Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Folks are so quick to blame MCPS for shuffling around kids that have problems. There’s no other solution. They can’t build more alternative schools to stick the kids who don’t want to “do school” because the schools end up being failing schools which don’t meet the requirements of the public schools to provide a free and fair public education. Kids that used to drop out at 16 can’t since the age of mandatory attendance was raised to 18 around 2015. As a society we have no actual plan to support children 11-17 who need real support to overcome trauma / poverty / learning disabilities and become productive citizens. We just hope that we can use the schools to contain kids until they grow up.Shuffling the trouble makers around used to separate them from other kids and reduce poor behaviors, but now with cells phones and easy transportation, they easily stay in contact with each other.

This.

I am a special educator at a large MCPS HS.

You nailed it here.

I'm sure a lot of you would be surprised to hear the nitty-gritty details of the cases we work on for kids who attend school right alongside your sweet little angels.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Folks are so quick to blame MCPS for shuffling around kids that have problems. There’s no other solution. They can’t build more alternative schools to stick the kids who don’t want to “do school” because the schools end up being failing schools which don’t meet the requirements of the public schools to provide a free and fair public education. Kids that used to drop out at 16 can’t since the age of mandatory attendance was raised to 18 around 2015. As a society we have no actual plan to support children 11-17 who need real support to overcome trauma / poverty / learning disabilities and become productive citizens. We just hope that we can use the schools to contain kids until they grow up. Shuffling the trouble makers around used to separate them from other kids and reduce poor behaviors, but now with cells phones and easy transportation, they easily stay in contact with each other.

I think you are mostly right but let's clarify that the call isn't for alternative programs for kids who "don't want to do school."

It is for programs to meet the legal requirement to educate kids who have committed crimes, and not to mainstream those kids back into regular high schools so they can rape their classmates four months later.

The context for this thread was kids who commit crimes. Not all kids who don’t want to do school commit crimes, but almost all kids who commit crime aren’t interested in school (based on the grades of HS students that go through our school who get into trouble.)

There used to be schools for kids like this, but they got shut down under No Child Left Behind around 2005-07 timeframe because according to the data, these were failing schools because the kids couldn’t read/do math. It didn’t matter that the educational opportunity was there, the outcomes weren’t acceptable.

Again, as a society we don’t have a good solution for this. What I think children like this need are special boarding schools in remote areas that address mental and physical health, education, and vocational training. Put them in construction trade training while repairing homes for the elderly in Western Maryland. Have them help with parks services clearing invasive species, building rain gardens, planting trees, cleaning waterways. Get them into pre-apprenticeships learning electrical grid/solar farm/wind farm work. Teach them household skills such as cooking and cleaning while they help to maintain their group home. Pay for enough qualified adults to do this work with these kids. These type of programs are expensive up front, but they save society money down the road in reduced crime, legal system costs and running prisons.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Folks are so quick to blame MCPS for shuffling around kids that have problems. There’s no other solution. They can’t build more alternative schools to stick the kids who don’t want to “do school” because the schools end up being failing schools which don’t meet the requirements of the public schools to provide a free and fair public education. Kids that used to drop out at 16 can’t since the age of mandatory attendance was raised to 18 around 2015. As a society we have no actual plan to support children 11-17 who need real support to overcome trauma / poverty / learning disabilities and become productive citizens. We just hope that we can use the schools to contain kids until they grow up. Shuffling the trouble makers around used to separate them from other kids and reduce poor behaviors, but now with cells phones and easy transportation, they easily stay in contact with each other.

I think you are mostly right but let's clarify that the call isn't for alternative programs for kids who "don't want to do school."

It is for programs to meet the legal requirement to educate kids who have committed crimes, and not to mainstream those kids back into regular high schools so they can rape their classmates four months later.

Anonymous wrote:Folks are so quick to blame MCPS for shuffling around kids that have problems. There’s no other solution. They can’t build more alternative schools to stick the kids who don’t want to “do school” because the schools end up being failing schools which don’t meet the requirements of the public schools to provide a free and fair public education. Kids that used to drop out at 16 can’t since the age of mandatory attendance was raised to 18 around 2015. As a society we have no actual plan to support children 11-17 who need real support to overcome trauma / poverty / learning disabilities and become productive citizens. We just hope that we can use the schools to contain kids until they grow up.Shuffling the trouble makers around used to separate them from other kids and reduce poor behaviors, but now with cells phones and easy transportation, they easily stay in contact with each other.

Anonymous wrote:Folks are so quick to blame MCPS for shuffling around kids that have problems. There’s no other solution. They can’t build more alternative schools to stick the kids who don’t want to “do school” because the schools end up being failing schools which don’t meet the requirements of the public schools to provide a free and fair public education. Kids that used to drop out at 16 can’t since the age of mandatory attendance was raised to 18 around 2015. As a society we have no actual plan to support children 11-17 who need real support to overcome trauma / poverty / learning disabilities and become productive citizens. We just hope that we can use the schools to contain kids until they grow up. Shuffling the trouble makers around used to separate them from other kids and reduce poor behaviors, but now with cells phones and easy transportation, they easily stay in contact with each other.

Anonymous wrote:Folks are so quick to blame MCPS for shuffling around kids that have problems. There’s no other solution. They can’t build more alternative schools to stick the kids who don’t want to “do school” because the schools end up being failing schools which don’t meet the requirements of the public schools to provide a free and fair public education. Kids that used to drop out at 16 can’t since the age of mandatory attendance was raised to 18 around 2015. As a society we have no actual plan to support children 11-17 who need real support to overcome trauma / poverty / learning disabilities and become productive citizens. We just hope that we can use the schools to contain kids until they grow up. Shuffling the trouble makers around used to separate them from other kids and reduce poor behaviors, but now with cells phones and easy transportation, they easily stay in contact with each other.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you trying to create controversy when there isn't any?

