Arlington Martin HS Murder (Fort Worth, Grand Prairie: high schools, income, living in)

[alonzarralijah]

I AM SO GLAD that I moved out of Arlington to wonderfu H.E.B!! I can't believe that they are building that stadium, you talk about chaos!!

I hate to hear about all the violence that's going on in Arlington, and hate to hear that kids are getting killed left and right!! That makes me sad....

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by Guerilla

Parents weren't home that weekend. That's why they were throwing the party.

Yet somehow all of these other kids showed up.
How did they get there?
Did the parents drop them off?
Did they drive on their own?
Did the parents even ASK and verify where their kids were going to be?
Did the parents even have a curfew for a DECENT hour for their kids to be home?

This is where the parents in the COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE are failing. Why and How?

I've NEVER seen so many parents just drop their kids off at a house for a "party" without VERIFYING first w/ the parents at the house. They just pull up and the 14 year old (and in some cases as young as 11 & 12) just jump out of the car and go in and parents drive off. The parents in most cases don't even know the KID whose house it is much less their parents. How hard is it to stop the car and get out and GO TO THE DOOR AND MEET THE PARENTS and FIND OUT WHAT THE PLANS ARE FOR THE NIGHT!!!! If you see alcohol flowing freely to minors DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CHILD THERE!

So they are old enough to drive themselves. Nothng wrong w/ that at all. But the kids will say they are going to a party at a friends house and the parents don't even bother to VERIFY it. Same as above but just PICK UP A PHONE AND CALL THE PARENTS HOSTING THE PARTY! Don't talk to the kid even if the are 17. ASK THE PARENT!!! If the parent is not available then DON'T LET YOUR KID GO!!!

Set a curfew and tell the kids they MUST be home at that time NO EXCEPTIONS! These kids have cell phones nowadays so if lil johnny ain't home by curfew CALL HIM!!! Have the number for the house he is SUPPOSED to be at and call there too. Have his friends numbers handy and call them.

Might sound like "too much parenting" to some but as you can see by being a handsoff parent it has cost our children their lives. I'd RATHER be the parent that EVERY parent KNOWS I'll ask questions than the one no one knows even exist.

Along the same lines last year we helped chaperone a party for some friends whose son was hosting a party. The kids ranged in age from 15-17 so some could drive. Very nice neighborhood and all. Still had parents dropping off at the curb and not even bothering to find out what was going on inside. Parents calling their kids cellphone to say they were outside in the car to pick them up. Not even bothering to come in to see how things went. What if the parent needed to talk to you???? We had a list and when each kid left we marked down WHO they left with and what time. Once they left they were not allowed back. No alcohol was allowed at all and even us adults chaperoning did not drink that night.

My daughter had a party this last fall and it was mostly 7th & 8th graders. In the invitation I made I INVITED the parents to come in and visit with US. I also put that it would be chaperoned but they were welcome to stay and visit w/ the other parents. Also included in the invitation were the instructions for dropoff and pickup. The parent had to tell us if their child was going to be leaving w/ someone else and who would be picking them up. They were also required to come in to pickup and the other mom "hosting" the party at our house even had them SIGN they picked up their child. We did not want ANYTHING to happen to the kids. We wanted them to have fun and they all did. The party was talked about for weeks at school as being the best. I'm hoping I've set a trend for those that were around that as parents we NEED and MUST be this involved to insure our childrens safety.

Doing all of this is not going to guarantee that every child will stay out of harms way but it is a good start.

[Guerilla]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Yet somehow all of these other kids showed up.
How did they get there?
Did the parents drop them off?
Did they drive on their own?
Did the parents even ASK and verify where their kids were going to be?
Did the parents even have a curfew for a DECENT hour for their kids to be home?

This is where the parents in the COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE are failing. Why and How?

I've NEVER seen so many parents just drop their kids off at a house for a "party" without VERIFYING first w/ the parents at the house. They just pull up and the 14 year old (and in some cases as young as 11 & 12) just jump out of the car and go in and parents drive off. The parents in most cases don't even know the KID whose house it is much less their parents. How hard is it to stop the car and get out and GO TO THE DOOR AND MEET THE PARENTS and FIND OUT WHAT THE PLANS ARE FOR THE NIGHT!!!! If you see alcohol flowing freely to minors DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CHILD THERE!

So they are old enough to drive themselves. Nothng wrong w/ that at all. But the kids will say they are going to a party at a friends house and the parents don't even bother to VERIFY it. Same as above but just PICK UP A PHONE AND CALL THE PARENTS HOSTING THE PARTY! Don't talk to the kid even if the are 17. ASK THE PARENT!!! If the parent is not available then DON'T LET YOUR KID GO!!!

Set a curfew and tell the kids they MUST be home at that time NO EXCEPTIONS! These kids have cell phones nowadays so if lil johnny ain't home by curfew CALL HIM!!! Have the number for the house he is SUPPOSED to be at and call there too. Have his friends numbers handy and call them.

Might sound like "too much parenting" to some but as you can see by being a handsoff parent it has cost our children their lives. I'd RATHER be the parent that EVERY parent KNOWS I'll ask questions than the one no one knows even exist.

Along the same lines last year we helped chaperone a party for some friends whose son was hosting a party. The kids ranged in age from 15-17 so some could drive. Very nice neighborhood and all. Still had parents dropping off at the curb and not even bothering to find out what was going on inside. Parents calling their kids cellphone to say they were outside in the car to pick them up. Not even bothering to come in to see how things went. What if the parent needed to talk to you???? We had a list and when each kid left we marked down WHO they left with and what time. Once they left they were not allowed back. No alcohol was allowed at all and even us adults chaperoning did not drink that night.

