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Charter school violated rule about reporting gun threat
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Anne Arundel police responded to the school March 10 to investigate a claim from a ninth-grader who boasted on March 4 that he was going on a mass-killing spree.
While the police later determined the threat was not serious, the school still failed to follow proper procedures. “Anything that requires a first responder — police, fire or ambulance — requires an automatic call-in,” said school system spokesman Bob Mosier.
“Anything that involves a weapon or a threat of a weapon should be reported as soon as practicable.”
These rules are guidelines drafted by the school system’s Office of School Security in collaboration with central office members, Mosier said.
There’s no specific time frame for the incidents to be reported, but the charter school should have notified the school system’s Office of School Security by now, he said.
Mosier said the school system is still waiting for answers on why the school failed to call police in a timely manner.
After a police investigation, charges were not filed against the student, police said. The boy, however, was punished, school system officials said.
The school board voted this month to keep the school on probation for the 2008-09 school year, because it needed too much help from the school system to fix problems such as hiring special education teachers, record keeping and securing building documents.
Parents rallied behind Principal Fatih Kandil when he was reassigned in January pending an investigation into his alleged discipline tactics by the county Department of Social Services. He was cleared and returned to school this month.
Cheri Winterton said Monday she still felt her sixth-grader was safe at the school of 219 students.
“I don’t know anything about this recent level of violence, but when it comes to the little things, like kids being picked on, they take care of it.”
jkowalkowski@baltimoreexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
1:55 PM MST on Tue., Mar. 25, 2008 re: "Charter school violated rule about reporting gun threat"
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Give me a break.... said:
These people from this school need to chill out. They keep saying "Who cares if students get killed in schools? I mean does it matter? As long as they get top scores they can kill, rape, or make threats as much as they like." Sweet lord, this is amazing. To the parents who simply are out of touch with realty. Don't you think you would not like to attend a school or work in a place where people make threats like this or threaten to rape you? This incredible. At what point does it matter to you? When a kid comes to school and blows the school? or if they kill other students? It should not have to come to that. This is unacceptable for any school, any community.
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A concerned citizen... said:
Why do people, probably school administrators or board members, from this school keep posting each time there is a new article or any comments. They consistently write the same argument. Either they deny that their are any problems their or they state statistics that are either unreliable or unfounded. Then these people always state that their students make top scores on on some of the tests. Here are some facts: Fact 1. There have been repeated incidents of student threats of violences. Fact 2: Students have been suspended or investigated at this school for making threats or for being violent. Fact 3: There have been reports that students repeatedly make threats to other students including threats of rape to female students. All of these facts are indisputable and are of public record.
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Another Parent said:
In response to the person who wrote "shame on the reporter for not getting his facts straight" statement, I would like disagree. First of all the it is not the policy of the Anne Arundel county school board to allow a threat of violence to go unreported for any length of time. While reporter (or reporters) might have gotten the facts wrong, the fact remains that that threat should have been reported on the day of the threat to the school officials and any other authorities. A child at my son's school threaten to bring a bomb to school. He was reported that day to the authorities, suspended, and investigated.
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Examiner Reader said:
This is really alarming. There seems to be several parents or staff members from this school trying to gloss over the fact that there is a long record of student behavioral problems including death threats, violence, and larceny theft. This school and its administrators do not like to report any of the problems due to their fear of blemishing their image with the parents or the school community at large. As a retired parent from a DC charter school, I would really hope that people take a deeper look at this whole situation. It is very well known among the school community that this particular school has a very poor image, especially that of the principal. Why parents would either outright defend this situation without any deeper inspection or to negate the importance reporting of a death threat is truly beyond me. Many such incidents are underreported, including incidents where children do bring guns to schools and commit acts of violence.
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Examiner Reader said:
Shame on the reporter for not getting his facts straight. In his article the board says that they don't have a certain amount of time to report. But the reporter is making such a big deal about the amount of days it was reported.
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Parent Who Knows said:
This school is safer than any other school in AA Co. When other schools that have students bringing guns and bombs to school, like I've read about recently, then I would worry. This middle school have pre-teen and teenage students that will say things that aren't always appropriate, but I'm sure it is on a lower scale than any other AA Co. school. Check the statistics and then tell me this school is the worst. Please be sure to check the other statistics of 100% passing of middle school kids passin high school algebra.(HSA)The AACPS website has these stats and you can compare them against any middle school in the county and you can see that they get results. Most of the teachers there are dedicated to these students. Free math tutoring on Saturdays. Science Fairs held at Notre Dame College. Can you get either of those at another county school? People are ill informed about this school and this so called reporter is focusing on the negative. Why don't you look at the many positives
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A Parent said:
As someone who has two school age children, I am very upset by these articles detailing what is going on at CSP. Why do people defend this school that allows this type of activity to go on? I would take my kids out of there immediately! What kind of school is this? Its a shame that any school should be allowed to operate in such a manner.
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Concerned Reader said:
This school has a long, long list of violations, investigations, and substantiated complaints which go beyond this incident. Apparently the school administration can get away with anything including allowing students to threaten mass killings, rape, and abuse. This school sounds like a worse case scenario one would expect in the South Bronx instead of a suburb of Washington DC. What is the administration doing at this school? What about the county system? Does anyone care about the school and what goes on there?
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Reader said:
This school is incredulous and why hasn't the school board done something about this situation? The school needs a new principal and administration pronto. Why are people and parents defending this policy of not reporting on students that threaten to use weapons? Have they not read the news in the last decade? Colombine anyone?
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Examiner Reader said:
Maybe they should take a look at other AAco schools. Lindale and Brooklyn Park middle schools have had this happen and nothing is done or said. Maybe something should be done by the Board of Education.
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