‘I’m praying they don’t come back’: ICE sighting panics Silver Spring elementary school community

After U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were spotted next to New Hampshire Estates Elementary School, panic spread.

It was close to drop-off time Monday morning, and word got around the school — which is 71% Hispanic — that undocumented parents should steer clear until ICE officers left. Montgomery County Police confirmed ICE’s presence at the school to The Banner. So did several parents and Montgomery County Council member Kristin Mink.

And Principal Bob Geiger Monday sent a letter to the school community about “unidentified law enforcement vehicles, possibly federal immigration enforcement officers” showing up to the school...

https://www.thebanner.com/community/local-news/ice-silver-spring-school-latino-FRDLGT2SXFBIDIGQG3JSJOXJGA/

Some Montgomery County schools have mold as 'chewing gum and duct tape' hold together HVAC systems

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Some Montgomery County public schools have grown mold over the summer due to high humidity and suboptimal HVAC systems, MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor said at a board meeting Wednesday. 

The district is remediating schools across the county and in a handful of spots, Taylor said. Goshen Elementary School, New Hampshire Estates Elementary School and Loiederman Middle School are three schools that were mentioned by name...

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/education/montgomery-county-schools-mold-hvac-systems/65-c091bd14-eaf0-4a44-8910-cfb6ba181b3f

Educators meet on goals for improving education of Black boys in Maryland schools

...There are 13 schools in Maryland that are piloting the recommendations contained in a task force report on educating Black boys, including Francis Scott Key Middle School and New Hampshire Estates Elementary School in Montgomery County, and Catherine T. Reed Elementary in Prince George’s County...

https://wtop.com/maryland/2022/08/educators-meet-on-goals-for-improving-education-of-black-boys-in-maryland-schools/

ABC7: Elementary school worker in Silver Spring arrested for child abuse

...Anthony Smith was an assistant building services manager at New Hampshire Estates Elementary School... 

http://wjla.com/news/crime/elementary-school-worker-in-silver-spring-arrested-for-child-abuse

Lawsuit alleges MCPS ignored blatant red flags, employed pedophile

http://wjla.com/news/local/lawsuit-alleges-mcps-ignored-blatant-red-flags-employed-pedophile

Judge: "If ever there was a case that calls out for the maximum sentence..." Judge give out first ever maximum sentence in MCPS teacher case.

Today, in Montgomery County Circuit Court, former MCPS elementary school music teacher Lawrence Joynes was sentenced to an additional 15 years in jail on a criminal charge that related to the child abuse of a MCPS magnet student at Eastern Middle School some 25 years ago.

In sentencing Joynes today, Judge Bair said that if ever there was a case that calls out for the maximum sentence, that was it.  The Judge went on to note that he was not sure that if in his career he had ever given out a maximum sentence.  

In August, Joynes was sentenced to 40 years in prison for crimes committed against MCPS kindergarten, first and second graders at New Hampshire Estates Elementary School.

Read all about this former MCPS teacher and his crimes against MCPS students at this link.   

Joynes manipulated a group of his favorite students, which he called his “lunch bunch,” to imitate sexually suggestive behavior — such as sucking on his or their fingers or on lollipops or sticks of candy — while he photographed and videotaped them.

Former Montgomery music teacher pleads guilty to sexually abusing children

A former Montgomery County music teacher who used photos and videos of 14 girls at New Hampsire Estates Elementary School in Silver Spring to fuel his sexual fantasies pleaded guilty to 14 counts of sex abuse of a minor on Monday.
Lawrence Wesley Joynes, 56, also pleaded guilty Monday in a second case to a charge encompassing multiple acts of child abuse, including second degree rape, involving one student who attended Eastern Middle School in Silver Spring in the early 1990s.
The pleas mean that Joynes, who is in the county jail in Boyds, will not go to trial as scheduled for the two cases on Monday and May 26, respectively.
The Gazette generally does not identify by name the victims of sex offenses.
Montgomery Circuit Court Judge Joseph M. Quirk accepted the guilty pleas in the case involving 14 girls and scheduled Joynes for sentencing on Aug. 28.
In the case of the middle school student, Circuit Court Judge Gary E. Bair accepted the plea and scheduled Joynes to be sentenced on Sept. 1.
Maximum sentences in both cases total a combined 113 years...

