Deal Behavior

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The stories are all true.

It has been a rough year for a behavior for some [i]kids at Deal. The school is overcrowded and there is a lot of energy. If your kid can tune it out and do the work, they are fine, IMO.

There have been significant admin, teacher and staff departures and "leaves of absence" by key people who keep the school running, so others have had to pick up the slack, or not. There is little internal communication to teachers and staff or external communication to parents, which creates confusion. I'm still trying to figure out if this is strategic or simply a personality quirk.

Middle school drama seems to have escalated to new levels. There are more fights this year. The girl trying to kill herself during school was scary. Girl drama/violence/cruelty in 7th grade has reached new and concerning levels. A lot of bad language, N word, homophobic slurs. Some kids are bolder, the girl who taunted the teacher and he reacted which resulted in him getting arrested during school, the girl pushing the boy down the stairs.

As always there are edibles coming into the school. A major incident this year resulted in suspensions. Selling weed and smoking in Fort Reno park (although this has always been the case) And now pills (xanax, ritalin) are available. Also, there is drinking and sex (BJ's are a thing). This is a small subset of kids.

Yes, some kids roam the hallways (they know where to avoid the cameras). Some of them slide into other classrooms to disrupt class and get attention when there are subs. The hype beast kids go to the bathroom to place orders online when there is a big drop.

Social media is awful. Group chat drama seeps into school and admin has to deal with it -- it's toxic and exhausting.

There are good and great activities if your kid will participate. The track coach is great, theater program great, wrestling good, good clubs (scrabble, geo plunge), good dance squad. The choir is great. Baseball is off to a rough start. counselors are excellent, but they need more help and people esp for 7th grade. The assistant principals seem good and responsive. Some parents do a lot to support the school.

Like every school, there are good and bad teachers. Some teachers are really not bright but admin know the weak links and create teams with a balance so no team gets four bad teachers.

I don't like the constant police presence. There seems to be uniformed police presence outside and INSIDE the school a lot. I've gone to pick up for appts and there are really large, imposing officers checking in on students. This is alarming.

My kids are fine but hope it calms down next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The stories are all true.

It has been a rough year for a behavior for some [i]kids at Deal. The school is overcrowded and there is a lot of energy. If your kid can tune it out and do the work, they are fine, IMO.

There have been significant admin, teacher and staff departures and "leaves of absence" by key people who keep the school running, so others have had to pick up the slack, or not. There is little internal communication to teachers and staff or external communication to parents, which creates confusion. I'm still trying to figure out if this is strategic or simply a personality quirk.

Middle school drama seems to have escalated to new levels. There are more fights this year. The girl trying to kill herself during school was scary. Girl drama/violence/cruelty in 7th grade has reached new and concerning levels. A lot of bad language, N word, homophobic slurs. Some kids are bolder, the girl who taunted the teacher and he reacted which resulted in him getting arrested during school, the girl pushing the boy down the stairs.

As always there are edibles coming into the school. A major incident this year resulted in suspensions. Selling weed and smoking in Fort Reno park (although this has always been the case) And now pills (xanax, ritalin) are available. Also, there is drinking and sex (BJ's are a thing). This is a small subset of kids.

Yes, some kids roam the hallways (they know where to avoid the cameras). Some of them slide into other classrooms to disrupt class and get attention when there are subs. The hype beast kids go to the bathroom to place orders online when there is a big drop.

Social media is awful. Group chat drama seeps into school and admin has to deal with it -- it's toxic and exhausting.

There are good and great activities if your kid will participate. The track coach is great, theater program great, wrestling good, good clubs (scrabble, geo plunge), good dance squad. The choir is great. Baseball is off to a rough start. counselors are excellent, but they need more help and people esp for 7th grade. The assistant principals seem good and responsive. Some parents do a lot to support the school.

Like every school, there are good and bad teachers. Some teachers are really not bright but admin know the weak links and create teams with a balance so no team gets four bad teachers.

I don't like the constant police presence. There seems to be uniformed police presence outside and INSIDE the school a lot. I've gone to pick up for appts and there are really large, imposing officers checking in on students. This is alarming.

My kids are fine but hope it calms down next year.

Parent of an early elem. kid here IB for Deal. I'm embarrassed but I have no idea what this means. Is this a reference to buying drugs/drugs of abuse online, or what. Never heard the "hype beast" term before either.

[Anonymous]

So, 10:54 how on Earth do you even know this stuff. As far as I can tell my 6th grader almost never leaves his little hallway. None if this is on his radar at all. It's like he goes to a totally different school from what you just described.

[Anonymous]

Hypebeast is a clothing buy/sell site for the latest in urban fashion. There are boys who trade in tennis shoes on the site.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hypebeast is a clothing buy/sell site for the latest in urban fashion. There are boys who trade in tennis shoes on the site.

PP who asked here. Lol, well I'm glad my worst assumptions weren't true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, 10:54 how on Earth do you even know this stuff. As far as I can tell my 6th grader almost never leaves his little hallway. None if this is on his radar at all. It's like he goes to a totally different school from what you just described.

