Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with alternative schools is that your basically pack them with the highest need most difficult kids in the county. In my experience, 80% have IEPs, at least 80% Free and reduced school lunch. They often have other comorbidities (drug addiction, mental health issues, family abuse, incarceration, gang/crew involvement, homelessness, teen pregnancy, language issues, lead poisoning, developmental issues, etc.)

The schools are basically set up to fail no matter how much money/staffing you give them and don't typically have great results. They become magnets for investigations / law suits for mistreatment IEP and minority students.

You cant just "throw away" students the way the current federal and state laws are written, so schools just focus on maintaining the students until they exit the system. Families will often move once they burn out the local resources and family contacts and start facing real consequences.

Most of these kids really need a one on one shadow (support member) to follow them around the school all day. It's actually cheaper than trying to warehouse them in a separate building with adequate resources, personnel and busing.

I don't care.

I don't want this kind of kid endangering other kids in a "regular" school.

This kid had a loaded gun on him. In a high school with hundreds of other kids who were less safe because he was in the building.

Magruder also has an SESES program. Was the shooter there an SESES kid? Didn't the kid who was killed at Northwest meet the kid who allegedly killed him in the SESES program?

Anonymous wrote:The problem with alternative schools is that your basically pack them with the highest need most difficult kids in the county. In my experience, 80% have IEPs, at least 80% Free and reduced school lunch. They often have other comorbidities (drug addiction, mental health issues, family abuse, incarceration, gang/crew involvement, homelessness, teen pregnancy, language issues, lead poisoning, developmental issues, etc.)

The schools are basically set up to fail no matter how much money/staffing you give them and don't typically have great results. They become magnets for investigations / law suits for mistreatment IEP and minority students.

You cant just "throw away" students the way the current federal and state laws are written, so schools just focus on maintaining the students until they exit the system. Families will often move once they burn out the local resources and family contacts and start facing real consequences.

Most of these kids really need a one on one shadow (support member) to follow them around the school all day. It's actually cheaper than trying to warehouse them in a separate building with adequate resources, personnel and busing.

Anonymous wrote:The problem with alternative schools is that your basically pack them with the highest need most difficult kids in the county. In my experience, 80% have IEPs, at least 80% Free and reduced school lunch. They often have other comorbidities (drug addiction, mental health issues, family abuse, incarceration, gang/crew involvement, homelessness, teen pregnancy, language issues, lead poisoning, developmental issues, etc.)

The schools are basically set up to fail no matter how much money/staffing you give them and don't typically have great results. They become magnets for investigations / law suits for mistreatment IEP and minority students.

You cant just "throw away" students the way the current federal and state laws are written, so schools just focus on maintaining the students until they exit the system. Families will often move once they burn out the local resources and family contacts and start facing real consequences.

Most of these kids really need a one on one shadow (support member) to follow them around the school all day. It's actually cheaper than trying to warehouse them in a separate building with adequate resources, personnel and busing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know if a community meeting has been called yet?

Anyone from the Northwood PTSA saying or doing anything?

No community meeting. PTSA has been quiet

Northwood parent here. There is a community meeting scheduled. I’m curious what you think the PTSA should be saying or doing. Would they have any independent information to share?

They should be elevating the concerns of parents and teachers and asking MCPS what it plans to do to make their school safer and do more to prevent similar situations from happening in the future.

Stop putting out of boundary troubled kids into other schools is the short answer. He's an out-of-bounds SESES kid. Until that entire program is revamped and they can service kids like him properly, nothing will change.

Do you have confirmation that the student is in he SESES program? Regardless, if he is a student in the SESES program, he's an MCPS student who receives his services at Northwood. That's not "out of bounds." That's just where he receives his services as a student with an IEP.

Also - please be careful about using this incident to characterize SESES kids as "bad kids." There are plenty of kids in SESES programs who do not bring guns to school and are working hard despite a diagnosis that impacts their mental health.

Yeah, but it only takes one gun no matter which population it comes from. At a minimum there should be a zero-tolerance expulsion policy for something like this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know if a community meeting has been called yet?

Anyone from the Northwood PTSA saying or doing anything?

No community meeting. PTSA has been quiet

Northwood parent here. There is a community meeting scheduled. I’m curious what you think the PTSA should be saying or doing. Would they have any independent information to share?

They should be elevating the concerns of parents and teachers and asking MCPS what it plans to do to make their school safer and do more to prevent similar situations from happening in the future.

Stop putting out of boundary troubled kids into other schools is the short answer. He's an out-of-bounds SESES kid. Until that entire program is revamped and they can service kids like him properly, nothing will change.

