6th District school board candidate Burton calls for action on violence at Armstrong

I’m glad someone’s responding like this. I saw Wade Ellegood on the news last week and he was thoroughly “eh” about it. If ever there was a “jumping up and down and demanding action” situation, this is it. Kids can’t even eat in the cafeteria together?

I can tell you that Don Coleman has been taking this situation very seriously. He has experience working with gang reduction.
We have a tentative meeting scheduled at Boys and Girls Club in Fairfield Court Thursday at 6:00pm.
We want to invite concerned community members. I’ll post more later.

The situation at Armstrong is a reflection of what is happening in our communities on regular bases. The approaches that most people take to deal with this type of situation assume the problem lay with a deficit in the person, without taking into account the complexity of young people’s lives or the environment in which they still have to function. The way the community responds to such incidents often results in disappointing results. I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t use the situation at Armstrong as a political platform unless you are really prepared to make some decision that will not be very popular with some and ready to think differently, act differently and act in a way to make sure the end goal for our youth is to be successful adults.

You can not address this problem without the influences of families, communities and schools.

Just went here /2008/05/27/a-sit-down-with-torey-edmonds/ and found this:

“Edmonds said that it is time to stop blaming the socioeconomics of the students or the lack of parental involvement for school performance. In her words, the schools need to take ownership of thier jobs and teach the kids that come in. She ended the conversation by giving everyone a question to ask of herself or any of the other candidates when solutions/ideas are put forth: “What does that look like in real life?”. Hold the candidates accountable before and after the election, she urges.”

Interesting contrast to her post #5 above, eh? So if the schools need to stop whining and teach, how is she going to help them do that in a crisis situation? She says we should hold the leaders accountable, right? How does she propose to support the school under attack?

Torey – the tone of your post resonates to me as, “You just don’t understand. Forget it.” It has a throw-away quality, perhaps unintentional. Either way, it sure doesn’t represent my viewpoint in the least. And I vote, for what that is worth.

I like Mr. Burton’s outline of response to the problem. It validates the worthiness of the community with its strength and specificity. It has hope through action laced all the way through it.

The responses to this situation would be laughable if the situation weren’t so dire. Unfortunately, this is not a new problem. Reach out to other school communites, in other states, and ask how they have handled the problem, what works, and what doesn’t. Does RPS not have zero tolerance policies? Public alternative schools for violent students? School resource officers? If so, these tools are obviously not being used. If these tools are not available, why not?

This situation at the school is merely a reflection of what is going on in the community. Too many of us have been blind to the gangs that infest Church Hill, Fulton, Northside, and Blackwell. Parents need to be aware and neighbors need to be aware.

No Child Left Behind addresses only the academic measure for a school. The elimination of school violences needs to be recognized as a contributing factor to the failure of the schools and as a major reason parents choose not to send their children to RPS. We need to consider all options to eliminate gang violence in the school, including re-locating highschools out of high-crime areas.

Throughout history, one fact has held true: Check yourself, or you WILL get checked. It’s nothing new. Freedom through self-discipline. You would much rather take care of that yourself, than have the system get involved, right?

Somewhere this message has gotten lost. For whatever reason, whatever distractions that are present, this message is not getting passed along generationally in some communities.

It is our obligation to ensure that if it is not taught at home, it is taught at school. These kids can stop behaving poorly at any time. But if they choose to behave like menaces to society, they face jails, institutions and death. There is no good end result. To sugar coat this fact is nothing short of irresponsible, to the point of becoming contributory.

It is our obligation to invest the energy required to get this across, even if it requires calling in the military. Obviously some families need the assistance. If I were in a situation where my son was off the hook, I would have to welcome the intervention, because clearly what I was trying to pass along was not sinking in, right? Discomfort is the greatest catalyst out there.

And don’t think that the kids that need protection are not noticing how much they appear to be worth, either. That’s a huge part of the tragedy.

You can’t even see the wound until you stop the bleeding. If swift action is not taken, I fear that we will see a lot worse than kids having to eat lunch in classrooms.

Don –

If teachers are crying in public over the situation, I’m afraid that we may have already squandered our mulling-things-over time. What are you going to do right now?

None of us would tolerate this turbulence in the workplace for more than a couple moments. It’s a wonder that these teachers show up at all, given the conditions that are communicated.

I know I am writing a lot on this topic. I have a very personal connection to this type of thing. I still own my white leather Pony high-tops from Hackensack Middle School, circa 1982. They have blood stains all over them, and only some of those stains are mine. It was a very violent time in my life. I hardly came out unscathed.

What these kids is going through sucks royally. I am asking again what is being done today to halt the progress.

What about Hope in the Cities?

Art Burton should contact Tee Turner at:
http://www.hopeinthecities.org/richmond-office

Hope in the Cities does conflict resolution and reconciliation dialogue.

Similar things were going on at George Wythe on the south side. In response, the School Board entered into an agreement with the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise to set up a Violence Free Zone at Wythe. The same thing certainly can be done at Armstrong. See minutes of the August 4 school board meeting. Go to NEC’s website http://www.cneonline.org/pages/Latest_News

Art, I will call you about this later.
Bert

Don –

I just went to your website, and saw that your youngest daughter goes to MLK Middle. With what you know about Armstrong High, would you feel comfortable with sending her along to Armstrong? To clarify, if it were today that she would be attending, would you let her go?