 http://www.gazette.net/article/20150512/NEWS/150519978/former-montgomery-music-teacher-pleads-guilty-to-sexually-abusing&template=gazette

SHIRLEY TO SHEBRA TO SHRUTI—PRINCIPLED BUS MARSHAL

by Frederick Stichnoth, 

February 10, 2014

            On Saturday, MCCPTA President Janette Gilman announced her appointment of Shruti Bhatnagar, Blair Cluster Coordinator, to succeed Shebra Evans as VP for Educational Issues. Shebra resigned to run for Shirley Brandman’s BOE at-large seat.              

Janette says that Shebra “was in many ways my right hand;” she took on lots of tasks; especially in a previous job where she put together “pertinent, informative, well-organized programs.” Shebra cites those programs as her qualification for the BOE: “In my previous role with the county PTA , I devised a series of programs that supported the academic, health, and social needs of our students and families. The speakers and panelists ranged from….”   http://www.shebraevans.com/index-2.html              

Shruti has been prepared for the VP position by various previous MCCPTA jobs. She’s the Annapolis Bus Marshall. I guess she’ll be getting people on the bus in the fervid community rally for State bond money.              

No need for bond money to finance the capital costs of unpairing Oak View and New Hampshire Estates, though. They won’t be unpaired. But that’s a bit of Shruti and MCCPTA handiwork too. Janette obliquely recognizes Shruti’s OVES/NHEES “leadership” role in her Saturday message: “For MCCPTA, Shruti has been an effective cluster coordinator; being effective, however, doesn’t always mean being universally loved. Shruti has taken principled, difficult stands at times in an effort to respect process, default to collaboration, and get fair and equitable results.”                   

Dr. Starr recognized Shruti’s work in his recommendation against unpairing: said that “The cluster coordinators [Shruti and Kathy Larin] urge MCPS to prioritize the potential academic consequences and the capital and disruption costs of unpairing the schools over the desires of parents for continuous pre-K–5 schools. They also raised concerns about the highly organized and strident advocacy of the PK5NSI community coalition and whether the members, many of whom do not have children in MCPS, have the best interest of all students at both schools in mind.” 

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/planning/NewHampshireEstatesOakView_FinalApprovedSupRecommendation10142013.pdf              

Unpairing was advocated by 600 petitioner signers, four civic associations, and the resolution (with 72 votes) of the NHEES/OVES PTA.              

Shruti took a “principled…stand,” but we don’t find the principle. She “respected process,” but not the petition, civic association, PTA process. She “defaulted to collaboration,” perhaps with Dr. Starr, but not with the people and PTAs we thought she represented. She condemns “the highly organized and aggressive advocacy of members of the Oak View community who do not have children in MCPS and in some cases have never had children in MCPS. It is not at all clear that these community members have the best interests of all of the students at both school in mind as they advocate for unpairing (Bhatnagar and Larin Evaluation 5; bold in orginal).”http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/planning/NewHampshireEstatesOakView_RoundtableReportFInal.pdf. It’s ironic that the MCCPTA machine and our Bus Marshal take offense at “highly organized” advocacy. It seems self-defeating to disparage community input when, if the community mattered, MCPS and MCCPTA would want community support for our schools, state funding of school construction, and County funding of the budget. The Bus Marshall puts MCCPTA on the bus but throws her community under it.  

MCPS music teacher Lawrence Joynes Plea Hearing: Images of children in music room had been photoshopped

Notes from the Baltimore County Circuit Court hearing on February 6, 2014, regarding MCPS music teacher Lawrence Joynes.

