Gangs In MMS ??

Oh yippee. Oh happy day. Sunshine and happiness have returned to MOL. "goodjob" is back!

Good to know, thanks for posting.

goodjob said:

quite frankly, i dont want my kid to be killed in school.

meandtheboys said:
Oh yippee. Oh happy day. Sunshine and happiness have returned to MOL. "goodjob" is back!

Logic and good sense reign supreme once again.

Some of you folks are as much bullies as the some of the kids in school. If someone is anxious - even over the top anxious - it is not necessary to be nasty to them. Sheesh.

That's funny.

I mean this in all seriousness, without any snark or sarcasm. If a parent truly finds him or herself consumed with anxiety every day that a child will not come home alive from school in our district -- and that person is not engaging in purposeful hyperbole -- that parent might want to consider seeing a mental health professional. There is no rational reason a parent in our district should find themselves experiencing that kind of anxiety.

ice,

You are wrong. MMS student will never return to the district. CHS student can apply to be reinstated after one year. Aaron has the ultimate decision on that.

Edited to add: Sorry to sound terse/grumpy. Was just posting quickly before heading off to Planning Board. Sounds like we are agreed on what transpired. I just wanted to point out that my Village Green report was correct.

ml1 said:
I mean this in all seriousness, without any snark or sarcasm. If a parent truly finds him or herself consumed with anxiety every day that a child will not come home alive from school in our district -- and that person is not engaging in purposeful hyperbole -- that parent might want to consider seeing a mental health professional. There is no rational reason a parent in our district should find themselves experiencing that kind of anxiety.

First of all - we do not know if anyone is under the care of a therapist - some people who present with anxious concerns on this board may well be...

Secondly - there is nothing rational about anxiety - that's the problem with anxiety, it is completely irrational

marybarrmann said:
ice,
You are wrong. MMS student will never return to the district. CHS student can apply to be reinstated after one year. Aaron has the ultimate decision on that.

That was my understanding.

My next question would be is the district going to pay for OOD placement for the MMS student?

.

goodjob said:
a basic google image search will bring up plenty of Crip graffiti. thats like, the telltale sign of a gang isnt it? graffiti marks their territory.

Did you actually LOOK at any of the images that came up in that search. I mean, yes, they DO actually use the same letters from the alphabet, and they are put in the same order, but the similarities end there.

My guess is it was done by a kid who thought it would be funny, thought it might scare other kids, or is a wannabe. Maybe even some combination of those. MMS does have its issues (and it had issues 30 years ago when I went there) but I just don't buy that there are middle school crews in this town packing and working the corners. Let's concentrate on the real issues, discipline, fighting, sexual assault in the hallways, and not get sidetracked by imaginary gangs based off the scribbling of a pre-teen.

goodjob said:
a basic google image search will bring up plenty of Crip graffiti. thats like, the telltale sign of a gang isnt it? graffiti marks their territory.
there are gangs in all the towns surrounding us arent there? why is it so far-fetched that there are gangs in MMS? our town borders these places. you dont think it can happen? the admins may say there is not a gang problem, but these are the same admins that like to sweep groping students under the rug , and according to MANY mothers who spoke up last night , the admins are ignoring a lot of issues.
i think all the naysayers are in a state of denial. "no no no not in our precious schools" ...
if there is Crip graffiti in a bathroom they must be getting it from somewhere? family member? friend? neighbor? music? the fact that people are comparing grateful dead to Crip graffiti proves my point as to how clueless and in denial this town is .
why is everyone so quick to deny anything negative happening at these schools? did the meeting last night not prove anything? the schools are in disarray. the admins had NO answers for anything! when this simple question was asked:

"is the kid who brought the gun to MMS going to be able to attend CHS?"
they couldnt answer it. a basic question. a VERY important question. they are bureaucrats who care about soundbites. parents were booing at them! i wish we lived in a suburban rainbow utopia where we can all hold hands with all races and get along. if you went to the meeting last night (instead of complaining about me like a bunch of babies) you would have seen how much of a cluster-f the schools are. there were no answers given. the admins say there are no gangs- yet there is gang graffiti in the boys bathroom. something is fishy here. i smell a LOT of denial in our districts.

I am the parent who raised the groping issue and the schoolstaff lack of response. I also made the joke about the Grateful Dead. My family is personally dealing with these issues at MMS. I do not think I am clueless.

Middle school students are inherently knuckleheads. They say and do stupid things. They identify one day as one thing and the next another. They are kids.

There is not a gang problem in MMS, period. Getting hysterical about non issues takes away from the real issues...like groping.

meandtheboys said:
My next question would be is the district going to pay for OOD placement for the MMS student?

My guess would be yes. Legally the school district responsible for providing an education until the child turns 16 or legally moves out of the district, and paying for alternative education is better than returning the child to regular school.

meandtheboys said:
That's funny.

