No One in Charge: Shocking Lack of Supervision in Maryland High School Broomstick Rape Case

From The Daily Beast, by reporter Barbie Latza Nadeau.  Full story here.

School officials admitted that Damascus’ locker room was unsupervised when 14- and 15-year-old boys were allegedly raped by their peers with a broomstick handle.

There were no adults supervising when teenage boys were allegedly raped with a broomstick handle at a Maryland school last year, education officials have admitted. The Washington Post reports that Damascus High School in Montgomery County also confirmed the athletic director and junior varsity football coach have been fired.

The horrific incident occurred Oct. 31, 2018, when, during a 25-minute window in which the adult supervisor was not in the football team’s locker room, four boys between the ages of 14 and 15 were allegedly violated with a broomstick by six boys in the same age range. The attack led to criminal charges of rape and attempted rape against the six alleged perpetrators.

and...

Initially, the incident was reported as a hazing ritual carried out on new team members. A similar incident occurred in 2017 in a Texas town where boys were sodomized with broomsticks, baseball bats, and carbon-dioxide tanks over a three-year period, during which none of the boys spoke out. In the Texas case, a victim finally reported it to police, which led to the indictment of 13 high-school boys. One of the boys had been sodomized more than 30 times, according to police reports.

MCPS concludes investigation into Damascus High School locker room rape case

http://www.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/mcps-concludes-investigation-into-damascus-high-school-locker-room-rape-case

Happy Mother's Day

A very happy Mother's Day to all our moms, supportive, fierce and wonderful. Thanks for all of it. Best wishes to all the mothers who work so hard for their children every day.

Damascus principal struck deal to resign, retain $160K salary in MCPS office job

By Neil Augustine, For full story go here. Yellow highlight my own.

When Casey Crouse resigned Tuesday as principal of Damascus High School amid the investigation into alleged rapes in the football locker room, she didn’t know what her job would be, but she knew she would maintain her $160,763 salary.

Crouse has taken a job in the Montgomery County Public Schools central office as “administrator on special assignment,” school spokesman Derek Turner said Friday.

Asked whether the position were permanent, Turner said, “This is the position she is going to be in for now, and she’s always welcome to apply for other positions.”

Montgomery County Taxpayers League Summit June 10th

Ed Amatetti, Montgomery County Taxpayers League (MCTL)

 

I ask for your Valued Participation at MCTL’s Planning Summit
Monday, June 10th, 2019, beginning at 6:45pm
Rockville Library (Town Center), 21 Maryland Ave, Rockville, MD 20850. 

 

PLEASE RSVP so we have a count. We hope to fill the room for the Summit.

 

Thank you for your friendship and support for my recent campaign for Montgomery Cty. Council. At our November celebration following a well-fought campaign, we were unreserved and clear in our commitment to work together through other means to bring about a better Montgomery County.I have since kept your enthusiastic sentiments in my thoughts, and now hope I can look forward to joining forces with you so we can follow through on our goals.

I’ve been involved with the Montgomery County Taxpayers League for quite some time, and I realize that MCTL is in a unique position to serve as a conduit for achieving our shared goals. I want you to realize this as well. For years, MCTL has proven to be informed, muscular advocates with great successes under our belt – and we want to do more! Accordingly, we are looking to greatly expand our reach and activities by increasing the number of people smart, sensible, civics-minded people – like you – who work with us.  

With all this in mind, I am reaching out to you.  I hope you can participate in the June 10th MCTL Summit.  PLEASE RSVP.History is clear that the best way for citizens to assert themselves is in a unified, non-partisan, and deliberate fashion. We can strongly influence our county’s policies if we marshal ourselves.

SO LET’S DO THIS!  We can have an “ear to the ground,” and even a “seat at the table,” as each year’s county budget is developed -- play an integral role in making our schools world class, crushing the achievement gap, and multiplying magnet programs -- help create a flourishing private sector that creates jobs as fast as our neighbors --- take steps to make our county more affordable -- find workable solutions to our transportation problems and environmental goals.

A Little About the Montgomery County Taxpayers League.

MCTL has been around for a long time (since 1975) advocating on behalf of county taxpayers and residents for accountable, effective, and efficient government. MCTL has built a reputation for integrity, fairness, competency, and hard research & analysis. We have good, smart people on both sides of the aisle, and have worthwhile achievements under our belts through cogent analyses, frequent testimony, bringing cases to regulators, getting legislation passed in Annapolis, and other activities. MCTL seems to have struck a happy balance between having a working relationship with county/elected officials, while remaining 100% independent and a real “thorn in their sides” when necessary. We also have productive associations with civics groups and wish to expand upon this.Please try to attend the June 10th MCTL Planning Summit, or ask someone else to attend in your stead. Once again, thank you so much for your friendship and for making my recent campaign so rewarding.

