Subject: FYI - BMS
The purpose of this e-mail is to bring everyone up to speed on what we were able to uncover this morning her at BMS:
Upon hearing that there was a fight between two of our students after school yesterday (Thursday, March 31st) across the street, and that it was possibly filmed and was on a cell phone of one of our students, that student was called to the office at which time he admitted to having a cell phone on him. He willingly gave me his cell phone and showed me the video of the fight yesterday.
However, at the conclusion of that video were several other videos of fights/"jump-ins" that took place over the last month here at BMS in our boys bathrooms (on each occasion several students were in the bathrooms while someone was on "look-out" for staff). Also seen in one of the videos was another student filming it as well. I went and retrieved this student from class and he also willingly gave me his phone and showed me the videos that he had on there. He had each of the same ones as the other student plus two more (one here at BMS and one at someone's house).
At this point, along with Deputy Geeseman and Sgt. Dolch, we started interviewing the various students who were on the videos. Most students were very cooperative and were able to give us a lot of good explanations to the happenings in the videos. We were able to discover that many of the incidents were gang related as some of the taped fights were "jump-ins" to initiate them into the gang called A.T.L. or A-squad.
All parents have been contacted, and all except one have already been in and met with me face to face. As a result of the videos and the investigation today, two students received 5 days of OSS. Another seven students also received 5 days of OSS and I will also be requesting another 5 days and expulsion for these students as their involvement was directly gang related and put the staff and students at BMS in risk. All students are also being charged by the Wicomico Sheriffs Department (a wide variety of charges depending on the students' involvement).
Thanks in advance for your support of a safe learning environment for all staff and students,
Rick
Frederick L. Briggs
Principal
Bennett Middle School - "Where every student matters!"
rbriggs@wcboe.org
410-677-5140
Principal
Bennett Middle School - "Where every student matters!"
rbriggs@wcboe.org
410-677-5140
48 comments:
How is this a smoking gun? He is explaining what has happened and the steps that have been taken. There is nothing there that says to keep this a secret. Do press releases have to be issued for school fights?
well lets see if the recommendations are followed. most of the time, they are not.
Sounds pretty straight-forward to me.
Looks to be pretty well handled.
I just hope this principal gets the support he needs to make this stick.
If you're going to deal with the gang stuff in the schools, you'll have to DEAL with it, not play around.
If the consequences aren't severe and consistent, you're wasting your time.
Sadly I don't see expulsion as a punishment. Lord knows what these kids will get into in their time away from school.
Yup, this is no smoking gun. For the most part, student conduct issues are confidential, they won't be appearing in judiciary case search.
I also hope that the expulsions are supported (Even though I know they won't be). Even if they are, they are a joke. Expulsion in Wicomico County is for the rest of the school year. They will all be back next year, when we will go through the same drill all over again.
[This is before considering that no doubt many of them are SpEd, and basically un-expel-able. Worse, if we do expel them, we have to give them a home teacher to meet their 'educational needs'. What a joke]
5 days OSS, what so they can stay home and terrorise the neighborhood..put them to work at the school or make them do something...gangbanger wannabees.
Mr. Briggs, the principal, "hears" about the fight at his school the day after it occurred? I find this unbelievable as to the time it apparently took for him to even be aware of it. Unacceptable to only know about after it had taken place.
Expulsion doesn't cover it.
The school motto, "Where ever student matters" is rendered to baloney when kid is kicked out and told, essentially, that he doesn't matter. Then he's picked up by or returns to a gang of thugs on the outside where he's told that he does matter, where the things he does that are counter to society's rules are not just acceptable, they're mandatory and will strengthen his bond with his gang brothers and sisters.
We need an alternative to this. The educational system doesn't seem to have an answer. We need to go higher up the chain to get a plan.
9:59, sorry, no conspiracy here. Just a fight. No school coverup, nor real story. I know you are dissapointed.
Mr. Briggs is great! Wish he was still at Wi-Hi. "Clean House Briggs!!"
Rick is a good principal and this was handled very well. 10:06 The alternative is their parents can deal with them! This thug stuff in school has got to stop. I don't care what color they are. Gangs need to be eliminated from the schools. Schools are for education. It is not the Eastern Correctional "Institution"! The institution is EDUCATING, not guarding. This cycle of violence has to be dealt with swiftly and appropriately. Maybe we need to build more REFORM SCHOOLS and put the violent and disruptive kids there. The alternative to that is JAIL!
Good principal. Good plan. Get these gangs out of our schools into 1. their parent's direction, 2. Reform school, or 3. Jail. Schools are for Education! Good job Rick! At least we have one Rick in the county system worth a dang!
These problems are in every school.I have a child in Wi Middle and its just as bad over there if not worse..Alot of the problem there is the adninistration..we reach out to them as parents and we never get answers to the outcomes...So how do we know the problems have been handled??? The answer we always here "trust us we will look into it and we will take care of it." How do we know they do?? The parents never get included, unless there is a problem with our child then they are on the phone wanting us to come to the school immediately....It's time to include the ones that care enough to be a part..
