MCPS teachers--what kind of abuse from students goes on in your building?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't this all happening because the Board of Ed shut down the school for kids with behavioral problems? Twain or RICA I think it was called?

Alt isn't for ED kids. The ED students are sent (if schools are successful in getting them in) to an ED program housed either in their own schools or in another school.

Alt Programs is for level 2 and 3 kids who chronically misbehave or who have "popped" and committed a violent act (a bad fight, for example).

RICA is still in existence, but it's a state and local day and residential program. Twain closed.

twain needs to reopen

I worked in an alt-ed school for 5 years. Honestly, as long as safety is not the issue, it is better to have ED kids in the regular schools. However, they really need almost one on one support and need to be in smaller classes or else they will distract themselves and others. This includes gym and electives. However, this can be very expensive, and there is very high staff burn-out/turnover, so of course MCPS has screwed it up.

If kids need one-on-one support to function, that is not the right environment.

[Anonymous]

What is the solution? Kids who need support get a 1:1 aide?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an MCPS teacher and trying to find out how systemic of an issue this is. Our admin says their hands are tied due to the student code of conduct. We are expected to put up with verbal and physical abuse from students. In my opinion it's because administrators are spineless and don't want their bosses at central office to know what's really going on in their buildings because it reflects poorly on them. MCEA has been useless. What is going on in your building? Is my building an anomaly or the norm in MCPS?

They should bring back the switch or lash! That would lean those kids.

[Anonymous]

If a kid is violent or unruly, he or she should be driven to the parents' workplace. If the parents don't want to be disturbed at work then they shouldn't have raised a child who chooses to disturb the learning of other students and the workplace of educational professionals.

[Anonymous]

They tell us we can’t get in between students who are fighting, but we are also responsible for keeping them safe from each other. That’s how I got hit in the face this morning.

[Anonymous]

I'm so glad I stumbled across this thread. I've been considering making the move to MCPS all year, but it sounds just as bad as where I am now (PG). Nothing will ever compare to what I experienced in DCPS, but it's still too much for someone to deal with day in and out. Maybe Fairfax?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If a kid is violent or unruly, he or she should be driven to the parents' workplace. If the parents don't want to be disturbed at work then they shouldn't have raised a child who chooses to disturb the learning of other students and the workplace of educational professionals.

Not sure what the solution is, but it isn't this

[Anonymous]

I'm also an elementary teacher and we are all at a loss as to what to do. Our admin is out at every lunch/recess and spend time literally camped out in certain grade level hallways in an attempt to keep control over a handful of unruly students. Like another poster mentioned, parents have blocked the school's phone numbers and the kids actually laugh when teachers or administrators threaten to call home. They know their parents either won't be reached or won't care. I know I have a parent who claims her child will be punished but this same kid also tells me he knows how to pester his mom so that she relents and lets him do whatever he wants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm also an elementary teacher and we are all at a loss as to what to do. Our admin is out at every lunch/recess and spend time literally camped out in certain grade level hallways in an attempt to keep control over a handful of unruly students. Like another poster mentioned, parents have blocked the school's phone numbers and the kids actually laugh when teachers or administrators threaten to call home. They know their parents either won't be reached or won't care. I know I have a parent who claims her child will be punished but this same kid also tells me he knows how to pester his mom so that she relents and lets him do whatever he wants.

System needs an overhaul. Mixed-grade self-contained classroom in every home school for low- to medium-grade behavioral issues; reserve ED and other such programs for more severe cases. That should make it easier to move disruptive kids out of gen ed.

(Yes I know, this will never happen)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an MCPS teacher and trying to find out how systemic of an issue this is. Our admin says their hands are tied due to the student code of conduct. We are expected to put up with verbal and physical abuse from students. In my opinion it's because administrators are spineless and don't want their bosses at central office to know what's really going on in their buildings because it reflects poorly on them. MCEA has been useless. What is going on in your building? Is my building an anomaly or the norm in MCPS?