My son Dolan is in 8th grade and Armstrong is our zoned High School. There is no way he is going there next year, if we still live in Richmond. It’s not a race thing, either. My dad lives in the Caribbean, and has for years. We spend lots of time in places where we are the only white people. I actually have grown pretty accustomed to answering to, “Hey white lady.” Dolan is not fazed by being in the minority either – also used to it. That middle school that I attended was mostly black, too, and the crossfire strife that I found myself involved in was rarely because I was white – the minority. Not the issue.

So, no. It’s not a race thing that I am not planning to send my son to Armstrong. It is the hopelessness that we are seeing here, as if we have all the time in the world to correct this problem. Now is not the time to have a meeting about having a meeting about having a meeting. What would be happening if it were Godwin?

I was that kid who was just trying to do my thing, and found myself having to defend myself in the girl’s bathroom, in the halls, in the cafeteria. I had a silver chain violently ripped off my neck. That stuff changes a person. I’m not happy to admit this, but I wouldn’t suggest sneaking up on me, even today. No intellectualizing, philosophizing, or further education will grow that out of a person. School should be safe, especially if home is not. We are crafting the future. What could be more serious?

There is a High School Information Fair tonight at 7 PM at St. Mary’s Catholic School on Gayton. We are attending. I know it is really short notice, but more info can be found here: http://www.saintmary.org/Flyers/AR-M620N_20081009_133557.pdf Reps from all different schools will be there, both public and private.

So Don, would you send your daughter to Armstrong, if it were today that she were old enough? Is that the kind of environment you want her to spend time in? If not, then I cannot fathom voting for you, honestly.

You are competing for a position that would make all children yours.

Upon closer reading – from Bert’s link: “It will be carried out in the school by CNE’s Richmond community partner organization, called The ROC (Richmond Outreach Center). Three top Richmond police officials and The ROC’s executive director and program director traveled to Milwaukee in mid-August to see the VFZ in action there. (8/19/08)”

In case you were not aware, The ROC is a church. For all of those concerned about separation of Church and State. See here: http://www.richmondoutreachcenter.com/ This is not being subjected to overhearing gospel music on the radio in the school office. This is the integration of hardcore evangelists into a government problem. This does NOT look good. This looks horrible.

These are the kids who dress up as ghouls and parade around Shockoe Bottom on Friday and Saturday nights asking the partiers if they want to go to Heaven or Hell, and if they are ready to accept Jesus to ensure their salvation rather than burn for eternity. Had a nice show sitting on the patio at Cafe Gutenberg one night.

What is going on here? Are you kidding me? Totally inappropriate, and getting scarier by the minute.

Come ON Richmond. Get it together.

If there are gangs in the neighborhood, there will be gangs in school. We must eradicate gang activity at all levels.

Watch what goes on in your block, watch your kids. Do not hestitate to call the police if needed; they even have a special gang division and they want to hear from you. Educate yourself. Do not let your children glorify thug life – teach them better.

Other religious organizations volunteer in RPS without proselytizing, for example, the Micah Intiative http://richmondhillva.org/what/micah.html . As long as they are not preaching in the schools, let them help. The laws that apply to public school staff also applies to volunteers and tutors. If I’m not mistaken, many of these volunteers are showing their beliefs through action. (*note the religion in school I had written about on previous threads did not come from religious organization volunteers but from RPS staff)

To all those who do not know them, Art Burton, Torey Edmonds, Don Coleman, and Bert Berlin have through the years, served our communities, schools, parents, and children without pay. What they all have in common is that they do care and do take action.

I correct myself in that I realize that school board members are not paid, but I still wonder how they feel that they can be any more of a power broker in the quagmire RPS than in the grass roots efforts that they were involved in. I don’t think that they can.

hillkid: did you go off your meds again?

Would you advocate locking up every kid who gets in fights in Henrico? Hanover? Or is it just the inner city kids? Your friend is right. The problems in our schools are largely social ills, symptoms of societal problems, mostly of economic origin. And what do you propose we do once they get out of prison?

RE: post 24 – Problem kids are sent around to all different schools? Is this what I am understanding? Why, to spread the love?

How are those kids supposed to get an education? There is a through-line to curriculum that would be completely askew.

Even if I am a well-trained bank teller at a SunTrust, is it really reasonable to expect me to have any kind of success if I am moved to Wachovia, given a few days off, and then moved to a Bank of America, and then back to SunTrust, but now a different branch, and on and on… How is this a successful approach when it comes to educating the problem kid?

And if educating the problem kid is not important enough to allow him or her to continue with a curricular agenda, what is the point of keeping them in school? Is this a holding pen? Day care? What are they doing there? Reminds me of moving a bunch of peas around on your plate that you have no intention of eating. Why bother?

I bet these kids think the ever-first-offence slap on the wrist is hilarious. No wonder they are laughing in our faces. Why not save the theatre and just push them out of the comfort zone? They can always get their GED later, if they decide that education is important to them. Hear them well. They are saying, with their behavior, that at this point they couldn’t care less about learning.

Why not treat them like the big boys and girls that they want to pretend to be? At least then the rest of the kids might stand a chance at relaxing enough to learn a thing or two.

And regarding the ROC, I know members. And you can too. Just go into any Love of Jesus Thrift Store. They run them. Those folks will tell you to your face that their number one ticket to salvation is witnessing. There is not a snowball’s chance in you-know-where that they would not be using any form of contact with troubled youth, or anyone for that matter, to turn them on to **The Word**.

I’m Catholic, but as an American I firmly believe that injecting the ROC into this situation is absolutely heinous. Bert, I would love to hear your rationale on how this could possibly be appropriate.