Do you have confirmation that the student is in he SESES program? Regardless, if he is a student in the SESES program, he's an MCPS student who receives his services at Northwood. That's not "out of bounds." That's just where he receives his services as a student with an IEP.

Also - please be careful about using this incident to characterize SESES kids as "bad kids." There are plenty of kids in SESES programs who do not bring guns to school and are working hard despite a diagnosis that impacts their mental health.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know if a community meeting has been called yet?

Anyone from the Northwood PTSA saying or doing anything?

No community meeting. PTSA has been quiet

Northwood parent here. There is a community meeting scheduled. I’m curious what you think the PTSA should be saying or doing. Would they have any independent information to share?

They should be elevating the concerns of parents and teachers and asking MCPS what it plans to do to make their school safer and do more to prevent similar situations from happening in the future.

Stop putting out of boundary troubled kids into other schools is the short answer. He's an out-of-bounds SESES kid. Until that entire program is revamped and they can service kids like him properly, nothing will change.

Do you have confirmation that the student is in he SESES program? Regardless, if he is a student in the SESES program, he's an MCPS student who receives his services at Northwood. That's not "out of bounds." That's just where he receives his services as a student with an IEP.

Also - please be careful about using this incident to characterize SESES kids as "bad kids." There are plenty of kids in SESES programs who do not bring guns to school and are working hard despite a diagnosis that impacts their mental health.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know if a community meeting has been called yet?

Anyone from the Northwood PTSA saying or doing anything?

No community meeting. PTSA has been quiet

Northwood parent here. There is a community meeting scheduled. I’m curious what you think the PTSA should be saying or doing. Would they have any independent information to share?

They should be elevating the concerns of parents and teachers and asking MCPS what it plans to do to make their school safer and do more to prevent similar situations from happening in the future.

Stop putting out of boundary troubled kids into other schools is the short answer. He's an out-of-bounds SESES kid. Until that entire program is revamped and they can service kids like him properly, nothing will change.

Do you have confirmation that the student is in he SESES program? Regardless, if he is a student in the SESES program, he's an MCPS student who receives his services at Northwood. That's not "out of bounds." That's just where he receives his services as a student with an IEP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know if a community meeting has been called yet?

Anyone from the Northwood PTSA saying or doing anything?

No community meeting. PTSA has been quiet

Northwood parent here. There is a community meeting scheduled. I’m curious what you think the PTSA should be saying or doing. Would they have any independent information to share?

They should be elevating the concerns of parents and teachers and asking MCPS what it plans to do to make their school safer and do more to prevent similar situations from happening in the future.

Stop putting out of boundary troubled kids into other schools is the short answer. He's an out-of-bounds SESES kid. Until that entire program is revamped and they can service kids like him properly, nothing will change.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard a community meeting is planned for Wednesday. Anyone else hear about this? Has the principal sent out a letter about it?

The principal sent a letter inviting the Northwood community to a meeting. Please don't share the zoom link on DCUM.

Is Northwood no longer a public school? Why should a meeting about the wellbeing of an MCPS public school, which is funded by taxpayers across the entire county, be kept secret?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard a community meeting is planned for Wednesday. Anyone else hear about this? Has the principal sent out a letter about it?

The principal sent a letter inviting the Northwood community to a meeting. Please don't share the zoom link on DCUM.

Is MCPS no longer a public school? Why should a meeting about the wellbeing of a public school, which is funded by taxpayers across the entire county, be kept secret?

The neighborhood and community at and near the temp Northwood HS location want to know what the heck is going on at 'Woodward' HS too. It is WJ territory.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know if a community meeting has been called yet?

Anyone from the Northwood PTSA saying or doing anything?

No community meeting. PTSA has been quiet

Northwood parent here. There is a community meeting scheduled. I’m curious what you think the PTSA should be saying or doing. Would they have any independent information to share?

They should be elevating the concerns of parents and teachers and asking MCPS what it plans to do to make their school safer and do more to prevent similar situations from happening in the future.

Stop putting out of boundary troubled kids into other schools is the short answer. He's an out-of-bounds SESES kid. Until that entire program is revamped and they can service kids like him properly, nothing will change.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know if a community meeting has been called yet?

Anyone from the Northwood PTSA saying or doing anything?

No community meeting. PTSA has been quiet

Northwood parent here. There is a community meeting scheduled. I’m curious what you think the PTSA should be saying or doing. Would they have any independent information to share?

They should be elevating the concerns of parents and teachers and asking MCPS what it plans to do to make their school safer and do more to prevent similar situations from happening in the future.

Stop putting out of boundary troubled kids into other schools is the short answer. He's an out-of-bounds SESES kid. Until that entire program is revamped and they can service kids like him properly, nothing will change.