Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

What on Earth Is Going On in Richmond Public School Bathrooms?

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by

James A. Bacon
in ,

by James A. Bacon

How dysfunctional are Richmond City public schools?

Consider the case of River City Middle School, which serves a population that is 59% economically disadvantaged. While many of the city’s schools have enrollments beneath capacity, due to a declining student population in the city, River City is bulging at the seams. Built to hold 1,500 students, the school opened in September with 1,626 students.

The city School Board has been debating whether to transfer some of those students to other schools. In a hearing Monday night, Principal Jacquelyn Murphy-Braxton told of the problems created for bathroom access. Reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

With a limited number of bathrooms and not enough staff to supervise them, teachers have to use instruction time to take their entire class to the bathroom. “No one wants to see us continue the way we have. No one. Not me, and you shouldn’t either,” Murphy-Braxton said.

Teachers using instruction time to take the entire class to the bathroom?

Have you ever heard of such a thing? Ever? Anywhere?

What is going on over there?

River City is not an aging, decrepit inner-city school with ancient plumbing facilities. It’s one of the newer schools in the public school system. Take a look at these photos from the M&E Contractors website displaying its work:

No, the problem isn’t ancient bathrooms. In Murphy-Braxton’s words, it’s “…not enough staff to supervise them.”

The obvious question: why does a public school need staff to supervise bathrooms? What goes on there? Are kids getting into fights? Smoking pot? Engaging in sexual harassment? What kind of behavior would warrant a teacher taking five, ten, fifteen minutes out of classroom instruction to escort the entire class to the bathroom so oversight can be exercised?

If kids can’t be trusted to use bathrooms to, uh, go to the bathroom… if bathrooms are a feral zone where kids misbehave… if the problem is so bad that access is restricted to when teachers can escort their class there… something is very, very wrong. Dystopic is the word that comes to mind.

But no one seems willing to describe what’s happening, and the media is too incurious to ask. We are left with such vague statements like this one from Murphy-Braxton: “No one wants to see us continue the way we have. No one. Not me, and you shouldn’t either.”

If anyone thinks that the solution to educational under-achievement is building shiny new schools, take a look at River City Middle School and think again.

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47 responses to “What on Earth Is Going On in Richmond Public School Bathrooms?”

  1. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    I know this comes as a shock but all kinds of “stuff” goes on in high school bathrooms…. seems like in my memory, I remember “monitors” in the high school bathrooms… or some such.

    1. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
      James Wyatt Whitehead

      My guess is this principal is tamping down on vaping in the bathroom. Just a guess though. I remember that vaping was a huge problem at my old school. Times have changed. It used to go something like this:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_6CN_HXek8

      1. DJRippert Avatar
        DJRippert

        If vaping tobacco is the worst thing going on in the bathrooms, the school shouldn’t disrupt classes to stop it. Yes, vaping tobacco is stupid, especially for young kids. But, what stops those same kids from vaping before school and after school?

        1. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
          James Wyatt Whitehead

          Most students do not want vaping in their schools. They are looking to the adults to make it right. Students are watching. If you can’t win this battle how on earth can you win the academic battle in the classroom? Who knows? River City could be dealing with something entirely different from vaping.

          1. DJRippert Avatar
            DJRippert

            It certainly could be something other than vaping. At my high school there was a box drawn on the ground in paint outside the gym. Students who wanted to smoke cigarettes could do so between classes and during breaks so long as they stood in the box. I thought they looked ridiculous crowded into that box huffing and puffing but it didn’t really affect me on way of the other.

            My guess is that vaping doesn’t create second hand smoke like cigarette smoking does. On the one hand that makes vapers harder to detect. On the other hand, it does less harm to students who don’t vape.

            Bottom line – is disrupting classes for mass bathroom breaks worse than some percentage of students vaping in the bathrooms?

          2. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
            James Wyatt Whitehead

            No doubt about the disruption of classes. One year I tracked all of the lost instructional time. At a glance on a day by day basis it doesn’t look too bad. By the end of the year minutes turn hours, hours turn into days, and days turn into weeks of lost instruction time.

        2. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          Vapors… not vaping. God, this is too easy.

