BCPS Superintendent Cancels All Senior Proms

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  • Ungermc

    Uses Gun-oil Aftershave
    I'm a pretty easygoing middle aged dude, got a thick skin after 54 years and a few scars to show for it, but when you hurt my family you will receive no quarter!

    Which brings me to my point; I'm the father of a Class of 2020 BCPS student, who on the evening of Friday, April 3rd had their dreams crushed by the cowardly and callus robocall and text message from BCPS Superintendent Darryl L. Williams. (Letter attached).

    In this letter, with a flick of a pen, Dr. Williams denies my daughter, Victoria, and hundreds of her peers their Senior Prom, with false empathy he coldly does this giving no consideration for postponing this landmark event in our children’s lives. How many fathers had to break this news to their daughter or son tonight, how many had their daughter, like mine, sobbing in their arms pleading to them, ‘Daddy, please don’t let them do this, I worked so hard’.

    Then twisting the knife deeper, the letter goes on to suggest, with an almost certainty, our kids will also be denied the honor and pride of walking across the stage in cap and gown, having toiled for and dreamt of this moment for 12 years. And to suggest a virtual-graduation is simply insulting to these fine young scholars and their families.

    COVID-19 will fade and when it does, we need to restore these 2020 kids their Proms and the REAL graduation that they deserve and have earned.
     

    Attachments

    • Class_of_2020_04_03_20.pdf
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    Skipjacks

    Ultimate Member
    This superintendent is a douche

    It's one political move after another

    And no real action. Schools were closed for 2 weeks. No one believes they would open after 2 weeks but it was day 12 of 14 that the superintendent STARTED to plan for an extended school closure and alternate remote teaching options

    This guy is a tool

    And now he is canceling proms in what...late May? Why? What information does he have that the rest of the nation is unaware of that this will be a major devestarion in late May and June?
     

    Skipjacks

    Ultimate Member
    Also the robocalls....good Lord

    I get one a day
    Then an hour later my wife gets the same one
    Then both my emails get the same message
    As well as my wife's email
    And I get a text saying there is an email I should read
    Then I get a message through the Schoology App with the same message

    It is insane how many times BCPS send some the same message in an hour. My phone goes bererk

    And half the time it is the superintendent saying "We just wanted to let you know we were thinking about you"

    Good Lord I've dated women less obsessive than this guy
     

    adit

    ReMember
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 20, 2013
    19,495
    DE
    My niece in Middletown, DE had her prom and graduation cancelled last week as well. They are not happy campers either.
     

    -Z/28-

    I wanna go fast
    Dec 6, 2011
    10,647
    Harford Co
    He's being a realist. Some states are already pushing into June with the lockdowns. Be glad he's doing it early before everyone has already spent hundreds on dresses and tickets and limos.

    Personally I never went to prom and never looked back. Overrated.
     

    roadking

    Active Member
    Mar 11, 2019
    315
    Baltimore, MD
    The communication sounds like it was poorly (and ineptly) handled. And while that’s cause for being upset, let’s look at the reality of this pandemic as far as rescheduling goes. This may not be over in time before the kids transition to their next phase of life. If this things peaks around July 4, as the experts now say, do you think things will be semi normal by Labor Day? Maybe, but then many of the kids will be off to college, jobs, etc. How would it be possible to reschedule prom or graduation for October? Or, would you start re-planning for July? Only to reschedule again for August? And then cancel it? How do you do all this rescheduling when the people you need to work (hotels, ballrooms, restaurants, caterers) aren’t working at full staff now and certainly aren’t booking events in the near term. There are too many variables and too many unknowns. Yes, it sucks that these kids are deprived of prom and of walking across the stage. But it’s not realistic to think these things can be postponed and then rescheduled. Life will go on quickly when this is over. And there won’t be time to go back and do all that was missed. It sucks, but that’s the reality. And before you yell at me, my son is a senior at Towson. So I’m in a similar situation and I understand the emotion.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
     

    Lloyd

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 20, 2012
    1,106
    FEMA Camp
    1,169 people died today in NY and I bet they and their and families wished they had your problems.


    .
     

    ericoak

    don't drop Aboma on me
    Feb 20, 2010
    6,806
    Howard County
    Canceling these events seems like a no brainer. I’m out a thousand dollars from my vacation in late May. My friends are getting laid off left and right.
     

    Brychan

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 24, 2009
    8,391
    Baltimore
    Simple question: Would you rather they held the prom and graduation ceremonies on schedule, and in a few weeks after many of them are on a ventilator?
     

    THier

    R.I.P.
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 3, 2010
    4,998
    Muscleville
    Well, this is one of the things I thought of when this started. I feel so sorry for the seniors, they should give this time to blow over, when it does,, allow the young men and women, who have looked forward to this time, have their prom, and graduation ceremony. I dont care if it in june, july, August, whatever. BUT, there is no way in hell,, it should happen while this virus is on the loose.
    My cousin is a teacher in Michigan, they scrapped the school year last week.
     

    danb

    dont be a dumbass
    Feb 24, 2013
    22,704
    google is your friend, I am not.
    Based on the parents I talk to, the kids for sure knew this was coming.

    Seems like it was handled badly, but if you thought proms and graduations were happening this year in MD, you were in denial.
     

    pbharvey

    Habitual Testifier
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    30,152
    You’re worried about prom and I’m worried about the formal shop where my daughter got her wedding dress. I hope they stay in business; I imagine prom is their Christmas as far as income.
    Sorry for your daughter but this is a lot bigger than her hurt feelings or me losing a deposit on a dress.
    Within the next 2-3 weeks she’ll probably know a someone who has lost a family member from this. Then maybe it will sink in how important it is to stay away from large groups of people for a while.
     

