“Closed campus” at lunch but no enforcement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. I’m stunned that so many parents think an open lunch is the answer.

High school students are (mostly for those who are not repeaters) still minors. MCPS had a responsibility to keep these kids safe. If they leave for lunch and get hit by a car, robbed, or get themselves into any other unthinkable situation, we CANNOT keep them safe.

The only real solutions are…
1) structuring the school day so campuses with 2000+ kids have A, B or C lunch
2) teaching your kids to respect adults and the importance of fiscal and health responsibility.

I want to know how parents are ok with funding $10+ lunches every day and accepting the health concerns that come with eating fast food for every meal. Parents need to teach their kids how to prepare food ahead of time — this is an important life skill.

Also. Parents need to hold the standard at home when it comes to listening to (gasp) authority. Americans are so afraid of holding people accountable. Literally had a 9th grader look me in the eyes and blow me off when I asked her why she was leaving school (in the middle of 2nd period). Rolled her eyes and walked right out the main doors.

Parents should be ashamed of the individuals they are raising.

This 100% . They used to have multiple periods for lunch. One lunch makes no sense when all the kids cannot fit in the cafeteria. As a parent if my kid was rude to a teacher, I'd want to know and they would be apologizing to that teacher and consequences at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My freshman leaves at least 3x a week and I don’t care. They eat at chipotle, panera, moby dicks, or Starbucks. All better than the over packed cafeteria.

Not everyone can afford that. Your kid is fortunate.

Ok but it’s good for many kids mental health to NOT be in the cafeteria and get outside

They can do that without $10-15 lunches daily. My kids pack lunch and never have been into the cafeteria.

Yes mine sits on a disgusting dirty floor in the hallway.

MCPS having lunch for all 4 high school grades (over 2000 teens!!!) at once in ONE tiny cramped cafeteria is absolutely ridiculous. Let the teens leave campus if they want.

So many more issues happening.

Mine sits on a dirty hallway floor too. I don't get why they do one lunch period now. Most schools used to have multiple periods. We wash the clothes every day... its absurd not to provide a seat/table for the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. I’m stunned that so many parents think an open lunch is the answer.

High school students are (mostly for those who are not repeaters) still minors. MCPS had a responsibility to keep these kids safe. If they leave for lunch and get hit by a car, robbed, or get themselves into any other unthinkable situation, we CANNOT keep them safe.

The only real solutions are…
1) structuring the school day so campuses with 2000+ kids have A, B or C lunch
2) teaching your kids to respect adults and the importance of fiscal and health responsibility.

I want to know how parents are ok with funding $10+ lunches every day and accepting the health concerns that come with eating fast food for every meal. Parents need to teach their kids how to prepare food ahead of time — this is an important life skill.

Also. Parents need to hold the standard at home when it comes to listening to (gasp) authority. Americans are so afraid of holding people accountable. Literally had a 9th grader look me in the eyes and blow me off when I asked her why she was leaving school (in the middle of 2nd period). Rolled her eyes and walked right out the main doors.

Parents should be ashamed of the individuals they are raising.

Even if they did that, they still can't fit all of the students in one cafeteria. They spill all out into the hallways, extra classrooms, gym, etc.. Won't that be disruptive to the kids that are in class trying to learn?

The fact of the matter is MCPS built schools and then doubled the amount of kids that go to them. Packed like sardines in crappy old buildings. I mean even newer schools like RM have a ton of portables because they are so over crowded.

There are no SRO's, limited staffing, and kids that have no respect for authority. And honestly a terrible boring curriculum that most teens don't care about. There needs to be more tech and leave for work programs. More autonomy in the curriculum, more schools built ahead of the housing that is built to keep up with the over populated schools and LESS programs like immersion, IB, etc.... and better staffing for safety until school numbers are better.

When we went to school, we had multiple lunch periods and restricted to where we could go. They absolutely need more staffing but they need to have clear rules, enforce them, give consequences and contact parents (for those of us who want to know and would address it at home).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My freshman leaves at least 3x a week and I don’t care. They eat at chipotle, panera, moby dicks, or Starbucks. All better than the over packed cafeteria.

Not everyone can afford that. Your kid is fortunate.

Ok but it’s good for many kids mental health to NOT be in the cafeteria and get outside

They can do that without $10-15 lunches daily. My kids pack lunch and never have been into the cafeteria.

Yes mine sits on a disgusting dirty floor in the hallway.

MCPS having lunch for all 4 high school grades (over 2000 teens!!!) at once in ONE tiny cramped cafeteria is absolutely ridiculous. Let the teens leave campus if they want.

So many more issues happening.

