[RP TownTalk] middle school

[Alan K. Thompson]

I have a phone call scheduled with County Council Chair Glaros at 4 pm. She
forwarded me a letter she had sent to a concerned resident....here is the
main text of the letter:

“Thank you for reaching out to me on this important matter. Like you, I
read the article with great concern and am taking it incredibly seriously.

While we have had challenges with gangs throughout my Council district and
in the Riverdale area for many years similar to the entire region, I was
not aware of the specific incidents reported in the Washington Post
article. I spent most of yesterday on the phone with the Chief of Police,
PGCPS leadership, nonprofit partners working directly with WWMS students
and families, the Board of Education member for that area, and civic
leaders, to understand their direct, personal experiences inside the school
with WWMS teachers and students. In general, everyone I spoke with
yesterday shared that while there are concerns, they felt the Post headline
is, overall, a gross mischaracterization of the school.

Over the years, the police and others have worked on significant education
and awareness efforts regarding gang activity with Riverdale-area residents
and PGCPS personnel. Those efforts will be continued and augmented. We are
also having conversations to determine what other resources and
collaborations are necessary to address the issues in the school and
uncover any other concerns.

In recent years, the Board of Education member, school leadership, and I
have worked hard to bring new nonprofit partners and resources to William
Wirt, including increased social services support, strong mentoring
programs, and more.

>From my first day in office, building a new school for these students has
been a top priority. I'm proud to say the new building is being designed
now, and is on track to welcome students in September 2021 into a
state-of-the-art facility. The final step will be for state funding for
construction to be allocated. I am hopeful that will happen this fall.
Again, I want you to know that I am taking the allegations in the Post
article very seriously and join you and others in understanding the urgent
need to ensure that our students, teachers and community members are safe
and feel safe.”

On Tue, Jun 12, 2018 at 14:19 Alan K. Thompson <
akthompson at riverdaleparkmd.gov> wrote:

> Dear Audrey,
>
> This article was a shock to those of us on the Town Council as well, as it
> does not match our knowledge of conditions/issues at William Wirt.  We are
> aware of it and are working with the county to understand the situation and
> respond appropriately, within the limits of jurisdiction you mention.
>
> Alan
>
> On Tue, Jun 12, 2018 at 12:05 Audrey Bragg <abragg7393 at aol.com> wrote:
>
>> I was shocked to read about the MS13 gang taking over William Wirt Middle
>> School in the Washington Post this morning.  That is the school where the
>> children of Riverdale Park go to school.  Is our town doing anything to
>> solve this problem.  I know it is county jurisdiction, but our children are
>> our jurisdiction and we should be aware and demand that our children are
>> safe.  Is anyone in this town working on this?
>> Audrey Bragg, Ward 2
>>
>>
>>
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>>
> --
> Sent from my iPad
>
-- 
Sent from my iPad
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