Lawrence Joynes shuffled into the Baltimore County courtroom with his head down. When asked for a response from the judge he spoke in a barely audible whisper.  Mr. Joynes stated for the record that he was 55 years old and had a post graduate education.  He said that he was on medication for depression and anxiety. When the judge stated that he was going to be sentenced for time served Mr. Joynes said, "thank you."  

The Baltimore County prosecutor detailed the charge against Mr. Joynes. Here is what the prosecutor had to say about the charges:

She stated that the discovery of the child pornography on Mr. Joynes home computer began with the arrest of Gerald Roberts in South Carolina. While investigating Mr. Robers' contacts federal investigators discovered an e-mail address that was traced back to Baltimore County and Lawrence Joynes.  Photographs of a child in a music classroom had been transmitted from the Baltimore County e-mail to Mr. Roberts in South Carolina.   

In photographs children were seen with a peppermint stick or a finger inserted into their mouths in a music classroom.  The photographs showed a tattooed arm. Detectives were able to trace that arm to Lawrence Joynes.  A warrant was issued and police arrived at Mr. Joynes' home.  As the police arrived, Mr. Joynes attempted to leave by the back door.   

Mr. Joynes told the police officers that he had been at New Hampshire Estates Elementary School for 10 years and that he had been a teacher for 27 years.
The prosecutor stated that detectives found images and a video on Mr. Joynes' home computer.  The video showed a child performing oral sex on an adult male.  The images showed clothed children in various stages of sexual poses.  Some of the images of children in a music classroom had been photoshopped to simulate the performance of oral sex. The video found on Mr. Joynes' computer qualified as child pornography and that was the charge that was the subject of today's plea deal in Baltimore County Circuit Court. 

The prosecutor stated that the State was asking for time served as the sentence for the one count of child pornography before the court today. The prosecutor stated that Montgomery County had begun their own investigation after Mr. Joynes' arrest and that Mr. Joynes was now charged with numerous counts in Montgomery County.  Montgomery Count could not proceed with their charges until Mr. Joynes was released from Baltimore County.  The prosecutor stated that upon his release from the Baltimore County charges Mr. Joynes "will not see streets" but will go directly to Montgomery County.   

Follow the Montgomery County proceedings regarding this MCPS teacher at this link.

Rape Charges Filed on MCPS Teacher: Principal Confronted Victim about Relationship with Joynes

The Parents' Coalition has obtained the Statement of Charges from the May 2, 2013, arrest of MCPS teacher Lawrence Joynes.  The Statement of Charges is reproduced below with information redacted.

Read the Statement of Charges and see if you think the Eastern Middle School principal's handling of this was in compliance with Maryland law.  Are children to be confronted when there are suspicions about teacher - student relationships, or do child protection laws call for an immediate investigation by Child Protective Services?

Lawrence Joynes was at 5 schools following these incidents at Eastern Middle School:

Eastern Middle School: 1990-1997
Francis Scott Key Middle School
Kemp Mill Elementary School
Cresthaven Elementary School
Sligo Creek Elementary School
New Hampshire Estates Elementary School 2002-2013 [Homeland Security investigation and arrest in Baltimore County]

Note that additional charges were filed as to Mr. Joynes in February and August of this year.  This document is just the Statement of Charges that was filed in the District Court of Rockville, Maryland on May 2, 2013.

  2013 May by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Would you put your child in a classroom where the teacher had these restrictions?

In Joynes’ case, according to court documents, the principal of New Hampshire Estates Elementary placed a variety of restrictions on him in November 2011, including “activities only in public areas, classroom door to remain open during instruction, stay off playground during recess, no sitting at the cafeteria with students, use of staff restrooms only, don’t be alone with any student in classroom, and no touching of students in any form.”

 http://www.gazette.net/article/20130911/NEWS/130919750/0/gazette&template=gazette