Your kid eats in the bathroom?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. I’m stunned that so many parents think an open lunch is the answer.

High school students are (mostly for those who are not repeaters) still minors. MCPS had a responsibility to keep these kids safe. If they leave for lunch and get hit by a car, robbed, or get themselves into any other unthinkable situation, we CANNOT keep them safe.

The only real solutions are…
1) structuring the school day so campuses with 2000+ kids have A, B or C lunch
2) teaching your kids to respect adults and the importance of fiscal and health responsibility.

I want to know how parents are ok with funding $10+ lunches every day and accepting the health concerns that come with eating fast food for every meal. Parents need to teach their kids how to prepare food ahead of time — this is an important life skill.

Also. Parents need to hold the standard at home when it comes to listening to (gasp) authority. Americans are so afraid of holding people accountable. Literally had a 9th grader look me in the eyes and blow me off when I asked her why she was leaving school (in the middle of 2nd period). Rolled her eyes and walked right out the main doors.

Parents should be ashamed of the individuals they are raising.

Even if they did that, they still can't fit all of the students in one cafeteria. They spill all out into the hallways, extra classrooms, gym, etc.. Won't that be disruptive to the kids that are in class trying to learn?

The fact of the matter is MCPS built schools and then doubled the amount of kids that go to them. Packed like sardines in crappy old buildings. I mean even newer schools like RM have a ton of portables because they are so over crowded.

There are no SRO's, limited staffing, and kids that have no respect for authority. And honestly a terrible boring curriculum that most teens don't care about. There needs to be more tech and leave for work programs. More autonomy in the curriculum, more schools built ahead of the housing that is built to keep up with the over populated schools and LESS programs like immersion, IB, etc.... and better staffing for safety until school numbers are better.

When we went to school, we had multiple lunch periods and restricted to where we could go. They absolutely need more staffing but they need to have clear rules, enforce them, give consequences and contact parents (for those of us who want to know and would address it at home).

One lunch allows clubs to meet. Kids really appreciate those opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This 100% . They used to have multiple periods for lunch. One lunch makes no sense when all the kids cannot fit in the cafeteria. As a parent if my kid was rude to a teacher, I'd want to know and they would be apologizing to that teacher and consequences at home.

One lunch makes a lot of sense.

For the people whose children sit on a hallway floor - are your children complaining that the floors are dirty, or is that you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. I’m stunned that so many parents think an open lunch is the answer.

High school students are (mostly for those who are not repeaters) still minors. MCPS had a responsibility to keep these kids safe. If they leave for lunch and get hit by a car, robbed, or get themselves into any other unthinkable situation, we CANNOT keep them safe.

The only real solutions are…
1) structuring the school day so campuses with 2000+ kids have A, B or C lunch
2) teaching your kids to respect adults and the importance of fiscal and health responsibility.

I want to know how parents are ok with funding $10+ lunches every day and accepting the health concerns that come with eating fast food for every meal. Parents need to teach their kids how to prepare food ahead of time — this is an important life skill.

Also. Parents need to hold the standard at home when it comes to listening to (gasp) authority. Americans are so afraid of holding people accountable. Literally had a 9th grader look me in the eyes and blow me off when I asked her why she was leaving school (in the middle of 2nd period). Rolled her eyes and walked right out the main doors.

Parents should be ashamed of the individuals they are raising.

Even if they did that, they still can't fit all of the students in one cafeteria. They spill all out into the hallways, extra classrooms, gym, etc.. Won't that be disruptive to the kids that are in class trying to learn?

The fact of the matter is MCPS built schools and then doubled the amount of kids that go to them. Packed like sardines in crappy old buildings. I mean even newer schools like RM have a ton of portables because they are so over crowded.

There are no SRO's, limited staffing, and kids that have no respect for authority. And honestly a terrible boring curriculum that most teens don't care about. There needs to be more tech and leave for work programs. More autonomy in the curriculum, more schools built ahead of the housing that is built to keep up with the over populated schools and LESS programs like immersion, IB, etc.... and better staffing for safety until school numbers are better.

When we went to school, we had multiple lunch periods and restricted to where we could go. They absolutely need more staffing but they need to have clear rules, enforce them, give consequences and contact parents (for those of us who want to know and would address it at home).

One lunch allows clubs to meet. Kids really appreciate those opportunities.

Many kids are happier to plop on the stairs or in a classroom than in a loud cafeteria. One lunch also means that teachers are available to everyone for help or a retake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. I’m stunned that so many parents think an open lunch is the answer.

High school students are (mostly for those who are not repeaters) still minors. MCPS had a responsibility to keep these kids safe. If they leave for lunch and get hit by a car, robbed, or get themselves into any other unthinkable situation, we CANNOT keep them safe.