I say, let the ROC visit the jails, where the inmates can decide if they would like to participate in a conversation about spirituality. They may be more willing, also, once they have had a spicy taste of consequence.

hillkid, All Saints is k- 8th grade. Not a high school solution.

Sorry, I didn’t see your comment, hillkid.

I think the high school situation is a major problem Richmond is facing. If your child is an academically exceptional student, you may apply for Open High and Governor’s school, or Community High School. There is no guarantee that every student that applies will be accepted, nor is there enough room to enroll all interested students.

Now if your child is average academically, there is Open Enrollment and NCLB. The schools that apply here are Armstrong, Huguenot, Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, and George Wythe (noting that you can only use NCLB if your zone school does not meet accredition). Again, there is no guarantee.

And what if your child wants to play sports, like football or basketball? Only the above listed schools have sports programs, but if you are accepted into Governors School, Open, or Community you can be bussed to another schools sports program.

I would like to see a “regular” highschool, much like the ones most of us attended. A HS that support gifted academic programs as well as the average student, a high school that offers a full sports program in addition to other academic and artist programs (such as drama, etc.)

The current system divides the students into “smart kids” and “average kids”, into to “safe” schools and “violent” schools.

Creative magnet schools that accept in-zone students first would be a plus. It’s happening in places like NY, Mass, and DC. This old system here in Richmond isn’t working in all ends of town.

I don’t see it as “bad” kids or “good” kids. They are all scared, no doubt. Even some of the adults are scared. This seems to be a fact. The kids that are acting out need help, sure. But obviously the methods that are currently implemented do not seem to be helping – pushing them around from school to school, in effect, tolerating the nonsense.

The primary focus of school is learning. That needs to stay in the forefront. The source of the disruptions needs to be eradicated from the environment so that the learning can continue, otherwise we have a bunch of scared, underprivileged adults who are also unable to function in the world and support themselves. Smart people who look and act like dummies. That serves to do nothing more than perpetuate the problem. I will go as far as to say that this tells ALL of the kids that they are disposable members of society because they come from a certain part of town. How is that positive or beneficial? The problem kids need help, too. I just don’t think school is necessarily the place for them to get it if at the expense of all others. It’s not mean to put our foot down; it’s mean NOT to.

If the primary focus should be learning, and folks are behaving as obstacles to that primary focus, they have forfeited their rights to that somewhat cushy time in a person’s life – high school, a time when all they really need to do while they are there in that building is focus on studying so that they can equip themselves for the future. It’s really not that hard. Their job is being students. They are not doing their job. They are fired. Not complicated.

I honestly don’t think that this warrants giving up on them as humans. The bottom line is, though, that you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink. Their willingness to participate is key. Willingness is most often come to through discomfort.

First, make the schools safe for the masses by bringing in the police, the military, the National Guard. Put the troublemakers on notice. Let them know that they are, from here on out, walking on thin ice. Clown time is over. You got one foot out the door, honey – whatcha gonna do? They are far from stupid. They are smart enough to be playing the system as we speak. Let them know it is their choice. These are the new rules, and the ball is in their court. I’d be very surprised if they were surprised. It would probably bring a new respect, even.

Then address the situation with the kids who need extra help to learn how to function without violence. They need to see that there is a payoff for that – leaders who are living the dream, and have what they want – money, power, a cool life. There have to be solutions for those kids, too. But first, stop the bleeding, by any means necessary.

Let’s get creative. How can we make a space for the highly at-risk to recover, too? Everyone needs a haven. How do we design one for the ones who need extra help, positive reinforcement, peace education training? What about that spot on Venable, around 23rd somewhere – looks like an old abandoned school… I’m just throwing it out there. I don’t even know what that building is, or used to be, but it’s got weeds growing up all around it – looks abandoned. You know where I am talking about? If they flunk out of there, we know we have done what we could and can surrender them to the jails, the institutions, and unfortunate death. Tragic Darwinism.

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results, then the situation at Armstrong is straight-up insane. Positive intent will keep us on the right path.

Come on, Richmond. Get cutting edge. Meet fire with fire, and do it now.

I have to agree with hillkid (post #28). Kudos buddy! Why try to “rehabilitate” and educate these asshole demon spawn children? Zero tolerance! We need to do all we can to ensure that those who are there to learn and make something of themselves are able to use that opportunity to their advantage. These so called children who are causing all the problems have been given the opportunity and thrown it away. They don’t deserve to be in the school system yet they aren’t removed. Who in their right mind would think that sending them home for a few “days off” will change their ways? Please! Lock ’em up and throw away the key. Focus on the children that are making the effort, want to learn, and want to make something more of themselves. Whatever the cause of all this is…socioeconomic or whatever, who gives a shit (certainly not the demon spawn)? That isn’t the issue here. The issue here is that kids that are trying to learn and do something with their lives, the teachers that are making the effort to teach them, and the parents that are supporting these kids are being derailed, threatened, and put in harms way but the others that are not worth it. Maybe prison can rehabilitate these criminals and maybe not…why should we care about them?

Too bad they can’t turn the Art Center downtown into a performance art magnet high school. Or what about all that unused space called the Richmond Convention Center? The beauty of downtown is that it is on the bus lines.

Tiny, I’m in agreement with you on the “police state” school…we can’t continue to give up freedoms in the name of security -that’s how we got the patriot act.

RE: 46 – Yes, I would prefer a temporary police state to buck-wild mayhem – any day of the week. Mayhem which I am pretty sure is not doing much to entice new students to the school.

