Parents of kids in the public school system!!!?

Question

Alright i would really like some opionions on what you guys would do as parents of children in the public school systems if this happened.
We have a child in kindergarden, and i do after school care for a girl in his class (both 6 years old) The mom came to me one day and said her daughter told her another little girl from school asked to get a drink and walked right out the school doors and started walking home. Keep in mind this child is 5! So i called the mom of this girl and asked if it was true, and it was. She said her little girl walked 1/4 mile and a stranger lady luckily picked her up and took her home, where her mom happened to be home that day. The parents were not contacted at all. And a 1/2 hour after the girl was home, the mom finally called the school to let them know she had the girl. So an hour time frame this 5 year old was missing, no contacting the police and didnt even contact the parents. Im concerned about the policies the school has in place

The mom tried to sit down and talk with the sup of the school and he wouldnt answer any questions. No one is talking and none of the other parents even knew this happened. I feel outraged none of us were notified that this 5 year old was able to walk right out the doors and away from school like that and no one will talk, Its like all the teachers and workers at the school are trying to cover up what happened, and they are worried about a lawsuit. We are all meeting with the school board here soon, all the kindergarden parents. Is there any laws protecting are kids? and how would you feel if this was your 5 year old.

Answer 1

The best thing to fight a cover up is to yank the covers off. First, make a timeline of details of what happened, the steps you and other parents took to rectify the problem, and the response of school personnel to all of your actions. Warn the other parents about what you intend to do and get their support. Then, contact the media! Every single one of them. Television, Newspaper. If it's a small town, contact the media of the closest large city. And tell them the story. They will contact the mom and others for more information. This will put the pressure on to do something like nothing else will. You do what you have to to ensure your child is in a safe environment. That teacher is in deep dootie for sending a 5 year old outside of the classroom alone. Here, there are water fountains inside kindergarten rooms or the whole class goes.

Contact the media asap - they love to film school board meetings where controversial issues are discussed. The law depends upon your state, but no state allows 5 year old children to leave schools unsupervised. Look up the law under your state's board of education website. If it were my child, we'd be on TV a lot!

I yanked my son out of the public school system when he was 8 - three years too late in my opinion - because of lack of supervision and mistreatment. His small charter school is very careful with student safety.

If the school district makes the news for this, you can be quite sure they will move heaven and earth to make sure the incident does not repeat. No district wants the same scandal twice.

Answer 2

Honestly, if it were my little girl, i'd have already contacted the media and brought alot of "unwanted" attention to that school.
In the school where my kids go, all the doors are locked all day long except the one right by the office. Everyone to go in and come out is noted.
I do remember being in 2nd grade and a boy decied to walk home. He only lived about 4 blocks from the school, but it didn't take our teacher very long to notice he was missing. His folks were contacted right away. We had been at recess and he just climbed the school yard fence and took off.

Yes, i'd be p!$$ed with that school to say the least. The media always seems to get things done when parents alone can't. I wonder how many parents in that school are unaware that , that even happened?????? I'd want to know!!!

Answer 3

If that was my child I would be very upset. I would be doing everything possible to let people know what happened. I would contact whoever I needed to make sure something was done so that this would not happen again! This is a child that was picked up by a stranger..luckily this time ...someone not out to hurt her. How scary to think your child is safe at school, when she is really out walking home. I would be talking to a lawyer or something to find out what can be done. It is absolutely terrible that a child can get out of a school.. be missing that long and not once was the parent notified of the situation. Makes you wonder if the teachers themselves even realized she was gone. That situation just makes me so mad and disgusts me.

Answer 4

I am a special education teacher at an elementary school. I can't imagine how this situation happened. I suppose it would be possible for a student to slip by the staff if they were really trying to be sneaky, BUT....the teacher should have noticed the child was missing after a few minutes! This happens to me once in a while. If the student is not back after a few minutes, I send a student to go check on them to make sure they are OK. One time, I had a student actually come up missing after saying he had to go to the bathroom. I noticed after about 5 minutes that he was still not back, so I sent someone to check on him. He wasn't in the bathroom! So, I immediately called the office, his general ed. teacher, his speech teacher....everyone I could think of! We found him after about 10 minutes in the coat room. Apparently, he remembered while sitting on the toilet that he had a book in his backpack that he decided to go get. When he pulled the book out, he decided to just sit right there and read it. (ADHD causes impulsivity!)

It is inexcusable for a child that young to be missing for that long. That story could have had a horrific ending. She could have been hit by a car or picked up by a child molester! The administrators at the school need to just admit that they did not have the proper safeguards in place. They should see this as an opportunity to make their school a safer place. They should also consider themselves lucky that this happened and that no one got hurt!!!

Have you talked to your local newspaper or news station? If they did a story about this, I bet you my last dollar the school board would change their tune!

Answer 5

I think i understand your point, but; it is deeper then just the school system.. We as parents and society teach to judge others in everything they do. examples: you are in the store and you see a child throwing a fit, you tell your child to look at the child and say see how they act, WE don't do that, do we?.. 2) at school, see how that family looks and behaves WE need to do that in order for your friends parents to like us enough to send your friend home to our house.. then when you become a parent/adult you judge people based on all things more or less what isn't said or by actions, because you are deciding whats appropriate and whats not for others..

Answer 6

That is crazy. I cant believe that they would let a child go out for that long and not try and contact the parents, especially since this child is so young in age. I would be very afraid to let my child go to school for fear that they would allow her to go out with out anyone watching. Someone could have easily hurt this child. There should be a complaint brought up to the Board of Education by not only the parents of this child but every parent in this school.

Answer 7

Get a lawyer and try to talk to your State Senator. They will have to pay attention to your case due to the rising concerns of education. In the mean time, be looking at ways to make your child's class safer. Is there something you can do or think of to make sure your child is protected or accounted for at all times? There is a cell phone you can buy (Disney Mobile I think) that has a tracking device. I think that would be a good thing to purchase. Try talking individually with your child's teacher to ensure that she realizes the importance and severity (In your opinion) of the situation. Do not try to talk to the teacher that dropped the ball though- it is not your responsibility and there is no need to get in a fight. Good Luck!

Answer 8

i would be mortified if that happened with my child. the teacher is responsible for this. she should have gone looking for the girl after 2 minutes and the police and parents should have been called immediatly when she wasn't found. no doubt they are trying to stay away from a possible lawsuit. there may not be any actual policies in force for this situation. it is up to you as parents to see that they are. good luck with this.

Answer 9

I personally would contact your local news. See if there is anything they can do to help you make your local community aware that these things are going on at their schools. Press your local government to take action against the school and the teacher as well. Both should be held responsible for this.

Answer 10

go to your local school districts website, if they dont have one request a policy book. read what thier policy on this is, then you know if it the school or the districts fault. you are suppose to be there to get your child on time, at the same time they cannot leave any child unattended. anyways you might have a little more help finding out who to talk with about this.