The mother of a 12-year-old transgender boy at Kensington’s Silver Creek Middle School is calling out the school system for doing little to stop the bullying her son has been receiving since he began transitioning in October.
The boy reports being called slurs by his classmates and being told that he’s “a sin.”
“I think they forget that I’m a person,” he said.
His mother, Christina Celenza, pointed out that when swastikas were found in her son’s school, the principal swiftly addressed it by sending a community letter to parents and holding a school assembly. She said she wants to see the same level of commitment from Montgomery County Public Schools when it comes to combatting anti-LGBTQ+ bullying — something she called “very prevalent” within MCPS.
“We need to be talking to our kids about this hate, and if the parents don’t know that it’s going on and the school keeps sweeping it under the rug, denying that it happened or saying without actual witnesses they won’t address it,” she said. [NBC4]
Twenty-nine new officers sworn into Montgomery County police force
Amid a concerted recent push for police recruitment, 29 new police officers were sworn into the Montgomery County Police Department to serve in five agencies across the county.
The officers will serve in Montgomery County, Takoma Park, Gaithersburg and Rockville City police departments as well as the county sheriff’s department.
At the swearing-in ceremony on Friday, police chief Marcus Jones told the new graduates: “We will expect a lot from you in the coming years, and the coming days.”
Several of the new officers acknowledged that they’re entering the profession at a time of heightened public scrutiny. Officer Melvin Wright, a new recruit from Prince George’s County, told WTOP: “I saw where trust in police was kind of dwindling. I saw where different police departments were hurting for people and I just figured, why not try to help out?” [WTOP]
Former bike racer and Olympic coach hosts opioid talk at Gaithersburg HS
Former BMX racer and U.S. Olympic coach Tony Hoffman led a conversation about substance use and mental health at Gaithersburg High School on Wednesday.
Hoffman was a promising BMX racer with a bright future, but his career took a nosedive when he began misusing drugs like Oxycontin to cope with anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts. He is now known for speaking around the country about the dangers of misusing prescription pills and heroin.
The City of Gaithersburg is set to receive almost $800,000 in funds over the next 18 years from the National Opioid Settlement agreement, which will be used to fund programs like Hoffman’s to help combat substance use. [Fox 5]
Today’s weather…
Cloudy with temperatures in the mid 40s and a high chance of rain throughout the day.
In case you missed it…
Middle school math proficiency plummets over pandemic, state data shows
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Black, Hispanic students disproportionately suspended for ‘disrespect,’ MCPS data shows