Thanks, Zeb. I will call. If any town needs more of this stuff, it is here.

On the one hand, we criticize RPS for it’s zero tolerance policy that results in half of the kids out on suspension at any given time – tearing up the neighborhoods and causing their parents to miss work. And then we talk out of the other side of our mouths about locking them all up so we can focus on the good kids – as if the distinction is so clear when all of those in an out of control school like Armstrong get caught up in the nonsense (even the teachers). Make up your minds people.

Kicking the “bad” kids out on the street is only going to increase the gang problem.

That is why I am saying that needs to be addressed, too, with different programs created with new ideas.

Nobody is saying there is a quick fix. And I like you, Tiny. But the attitude portrayed in your comment is pretty hopeless, too.

These are people. People who need help. But schools are not holding tanks for humans. They are educational facilities.

If kids need rehab, this is not the place for them.

That sounds like a better idea.

Why choose flight over working within the confines that exist? Why not support Armstrong to be everything it can be by removing the obstacles to excellence?

The magnet school fix still leaves the well behaved kids who earn gentlemen’s C’s to contend with a bunch of chaos.

That looks like punishment to me.

Yes take Burton’s steps, that was said in a previous post.

Regarding flight…isn’t that what you all said you were going to do? No one on this thread is planning to send their children to Armstrong, so why can’t we give the kids there a chance to leave?

typo in 64. I meant RE: 63.

I didn’t live in the East End when Dolan was in elementary. I lived in the fan. That’s why. He went to Fox.

You are correct. At this point, I am not considering Armstrong for the painfully detailed reasons already stated.

The fact that a person with such an long neighborhood history as yourself cannot remember a time when Armstrong was a good option only underlines the need for change there, now. These kids are our future leaders, future workers, or future thugs. This crisis points out that there could not be a better time to change things within the community.

What could possibly be a justifyable argument against doing what it takes to make this a safe place? I am just baffled by the resistance.

I sent out that press release for Art Burton (he wrote it, I edited). It’s really good to see the fruitful discussion that has followed. Let’s just hope this moves not only civic activists and candidates for office, but also school administrators and elected officials.

I’m also hoping that Art Butron gets elected to the School Board in the 6th district. I think he’s doing a great job of earning a positive reputation and a higher profile leading up to an election. But he’s going up against an entrenched political machine that cares little about issues and mostly about power. Chances are, on Nov. 5th, Ellen Robertson will try to deliver the election for her appointee, Chandra Smith.

Art needs your help to get 6th district voters asking themselves, “Is our school system good enough as it is?” Please give him a call at the number on the press release above.

Reachem – you and I have absolutely no connection, so I am not sure why you would think that any behavior, or lack thereof, on your part would affect me in the least. It doesn’t. At all. And the patronizing is silly.

Police are an appropriate response to crime. And we are talking about crime. How is asking for that appropriate connection to come about considered hysterical? Stop trying to pick a fight, please. I’m not biting.

I do agree with you, though, that the silence on the part of the school officials is deafening.

Gray – you and I agree more than we disagree, I think. I think that there are numerous solutions that can be worked at the same time, without leaving innocent kids in the dust – my main priority. I’m sorry if I came off as trying to lock horns with you. That truly was not my intent.

Reachem – Your paranoid assessment of lively debate does not qualify as a connection between you and me. Although your attempt to make one there was fodder for a good laugh.

And there was absolutely nothing personal about the conversation that was happening before you stepped in. And if there were, Gray does a very respectable job of speaking for herself. She is extremely smart and competent in her own right. Please try again.

There are more serious issues at stake than your self-imposed Community blog Robinhood-like behavior.

Any further attempt you make to address me will be ignored.

Fire away.

Here’s the deal, folks. When Armstrong and Kennedy merged, RPS placed additional personnel in the school and in the community. The purpose of those personnel was to engage community in creative conflict resolution, to redirect energy into job and college placements and build community cooperation and pride.

Those additional personnel are no longer in place.

The School Board and RPS central administration need to get over to Armstrong and realize what their “budget cuts” have “purchased” in the East End.

Reachem may be on to something —
I understand that the new charter school is going to cost at least $2 million. I guess the School Board will have to take a little “something” from every school in order to find the money to pay for the charter.

Shannon,

We already have a police-state in that school. Clearly, you haven’t been in the building and you do not know whereof you speak. You sound like George W. trying to whip everyone up into a frenzy.

Art Burton has put forward a sound plan. He’s been in the school, you haven’t.

If there is a “police state” over at Armstrong, then why is like “Escape From New York?”

Sounds like every student and teacher for themselves, while the police stand aside and let it happen.

Why would anyone with a minimal amount of choice send their kid there?

Wow, some people get really nasty on this blog. I, for one, would NEVER send my kids to a school like that. Who knows if the disruptive and violent kids could be “saved”? They may or may not but a parents role is to protect their child, not worry about redemption for others.

#81: Right on!

#80: You wanna cool it, please? I don’t see how accusing Shannon of lying and being a military freak gets this conversation anywhere. Do you feel better now for being nasty?

Since you are asking the hard questions in #80, maybe you can “get real” and find out the answers for us and report back. You claim to know so much. Tell us the answers.

Wow. GRR, you might wanna back down just a teeny bit. Again.
Go reread her comments – she sent her son to Fox because at the time it was his zoned school. Not very fair to give someone the snooty-white-people-school-choice stinkeye for that.
Given that the whole thrust of this discussion is in regards to the current, thoroughly unacceptable state of affairs at Armstrong, I don’t fault anyone for saying their kid isn’t going there in a year.