        3. Lefty665 Avatar
          Lefty665

          Seems very unlikely that the admin is so fragile that vaping in the bathrooms would disrupt classes. There’s got to be far more to the story.

          Nothing stops kids from vaping before and after school. It is pretty simple, nicotine addiction keeps them vaping in school too.

          1. Matt Adams Avatar
            Matt Adams

            There is more:

            “In Chesterfield, parents of students at Thomas Dale High School tell CBS 6 teens have not only grabbed at the soap dispensers, but they’ve been damaging ceiling lights and exit signs on the property as well.
            Chesterfield schools confirmed there has been damage from students.
            In Richmond, Superintendent Jason Kamras mentioned students tearing down soap dispensers in his “Reopen with Love 2.0″ update at the Sept. 13 school board meeting.
            Those incidents happened at River City Middle School and Lucille Brown Middle School. However, Richmond school officials told CBS 6 they do not have any indication that those incidents were related to a TikTok trend.”

            https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/damaging-school-property-tiktok-trend

            Seems they have a vandalism problem.

    2. DJRippert Avatar
      DJRippert

      It’s a middle school not a high school but anyway … why do the bathrooms need monitoring? Could it be that the effort to avoid the so-called school-to-prison pipeline has resulted in so little discipline that middle schools students can misbehave with impunity in the school bathrooms? That would be my guess but Jim is right … where is the “professional” mainstream media on this topic?

      In a time where teachers and kids are scrambling to make up for the loss of learning caused by largely unnecessary COVID shutdowns, it seems that more attention than usual should be paid to our schools.

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        Progress.

  2. James McCarthy Avatar
    James McCarthy

    Let’s see. Are there “resource officers” in the school for the protection of the students? Is the principal over reacting out of safety concerns? Always take a deep breath before throwing stones.

    1. DJRippert Avatar
      DJRippert

      “But no one seems willing to describe what’s happening, and the media is too incurious to ask.”

      That is the problem.

      Not sure that rises to “throwing stones”.

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        Throwing something?

        1. Lefty665 Avatar
          Lefty665

          Requests for facts?

          1. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Facts? Something a little less solid, I’m sure.

    2. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      Always take a deep breath before entering…

    3. WayneS Avatar
      WayneS

      Yes.

      In fact, take several deep breaths. Then, throw the stone after you exhale one breath and before you inhale the next breath. This takes advantage of your natural respiratory pause.

      This method can greatly increase the accuracy of your stone-throwing.

    4. WayneS Avatar
      WayneS

      Yes.

      In fact, take several deep breaths. Then, throw the stone after you exhale one breath and before you inhale the next breath. This takes advantage of your natural respiratory pause.

      This method can greatly increase the accuracy of your stone-throwing.

  3. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Etiquette courses?

  4. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    Personally, it is my opinion that you have no basis, background or expertise as a “journalist” to second guess or demand “answers” about how this principal monitors the bathrooms in their school and ensures the safety of the children for which they are responsible.

    1. DJRippert Avatar
      DJRippert

      Tough day for you with that Supreme Court ruling leak, I guess.

      The principal herself clearly stated that something has to change …

      “No one wants to see us continue the way we have. No one. Not me, and you shouldn’t either.”

      Not sure h0w anybody is second guessing the principal when she sees the problem as clear as day.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        except if the ‘inquisition” approach to public sector employees trying to do their job – leads to less and less of them willing to put up with that kind of review of their work.

        This particular issue is very likely universal with most every high school and middle school with restroom ‘issues” that need to be dealt with. Many schools have their share of bad actors that will use restrooms and other not-monitored locations to evade the rules and accountability for their behaviors. It’s exactly why most schools also have monitors in the lunchrooms…

        Are we to have every school principal to be subject to public review of their efforts and if some in the public don’t like it , the principal is accused of not doing their job right?

        Who in their right mind is going to undertake a job where very Tom, Dick and harry can play monday-morning quarterback on every task they are responsible for?

        If you want to undermine , damage, imperil public education, just make it harder and harder for workers and leaders to do their jobs.

        1. DJRippert Avatar
          DJRippert

          What are you talking about, Larry? Jim Bacon wonders why middle schools students have to be taken en masse to use the bathroom. I wonder the same. If a kid needs to use the bathroom just hand him or her a hall pass and let them go.