The only real solutions are…
1) structuring the school day so campuses with 2000+ kids have A, B or C lunch
2) teaching your kids to respect adults and the importance of fiscal and health responsibility.

I want to know how parents are ok with funding $10+ lunches every day and accepting the health concerns that come with eating fast food for every meal. Parents need to teach their kids how to prepare food ahead of time — this is an important life skill.

Also. Parents need to hold the standard at home when it comes to listening to (gasp) authority. Americans are so afraid of holding people accountable. Literally had a 9th grader look me in the eyes and blow me off when I asked her why she was leaving school (in the middle of 2nd period). Rolled her eyes and walked right out the main doors.

Parents should be ashamed of the individuals they are raising.

This 100% . They used to have multiple periods for lunch. One lunch makes no sense when all the kids cannot fit in the cafeteria. As a parent if my kid was rude to a teacher, I'd want to know and they would be apologizing to that teacher and consequences at home.

I too went to an MCPS high school where we had the A,B, C lunch in the ‘90s and while it worked, there were tradeoffs.

1. The logistics in the schedule were a headache. Configuring classes with that many lunch options was confusing from a student perspective. I can only imagine what that was like on the counselor’s end.

2. The constant bells ringing was annoying and distracting. And we didn’t always know which bell was dismissing class or indicating a lunch dismissal. And with half-days? Forget it. Even more confusing.

3. Having multiple lunches meant kids ate really early and were hungry by the end of the day or ate really late and were hungry throughout the day. We dealt with this by grabbing snacks from the vending machines, but schools are now locking the vending machines during the school day.

4. Kids would use bathroom breaks or skip to visit friends in other lunches. This is mild and quaint compared to the chaos we see today with teens leaving campus during lunch and terrorizing the community. But we do have to acknowledge that having multiple lunch periods adds more monitoring responsibilities to staff to ensure the right kids are in the right lunch period.

I point all of this out just to show that there really is no perfect solution. Just tradeoffs we’re willing to live with. Multiple lunch periods allow us to keep kids in the building and more specifically in the cafeteria. But it complicates scheduling and requires more monitoring to ensure kids are in their lunch period and not visiting a friend’s.

One lunch period simplifies scheduling, but forces kids to spread throughout the building. It also allows kids to meet with each other as clubs or teachers, since everyone has lunch at the same time. This model does also require oversight and monitoring, particularly for those schools who are supposedly “closed campuses,” which MCPS completely drops the ball on as this thread has highlighted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My freshman leaves at least 3x a week and I don’t care. They eat at chipotle, panera, moby dicks, or Starbucks. All better than the over packed cafeteria.

Not everyone can afford that. Your kid is fortunate.

Ok but it’s good for many kids mental health to NOT be in the cafeteria and get outside

They can do that without $10-15 lunches daily. My kids pack lunch and never have been into the cafeteria.

Yes mine sits on a disgusting dirty floor in the hallway.

MCPS having lunch for all 4 high school grades (over 2000 teens!!!) at once in ONE tiny cramped cafeteria is absolutely ridiculous. Let the teens leave campus if they want.

So many more issues happening.

lol teens don’t care about that. I sat on a dirty hallway floor when I was in high school. Didn’t think twice about it, still don’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My freshman leaves at least 3x a week and I don’t care. They eat at chipotle, panera, moby dicks, or Starbucks. All better than the over packed cafeteria.

Not everyone can afford that. Your kid is fortunate.

Ok but it’s good for many kids mental health to NOT be in the cafeteria and get outside

They can do that without $10-15 lunches daily. My kids pack lunch and never have been into the cafeteria.

Yes mine sits on a disgusting dirty floor in the hallway.

MCPS having lunch for all 4 high school grades (over 2000 teens!!!) at once in ONE tiny cramped cafeteria is absolutely ridiculous. Let the teens leave campus if they want.

So many more issues happening.

lol teens don’t care about that. I sat on a dirty hallway floor when I was in high school. Didn’t think twice about it, still don’t.

Mine definitely care

But I guess most kids just roll out of bed and go to school in pajamas anyway

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My freshman leaves at least 3x a week and I don’t care. They eat at chipotle, panera, moby dicks, or Starbucks. All better than the over packed cafeteria.

Parents like you are part of the problem. You're selfish, immature and entitled.

But she’s raising a Lion, not a Sheep!!
Her privileged kids are too cool to eat at school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This 100% . They used to have multiple periods for lunch. One lunch makes no sense when all the kids cannot fit in the cafeteria. As a parent if my kid was rude to a teacher, I'd want to know and they would be apologizing to that teacher and consequences at home.