GetReal, you are completely off the hook, which is your business. You are also misrepresenting me, which is mine.

I just got home from having dinner with my dying mother, and I really was not going to get into it here, but I find that it is necessary to set the record straight.

I never lied to the Principal, or to anyone here. I told the Principal that my son was in 8th grade, and that Armstrong was our zoned school – that I would like to take a tour.

Again, you do not know me. You don’t know what I have cared about, now or in the past. You are acting like we are siblings, and Daddy never loved you enough.

The axe you have to grind with me is karazy. I have never even met anyone named Get. You have been checked numerous times by other people here for going for my throat. This is not the first time, either. The last time you did this, I invited you to take responsibility for your unprocessed angst and send me an email. In case you lost that, please feel free to click on my goofy pic in the banner ad that pops up here once in a while. You will find my telephone number there, too. I am not anonymous.

So far you have twice accused me of lying – lying about stuff I wouldn’t even think to lie about – and I fail to see your motivation. Why are you using this place as a dumping ground for some kind of screaming vendetta you have against me? It’s kinda psycho.

Call me, baby. Get it off your chest in real life. I promise that I will try not to hang up in your face unless you start talking in all caps. I gotta draw the line at talking in caps.

We are zoned to Armstrong and Shannon, I wish I’d seen your flyer info before it was too late. My teenager has a friend that goes there and if I thought his mother would go for it, I’d take him out tomorrow. He’s a good kid, and it’s not his fault. My son does University style homeschooling and before you think its Amish or something, he takes state tests and 90% of his transcript is immediately transferable to any public school. We go to a homeschool extension in Midlothian a few times a week. The teachers are certified and teach approved curriculum. They tend to be retired or mothers of young children. They love teaching small classes in such a good environment. He takes some classes (accredited) on line and I can’t tell you how much I like the on-line teachers! They tend to be teachers at home with their children. The rest he takes at our wonderful museums here in Richmond (they don’t transfer so easily). Homeschool extensions tend to pay the light bill by tutoring private school students. I was telling the director that I wish we had one here, but the teenagers are either sentenced to Armstrong, go to Open or Private school and I didn’t think we could get the 15 or so homeschoolers you need for classes. If we are going to attend a Private school-why not just move? We were thinking of enrolling him in a school because I’m worried he’s not having enough of a high school experience, even with his sports participation. I can just imagine how some of the Armstrong student mothers must feel. I’m so exasperated. Church Hill is such a great place. What I really want is a wonderful local High School Oh, well.

I emailed and/or called School Board members and the Superintendent on October 13th. I also sent them all a link to this thread. So far, Lisa Dawson and Carol Wolf have responded. I recommend that we all contact SB and Administration and let them know our concerns and demand that something is done so that those students Art Burton spoke about can attend school without fearing for their lives. Here are a couple of contacts: Superintendent, Dr. Yvonne Brandon ybrandon@richmond.k12.va.us and 7th district SB rep, Keith West ph. 644-1081.

And I’m still wondering, are there security cameras at Armstrong?

#88:

Hilarious!

Hillkid,

Allow me to apologize first of all — I was in a really bad mood yesterday and frustrated by what seemed to be a lot of unfocused complaining and carrying on in the face a situation that needs to be taken seriously.

I fired off those questions in the hope of getting people to think strategically about how to analyze the problem.

Shannon (and others)drive me nuts sometimes with (what I perceive to be) a cliche’ driven response that is big on “general” — let’s call out the military — and lacking even a sense of appreciation for the details that are necessary to make some significant change happen.

I “yelled” back at you (especially) because I have appreciated your tough-mindedness in the past on various issues and I thought you were going all soft on me. Sorry. Really.

I am a grandparent and had far too little patience yesterday. I have reached the point in life of no longer having kids in RPS, but I still care about the kids who are there and want them treated with respect.

Soft-minded solutions don’t work. Suspending more kids than are enrolled in the system won’t work. Complaining online and wasting a principal’s time to schedule a tour at a time when the principal clearly has better things to do still seems wrong to me.

I am not as mad about it today as I was yesterday. Oh, and by the way, my kids had great experiences in RPS, no thanks to people who wanted to treat them like lessor human beings and subject them to dogs and police searches.

#93/gray:

Getting all scoldy and PC on us. How ’bout you laying off also?

Since we’re on the subject of being PC, I find it interesting that you have a gender bias toward me. You often refer to me as “Mr.” How do you know that I am a guy. I could be and I could not be, the point is you are assuming something based on your prejudices. Pretty interesting, coming from a self-proclaimed post 60’s flower child that wasn’t really old enough to remember those days anyway.

The “deep breath” link is very humorous, whether it was meant to be or not. Kumbaya is such a cliche these days, although I remember when it wasn’t so much.

Your much more entertaining when you MYOB.

GetReal:

I really appreciate your comment #94. And I too, am sorry if things got snippy.

Hillkid, you’re nothing but a jerk.

You are also a fool.