There were no issues with the student while the child was at Poolesville.

The student did well at Ewing so they transitioned back to a regular school program. I have no knowledge of what happened at Clarksburg but some kids are going through a lot and obviously this child needed help at that time.

The alleged criminal activity was something that could have happened before they were placed at Poolesville and had nothing to do with the school.

This seems like a standard part of being part of being in public school and as a Poolesville parent I do not have concerns about how this was handled other than the principal revealing too much information about the student so that busybody parents like you could have ammunition to gossip about the child.

Students getting arrested in school for criminal behavior is NOT “a standard part of being in public school.” The fact that you believe that and want to normalize that is a serious problem.

The principal’s letter is actually a model for other MCPS principals on how to provide specifics, defuse gossip and rumors and stick to the facts. Other principals need to take note.

Completely disagree. The discretion shown by the BCC principal is how these types of incidents should be handled. It is none of your business why certain students transfer and where they transferred from.

Strongly disagree with you and MCPS on this. Not faulting the BCC leadership, who is between a rock and a hard place. Although I do believe Dr Mooney is in over his head. ALL Principals are ill equipped to deal with student safety in a humane way, given lack of resources. That’s why a lot of them are leaving. The much respected WJ Principal left *mid year*! None of this is normal! They cannot do their jobs, and ensure the safety and basic comfort of students, without more security and the power to ban violent offenders.

In my Bethesda neighborhood, families left in droves over virtual learning. The ones that stayed are livid over safety concerns. The situation is not good, despite the fact that instruction is still very good because great teachers haven’t left.

Anonymous wrote:The transfer of students among various MS and HS. One of the outcomes of a county-wide school district. What if the Clarksburg cluster was a school district and Poolesville was a neighboring school district, each with its own board of ed...you probably don't see students (and teachers and admins for that matter) being shifted around.

Anonymous wrote:If you look in the daily arrest log a juvenile in Clarksburg was arrested for first degree rape on Valentine’s Day. That matches up with what is being said.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like it's been handled. Kid had a warrant for his arrest, warrant was served, kid was arrested without issue. Where is the scandal?

15:07 outlined the alternative placement process

Agree—although it doesn’t make me feel too comfortable about who might be in class alongside my kids, I wouldn’t say it rises to the level of “scandal.”i

My only question would be whether there were any consequences for the student showing up at Clarksburg, necessitating the shelter-in-place. I know they probably can’t release details, but you’d think they would at least include something vague about it being dealt with according to established procedures.

Is it legally considered trespassing for a student to show up at a different high school during school hours, presumably without permission from the school’s administration?

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda-Chevy Chase parent here. According to rumors (because the school doesn't want to share), the students who were involved in a fight that injured the Principal and head of security were a transfer from another high school, and one with a ankle monitor. BCC parents have been up in arms over the safety issues at the school. It started with the assault of WJ students after a game in the fall. Then there was an armed carjacking of a vehicle in Silver Spring, driven all the way to the BCC campus. Then the fight that injured the Principal. There has been an uptick in vaping and drug use at BCC, which has led to bathrooms being closed at lunchtime, which is a nightmare for kids who actually need to go, because there are long lines for the few bathrooms that are kept open. Magical for anyone on their period or people with digestive issues.

So yes. Your Poolesville thing seems par for the course for the state of MCPS today.

Montgomery County needs to build more alternative schools to permanently educate violent youths, instead of sending them back to their home schools. Staff and students in regular schools need to feel safe coming in every day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bethesda-Chevy Chase parent here. According to rumors (because the school doesn't want to share), the students who were involved in a fight that injured the Principal and head of security were a transfer from another high school, and one with a ankle monitor. BCC parents have been up in arms over the safety issues at the school. It started with the assault of WJ students after a game in the fall. Then there was an armed carjacking of a vehicle in Silver Spring, driven all the way to the BCC campus. Then the fight that injured the Principal. There has been an uptick in vaping and drug use at BCC, which has led to bathrooms being closed at lunchtime, which is a nightmare for kids who actually need to go, because there are long lines for the few bathrooms that are kept open. Magical for anyone on their period or people with digestive issues.

So yes. Your Poolesville thing seems par for the course for the state of MCPS today.

Montgomery County needs to build more alternative schools to permanently educate violent youths, instead of sending them back to their home schools. Staff and students in regular schools need to feel safe coming in every day.

Building more alternative schools sounds good, but then you have to staff them. My brother taught at an alternative school for a year and said some of his students were scary.

It’s understood that a school for violent kids won’t be run on the same lines as the normal ones. What they get is juvie with a degree.

I taught at an alternative school in Maryland in a nearby county. There are typically a lot of therapists on staff and it is easy to get a student removed who is disrupting. However it is important to understand that most of the students sent to these facilities have multiple major problems in life. They have been “thrown away” repeatedly. They typically have have a mix of major trauma, often have learning disabilities, poverty, drugs or issues, family abuse, etc. They need a lot of support to be successful. However it is not a jail or “juvy”. It is important for them to understand that it is a second chance. In my opinion though, most of the kids would be fine if they had a one on one or shadow adult at their home school. The actions leading to arrests that people are talking about here are usually happening out of school and outside the school day.

Anonymous wrote:Impressed at the professionalism of the principals.

Staffing is absolutely impossible at the moment, all around the country. There are simply too many kids and the standard is too high. Having SROs might help. But really it needs to be revamped.