    Ammo Jon

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 3, 2008
    20,774
    What information does he have that the rest of the nation is unaware of that this will be a major devestarion in late May and June?

    I think "they" don't want people to panic so they aren't being honest with the numbers of dead and the length of this.
     

    Norton

    NRA Endowment Member, Rifleman
    Staff member
    Admin
    Moderator
    May 22, 2005
    122,847
    If your name was at the top of the webpage, and thus the primary assumption of personal liability for the decision making that could potentially affect the safety of hundreds of people, what would you do?

    This is one of the least urgent decisions facing schools right now.
     

    DOM

    Active Member
    Nov 19, 2012
    120
    I have a Sr in the same position. He's devastated. I'm really hoping that by the end of April, we have enough masks made and drug supplies to return to a somewhat real world. Our kids will be entering one of the worst economies in our lifetime.
     

    Sundazes

    My brain hurts
    MDS Supporter
    Nov 13, 2006
    21,287
    Arkham
    As I father of a 2020 grad, I understand the reason why things are cancelled/postponed. His Eagle Ceremony was put off until next fall. At least the BSA made the call instead of hemming and hawing....BCPS has always ***** footed around with decisions that impact student and family lives. Cancel the rest of the year, postpone the grad ceremonies. Just make the damn decision and be done with it.
    My daughter had 3 wrestling tourneys cancelled and the Nationals championships postponed. They made this decisions early on. Life goes on, it sucks, but it is what it is.

    To Skipjacks point. Here here. My cell, then our house, then my wife cell then the emails.....

    Below is the text of the email that was sent out yesterday from the superintendent. The exact text of the calls.


    These past few weeks, I have been thinking about you, and I know you did not anticipate that your senior year would include a Stay at Home executive order by our governor effective March 30. As a father of a graduating senior in high school and a graduating senior in college, this order and coronavirus have impacted my family as well.
    Just like you and your family, I, too, was looking forward to those culminating events, but due to the health crisis, all proms and senior activities are cancelled. Members of our school Board, your principals, and I share your disappointment about losing these special events, but we must abide by these executive orders by our governor.
    As we continue to monitor this pandemic and abide by the Baltimore County Health Department’s guidelines, our currently scheduled graduation ceremonies may also be impacted. We will continue to work with our school leadership regarding possible alternatives including virtual graduations, but no final decision has been made at this time.
    We recognize that your senior year is a milestone in your educational journey and you worked hard to achieve this senior status. As I shared in an earlier correspondence, our Continuity of Learning Plan cannot replace daily interactions with students and teachers; however, we will continue to work with our state superintendent to address these graduation requirements and request waivers and supports for our seniors. As you know, in order to receive a Maryland diploma, students must fulfill requirements including assessments and service learning hours. As soon as decisions have been made, we will work with your school principals and continue to provide updates.
    I recognize that you may be experiencing many emotions with these changes and uncertainties. Please continue to express yourself with a family member and a trusted loved one. As I mentioned on my first day, my goal is for every student to have at least one adult whom they can trust, and that adult may still be available through email and will probably want to hear from you. If you are worried about a friend or classmate, please notify your teacher, school counselor, or administrator.
    Your teachers, administrators, and staff members are working hard to support you during this challenging time, and we are here to support you during these final months of your senior year. Please be safe and continue to stay engaged in learning with your teachers and classmates. We all will get through this together.

    Sincerely,
    Darryl L. Williams, Ed.D.
    Superintendent

    Like I said, call it already and lets move on.
     

    Norton

    NRA Endowment Member, Rifleman
    Staff member
    Admin
    Moderator
    May 22, 2005
    122,847
    I have a Sr in the same position. He's devastated. I'm really hoping that by the end of April, we have enough masks made and drug supplies to return to a somewhat real world. Our kids will be entering one of the worst economies in our lifetime.

    I don't think that will see the inside of our buildings for the rest of this school year.

    I also think that next year, there will be periods of time where we go back to this means of instruction on the local level because there are going to be hotspots that keep coming up until there is sufficient herd immunity, a vaccine, or treatment.
     

    MauiWowie

    I have the SIGness...
    Nov 23, 2008
    7,347
    Harford Co.
    Life has many hurdles. It’s not always what you deserve or missed out on that defines you. It’s how you respond to situations that makes you. These are hard trying times. Abnormal to say the least. Maybe just maybe your daughter will be able to say my family and I survived Covid19 and forget about a dance and a graduation. Yes it’s sucks but so does a very slow death. Lots of people are dying and she literally has a chance to help save the world.
     
    Keep in mind that the venues for both the proms and graduation are booked a year in advance. If they were to try to postponed it probably would be impossible since schools are closed there is no one to find another venue even if there were chances are there are no employees at potential replacement venues working to answer the phone. Your anger is misplaced. If you want to be angry with someone you should be pointing it where ALL the blame belongs for this event...The Communist Chinese government.

    When all of this is over you and every American seriously impacted by this need to insist that corporations that have headquarters in the United States bring their manufacturing back to the US and that the US government limit it's relationship with the People's "republic". They allowed this to happen, to spread and they hid it for nearly 2 months before a now dead whistle blowing doctor told the world what was happening.

    AND if this is later found out to be a biological weapon that escaped every country impacted by this attack need to retaliate and destroy them.
     

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