…a self-proclaimed post 60’s flower child..? WTF are you talking about hillkid, are you just making up stuff at random now? Forget the deep breath, time for a group slap for the people fighting about how to stop others from fighting. Get some security cameras, some guards, and some handcuffs over to Armstrong and lock up those who are committing crimes. It’s a high school, and I’m sure it’s not hard to figure out who the small number of thugs are. If they end up in jail or in a gang, it was inevitable. I agree with the forget about rehab line of reasoning. School should provide at least a sense of safety for these children even if they can’t provide a decent education for them. This isn’t a new problem at Armstrong either, and I think it would be interesting who has been part of the failed administration all these years and see what they have to say. Maybe it was a budget problem, but at any rate, they should be held accountable for a chronic problem. If the city can’t provide safety in schools, I say they are liable for any injury resulting from their negligence.

I will not call names.
I will not call names.

I emailed a link to this thread with a note to Wilder’s press secretary.

I speak up when I feel like it, not at anyone’s request, my wife is more than capable of fighting her own battles, certainly against you who has yet to enter into a debate without making it personal. The “self-proclaimed…” line you used is stated as if it is a quote from her, which it is not and is a misrepresentation, that’s why I mentioned it. This thread is supposed to be about violence in school, something which most people, especially parents, take very seriously, and I would hope there would be some productive dialogue going on instead of people sidetracking and purposely picking fights. My take on threads in general is that if you don’t have anything to add that is on topic, let others that are actually interested be heard. I don’t mind side notes or humor, and usually I like your sense of humor, but typically the threads are more interesting to me if they are focused. That’s just my take, I’m not saying that’s how it should be. I don’t hide behind a pseudonym and I don’t feel compelled to personally attack anyone in a blog, it’s just juvenile. Online anonymity such as is practiced here by some is similar to being in a large crowd, like at Armstrong with 1000 kids. For a slice of the population it results in a tendency to take more liberties than they normally would, and the larger the crowd, the more likely it is for the crowd to tolerate behavior that would otherwise be considered unacceptable in a more close-knit setting. In other words, people will try and get away with more if they think no one is paying attention to them as an individual or if no one knows who they are, and they can create their own false persona. It’s coward mentality and it is the driving force behind gang formation, where individuals who are weak join together, deriving strength in numbers. If you have a small population it is hard to hide who you are and most people, especially children, do not want to be outcasts, and most will conform to the do unto others line of reasoning. Maybe breaking up Armstrong’s student body into manageable blocs would make it easier to control.

RE: 106 – How could it be a budget problem? There is plenty of money floating around for stupid stuff, overpaid leaders and admins, ridiculous government allowances. Our city’s financial management is the butt of jokes all across the country.

It’s not a budget problem. It’s a priority problem. If these kids were from a different slice of life, you can bet your bottom dollar the money would be found to do what it takes to, at the minimum, ensure a sense of safety.

Richmond has a throw-away attitude about what it perceives to be a disposable sector of our town – that as long as less well-advantaged folks are kept sequestered and out of sight, we won’t have to face the issues at hand. Other cities do not have this problem, and this fact may be hard to recognize if you have never been anywhere else. I understand that.

As much as we pretend to try, this city cannot seem to get it together with truly embracing cultural diversity. Varying economic and racial backgrounds do not automatically equate with criminal behavior, and criminal behavior should not be accepted as a matter of course. That viewpoint is a tired old illness.

We shed more tears for folks in villages thousands of miles away, than for our own. We stroke that check to Greenpeace so that we can feel good about ourselves, while this mess is occurring right down the block. The only inconvenience we want to feel is reaching over to lock the doors if we absolutely have no other alternative than to drive through the neighborhood. And nobody wants to say that because it may not appear PC – because sometimes the low-down is not.

I find the lack of investment, monetary and otherwise, reprehensible. Cut the fat, Richmond. Start investing where the need is great. Do your job, or quit. Ease the hopelessness with attention to these issues, and do it now. God knows, you should have done it yesterday, last year, forever ago.

Hey hillkid/man-lady, I’ve never written an art critique on the community blogs. And yes critical of the schools but working in them at the same time for free.

Speaking of school budgets, does the same amount of money follow an average student into Thomas Jefferson or Open High as Armstrong? I would like to know the breakdown. How about at the elementary level?

The economy? Hashahahahahaha! Lame.

If the problem here were virile worms from another planet infecting little girls, our attitude would be different.

SEW – they are not ALL menaces – far from it. I am not asking for lenience for criminal behavior, as your post implies that I am. I am calling for the opposite. Stop slapping wrists as if offenses were first offenses. Remove the problem so these kids can learn.

This blanket attitude, and generalizes the kids who are not part of the disciplinary problem. – It fails to protect the non-offenders, giving them their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit – without having to metaphorically wash blood, their own or others, out of their clothing all the time. It accepts that just because they are from a different socio-economic background, they should have to put up with a bunch of intolerable crap, crap we would not wish on anyone.

These are not crack dealers, who have tossed their American chance to make it all come true, living their rightful consequence of a difficult, dangerous life. These are children who are tryng to get what they need to be successful members of society. Your post acts like this is a deserved condition. It’s not. My suggestions are made in an effort to protect those who are just bystanders, trying to do what they are there to do – learn.

And I am not saying that you should stroke a check to RPS, SEW. I am saying that the situation should be a priority and that the city should stroke the check.

Reachem – Embarrassing to whom? Again, you and I have no connection so I am not sure how you could be embarrassed. I certainly am not embarrassed for asking that monetary investment be expended where it is needed.

And while you were at the store picking up more eye of newt, your pot of toil and trouble started boiling over. I turned it down for you. You’re welcome.

LOL: And while you were at the store picking up more eye of newt, your pot of toil and trouble started boiling over

I’m cracking up!