With Kindest Regards

Ed

MCPS Shows Significant Increase in Reported Hate Incidents Since 2014

ICYMI: @mcps data shows significant increase in reported #hate incidents since 2014. @PCMC1 @MontgomeryCoMD data here:  https://t.co/8EPyO46d6j @fox5dc

— Melanie Alnwick (@fox5melanie) April 30, 2019

Who Gets Special Education Services? It Depends on Where You Live, GAO Report Finds

About 13 percent of the nation's public school students—close to 7 million children and youth ages 3 to 21—receive special education services through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

But that overall percentage masks dramatic variability at the state level, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office, a congressional watchdog agency.

The identification rates for students ages 6-21 ranged from 6.4 percent in Hawaii to 15.1 percent in Puerto Rico in fall 2016, the report said. (The highest identification rate in a state that year was Maine, at 12.3 percent.) For children ages 3 to 5, the identification rate in fall 2016 ranged from 3.9 percent in Texas to 14.6 percent in Wyoming.

The process of identifying public school students for special education eligibility is called "child find," and is mandatory under the IDEA. But states have some flexibility to decide what "counts" as a disability.

The GAO started to dig into the question of special education identification in the wake of news articles in 2016 showing that Texas suppressed the number of students identified with disabilities. The federal office of special education programs is currently monitoring Texas as it takes corrective action. 

But states are permitted to have their own criteria under the law. As an example, the GAO report called out the special education category called "developmental disability," which can be used for children from birth to age 9. Maryland states that a child must have at least a 25 percent delay in one or more areas to be eligible for early-intervention services. Examples of developmental areas are social skills, fine or gross motor skills, or language skills. In Arizona, a child needs to demonstrate a 50 percent delay in one or more developmental areas in order to receive early intervention...

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/speced/2019/04/special_education_identification_varies_by_state.html?fbclid=IwAR25qsigS9WPYkQpCasCR9XX1YIsCVdUK7A13OY4kRrnC_ZvATHATzsjTts

Montgomery County Taxpayers League Meeting June 12, 7-9 PM

Damascus athletic director placed on leave as investigation into hazing rape continues

DAMASCUS, Md. (ABC7) — The athletic director at Damascus High School has been placed on administrative leave, as part of an ongoing investigation into a Halloween 2018 hazing incident that led to criminal rape charges against five junior varsity football players...

https://wjla.com/news/local/damascus-athletic-director-placed-on-leave-following-principals-resignation

@ABC7Kevin BREAKING: Damascus High School Principal Casey Crouse announces resignation from her post.

BREAKING: Damascus High School Principal Casey Crouse announces resignation from her post.

“This decision has been extremely difficult for me and one that I did not take lightly,” Crouse wrote, citing the Oct. 31, broomstick sexual assaults as the primary factor.

Full letter👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/cQ2tKchEin

— Kevin Lewis (@ABC7Kevin) May 7, 2019

This is a new security checkpoint at Einstein HS in Kensington, MD. The school added it because a lot of the students were ordering food delivery every day at lunch. UberEats, DoorDash, etc. @MCPS discourages food delivery to closed campuses for safety reasons @nbcwashington

This is a new security checkpoint at Einstein HS in Kensington, MD. The school added it because a lot of the students were ordering food delivery every day at lunch. UberEats, DoorDash, etc. @MCPS discourages food delivery to closed campuses for safety reasons @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/mDO9MucT5z

— Drew Wilder (@DrewWilderTV) April 30, 2019

Playing in poison? 7 On Your Side discovers dangerous lead levels at a local playground

A local elementary school playground saturated with lead. 7 On Your Side uncovers why lead levels are dangerously high, what's being done to fix the problem, and whether other area school children are playing in poison. Monday at 6 p.m. on ABC7 News.

https://wjla.com/features/7-on-your-side/dangerous-lead-levels-dc-playground

Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood Screen Free Week April 29 - May 5 2019

https://www.screenfree.org/

Mystery Instagram account comically documents cockroach sightings at Damascus High School

DAMASCUS, Md. (ABC7) — Most people use Instagram to showcase life's luxuries with the assistance of flattering filters and catchy hashtags... sunsets, European vacations, sandy beaches and fine dining dinners.

However, students and staff members at Damascus High School are finding comic relief in an anonymous Instagram account making light of the fact that cockroaches keep crawling into classrooms, hallways and bathrooms.

The account — aptly named "cockroaches of dhs" — first launched in November 2017. Since then it has shared 63 posts of the ugly, disease carrying critters, and has a following of nearly 350 people...

...Despite 63 posts over the last 18 months, Montgomery County Public Schools claims there is nothing special or unique about the cockroach sightings within the walls of Damascus.

"There is no significant issue with cockroaches at Damascus High School," MCPS spokesman Derek Turner said in an email to ABC7 Friday. "As with all older buildings, pests do appear from time to time, but they are quickly addressed."