Paging Jill Ortman Fouse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an MCPS teacher and trying to find out how systemic of an issue this is. Our admin says their hands are tied due to the student code of conduct. We are expected to put up with verbal and physical abuse from students. In my opinion it's because administrators are spineless and don't want their bosses at central office to know what's really going on in their buildings because it reflects poorly on them. MCEA has been useless. What is going on in your building? Is my building an anomaly or the norm in MCPS?

OP,

I could give you scenario after scenario that would make you feel better - at least temporarily - and I'm HS. While I won't go into detail, you can imagine how hardened kids get once they hit middle and high school. Many are also dangerous.

I'll share this one story, however, b/c it's one of my successes. I had a transfer from a PG alternative. He made my skin crawl. He was sexually aggressive and violent. After following "protocol" for three months, I finally took matters into my own hands by saying something (I knew his triggers.) that made him threaten me. It wasn't what I said; it was how I said it. So you can imagine how many triggers he had. His threat was so vile that he was out the next day.

The girls in my class (9th grade) were so relieved. I did it for them. I'm no stranger to bad behavior - and I'm also not a pushover. But he exhausted me, as it took almost a semester to get rid of him.

We can blame the Code of (mis)Conduct for our current (hopeless) situation. And the union is a joke. If you want to get anything done, work on mobilizing your colleagues. Collect data (observational, no tone!!!!) and log EVERYTHING into the comm log. There's power and safety in numbers.

Yes, and encourage students to report to parents so the parents can intervene en masse, typically with lawyers and threats of police action. That is what it takes to get rid of a troublesome kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We need school board members who will run on a promise to dump this disciplinary system or to reform it. And the parents of the 98% of students who want to learn to hold the system accountable.

So now, a year later, we have people running against boundary changes, when the real issue is discipline. Anyone running to change the code of conduct?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This year in my elementary school -

*Several teachers kicked and/or punched by students.
*Students getting up and walking out of class all day, every day. Refuse to go to office when principal finds the student. Admin can't put hands on the kids and they know it so they just roam the halls and barge in on other classrooms. Parents refuse to take phone calls from the school.
*Fights in the lunch room and playground several times a week.
*Administrators punched, kicked and spit on.

I'm so shocked parents of well-behaved students aren't calling and complaining. We aren't even a Title 1 school.

C’mon, name the school or at least give the cluster name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an MCPS teacher and trying to find out how systemic of an issue this is. Our admin says their hands are tied due to the student code of conduct. We are expected to put up with verbal and physical abuse from students. In my opinion it's because administrators are spineless and don't want their bosses at central office to know what's really going on in their buildings because it reflects poorly on them. MCEA has been useless. What is going on in your building? Is my building an anomaly or the norm in MCPS?

the problem is the parents. Poor parenting, plus strong parent advocate, plus entitled kids equals night mare for teachers and bus drivers. Look at the parents at Westland Middle who went to the ends of the earth to try and terminate the job of a bus driver their kids bullied. There was a video of an entitled mom who forced her way onto a bus to lecture the bus driver about why the heat is so high on the bus. Sad that kids see parents go to such lengths to advocate for them and model bad behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need school board members who will run on a promise to dump this disciplinary system or to reform it. And the parents of the 98% of students who want to learn to hold the system accountable.

So now, a year later, we have people running against boundary changes, when the real issue is discipline. Anyone running to change the code of conduct?

Unfortunately, you can't change the code on (mis)conduct on this level. Many of the reforms (both good and bad) were created under the Obama administration. This CS article is helpful - https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2014/0228/Discipline-reform-is-in-Obama-program-to-help-young-men.-What-s-that-mean

While the philosophy behind these changes is understandable, in practice, it's a disaster. Federal mandates influence state decisions, and systems fall under those state guidelines.

Teachers are trapped in other words, and while I have zero respect for most administrators these days, they are ruled by numbers. So many incidents remain hidden.

Did anyone see the Clarksburg incident the other day? The letter to the community is in the link.


https://wjla.com/news/local/ammo-discovered-clarksburg-high-maryland
Tip that student brought weapon to school led to discovery of ammo, no gun, says school

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — After Clarksburg High School got a report that a student had brought a weapon to school, a police investigation led to ammunition being discovered on said student, the principal of the school says.