PITTSBURGH — A mom says her five-year-old son wandered away from his pre-K class during a trip to the park and roamed the streets of Pittsburgh’s North Side without anyone from the school noticing.
That boy’s mom tells Channel 11’s Amy Hudak that something needs to change before a child is hurt or worse.
That pre-K program through Pittsburgh Public Schools is run out of the Children’s Museum. The class was at a park about five minutes from the museum when the child took off, saying he was thirsty and he needed a cup of water.
“I’m not ok,” Veronica Gurley tells Channel 11. “I’m not ok. There are a lot of ‘what ifs.’ There were 31 kids and 3 adults. They were understaffed. They should not have walked these children down to the park.”
Gurley says her son told the teacher he was thirsty, and when he didn’t get water, he went looking for it himself, crossing busy North Side intersections like Ridge Avenue and Arch Street alone, without anyone from the school noticing. The little boy’s mom says a total stranger did stop the boy.
“What’s scary is - on his way back, a man asked, ‘Where are you going?’ and Marcus said, ‘I’m going to school,’ and the man asked, ‘Why are you by yourself?’ and Marcus said he was going back to school.”
Marcus was able to make it back to school safely and unharmed. A staff member knew Marcus and called the mom to let her know what happened, but Gurley says the school never called.
“They had no idea he was gone,” Gurley added. “They had no idea how long he was gone. If my good friend was not at that school, would I have been notified?”
Gurley says she needs an explanation from the school about what happened and what’s going to change to prevent something similar from happening again.
“It should be something where the parents are notified- hey, today we’re going to go to the park, or we’re going to do this today, outside.”
Pittsburgh Public Schools sent Channel 11 the following statement:
“On Friday, May 29, while both Children’s Museum Early Childhood classrooms were outdoors at the playground located at Pittsburgh Allegheny (ATA), a student reportedly left the playground area and returned independently to the Children’s Museum facility without staff awareness.
“According to reports, Children’s Museum staff observed the student upon arrival and immediately brought him to the attention of an Early Childhood staff member, who contacted the student’s mother. The student’s mother subsequently picked him up from the facility.
“Early Childhood administration spoke directly with the student’s mother regarding the incident and discussed the circumstances surrounding the event.
“The safety and well-being of our students remains our highest priority. As an immediate precautionary measure, classroom walks to the ATA playground have been suspended pending a full review of the incident. During this period, students will utilize the Children’s Museum’s fenced outdoor play area for recess and other outdoor activities.
“The District is reviewing the circumstances surrounding this incident and any additional measures necessary to help ensure student safety moving forward.
“Because this matter involves a student, we are limited in the additional information we can provide.”
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