You silly ninny! You are embarassing YOURSELF. Lawd have mercy, chile …. you are ridiculous. Time to GROW UP.

Oh that nasty cake from Wal-Mart is awful!

I’d like to know when the students will receive their language arts books? Right now the class only has one copy. Difficult to answer a xerox copy of questions without the story.

Last time I checked, this nation is paying for a $700 BILLION bailout of Wall Street and the state is anticipating a $2-3 BILLION shortfall.

What this means is that RPS will definitely NOT HAVE MORE money and will most likely have LESS.

I appreciate Gray’s commonsense approach to determining if there is equity in the distribution of money to the various schools in RPS. What a truly excellent line of inquiry.

Anyone who thinks that the situation at Armstrong can be remedied by simply writing a check or haranging RPS for past financial mismanagement apparently isn’t focused on the fact

“What this means is that RPS will definitely NOT HAVE MORE money and will most likely have LESS.”

Reallocate.

“And, Shannon, you are in need of learning how to disagree without being disagreeable. Anytime anyone attempts to suggest that there is an alternative way of seeing a situation, YOU, my dear, become frustratingly juvenile in your attacks on others.”

Whaaaaaaaaa? When is your birthday? I’m buying you a mirror.

I don’t claim to know how much it would require. All I have been saying is that it bears a huge amount of investigation. I am trying to bring focus to the need for this initial step.

Okay, why are personally addressing each commenter? This discussion has gone off track.

You are right Tiny.

I just think that it is so funny when people can dish it but can’t take it. I guess that, too, is a skill that is learned on an as-needed basis. GetReal, Reachem – y’all must really rule the roost. Sincerely, I am so glad that roost is not a place that ever has to affect me, personally. Your friends and family must stay completely exhausted.

Both of you – planning to make it to the meeting on the 23rd? I’m still working on breaking plans so that I can go, but I’d love to shake your hands. You know, say hello in person. Putting a face with a name is sometimes so helpful with eliciting compassion and sympathy.

Maybe if I could do that, I would be able to stop thinking of you as bourgeois gangstas (which is an obstacle that I am owning) and hear your points a bit more clearly. And I would like that.

I actually see compassion as part of the solution. It’s part of what makes us humans, inspired to act to make the world, whether it be Armstrong, a family, or any global problem, a better place.

And it is certainly a needed ingredient in any civil conversation or debate.

That’s why I was saying that I wish that I felt more toward you.

Some books would help. Serious, my kid still doesn’t have a language arts book.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U&feature=related

And, this one is worth the time as well.

I hear you Gray. There is a lot of work to be done. There is obviously a lot of great minds, on this thread alone. My only point is everyone seems to have the same goal. Use your minds and come together to figure it out for the children. Instead of bashing to see who winds alpha.

When I was in HS, I participated in a lot of after school sports. It was great, but also dangerous.

My HS was the only public HS in town, meaning that ALL kids from every economic and social background got thrown together after years of being segregated in elementary and junior high. Definitely tense.

An all but empty school around 4-5 pm is ripe for danger. I was cornered in the gym or hallways many times by 4 or 5 kids threatening to kick my ass just for the fun of it – and I’m sure the thrill of intimidation. Mind you, I was a big kid, and like many adult situations, people like to muscle up to big people. Little folks like to pick fights with big folks. They never succeeded. Not sure where they came from. They weren’t athletes. Could have just been hiding out somewhere, I guess. A lot of this happened before the lock downs and major security stuff.

I’m guessing, but I think I had much better tools to deal with this shit than a lot of the kids at Armstrong have. I had lots of friends and supportive parents, and I did well in school. It still affected me and left some lasting impressions.

There is nothing new about this kind of behavior except that junior is packing now – big diff. And to think that all my generation had to worry about was being stabbed!

I applaud efforts to look for a solution to this type of problem, but I fear that it won’t happen. Too much consensus building and committee decisions – the crippling bureaucracy will never let it be.

Again, I find Shannon’s comments on this thread to be very good. I support her. She is pragmatic and realistic about expectations and outcomes. She cuts you a lot more slack than you cut her. Everyone should listen to her more and stop criticizing. But, whatever, I’m just a jerk and a fool.

Shannon, I think that you should get your thoughts heard on a larger forum. You really are a person that could be a citizen stake holder/game changer in this fight.

I don’t have a dog in this fight, thank you very much. I stopped contributing forty-odd comments ago because it was going noooooooowhere.

Gray:

To answer your question in post #113 – the breakdown per student (Including IB) is:

School ’07 ’08 Rankings
Community $7432.57 $7867.12 2/8 2/8
TJ $7276.79 $7346.55 3/8 3/8
Marshall $6310.76 $6950.08 7/8 5/8
Huguenot $5188.12 $5962.07 8/8 8/8
Open $6768.81 $7193.53 5/8 4/8
Wythe $6693.94 $6551.63 6/8 7/8
Armstrong $6854.08 $6586.91 4/8 6/8
Military $8276.27 $9879.69 1/8 1/8

Removing the IB program places Jefferson just above Huguenot in funding per student.

While we need to be careful in drawing conclusions, we can note that Armstrong saw the greatest dilution of resources from ’07 to ’08.

hillkid- do we really want to keep cluttering up the comments like this? I knew I shouldn’t have dived down to the bottom of the comments section today because now I’m all crabby.
I do want to know what makes you think I’m a hypocrite, though. Can you email me?

Thank you Mallard! Can you also get the figures of cost per student at the elementary level?

