ALLENTOWN, Pa. — In separate incidents over the past couple weeks, two young Allentown School District students were able to walk out of their respective elementary schools unattended.
The students later were found unharmed, but their parents are outraged and calling for accountability from the school district.
After the first incident on Sept. 15, the district said it was strengthening safety protocols at its 16 elementary schools.
“We remain committed to maintaining safe, supportive, and responsive schools."Allentown School District, in a statement
But then another student walked out of school on her own the following Monday.
The district said it is investigating both incidents and reviewing procedures “to identify ways we can enhance and strengthen safety in all of our schools.”
“We remain committed to maintaining safe, supportive, and responsive schools,” the district said in a statement. “The well-being and safety of our staff and students remains our greatest priorities.”
Good Samaritan finds student
Gabriel McField, 6, was getting picked up early by his mother from Ramos Elementary School, at 1430 W. Allen St., on Sept. 15.
Gabriel, a first-grader, was sent to meet her about 15 minutes before the school’s regular dismissal time.
When he didn’t immediately see his mother through the main office’s windows, Gabriel — who was new to the school and has since unenrolled because of the incident — became scared she might have left the building, his mother told LehighValleyNews.com.
"The whole situation is just traumatic.”Karina McField, Gabriel's mother
As a result, he walked out of the school and started toward home to find her, but became disoriented and lost his way.
Once the school realized Gabriel was missing, his mother, the principal and police began beating the pavement looking for him.
Police said a good Samaritan found him around 18th and Hamilton streets and took him to Allentown Police Department Headquarters, where he was reunited with his mother.
Gabriel had been wandering through the city on his own for about an hour, officials said.
“The whole situation is just traumatic,” Karina McField, the boy’s mother, said.
“Anything could have happened. He could have been taken, he could have been hit by a car, he could have been inappropriately touched.”
Good Samaritan finds student
McField, based on her son’s telling, said the boy’s teacher gave him vague instructions about his early dismissal, telling him to go “downstairs” rather than to the “main office.”
“You have to be very literal with him,” she said.
Gabriel was sent down for dismissal by himself, his mother said.
“It shouldn’t be so easy for a first-grader to walk outside."Karina McField, Gabriel's mother
His mother said that when she picked him up for early dismissal previously, Gabriel was escorted to the main office by someone older.
She said she was unsure whether it was another student or staff member.
“It shouldn’t be so easy for a first-grader to walk outside,” McField said.
“He’s an innocent little kid,” she said. "We [can] say he should have known better to not walk out the door, but also he shouldn’t have had such easy access to walk out the door.”
Both ASD and Lehigh County Children & Youth are investigating the incident.
ASD's response: implement buddy system
Tiffany Polek, an executive director of instructional leadership for ASD, said Ramos implemented new safety protocols in response to Gabriel’s incident.
“They were immediately put in place and sent to staff as expectations for students traveling within the building,” Polek told LehighValleyNews.com last week.
Students are expected to use a buddy system for traveling to places in the building, such as the main office, nurse's office or the bathroom.
The first option is to have the student escorted to those places by a staff member, Polek said. If that’s not possible, then students will have a peer walk with them to and from the location.
“The well being and safety of our students is a priority of ours."Tiffany Polek, an executive director of instructional leadership for ASD
If a student is going to the main office to leave school early, two additional students would be sent as buddies, so when those students return to class, they’re not alone, either.
Additionally, teachers will educate students about safety and show them the routes to frequently visited locations within their school building, Polek said.
Polek said she planned to share those safety protocols with the other elementary schools she oversees.
She will communicate them to other executive directors who oversee networks of ASD schools, too, she said.
At Ramos, students are no longer allowed to be picked up for early dismissal after 3 p.m. unless there’s an emergency, Polek said.
That’s to avoid students getting lost in the busyness that happens near regular dismissal time, such as the lining up of buses.
Polek said that rule will be discussed as an option for other elementary schools, too.
Additionally, Polek highlighted that many ASD schools have student ambassador programs in which older students help younger students familiarize themselves with their school building.
“The well-being and safety of our students is a priority of ours,” Polek said.
Panic attack causes student to flee
Just days after the district shared its new safety protocols for elementary schools, another student walked out of school unattended, officials said.
Luna Ortiz, 9, left Hays Elementary School, at 1227-1243 W. Gordon St., through a side door on Monday and walked back to her home.
Her mother found her having a panic attack outside in their yard.
Cianie Alvarado, Luna’s mother, said her daughter has multiple diagnoses and regularly has panic attacks. When that happens, Luna sometimes can’t remember how she gets to places, Alvarado said.
Alvarado said Luna left Hays unattended on the first day of the school year, too. Alvarado had found her having a panic attack in the yard that time, as well, she said.
“They’re just slacking, they didn’t follow the [safety] plan that’s in writing."Cianie Alvarado, Luna Ortiz's mother
As a result, Alvarado and the school created a safety plan for Luna, a fourth-grader who is new to Hays this school year.
The plan, which was viewed by LehighValleyNews.com, states that Luna, upon arrival at school, is to be escorted by staff to her classroom and other locations in the building, such as the nurse’s office or bathroom.
On Monday, Luna was about 30 minutes late to school. Upon arrival, her mother handed Luna off to a staff member, she said.
According to a district statement, Luna walked a younger sibling to class upon arrival and never reported to her own classroom. Instead, she exited through a side door.
“They’re just slacking, they didn’t follow the [safety] plan that’s in writing,” Alvarado said of the school.
When Luna did not arrive to class, her teacher followed protocol and notified the main office, according to ASD’s statement. Then Allentown police were notified.
When an officer responded to the school by 9:55 a.m., Luna already had been found safe by her mother, who brought her back to school.
Alvarado filed a police report on the incident, which APD confirmed.
'Make sure this doesn't happen again'
LehighValleyNews.com sent Allentown School District a detailed list of questions regarding Luna’s incident and asked about the implementation of safety protocols shared the previous week.
The district in response issued a statement that addressed some, but not all of the questions.
It provided no updates on the implementation of the buddy system.
“She was having a panic attack at school and she does not think that anybody at school cares because they always tell her there’s nothing they can do and they send her back to class."Cianie Alvarado, Luna Ortiz’s mother
“While we are limited in what we can share due to student privacy," the district statement said.
"We want to clarify that our schools have established safety protocols, and our staff responded appropriately and promptly.
“This incident underscores the importance of shared responsibility between schools and families in reinforcing safe behaviors, especially during arrival and dismissal times.”
Alvarado said her daughter struggles when she has panic attacks at school because “nobody tries to comfort her or help her with these attacks.”
She said she believes that’s why her daughter left school Monday.
“She was having a panic attack at school and she does not think that anybody at school cares because they always tell her there’s nothing they can do and they send her back to class,” the mother said.
Alvarado said she talked with the school’s principal about making sure Luna’s safety plan is followed.
Additionally, Alvarado said she is working with the school to get her daughter an individualized education plan, a document that outlines the services a special education student is legally to receive.
“I need to make sure this doesn't happen again,” Alvarado said. “I need to make sure my daughter’s safe where I leave her.”