My daughter had a party this last fall and it was mostly 7th & 8th graders. In the invitation I made I INVITED the parents to come in and visit with US. I also put that it would be chaperoned but they were welcome to stay and visit w/ the other parents. Also included in the invitation were the instructions for dropoff and pickup. The parent had to tell us if their child was going to be leaving w/ someone else and who would be picking them up. They were also required to come in to pickup and the other mom "hosting" the party at our house even had them SIGN they picked up their child. We did not want ANYTHING to happen to the kids. We wanted them to have fun and they all did. The party was talked about for weeks at school as being the best. I'm hoping I've set a trend for those that were around that as parents we NEED and MUST be this involved to insure our childrens safety.

Doing all of this is not going to guarantee that every child will stay out of harms way but it is a good start.

Mom is that you? LOL, my mom was the exact same way when I was in junior high, and on into my freshman year. My dad wasn't like that, but both started relaxing on me as I started my 10th grade year, and on into driving. I still carry what they taught me though, and won't be at a party blazin' it up at 3 AM. Not like I have never been at a party that late before though. Mistakes/bad judgment do happen. When that happened (and they found out), it was "give me your keys".

Some parents are just let their teens do what they want. I know some who smoke weed in their house while their parents are home, and their parents don't say anything (because they do the SAME thing). Monkey see, monkey do I guess.

/rant.

[Canine*Castle]

Originally Posted by new2sa

From the city-data.com 2006 Crime Index Comparison Per 100,000:
(U.S. Avg=323.2)

Allen = 148.1
Arlington = 469.5
Bedford = 291.1
Coppell = 120.6
Dallas = 726.6
Denton = 245.8
Desoto = 232.0
Euless = 200.2
Flower Mound = 81.3
Frisco = 223.6
Ft. Worth = 480.3
Garland = 257.8
Grand Prairie = (not listed)
Grapevine = 203.1
Hurst = 413.4
Irving = 359.7
Lewisville = 245.5
McKinney = 201.4
Murphy = (not listed)
Plano = 235.7
Richardson = 221.9
Rockwall = 189.2
Sherman = 310.2
Southlake = 117.9
The Colony = 110.1
Trophy Club = 59.1
University Park = 115.5
Wylie = 167.9

As quoted above, Hurst doesn't fall short by too much compared to Arlington's crime, and I would guess E and B will catch up in due course.

[Runnn]

Originally Posted by Canine*Castle

As quoted above, Hurst doesn't fall short by too much compared to Arlington's crime, and I would guess E and B will catch up in due course.

Given the relative smaller size of Hurst, Euless & Bedford compared to a larger Arlington, I'd submit "HEB" have more of an issue per capita.

[Canine*Castle]

Adding to the crime stats posted above, the ratio of sex offenders in Hurst and Euless is quite a bit higher than in Arlington. Bedford is lower though. When I see these stats, I can't comprehend the adjective "wonderful" to the HEB area.

Of course, everyone sees places to live differently and what works for them is what counts.

[FarNorthDallas]

At my son's middle/high school parents have to sign this paper that says they won't leave their kids alone when they go out of town, they won't host inappropriate parties and other similar rules. If the parents sign it then their names go on a list so other parents know that they are going to follow those rules. If the parents haven't signed then you know they may go out of town and leave their kids home alone (we're talking older kids) or whatever.

My son has one friend whose parents don't sign. They travel a lot and the kids are home alone. I decided my son couldn't hang out with that kid anymore. One time this kid was at my house playing and while he was here the parents left the country. I had no idea they were leaving. The kid knew but didn't mention it. It was a weird situation because I didn't know what to do with the kid. The dad just dropped him off and drove away. I just assumed he would still be around later in the day to pick up his kid, but both parents were on a plane to Europe. Weird.

[Spree]

wow FND ... how old are the kids? Is there family in the area for emergencies? My husband had a coworker that was a single dad, but traveled. The 16 or 17 yo daughter would take care of the 11 or 12 yo son when the dad left on business trips. There was a time that the boy needed medical care and the daughter couldn't sign off on it, it had to be a parent.

My son's high school also has a list of parents who won't serve alcohol and will be at the house when there's parties. My parents were pretty lax with me but put the fear of God in me if I ever messed up.

[shaxs]

Wow, you guys are scarring me from Moving to Arlington- maybe even Texas. Okay maybe not Texas, but I am moving in June/July from San Diego and need to find a place that is 30 minutes from UTA and 45 minutes from DFW airport. Not sure where to go now. We were thinking Arlington.

[kt2le]

Originally Posted by shaxs

Wow, you guys are scarring me from Moving to Arlington- maybe even Texas. Okay maybe not Texas, but I am moving in June/July from San Diego and need to find a place that is 30 minutes from UTA and 45 minutes from DFW airport. Not sure where to go now. We were thinking Arlington.

Don't let the actions of a few kids taint an entire city or high school. Martin HS has 3,500 kids and most of them are great kids with great parents. How do I know? We have two kids at Martin who are active in everything and we, also, happen to know most of their parents. We've lived in SW Arlington for over 14 years and our kids go to school with many of the same kids they've known since Kindergarten. Arlington's a big place (350,000 people) and any large city is going to have good/bad areas, good/bad kids and smart/stupid adults. The west side (from NW to SW) is the best side of town so, if you're thinking of moving here, stay away from anything on the east (NE to SE) side. BTW, we asked our kids if they knew any of the kids involved in the altercation and our oldest said, with rolling eyes, that the situation wasn't a complete surprise based on reputations.