          The principal says the matter needs to be addressed but never says why a whole class needs to go to the bathroom at the same time.

          Why does a whole class have to go to the bathroom at the same time?

          This is not a hard question.

      2. Eric the half a troll Avatar
        Eric the half a troll

        How does the leakage of the SCOTUS decision make it a “tough day” for me…?? What a silly comment. I don’t live in a Red State and I am not a woman…. now women in Red States are having a very tough day.

        But just think… now no one can stop you from forcing Sally to carry Uncle Don’s baby to term down there in the Bible Belt!! Hurrah for you!!

        Btw… I am sure your reading comprehension is better than that… pretty sure anyway… in case it is not, the principal is not lamenting the need for bathroom supervision, they are lamenting that the school is overcrowded resulting in fewer staff available to provide that supervision which means the responsibility falls on the teachers themselves. How can you not comprehend that…🤷‍♂️

        1. Matt Adams Avatar
          Matt Adams

          “With a limited number of bathrooms and not enough staff to supervise them, teachers have to use instruction time to take their entire class to the bathroom. “No one wants to see us continue the way we have. No one. Not me, and you shouldn’t either,” Murphy-Braxton said.”

          Umm no, the Principal is lamenting both, you should perhaps not question others reading skills when you’re own appear lacking.

          1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
            Eric the half a troll

            You are, as usual, wrong.

          2. Matt Adams Avatar
            Matt Adams

            Um, no. You see unlike yourself I used the quote. So again, you should refrain from questioning people’s reading when clearly you’re lacking in that department.

          3. Eric the half a troll Avatar
            Eric the half a troll

            In which ONLY overcrowding issues were cited as the underlying problems (not enough bathrooms and too few staff). Also, had you read the article you would note the principal was commenting at a school board meeting which was considering moving children out of the school due to overcrowding. In no way was the issue of whether or not or why bathroom supervision is needed to begin with addressed. As I said, you are wrong… again…

            Now you will tell me it is “implied”… your standard comeback when it is shown that you are wrong in black and white.

          4. Matt Adams Avatar
            Matt Adams

            That is a complete false statement, again and I quote:

            “With a limited number of bathrooms and not enough staff to supervise them, teachers have to use instruction time to take their entire class to the bathroom. “No one wants to see us continue the way we have. No one. Not me, and you shouldn’t either,” Murphy-Braxton said.”

            You’re clearly just ignoring what you don’t want to acknowledge, supervision of the students is directly cited, regardless if you want to admit your error.

            “As I said, you are wrong… again…”

            I am not, but as per usual you feel you’re infallible when clearly the direct quote form the Principal concludes you’re wrong.

            “Now you will tell me it is “implied”… your standard comeback when it is shown that you are wrong in black and white”

            As opposed to your SOP of never admitting to making errors and lashing out in a childish manner when it’s plainly pointed out?

          5. Eric the half a troll Avatar
            Eric the half a troll

            Too high of a student:staff ratio is a common complaint of administrators of overcrowded schools. Again, the complaint is one of too few staff to properly supervise bathroom use not the necessity to supervise itself. Pretty obvious what is being said. Again, you are wrong…. on top of that you are projecting… again…

          6. Matt Adams Avatar
            Matt Adams

            “Too high of a student:staff ratio is a common complaint of administrators of overcrowded schools. Again, the complaint is one of too few staff to properly supervise bathroom use not the necessity to supervise itself.”

            Where did I say that overcrowding was not one of the issues? I actually believe I said both were problems. One that they don’t have the faculties for students and two that they need to supervise them. The supervise statement came directly from the Principal that you keep trying to deny. It’s plain English, so yes it’s very obvious what is being stated. Normal students regardless of overcrowding don’t need their hands held in the bathrooms, unless there is established issues (which if you had bothered to do any semblance of research, you’d know that River City Middle School has had vandalism issues in their bathrooms)

            “In Chesterfield, parents of students at Thomas Dale High School tell CBS 6 teens have not only grabbed at the soap dispensers, but they’ve been damaging ceiling lights and exit signs on the property as well.
            Chesterfield schools confirmed there has been damage from students.
            In Richmond, Superintendent Jason Kamras mentioned students tearing down soap dispensers in his “Reopen with Love 2.0″ update at the Sept. 13 school board meeting.
            Those incidents happened at River City Middle School and Lucille Brown Middle School. However, Richmond school officials told CBS 6 they do not have any indication that those incidents were related to a TikTok trend.”

            https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/damaging-school-property-tiktok-trend

            “Again, you are wrong…. on top of that you are projecting… again…”

            Well using the quote from the article, I’m not. However, whatever you have to tell yourself to make yourself feel superior go for it.

