Is history repeating itself? Remember the years of broken toilets, no heat, asbestos, fire locked doors and other nuisances? What goes around comes around, I guess.

My 6th grade boy (team San Fran) says he hasn't seen any broken locks. He is a very small guy who changes in a stall for gym and won't use a urinal.

OP, did you talk to anyone about this? There must be something else going on with your son.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, get your son a roll of duct tape so he can tape the door closed. Solutions, people.

And we can get a new mayor and ward council member who will "give a crap" and sweat the small stuff like routine school maintenance. Solutions people!

Well, we TOTALLY need a new mayor, but I don't know that continually repairing vandalized stalls is worthwhile, and its sends the little shits (sorry-- "young men") the wrong message. I think that if they can't take care of their facilities, they simply can't have nice things. That's it. Maybe repairs at the beginning of each school year, and then if you break it, tough. Probably should be some allowance for actual no-fault malfunction, but certainly not for vandalism.

Of course, not all the boys are vandals, but without excessive surveillance in a place that calls for privacy (at least from adult eyes and cameras), it's not possible to determine exactly who is at fault. I suppose I imagine OOB kids too, but that prejudice doesn't really stand up to scrutiny.

I'll bet it's the OOB kids.

Anonymous wrote:Op, get your son a roll of duct tape so he can tape the door closed. Solutions, people.

And we can get a new mayor and ward council member who will "give a crap" and sweat the small stuff like routine school maintenance. Solutions people!

Anonymous wrote:Are you people for real? There should be locks on doors and the maintaining of nice, renovated faciilties. If a child is caught vandalizing, they should be suspended. That is natual consequences. -Don't have a child at Deal. I have one at another school, where a few years ago when the bathroom nonsense started the children had to get a key from the teacher for a while. Pain for everyone, but the bathroom nonsense was not tolerated.

Unless you have a staff member who can be stationed outside bathrooms and check it on a regular basis it is pretty hard to catch children in the act of vandalizing a bathroom. In a crowded school like Deal it's extra hard.

Anonymous wrote:No doors and no locks are two different situations. It is hard for me to believe that the boys bathroom are more vandalized than the girls. Really an overall sad case.

This is February and all of sudden this eas discovered and discussed. Hogwash, the choice between buying books or bathroom locks is pretty evident. I guess someone doesn't give a shit.

+1. I am a different pp who commented on not really caring that some of the doors in my teachers bathroom do not have functioning locks. For me, the doors do close and remain closed (and only adults are in that bathroom, thus no issue of privacy). I am just commenting that MANY, many children make it through their school years with less than adequate facilities. And I think I the bathrooms are clean and there is toilet paper and paper towels and soap, that is enough for me. Because sometimes there is not that.

Op, get your son a roll of duct tape so he can tape the door closed. Solutions, people.

Anonymous wrote:No doors and no locks are two different situations. It is hard for me to believe that the boys bathroom are more vandalized than the girls. Really an overall sad case.

This is February and all of sudden this eas discovered and discussed. Hogwash, the choice between buying books or bathroom locks is pretty evident. I guess someone doesn't give a shit.

You're kidding, right?

For what it's worth, my Deal seventh-grader says the bathrooms he uses have locks.

There should be money in a school system for books and locks. Mayor Grey should use the tax surplus for schools, schools, schools and take DC into the 21st c. Not spend it all on 'affordable housing' for people who can then send their kids to substandard schools.

No doors and no locks are two different situations. It is hard for me to believe that the boys bathroom are more vandalized than the girls. Really an overall sad case.

This is February and all of sudden this eas discovered and discussed. Hogwash, the choice between buying books or bathroom locks is pretty evident. I guess someone doesn't give a shit.

Are you people for real? There should be locks on doors and the maintaining of nice, renovated faciilties. If a child is caught vandalizing, they should be suspended. That is natual consequences. -Don't have a child at Deal. I have one at another school, where a few years ago when the bathroom nonsense started the children had to get a key from the teacher for a while. Pain for everyone, but the bathroom nonsense was not tolerated.

Really OP? An 11 year old? He couldn't figure out how to get a bathroom pass during class when the bathrooms are empty? That is what my non- resourceful 6th grade boy told me he does. Or he goes with a friend who stands outside.

Did he go to the office and ask for help? Anything? Have you gone to the office?

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in (great) public schools- not in DC- and this was always common. I now teach at a public school and the teacher s bathroom has multiple stalls that don't lock. There is a wad of toilet paper positioned just so which does a remarkable job.

It is not even something I am upset about. It is such a minor part of the day.

OP, here. Really? It's a minor part of the day for an adult, I guess. For my 11 DS it forces him to shit his pants...so, kind of a big part of his day.