Way to Go Briggs!! You can get a new school more than one way. I'd rather have a great educational environment over any new building any day. Get rid of the 200 gang members or groupies and you'll have more space too!
I think that it is admirable that Mr. Briggs notifies the public as to what is going on in his school. This gives us the true story and does not increase the severity of the gossip that we hear from the students and through the grapevine. The public will support open communication with confidence and needed school funding.Our problems can only be solved by working together.My best regards to a fine administrator.
I agree working together is the KEY to solving alot of the problems..Hats off to Briggs for speaking out about the problems and letting us know as a community he is handling the problems...The "other" middle schools arent doing that..They only want to keep it HUSH-HUSH...One of the major problems is facebook...Alot of inappropriate things are being said on there and then it is brought into school and fights breakout because of it...Parents need to monitor their childs texting and facebook....If the parents would step up and become a part of their childs education and their childs life then this world would be alot better....
You da Man Briggs!!! Do what's right for the majority of kids who really want to learn and have a safe school. And, for the teachers who want to teach, not discipline all day. WBOE, support him!!
This letter went out to the STAFF at Bennett, not the Parents.
I'll add, "all parents have been contacted" means the parent of those INVOLVED.
Are some of you actually serious?? Congrats Mr. Briggs. Get those punks out of the school system asap. Perhaps if it were one of your children being assaulted then you would learn to appreciate his actions. I blame much of the issues on the PARENTS of the said children. Although we can't monitor our childrens' every move, I can tell you that neither of my children have been involved in such activity. Far too often, parents are much more concerned with themselves as opposed to their children. We all see it everyday. Many people choose to ignore it, but some of us do not. If you do not like that Mr. Biggs cracked down on children that were causing a disturbance for other children, to f'ing bad. Get your kids under control and quit crying foul! While expulsion may not be the best answer, it is far better to protect the interests of the children who are there to learn and will make something of their selves as opposed to being a drain on society!
I am glad to read comments from intelligent and positive viewers. It is not informing nor uplifting to read negative and critical blurbs often. Complete sentences are appreciated also.
Thank goodness Matt Maceriello and Mike Lewis can now spend more time on our gang violence problem than they could if they were still trying to have Leggs executed.
Good for you Rick Briggs for making this public !!!
I am sure the Board of Ed is not happy with you but I assure you that the majority of "truly" concerned citizens (whether the have school-age children or not) appreciate your handling of these situations !!
Thanks from a Bennett Alumni !!
anonymous 1:05, Mr. Briggs didn't make this public, I DID!
If it wasn't for Salisbury News Sources, NONE of the public would have ever been aware. Get a grip, with all due respect.
Mr. Albero, by publishing this letter you informed not only parents but the whole community which is what schools and school systems should do to. Give some credit to something good and don't always try to make things more sensational or negative than they are. Keep up the good work. Enjoy your blog most of the time.
And I will add that Joe, you truly had no right to have this message as it was for staff. It is a shame that some teacher had to leak it to you.
What is next, do you want to get every staff bulletin that is issued each week?
But let's go ahead and bust the budget to build this staff a new school while Delmar Elementary school is bursting at the seems. Good call Fred!
I have a student at BMS and she brought home a copy of this letter. She said her teacher was tired of all the crap that was being passed around. So my daughter's teacher quickly made copies during the last period and gave each person in class one for the correct information.
before you all string up Rick Briggs in effigy, how about you focus a little attention on the parents of these thugs?!?!?! while the schools do bear a huge responsibility here, you have to consider what they are dealing with. biggest complaint among educators is the lack of parent involvement. how many of the parents of these kids do you think took this situation as seriously as they should have?? middle school kids trying to start their own gangs, etc.? most likely they are modeling the behavior they see at home. I'm sure you can all imagine.
I'm really unsure why this needs to be publicized Joe? Why can't things be handled internally without it becoming some big public issue? I'm sure ALL parents will be notified in time. It's not your job to decide that time. It may be your right, but that doesn't make it right.
I agree that the public should know what is going on in the schools that are supported by the taxpayers. I do not think the laundry should be aired everytime some disciplinary action is taken. No other professional corporation or business does this on an individual incident basis unless it is considered a disaster. A summary or concise report of the concerns and problems faced by the schools would be adequate on a timely basis.
What is all the fuss about? We have 2 kids at Bennett. Mine is in 7th grade and Leon's kid is in 8th. Both of them brought home these same letters. We read them before you all read them on this blog.Makes no sense to me. All schools have problems. We have problems at Perdue's plant too. Everybody got problems.Whole world got problems.
"Why can't things be handled internally without it becoming some big public issue?"
Because, up to this point we have rarely heard the truth about what is going on in the schools. Mostly a lot of denial about gang activity, and whitewashed PR when something must be said.