It is very interesting to see that more money is spent per student at the best schools. The regular schools such as Armstrong, Marshall, Huguenot, and Wythe receive less. I would like to see those cost per student figures along with enrollment numbers.

Thank you again Mallard.

Okay, I got to thinking, and I believe that I understand now what has been going on with the personal vendetta that GetReal and Reachem have been waging here against me. I believe that it is the result of a property dispute, so to speak, that occurred many moons ago. The documents have long been sealed, and that file has been closed. Neither of them knows anything of value that that file contains. Only a couple-few people do, and we are not talking. It’s a shame that has to come to this forum.

I pride myself on my excellent reputation for having integrity, and that includes honesty. It also includes being able to think on my feet. My professional competence depends on these virtues. I sure ain’t no celebrity, but I am a public person here, in that I have chosen to refrain from anonymity.

The statements made about me here, “soft-brained,” “liar,” as well as numerous other implications that I am stupid, are pointed attempts at character assassination. Not only are they untrue, but if they are to be believed, this could affect my ability to earn a living for my family. Being successful in my business, which I am fortunate enough to be, depends on being trustworthy. If nothing else, I am that.

Writing statements like the ones that have been written here is no different than taking out a full page ad. And it is illegal. Your freedom of speech rights as an American will not protect you from the consequences if you see the need to defame me even once more. I’m serious.

I am calling for a cease and desist. Make your points, but leave me out completely – and I mean completely. If that request is not respected, then charges of slander and character defamation will be filed on the basis of what has already been written, and is a matter of public record. Check my website. There are numerous examples there, in testimonial form, of people saying that I am where I say I am going to be, and do what I say I am going to do. I will slap you both with a lawsuit so fast that your heads will spin. You are not as anonymous as you would like to believe. Not even close.

I’m a playful girl, but I’m not playin. I take this very seriously. My lawyer has seen this thread, and he is pissed. He suggested that I call for a public apology, which I don’t care to do. I just want to make clear that it stops now. It’s plain that I am not afraid of either of you, and have invited you to contact me directly. Neither of you have seized that generous opportunity. And if the intended topic of this thread were not very important to me, I would have walked away from it long ago.

The last couple posts have been civil, and that is very nice. I fear though, that without this warning it is only a matter of time before the poison starts flying again. Therefore, I think that it is only fair that I put you two on notice. Why? Because I am fair.

Before either of you writes a knee-jerk response, I urge you to think – and then don’t. I also urge you to ponder how much you enjoy your freedom. I have stated here that I have been inside the local women’s correctional facility numerous times. Neither of you would last for a “hot minute,” although you might learn the skill of taking what you dish. I don’t wish that on you, but if you do not understand the gravity of what I state here, have questions that need to be answered, please contact your attorney for more info about the law on these matters. Doubt me, and you may soon be hanging out with him more than you thought you ever would, following a friendly visit from the Sheriff. You have already, indisputably, broken the law numerous times.

I sincerely apologize to this community for feeling the necessity to state this here. It is extremely awkward. I simply had no other option. I am generally a fairly private person, and always an extremely happy, drama-free person. This is against my nature. It was very difficult to write this. Hopefully we can now stay with the important issues at hand.

Thanks. And again, I apologize to the community at large.

Catfight! Someone call Robert Huotari, it can be his opening day event!

hillkid:
it would be hypocrisy, were it me you quote. Apparently when you were sifting through the posts on NRR, you missed the one and only comment I have ever made there (on 9/28): that there is another person using “my” name. I requested that she pick a different screen name.

I hope I die before I ever use the term “alot.”

And don’t forget p-ssy whipped.

Are people going to talk about concrete solutions to the problems at Armstrong ever again on this thread?

Or is it all dreams and group angst from here on out?

Loved Ramzi’s post # 155! ROFLMAO …You nailed it!

What about the questions in #80:

“Someone needs to find out how many arrests there have been at Armstrong in the past year. How many times have the police rolled to our various high schools? How many out of school suspensions were there? How much staff time has been devoted to “law&order” issues vs. issue of instruction?

How many arrests have there been in our high schools?”

Other than calling people names, Getreal does ask some good questions.

and, hillkid (or anyone),

feel free to ask those questions on Thursday or to file a Freedom of Information Act request if the officials flubba-dub-dub and fail to give a proper answer.

I have a deeper concern with the school system. If you were to do a poll with all of the teachers, principals and students, they will tell you that the Central Administration personal never visits the schools to see what is going on. I have been involved in the school system and never once heard of the superintendent or members of the cabinet coming into the schools and seeing what is going on. I have even been on the board and we invited the superintendent and she never responded to our request. On the other side, city council, mayors are always saying what the schools needs and they are never in the schools. I know we are always on the teachers and principals, but what are our leaders that run things doing to assist our schools. I have heard from candidates what is wrong with the schools and what they will do for the schools when they win the positions, but why are they never visible in the schools. I listened to the candidates’ speeches in the past, but never see them present in the schools. Call a school and ask when did an elected official ever come into a school during the school day to see what is really going on. Are you going to be like the others?

Teacher writes a letter to the editor http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/opinion/letters.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-11-09-0064.html . She makes good points on the media’s failure to portray the good students and staff at Armstrong. I hope RPS administration and School Board don’t take this letter as an excuse to sit back and do nothing about the violence at Armstrong -the students deserve better.

Nothing seems to be easier than seeing someone whom you can help but not helping.
I suggest we start giving it a try. Give love to the ones that need it.
God will appreciate it.