One lunch makes a lot of sense.

For the people whose children sit on a hallway floor - are your children complaining that the floors are dirty, or is that you?

It only makes sense for some things, not others. Yes, they mind it and aren't thrilled about it but they have no other choice. We wash the clothes as ick..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. I’m stunned that so many parents think an open lunch is the answer.

High school students are (mostly for those who are not repeaters) still minors. MCPS had a responsibility to keep these kids safe. If they leave for lunch and get hit by a car, robbed, or get themselves into any other unthinkable situation, we CANNOT keep them safe.

The only real solutions are…
1) structuring the school day so campuses with 2000+ kids have A, B or C lunch
2) teaching your kids to respect adults and the importance of fiscal and health responsibility.

I want to know how parents are ok with funding $10+ lunches every day and accepting the health concerns that come with eating fast food for every meal. Parents need to teach their kids how to prepare food ahead of time — this is an important life skill.

Also. Parents need to hold the standard at home when it comes to listening to (gasp) authority. Americans are so afraid of holding people accountable. Literally had a 9th grader look me in the eyes and blow me off when I asked her why she was leaving school (in the middle of 2nd period). Rolled her eyes and walked right out the main doors.

Parents should be ashamed of the individuals they are raising.

This 100% . They used to have multiple periods for lunch. One lunch makes no sense when all the kids cannot fit in the cafeteria. As a parent if my kid was rude to a teacher, I'd want to know and they would be apologizing to that teacher and consequences at home.

I too went to an MCPS high school where we had the A,B, C lunch in the ‘90s and while it worked, there were tradeoffs.

1. The logistics in the schedule were a headache. Configuring classes with that many lunch options was confusing from a student perspective. I can only imagine what that was like on the counselor’s end.

2. The constant bells ringing was annoying and distracting. And we didn’t always know which bell was dismissing class or indicating a lunch dismissal. And with half-days? Forget it. Even more confusing.

3. Having multiple lunches meant kids ate really early and were hungry by the end of the day or ate really late and were hungry throughout the day. We dealt with this by grabbing snacks from the vending machines, but schools are now locking the vending machines during the school day.

4. Kids would use bathroom breaks or skip to visit friends in other lunches. This is mild and quaint compared to the chaos we see today with teens leaving campus during lunch and terrorizing the community. But we do have to acknowledge that having multiple lunch periods adds more monitoring responsibilities to staff to ensure the right kids are in the right lunch period.

I point all of this out just to show that there really is no perfect solution. Just tradeoffs we’re willing to live with. Multiple lunch periods allow us to keep kids in the building and more specifically in the cafeteria. But it complicates scheduling and requires more monitoring to ensure kids are in their lunch period and not visiting a friend’s.

One lunch period simplifies scheduling, but forces kids to spread throughout the building. It also allows kids to meet with each other as clubs or teachers, since everyone has lunch at the same time. This model does also require oversight and monitoring, particularly for those schools who are supposedly “closed campuses,” which MCPS completely drops the ball on as this thread has highlighted.

You can pack your kids snacks. Simple solution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My freshman leaves at least 3x a week and I don’t care. They eat at chipotle, panera, moby dicks, or Starbucks. All better than the over packed cafeteria.

Not everyone can afford that. Your kid is fortunate.

Ok but it’s good for many kids mental health to NOT be in the cafeteria and get outside

They can do that without $10-15 lunches daily. My kids pack lunch and never have been into the cafeteria.

Yes mine sits on a disgusting dirty floor in the hallway.

MCPS having lunch for all 4 high school grades (over 2000 teens!!!) at once in ONE tiny cramped cafeteria is absolutely ridiculous. Let the teens leave campus if they want.

So many more issues happening.

lol teens don’t care about that. I sat on a dirty hallway floor when I was in high school. Didn’t think twice about it, still don’t.

Mine definitely care

But I guess most kids just roll out of bed and go to school in pajamas anyway

Many teachers allow kids to eat in their classroom. Encourage your child to kind a spot that is not the flaw if it is a problem for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This 100% . They used to have multiple periods for lunch. One lunch makes no sense when all the kids cannot fit in the cafeteria. As a parent if my kid was rude to a teacher, I'd want to know and they would be apologizing to that teacher and consequences at home.

One lunch makes a lot of sense.

For the people whose children sit on a hallway floor - are your children complaining that the floors are dirty, or is that you?

It only makes sense for some things, not others. Yes, they mind it and aren't thrilled about it but they have no other choice. We wash the clothes as ick..

Would you not wash the clothes if your children sat at a table to eat lunch?