Turner did not share what tools and tactics MCPS has used to combat the persistent insects. He also did not comment on rules dictating the consumption of food and drink on school property...

https://wjla.com/news/local/instagram-cockroaches-damascus-high-school

Stop giving your kid your smartphone. World Health Organization releases first-ever screen time guidelines

The World Health Organization has issued its first-ever guidance for how much screen time children under 5 should get: not very much, and none at all for those under 1.

The U.N. health agency said Wednesday that kids under 5 should not spend more than one hour watching screens every day — and that less is better...

https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/ct-hlth-baby-kid-screen-time-recommendations-20190424-story.html

Montgomery County bans new housing developments due to school overcrowding

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/maryland/montgomery-county-bans-new-housing-developments-due-to-school-overcrowding/65-bea4b904-5131-4b17-8ed0-f0845461a06b?fbclid=IwAR3_GBlf0BqnoQGCtVJYgBvdlIbKD09ZC6p8HqTJl0ih8twfNDzOOAZDS9c

U.S. officials probe alleged discrimination against Asian American students in MCPS @MCPS @mocoboe

April 21 at 5:04 PM

Federal officials are investigating allegations of discrimination against Asian American students in a suburban school system in Maryland where parents have complained that race was unlawfully used as a factor in magnet program admissions.

The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights notified families it had taken up the case in March, months after a spate of complaints was filed against Montgomery County school officials.

Parent leaders involved in the action allege that the school system — the state’s largest — discriminated against Asian American students while seeking greater racial balance in two sought-after middle school magnet programs.

They say the number of Asian American students invited into the programs fell 23 percent from 2016 to 2017, amid a wave of attention to diversity issues, and then dropped by 20 percent the next year after a new screening and selection process took effect.

Federal officials received 10 complaints raising similar concerns, which have been incorporated into one case, federal officials said in letters to parents...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/us-officials-probe-alleged-discrimination-against-asian-american-students-in-md/2019/04/21/67ecc77a-46a6-11e9-8aab-95b8d80a1e4f_story.html?utm_term=.a3cde1c63717

Learning must be our priority as educators and we need to take a hard look at our practices of removing barriers to ensure we aren’t making the common mistake of enabling students rather than supporting them. Wrap around services are critical but not when they wrap so tight that they squeeze out the educational part of the equation.

We Can’t Let Our Love For Our Students Morph Into Low Academic Expectations

By Jessica Waters

I remember the day like it was yesterday. The year was 2013 and I was in the oval office with President Obama to receive an award for excellence in teaching. I was there as the 2013 RI Teacher of the Year to represent the teachers in my state and to honor the hard work they do every day. I loved teaching. I loved my students and I was unwavering in my belief in their potential to achieve and do great things...


https://goodschoolhunting.org/2017/07/cant-let-love-students-morph-low-academic-expectations.html

'Signing Day' recognizes high school seniors starting jobs, not college

The familiar high school rituals take place every spring. Athletes sign letters of intent to play for college programs as their coaches beam with pride, the photographs splashed across social media. Other high school seniors wave college acceptance letters as their names are announced at school assemblies.

But one school system in Virginia wanted to celebrate a different life-changing moment for the seniors who were starting careers right after graduation. In Henrico County, public school administrators held a ceremony in late March called "Career and Technical Letter-of-Intent Signing Day."

"This is a celebration of students who are entering the workforce or post-secondary training with a plan," said Mac Beaton, director of Henrico Schools’ Department of Career and Technical Education, in a Facebook post. "They’ve chosen to maximize their high school opportunities for career training and industry certifications, with an eye on becoming successful and financially secure much earlier in life."..

https://www.mnn.com/money/green-workplace/stories/signing-day-recognizes-high-school-seniors-starting-jobs-not-college?fbclid=IwAR3pGr4dg38F3id7nShBY-qrHyx-OaitmzVo7NpTGiR5_SR8a13Cx2N4FNg

The Students Suing for a Constitutional Right to Education

A new federal complaint with a unique argument accuses the state of Rhode Island of failing to provide students with the skills they need to participate effectively in a democracy.

Nearly all of the world’s 180-plus countries include the term education in their constitution. Most guarantee every child the right to free education, and many make participation in some form of schooling mandatory; some even provideuniversal access to affordable college. For the remaining handful, the UN’s decades-old treaty on children’s rights, which stipulates various educational protections, serves as a backup, and has been ratified by pretty much every sovereign nation on the planet. Except for one.

That one country is the United States of America, a nation that prizes the idea that anyone should be able to build a better life through education and hard work. Activists have occasionally sought to address this constitutional omission through congressional legislation, grassroots campaigns, and federal litigation, but they’ve never succeeded. Of the few cases that have made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, not a single one has managed to secure a majority ruling in favor of an argument that there is an implied right to an education in the Constitution. Against this backdrop, federal litigation over educational rights has all but disappeared in the past half century. Meanwhile, the nation’s public schools continue to vary significantly in funding, quality, and academic and social outcomes...

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/11/lawsuit-constitutional-right-education/576901/