint branch. I tried to get her a cosa to a school with a better reputation and was shot down despite presenting video evidence of fights and kids acting up in class. She tried to escape by taking AP classes hoping the kids would be better behaved, but since they allow almost anyone to register, nothing changed, except now she is paired up with kids who challenge her on race (she is white) and dont contribute to the projects. she comes home in tears frequently. Hate MCPS. Can afford private or to move to a better school area. Hate MCPS. I guarantee not a single BOE member or central office staff has done an unannounced visit to the schools on the east. They would be in shock but would brush it off. Some schools could use an SRO in every class.

That's awful. I'm sorry. I went to a rough HS where there were fights *everyday*, but at least I could escape it by taking AP classes that not just anyone could take.

I don't like that type of restriction for AP classes because I think if you want to be challenged, then you should be able to have that opportunity, but it's awful to then have to be partnered with someone who doesn't pull their weight on projects. And the whole race thing is awful, too. Some people make everything about race such that it's lost its meaning.

Your DD should demand the admin there do restorative justice with the the POC person because clearly that POC person has some issues with your white DD -- I say this a bit tongue in cheek, sort of. But isn't this what RJ is about? What would MCPS say to that, I wonder? I know.. if your DD brought it up, she'd probably get jumped. Sad situation.

Not an ideal situation but can you rent in a different area?

ITA about SROs.

I agree with you that there should be an open access policy for anyone to TRY AP classes, but I think it should be conditioned on you meeting certain standards. If you get a D two marking periods in an AP class, you should be moved back down to the honors or on-level version of the course.

I'm all for equal opportunity, but those opportunities have to be met with meaningful engagement and effort on the student's part as well.

Also, I don't think the real troublemakers in school are going to sign themselves up for AP anything. The honors classes unfortunately suffer from this since many schools are adopting an "honors-for-all" approach, but in my experience the kids are somewhat motivated to learn if they're registering for an AP class. They might not have the necessary work ethic and rigor, but they're not the worst of the bunch so that filtering effect somewhat still exists with AP/IB classes.

If kids are assaulting others, there already is a special place for them. We have laws that cover this already.

You don’t know what you’re talking about. Punching someone is a misdemeanor and you aren’t going to prison especially as a minor. We need real solutions not feel good posturing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids are not okay. SMH.

They are not. As a former MCPS middle school teacher (resigned last year) this is one of the reasons why I left. Nothing is being done to help them. Lots of incentives on paper but no follow through. MCPS has made it a point to make it seem like there are all of these programs to help students with any social and emotional needs however that is not the case. Those programs are put into short periods (Advisory if the school has it) to check a box. Students are literally crying for help and nothing is being done. The increase in fights and drug use all stems from it. We are unfortunately going to continue to see a rise of this issues until parents are fully aware of what’s going on in schools.

Agreed. Advisory short periods are where MCPS initiatives go to die. They become check-off items for central office/admin. Everyone knows this. Staff dont have enough training to do emotional support for 30 random kids in a room. These are often not the same teachers kids have daily. The lessons are often terrible and kids wont participate.