About half of our tax $$ goes to fund these schools, so don't tell me it's none of my business.
If the thugs are in school, no one gets an education. If the thugs are gone, only the thugs don't get an education. Kids have a right to learn, not just when the criminal element behaves for a few minutes so the teachers can teach.
I sometimes forget to stop and think about all the friends and contacts that are my valuable sources to provide this blog on the shore namely, Salisbury News. I would like now to extend a big thank you to not only the two parents for this hard copy of the BMS incident but to all of you who share your thoughts ,eyes and ears with me. We would not be the great success that we are without your support. I know I am appreciated and valued when so many contact me with news, concerns, possible leads, etc. Remember where NEWS comes from- N—north, E—east, W—west, and S—south. Information flows fro all four directions. Again, thank you for support and information.
Everyone keeps saying that they are entitled to know the truth about what is going on. Now that you know, what are you going to do about it? I will bet that you will not get envolved. You will sit back in your chair and use your computer to point your finger and blame others.
Anonymous said...
Good for you Rick Briggs for making this public !!!
I am sure the Board of Ed is not happy with you but I assure you that the majority of "truly" concerned citizens (whether the have school-age children or not) appreciate your handling of these situations !!
Thanks from a Bennett Alumni !!
1:05 PM
I can assure you the BOE didn't find out about this issue until it was posted on SBYNews.com.
Anonymous said...
I'm really unsure why this needs to be publicized Joe? Why can't things be handled internally without it becoming some big public issue? I'm sure ALL parents will be notified in time. It's not your job to decide that time. It may be your right, but that doesn't make it right.
2:56 PM
Because it is not being handled internally you stupid liberal moron!
Betty said...
What is all the fuss about? We have 2 kids at Bennett. Mine is in 7th grade and Leon's kid is in 8th. Both of them brought home these same letters. We read them before you all read them on this blog.Makes no sense to me. All schools have problems. We have problems at Perdue's plant too. Everybody got problems.Whole world got problems.
3:34 PM
Betty and Leon, maybe you guys should have stayed in school and finished your education.
Very nice, Joe. Publish this and then be sure you get "credit" for making this (nonissue) public.
As the parent of a student at BMS I could not care less what the punks at that school do as long as Mr Briggs takes care of business (which he is obviously doing). He does not need to inform me every time he takes out the trash. Let the parents of those thugs know that BMS will not be babysitting them anymore and bye bye!
Again, Joe, you get credit. Congratulations. I'm sure you're very satisfied with yourself. The rest of us don't really care.
Wonder if you'll publish this. Kind of doubt it.
Attention parents: A student tripped getting off the bus. Attention parents: One kid bullied another in B-Building. Sorry guys, but I don't think everyone needs to be notified about every little incident that occurs in schools. It's not your right and many of you have no business with the school. You just need someone to criticize or something to complain about. If you feel so strongly, why aren't you out doing something to make society better rather than pointing fingers and gossiping on your computer?
Making this letter open to everyone provides the following services:
1) It opens a discussion between good students and their parents to ideas on handling this day to day problem.
2) It lets the entire adult community come together to discuss ideas for a solution.
3) It lets teachers vent what has previously been kept secret except for the immediately involved parents.
4) Opens the discussion lines for teachers to ALL parents and community adults so that ideas for solutions can be vetted.
5) Lets wannabe gang members know what the public thinks of gang members, that instead of joining a group, they are alienating themselves from a much larger group.
6) Lets all the kids know that All of us adults care about them and will stand with them through their problems, which thereby eliminates the need for them to join a gang.
The list goes on....
When the government stops paying people to mass produce children they can't take care of, the problem will get better. Not before.
Look, I've seen just about enough of the CYA BS comments from ANONYMOUS people claiming to be parents. Just look at all of the comments on the two Posts about this subject and it's very clear to me these are administrators and or teachers.
Nevertheless, because i do not moderate all the comments on SBYNews, whenever I see another BS comment come through, (like I just did) I'm going to reject it.
If your such a PROUD parent, (as you claim to be) use your real name. If your NOT so afraid and Bennett Middle School for YOUR child, again, use your REAL name and see how your child makes out the very next day!!!!!
Dr. Fredericksen, call off the dogs because I'm not buying your BS any more.
So joe, you said this info was kept from parents yet you thank two parents for giving you 2 hard copies?????
Yeah, now guess who the two parents were, stupid.
Joe, I assume your 8:51 comment may have been meant for me as I submitted a comment right before it showed up.
My name is Tracy and I have a 7th grader at BMS. I am not now or have ever been an employee of the school. I do however support Mr. Briggs' efforts in trying to keep my child safe amongst the hoodlums who walk the halls with him.
I didn't previously use my name, because as you should have been able to tell from my post, I am afraid for the safety of my child. Why else would I have given him specific instructions about when/where to even use the restroom.
i would expell any studnet who even looks like they are in one of the gangs. schools should be a safe haven, not a gang haven. clean it up mr. briggs!!!
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