            Also, you don’t know what projection is, as it’s a psychological action and not a buzzword you heard on the news of social media:

            “the mental process by which people attribute to others what is in their own minds.”

            Again, you’re acting petty and childish and your retorts, if you can call them that are becoming more and more vapid as the day goes by. I also realize that even with the information you were just provided, you’ll never admit you were wrong and quadruple down on your statements, so lets just cut the fat chet.

          7. Eric the half a troll Avatar
            Eric the half a troll

            “One that they don’t have the faculties for students and two that they need to supervise them. The supervise statement came directly from the Principal that you keep trying to deny.”

            “With a limited number of bathrooms and not enough staff to supervise them, teachers have to use instruction time to take their entire class to the bathroom.”

            Note what is NOT stated here… “…combined with bathroom vandalism issues…” or anything of a similar nature… 🤷‍♂️. Again, the Principal is not saying what you contend…

          8. Matt Adams Avatar
            Matt Adams

            “Note what is NOT stated here… “…combined with bathroom vandalism issues…” or anything of a similar nature… 🤷‍♂️. Again, the Principal is not saying what you contend…”

            She did in fact state that, because she was presenting to a board who were aware of the previous vandalism issues. Hence why she spoke on the topic of supervision for bathroom visit, which I can assume was a District wide policy following the events reported and which I cited.

            I’m sorry that in the face of facts you’re unable or unwilling to admit your error, that is entirely of your own doing and has nothing to do with me.

            Furthermore, thanks for proving my point (I mean it wasn’t ever in any doubt you’d fail to admit you were wrong).

          9. Eric the half a troll Avatar
            Eric the half a troll

            Oh… I see… she didn’t have to actually say anything… you know it was “implied”…. (as I predicted)

          10. Matt Adams Avatar
            Matt Adams

            No, considering you were provided the research that proves my point and you’re just too dishonest to accept it. That’s all on you.

  5. Lefty665 Avatar
    Lefty665

    Dope, sex, smoking, hanging out cutting classes in the bathrooms. The school administration lacks control. Some pointed questions of the Principal would seem in order, if only what she thinks the problem is, what she needs to fix it and why she does not have it. Gorgeous school.

  6. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Speaking of cherry picking, assuming many of us are Boomers and early Gen-X, anyone pulling out of the markets? Read that Boomers are getting skittish with the old 401(k)s and such.

    Just an informal question. FWIW, I have been doing some picking with my cash reserves. I still like TMO, Steve. It’s been a helluva ride since last May.

    Oh hey, on Richmond, a segment on CNBC said that in some 10 to 20 cities, the millennials have closed the gender pay gap, some to negligible. Richmond was one of the cities. Now that is worthy of an article, but we get toilets.

    1. Lefty665 Avatar
      Lefty665

      With treasuries around 3%, cash and equivalents are at long last beginning to show some return. With inflation they’re still going to be at least 5-6% loss in value for the year. OTOH that may be better to far better than stocks this year. Investing in real stuff, even banjos, or things like REITs tend to be hedges against inflation.

    2. WayneS Avatar
      WayneS

      I’m investing in precious metals: Lead and brass.

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        And clothing… copper jackets.

        1. Lefty665 Avatar
          Lefty665

          and your hollow point is?

          1. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Hollow. Very hollow. Or, is it as Obama suggested, hallowed?

          2. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            I think that was Lincoln at Gettysburg, but ok and don’t forget the velocity squared part of the energy equation. Fast clothes for fast times.

          3. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            At Ridgemont High… high?

          4. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            and now we’re back to what’s going on in the bathrooms:)

          5. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5oVBvxA0mm0

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