Are you sure it’s not on his radar? Have you asked him about the stair incident? If not, ask him tonight and report back. Or ask him even general questions about behavior. If he totally oblivious to all of this you have nothing to worry about because he’s not involved or affected in the least bit. If

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hypebeast is a clothing buy/sell site for the latest in urban fashion. There are boys who trade in tennis shoes on the site.

PP who asked here. Lol, well I'm glad my worst assumptions weren't true.

No. The weekly Supreme drop on Thursday's at 11 a.m.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hypebeast is a clothing buy/sell site for the latest in urban fashion. There are boys who trade in tennis shoes on the site.

PP who asked here. Lol, well I'm glad my worst assumptions weren't true.

No. The weekly Supreme drop on Thursday's at 11 a.m.

Hype beast is a type of person not just web site. kids dont actually use that website. they trade among themselves and buy/sell on Insta

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hypebeast is a clothing buy/sell site for the latest in urban fashion. There are boys who trade in tennis shoes on the site.

Buying, re-selling shoes and athleisure is a big hobby. The "drops" refer to when new items are released, often during the day. This is a thing far beyond Deal.

Among all the things the PP describes (although how she knows all of this is beyond me) it's probably the least harmless, assuming the kids aren't stealing to get the money for the items.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, 10:54 how on Earth do you even know this stuff. As far as I can tell my 6th grader almost never leaves his little hallway. None if this is on his radar at all. It's like he goes to a totally different school from what you just described.

Not the poster you're responding to but I know almost all above too (plus more not mentioned). I work from home and have 2 kids at Deal and almost daily I end up with a group of 6-10 Deal kids at my house after school. I overhear (or am told) a lot of stuff.

I'm about to transition to an in-office job so my days of having the intel are coming to a close!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, 10:54 how on Earth do you even know this stuff. As far as I can tell my 6th grader almost never leaves his little hallway. None if this is on his radar at all. It's like he goes to a totally different school from what you just described.

Not the poster you're responding to but I know almost all above too (plus more not mentioned). I work from home and have 2 kids at Deal and almost daily I end up with a group of 6-10 Deal kids at my house after school. I overhear (or am told) a lot of stuff.

I'm about to transition to an in-office job so my days of having the intel are coming to a close!

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, 10:54 how on Earth do you even know this stuff. As far as I can tell my 6th grader almost never leaves his little hallway. None if this is on his radar at all. It's like he goes to a totally different school from what you just described.

Not the poster you're responding to but I know almost all above too (plus more not mentioned). I work from home and have 2 kids at Deal and almost daily I end up with a group of 6-10 Deal kids at my house after school. I overhear (or am told) a lot of stuff.

I'm about to transition to an in-office job so my days of having the intel are coming to a close!

NP too. I have a child who was at a small private so I hear them as dc is adjusting to the opposite school experience. Crazy stories aside, Deal has been a great experience. All schools have pros and cons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fights, skipping class, etc...

This is why so many people are leaving public schools in DC for a private. They’ll go to any private to get out of the DC public school system because at least at most privates any physical altercation or skipping class you get expelled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess it depends on what "off the rails" means. Fights, skipping class, etc.? Yup, since the beginning of the year - much of it is recapped during dinner. Our 6th grader has brought home stories of students who regularly roam the hallways during class, physical altercations, stolen cell phones, etc.

They allow too many passes on these kids. They should be expelled and transferred out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid was taken to the hospital. Lots of blood. My kid came home with the story.

Yes the boy was in my DC’s class apparently he was in the hospital for a couple of days with a head injury. If I would be pressing criminal charges against that girl, if he were my son. I would also have an unending crusade to get her kicked out of school period.

DCPS would have an unending response that you can take a leap, as they should since you can't and shouldn't easily expel a student, particularly a 6th grader.

Especially if the kid has an IEP. There would be a manifestation meeting, and the child would be back in school the next day.

That’s horrible for the boy who was hospitalized. I hope they sue that girl’s parents for all the medical expenses. Sue them into permanent poverty. She’s a monster.

While being injured at school is bad, it's also terrible for an adult to judge a 12-year-old that she doesn't know on a public forum and call her a "monster." Kids make bad decisions. My dad lit a gas jet on fire in high school chemistry, broke a kid's nose by dumping him headfirst into a cafeteria garbage can, and had to get a paper route to pay for the lawyer his parents hired to deal with a separate situation. Now he is an adult with no criminal record, a DCUM-level income, and college-educated kids who've never been in trouble with the law. Children can mature. I hope your kid never makes a bad decision but if he does I bet you'll come around to the concept that kids aren't monsters--they are kids, who need to be responsible for their actions but who can repent and grow.

Also, if this student is reflective of the average DCPS middle schooler, "permanent poverty" where she's spent her whole life already. Suing is not going to change that.

Why doesn’t DCPS provide adequate support for kids with needs?! Why should other kids deal with serious injuries because DCPS can’t mainstream kids properly?