Anonymous wrote:The students who jumped the victim are reportedly students at Whitman. They are not from the area originally. They live together in a state-sponsored program for juvenile offenders in the neighborhood.
Anonymous wrote:MCPS and needs to open a school like Mark Twain for kids with behavioral/emotional issues that can be staffed appropriately. I have not ever heard this pushed at BOE meetings when people come to testify. I know schools with special ed programs also have issues with sped students’ outbursts disrupting classes when they enter hallways or try to leave schools. And, kids with special needs also disrupt classes with outbursts. MCPS needs to prioritize meeting the needs of these students while also preventing them from disrupting the leaning of other students. Kids with low English proficiency need programs to prioritize teaching them English while minimizing time spent in classes where they do not understand the language well enough to participate. Gifted kids need to have actually gifted programs. The idea that ‘one class fits all’ that has been so popular needs to be reexamined since it is doing a disservice to everyone. Sped students deserve well resourced programs that meet their needs. Kids with behavioral issues need programs that meet their needs and keep other kids safe. No one teacher can teach to the range of kids in their classrooms and it is an unfair ask that burns out teachers and lowers academic standards. I do not think this is an issue between political parties but one where people are not linking the issues. Some kids really do have needs that are not well served in the average class and adding these kids to the class means these kids do not get their needs met and potentially nor do the other students. I do not know the whole solution since clearly funding is needed but I wish we could have a real conversation about the disservice ‘one size fits all’ classes are doing to the community. Instead we are in weird culture wars where somehow parents think reading a non-sexual book that includes a trans character will adversely harm their own child versus parents who want teachers to include mental health instructions and wellness lessons although teachers are not trained in social work. I wish we could unify on advocating for public schools to address issues of how to best teach students of very diverse needs where all students are in classes that allow them to learn.
Anonymous wrote:Mcps has the gall to blame and fire the teachers for not doing good enough job with classroom MGMT when many times our hands are tied as we have no support to deal with the violence
Anonymous wrote:The school IMHO should be taking responsibility as well. The new Whitman principal recently replaced the head of security, with a different strategy. Previously, the head of security had the place under control. When the prior head of security arrived in 2021-2022 hallway fights and drug dealing and chaos were off the charts- ask any number of the former vice principals and counselors and staff members who left —the freshman class who are current seniors remember the difference- the recent change in security in this month changed the tone in the building alright- where the new principal might not have liked the previous head of security’s approach, I bet he wishes that Shawn Pierce was there today.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The students who jumped the victim are reportedly students at Whitman. They are not from the area originally. They live together in a state-sponsored program for juvenile offenders in the neighborhood.
Whitman parents trying to differentiate between "real" Whitman students and "fake" Whitman students are pathetic. They are all in the same school!
I think the issue here isn't that the students were in-boundary or out-of-boundary students, but that they were previous offenders. MCPS can't expel a student entirely. The students have a right to an education in an MCPS school as long as they are not in jail or prison. If they are in jail or prison, they have programs through that for education I believe. So, when a student is "expelled" from a school, MCPS just puts them into another school, allowing them to continue offending against a new group of victims.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:That’s not just assault, it’s battery, possibly aggravated battery and a felony. I’d call the cops and press charges if I were the parents.
This. I know a kid who got jumped at school recently. Parents threatened to go to the media if the principal didn't make a big deal about it. It worked. Parents also pressed charges and the kid who instigated it now has a record, can no longer participate in school sports throughout high school, and has to stay a certain number of feet away from the victim. The kids at school are aware of everything that has transpired - no one dares to mess with the victim.
It's good for parents who have the social capital to do this.
You don't need social capital, you need balls. You need the ability to write an email/make a call to the principal and demand answers. If no response , another email with a copy to the superintendent, and the BoE President stating that if you don't get a call back, you will contact the local news and share the video.