So was it gender inferiority our failure to recognize academic needs? Whatever. This whole thing says more about parents' issues than MV.

Just out of morbid curiosity, where are these people from? Did they really think it was a good idea to disrupt the entire class of first graders after just a few weeks?

How embarassing. Apparently the protesting parents have no shame. I feel sorry for their kids. It's sounds like the parents almost want to create something to protest over. Maybe they should try reality TV.

For the rest of the parents, I agree "good riddance" is probably the best

MV parent here,

I also wanted to add that MV is one of the most peaceful orientated schools in DC - they are focused on saving the world, environmentally speaking.

The adminstrative staff and teachers are kind, caring and devoted! I feel very sad that MV has taken this bashing when not all of the caring, devoted, wonderful, fabulous members of the MV family/staff are involved.

Like the previous poster mentioned, the principal of the school, the director of the school and many board members of the school have children at MV - there's no way that they would want one child to harm another child at MV. MV can't chose which children attend MV - the other child involved in these problems most likely has issues which must be addressed, also. I am confident that the MV adminstratative staff - including the school psychologist, who is ever present not only to greet everyone EVERY DAY, but also joins in the classrooms regularly - has been very active to find a peaceful resolution for families involved. The family of the child at issue wanted to their daughter to be transferred into another class and that was their stalemate. This appeared to more of the issues - transferring their daughter.

The former MV family, also, in my opinion, threatened legal ramifications in the emails that they sent to the MV community - they wrote that their lawyer friend indicated they should seek legal channels, but that they would not chose this route.

In MV - the first graders are the "BIG KIDS." I can't imagine that a first grader is cognizant that his or her behaviour is capable of causing intimidation on a systemic basis. The email that I read from the MV adminstrative teams makes me fully confident that they were working with the family to try to resolve this confrontation between the two children. This same email from the MV admin team mentioned that they were fully prepared to continue working with the family to resolve the issues. The MV families, also - I am confident - would have helped this family, but they just left the school.

20:17, I don't know who you are, although I'm sure we have met as I too am a MV parent, and I want to say that I completely agree and I thank you for being part of the reason that this school is so great for our family.

MV Parent Here,

When we arrived to school the Friday before Christmas (last day before the winter break) we were very surprised to see a MV Mom, MV Dad and MV First Grade child (now former MV family) in front of our school with signs around their necks. The former MV child had a sign around her neck which read "MV does not listen to children." The Mom and Dad had other signs around their necks regarding bullying - I'm not exactly sure what the signs said, but it was something like - "I was bullyied at MV" - for example. We had not received any prior information on this family. When I later on that day checked my email, the mother had in fact sent everyone at MV an email about their family's experience in the past 2 and half months - which provided many details between her daughter and the child at MV.

I was shocked to find that parents would find it appropriate to take their children to the school with a sign around her neck. I heard another family's child say, "Why is she out in front of our school?" This family was way out of line with protesting before our school before even engaging with other families. It was an insult and it was embarrassing for the other Mundo Verde staff members, who have no involvement with this situation to say that MV does not listen to children. There are many children that can clearly read these signs and after the shooting massacre the prior Friday, they should not have done this.

MV administration team is great - the school pyschologist greets the children just about each and every day with a great smile and welcoming "Buenos Dias" and/or "Good Morning." The principal and director both have children at the school. I can't imagine that they did nothing about this. After many emails on the MV listserv floated around, the adminstration sent an email to all of the families.

Mundo Verde incorporates "Peace Tables" in the classrooms. MV is a great school and peaceful place. I think this is very infortunate that a family would result in protesting in front of the school - just prior to the school's winter break and the coming of Christmas - a time when many MV familes reflect on peace, religion (for many) and the tragedy that occurred in Connecticut.

(writing this on train to Chicago, so excse the typos, etc.)

MV Parent here. Having moved to MV from another school where implementation of discipline/bullying policy was really an issue, I have nothing but praise for MV's policies and implementation. The school psychologist does an excellent job and administration has generally seemed very involved on these issues. I have no doubt however, that this situation might have caused some confusion in how to respond -- there is more than one child involved, teachers, class size concerns, privacy, lots of stuff that would have been hard for any school. Our prior charter school would not have moved a child between classes mid-year either, so it is not like MV's policies are radically different.

One thing that I will note is that despite these parents posting about their issues on the parent listserve, the list serve did not disintegrate into name calling, racial innuendo, or other ugliness that I have seen on list serves at two other schools we have been a part of. MV parents get kudos for being decent human beings both to the upset parents and to the administration.

Good point. In the situation above, charters were not involved. Technically, it seems logical that the family should go back to their neighborhood school but this is dcps where logic does not always prevail.

Anonymous wrote:I know it was already asked but does anyone have an idea of where this family will be after the New Year?

I have heard of families getting an "emergency placement" to really great schools for all kinds of (not so true) reasons. Last year, I witnessed a child from one school get an "emergency placement" from dcps to a jklmm school with completely fabricated bullying stories. Administrators knew that the accusations were 100% lies but just allowed the family to take advantage of policies to get where they wanted.

Just make a lot of noise and pick your school.

but in this situation it is a child at a charter school. I do not think DCPS will bend over backwards to get them placement. (I might be wrong). I would assume they would need to start at their neighborhood school.

I do think it's a bit naive to think that bullying doesn't happen with kids - of course it does, every class, every school! Hopefully schools all around DC are helping kids and their parents deal with it and don't try to sweep it away. However I don't think protesting outside their own school will help a child who is already being bullied, nor could it really be the child's own choice to do so...without a lot of influence from parents

it woul be helpful to read the e-mail they sent to the parents (with no names if there are any). without even a basic description of what they said happened, it is very difficult to judge. portesting outside of the school sounds extreme, especially if you have already decided to leave, but without the (even alleged) facts it is difficult to have an idea of who is right. I assume the school cannot say anything for privacy reasons.

I know it was already asked but does anyone have an idea of where this family will be after the New Year?

I have heard of families getting an "emergency placement" to really great schools for all kinds of (not so true) reasons. Last year, I witnessed a child from one school get an "emergency placement" from dcps to a jklmm school with completely fabricated bullying stories. Administrators knew that the accusations were 100% lies but just allowed the family to take advantage of policies to get where they wanted.

Just make a lot of noise and pick your school.

Anonymous wrote:gender inferiority by first graders? so in other words someone said girls are icky or boys are smelly?? HELICOPTER parents!!!!

Lol! Thanks for the laugh

gender inferiority by first graders? so in other words someone said girls are icky or boys are smelly?? HELICOPTER parents!!!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am so happy these people left!

I can see not wanting to be around people who make big fusses in public. But I can also see not wanting to attejd a school whose parents celebrate when a child who was having trouble leaves.

Oh, I'm not celebrating the child leaving at all. I'm celebrating the parents leaving. The warmth of the parent body at this school is amazing, and it is completely incongruous that these people publicly maligned the school and then gave the parents less than 24 hours to help them. It just isn't fair to the rest of the families there. The outpouring of support was huge, and I'm sure that this could have been resolved with an opportunity. Instead, they are essentially publicly wishing a school to close that so many others care about without even giving the community the chance to respond to their plea. It is disingenuous and destructive.

Anonymous wrote:I am so happy these people left!

I can see not wanting to be around people who make big fusses in public. But I can also see not wanting to attejd a school whose parents celebrate when a child who was having trouble leaves.