Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many parents put their kids in private school for 7th and 8th to bypass Longfellow bullying problem.

You must not be following the enrollment numbers very carefully. People make a point of moving into the district so they can send their kids to Longfellow, which overall is a fantastic school. Any recent decline in enrollment is due entirely to the AAP kids from the Langley pyramid being sent to Cooper, their base school.

Yes, Longfellow is a great school, but has a problem with bullying. If you think your DC will be bullied, putting them in private school for two years is a great solution.

Anonymous wrote:Many parents put their kids in private school for 7th and 8th to bypass Longfellow bullying problem.

You must not be following the enrollment numbers very carefully. People make a point of moving into the district so they can send their kids to Longfellow, which overall is a fantastic school. Any recent decline in enrollment is due entirely to the AAP kids from the Langley pyramid being sent to Cooper, their base school.

OP,
I have no dog in this hunt, but I'd be a little skeptical of the comments on this thread.

Many parents put their kids in private school for 7th and 8th to bypass Longfellow bullying problem.

Longfellow's solution to the bullying was to pull the victims out of class for victim self help sessions each week. So victims were punished twice by missing instruction time. I don't know if they still treat the victims like they are the problem instead of suspending the bullies, but I hope something gets done. The staff are worthless at Longfellow.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC went to Longfellow and experienced bullying. I think the bullying was cultivated by the aggressive, competitive nature of the students and a weak admin staff. The adults didn't punish the bullies, or hold their crappy parents accountable. So aggressive, mean kids can thrive there, weaker students may have the worst two years of their lives.

I have heard Cooper has less bullying and is more friendly, but there have been drug problems there. So neither school is perfect.

Cooper was considered “friendlier” when all its AAP kids were sent to Longfellow and Kilmer. The AAP kids in the Langley pyramid go to Cooper now, so Longfellow and Kilmer have lower enrollments and percentages of AAP students.

This is true, much of the bullying is within the AAP group and poor social skills and ahole parents that seem to go along with them.

I doubt Cooper and Longfellow are any different than other area middle schools. We had kids at both Kilmer and Longfellow. The only bullying we experienced was at Kilmer, but it had more to do with the dynamics among a group of kids than the school administration.

Anonymous wrote:My DC went to Longfellow and experienced bullying. I think the bullying was cultivated by the aggressive, competitive nature of the students and a weak admin staff. The adults didn't punish the bullies, or hold their crappy parents accountable. So aggressive, mean kids can thrive there, weaker students may have the worst two years of their lives.

I have heard Cooper has less bullying and is more friendly, but there have been drug problems there. So neither school is perfect.

Cooper was considered “friendlier” when all its AAP kids were sent to Longfellow and Kilmer. The AAP kids in the Langley pyramid go to Cooper now, so Longfellow and Kilmer have lower enrollments and percentages of AAP students.

My DC went to Longfellow and experienced bullying. I think the bullying was cultivated by the aggressive, competitive nature of the students and a weak admin staff. The adults didn't punish the bullies, or hold their crappy parents accountable. So aggressive, mean kids can thrive there, weaker students may have the worst two years of their lives.

I have heard Cooper has less bullying and is more friendly, but there have been drug problems there. So neither school is perfect.

OP,
I have no familiarity with those schools, but I think most administrators really try to stop any bullying. However, things can still go on under cover and that is what is difficult. But, you also need to understand that administrators change somewhat frequently and what can be true today, may not be true tomorrow.

Just move where you wish and pay close attention (without being super needling to your child--try to pry without direct questions. Just listen.) If problems occur, try not to jump on the administration right away, but ask if there is a problem and suggest that they watch and listen to see if something is going on. If things don't improve, then you make demands. I am not suggesting that you do not stop anything.

I really do think there is more effort now to prevent problems in the schools.

My kids are/were at Cooper and have/had not experienced any bullying. I've asked several different ways, and my kids also say they have never witnessed any bullying against others. The principal is a very no-nonsense kind of gal.

Wackford Squeers administers canings and ear-boxings as required.

Neither. We are looking to live in boundaries for one of these 2 and we want to make sure the middle school creates a climate that welcomes all and is quick to address things like bullying.

Was your kid a victim or accused of bullying?

I posted in the SN forum, but that was specific to my child's diagnosis (HFA). Wondering how parents at these schools feel about how bullying is handled whether or not your kid has special needs.