It wasn't meant to be - sometimes I am saddened by the lack of compassion, kindness or support that you and others dish out - even often taking to the level of mean-spirited attacks. Appalling to me.

I think the responses were in keeping with the spirit of the post that they were responding to.

Many were - I'm not talking about all posts

I think some of the people who are "anxious" are actually just looking for an opportunity to bash administrators.

Having a gang member in a school does not mean there is a gang problem in the district. A gang problem means that gang members are causing trouble in the schools (physical or via intimidation). A gang's name carved into a bathroom wall does not mean there is a gang problem. It means what people said above - probably a wannabe or a kid thinking it was cool.

I understand with what's happened in the past few weeks that people are upset. But a bit of perspective is in order...

ParticleMan said:
I think some of the people who are "anxious" are actually just looking for an opportunity to bash administrators.
Having a gang member in a school does not mean there is a gang problem in the district. A gang problem means that gang members are causing trouble in the schools (physical or via intimidation). A gang's name carved into a bathroom wall does not mean there is a gang problem. It means what people said above - probably a wannabe or a kid thinking it was cool.
I understand with what's happened in the past few weeks that people are upset. But a bit of perspective is in order...

I agree with everything you say - and find your ability to say it without being nasty refreshing ;-)

My comment does not refer to disagreeing with someone - sharing an alternative perspective - or even telling someone they are wrong. It refers to being sarcastic, judgmental, and just plain nasty. Not ONLY on this thread but I was reading this thread when I felt the urge to comment

Was the graffiti in the ADA stall?

Perhaps the author/grafitist was making a deroragoratory reference to physically disabled persons.

Not that it would be right, but the same word would have a meaning completely unrelated to gangs in that context.

Or more likely, "Crip" is a digital native acronym referencing something we on MOL will never understand because we are all to damn old.

AliGrant said:
Some of you folks are as much bullies as the some of the kids in school. If someone is anxious - even over the top anxious - it is not necessary to be nasty to them. Sheesh.

You are correct, of course. On the other hand, Goodjob is that type of poster who starts with a position with which nobody agrees and then asserts that everybody is in denial because we don't agree with him and things go downhill from there.

For people who literally fear for their child's life every day that they go to school, I have no idea what to say. It seems that some of the most awful school tragedies have happened in what you would think are the safest schools.

Federal mandate is that the school district has to pay for OOD placement and transportation. Special needs is until the school year ending of their 21st birthday.

alias said:
Was the graffiti in the ADA stall?
Perhaps the author/grafitist was making a deroragoratory reference to physically disabled persons.
Not that it would be right, but the same word would have a meaning completely unrelated to gangs in that context.
Or more likely, "Crip" is a digital native acronym referencing something we on MOL will never understand because we are all to damn old.

I am guessing that it is in reference to the gang, but that it is also bullsh*t. Kids are like that. About fifteen years ago a few of my sister's friends started bragging (lying) about having mafia connections. In the end it's the same, kids thinking that organized crime is "cool" and wannabe's pretending they are connected/members.

AliGrant said:

meandtheboys said:
That's funny.

It wasn't meant to be - sometimes I am saddened by the lack of compassion, kindness or support that you and others dish out - even often taking to the level of mean-spirited attacks. Appalling to me.

I have to agree with you Ali. Makes you wonder if the bullies in school are learning that at home too. Just ignore and move on.

AliGrant said:

ParticleMan said:
I think some of the people who are "anxious" are actually just looking for an opportunity to bash administrators.
Having a gang member in a school does not mean there is a gang problem in the district. A gang problem means that gang members are causing trouble in the schools (physical or via intimidation). A gang's name carved into a bathroom wall does not mean there is a gang problem. It means what people said above - probably a wannabe or a kid thinking it was cool.
I understand with what's happened in the past few weeks that people are upset. But a bit of perspective is in order...

I agree with everything you say - and find your ability to say it without being nasty refreshing ;-)

That may be the first time in all my time on this planet that anyone has felt that way about something I've said/written. ;-)

For what it's worth -

My spouse went to high school in a little town in Massachusetts, and tells me about the time the students there told a local reporter that a drug dealer "from New Jersey" was coming to the school. It was duly reported. It was completely made up.

I know gangs are a serious issue. But, as a former kid, I also know that kids do things just to annoy adults.

Go, Ali! Completely agree with you. I've faced what goodjob is facing and I just don't let those people affect me. MOL is a great forum for the most part.

bklyngirl said:
Go, Ali! Completely agree with you. I've faced what goodjob is facing and I just don't let those people affect me. MOL is a great forum for the most part.

Sorry. Goodjob gets no pass in my book given his style of posting - basically saying that things are bad, they're going to get worse, you're denying reality if you don't agree with me and so on.