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The article says ""The school is now working on a safety plan with teachers, including a buddy system, for students, so something like this doesn't occur."
- Elementary teachers, what is standard procedure for keeping track of students? This doesn't seem like a new type of danger.
They have no safety plan in place? I can't believe a kindergarten buddy system is the answer. What are they going to do next year with larger classrooms? Is this an issue in all the schools?
Losing little Kindergarten children as students at the END of this school!!!!
You can have a buddy system and the kids can still wander off. Constant head count and total control. Which would be bordering on sainthood for adults-if this was during recess at MLK.
Additionally, parents should realize and be screaming their lungs off with larger class sizes, no PARAS and playground aides. Safety is the first step in the education.
The ADM at this school should be docked pay-and all the teachers at this school must be happy to see the end of the year.
It is pathetic how buried this news story is. Those kids could have been seriously harmed or killed crossing streets. The hoarding animal story is apparently more important in Pittsburgh. The only reason this made the news was because the mom called the station!
Thank You WTAE and a mother for reporting another serious infraction at this school . . …
MLK ADM should be fined and sued for safety issues.
And demoted.
They should be forced to resign within a month and take the antiquated retirement bonus offered to teachers.
Two 6-year-old elementary school classmates wandered away from their North Side school on Monday and were later found a few blocks away at the Children's Museum. Well , they had to cross a very busy intersection for their run to a DAY AT THE MUSEUM.
The WTAE broadcast on the evening news with Sheldon Ingram speaks volumes.
Where was PPS security after reviewing the film? IS the teacher a CRI?
Additionally, when will the consultants from the famed Philadelphia success story on discipline solve this issue-train teachers to be like Rocky, oh yes to run and catch the PR mess.
When they were told no, the students ran through the museum and were caught by security.
"Soon after that, we learned that Martin Luther King School was on lockdown looking for these kids and the school arranged to come over, pick them up and take them back over to the school," said Children's Museum spokesman Bill Schlageter.**
I dunno, I've gotta side with the school in this one. Children know they aren't supposed to leave school. You aren't supposed to go to the bathroom without asking, let alone the nurse or the office, so it's pretty clear you aren't supposed to go out a door.
It also sounds like this whole thing didn't last very long -- that is, those kids were found within 10 or so minutes of their having walked away.
Of course, the following directions skills of the kids are illustrated by their actually trying to sneak in! That made me laugh out loud.
Had no one noticed these kids were gone (which might well take longer for kids who are generally quiet in class!) that would have been bad. Had they not gone on lockdown? Bad. But they did notice and they did lockdown and, it sounds like, notified the neighborhood.
The only safety measure beyond this that I can think of is to have security cameras on all doors hooked to a buzzer that will keep beeping until someone clears it and keep a screen shot of who left at that point. That way you could guarantee that someone would have checked the picture of who had left to turn off the beeping.
Even so, it could well take 5 minutes if, say, the secretary who monitors this happened to...use the bathroom!
And no, I'm not a PPS teacher, I don't know anyone who teaches at MLK and yes, I do have a younger child in the PPS.
These things happen -- it's how you react that is the key. The mom is right -- if her kids left and she didn't notice, that would be bad. If her kids left and she was looking for them and then calling the authorities, well, then, she'd be doing what the school did.
Sorry even as a parent of a PPS student-you cannot lock doors from the inside to be buzzed out-safety issue regarding fire ordinance laws.
The school cameras supposedly caught the children running from the school. In addition, yes PPS took the precautionary steps as lockdown, etc., etc.
I still place blame on the school because they need to instill the rules even if school is winding down, what if the worst case scenario happened and the kids were injured or even worse.It is a blessing nothing happened.
Sorry ANON they are underage and are the responsibility of the school for education-yes-all kids are going to try a free run to the Museum and want free passes.
In a way this has a humorous feeling tone with the run to the museum and wanting free passes. What spurred their interest for the run to the Museum?
But, in reality the parent is correct no matter what PPS did After the incident—it was an incident that the school needs to take responsibility-they are under the supervision of the teachers and ADM for the allotted time.
The etc, etc, afterwards are just not enough in today's scoiety. This school incident is a very seriuos example for PPS to acquire more eationale to waste foundation money on consultants for behavior modifications.
Kindergarten age children should not be held accountable! They were not missing 10 minutes, it was closer to an hour. They crossed streets and were wandering around one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Pittsburgh. If the 6 year olds had been hit by a car and killed would 10 minutes still be acceptable?
No Pittsburgh police called? The Mom wasn't even called! I imagine this has happened at this & other schools more than we are aware of.
The administration and the school staff are 100% responsible for children, (especially little kids) when enrolled at the school. Would you feel the same way if a 6 year old wandered away from daycare, or a home? They require supervision. I hope the Mom calls Mr. Brentley.
I am not justifying the school or the actions taken, but stop and think about what these children did. They are six and didn't think it was wrong to leave school...kids have no fear whatsoever no matter what age they are. I am horrified that a six year old would leave school, but kids are different today and very grown up at a very young age. Come visit the schools anytime and most likely you would be shaking your head about the attitudes and behavior of children. The school should definitely be held responsible, but the kids should also have to answer some questions.
I agree with the two posters 6:47 PM and6:48 PM-the school is accountable for the actions of the students when they are assigned to that school for an education.
It is sad the mother was not notified in a timely fashion.
And no secretary is sitting at a monitor to watch cameras-the secretaries due not have time in a large school for buzzing in-and fire regulations are state laws for lock ins.
Mr. Brentley should be contacted and make a big verbal shakedown at the Board meeting-for it to be in the Board minutes. People stated the Board should not be giving ADM passes at this school or any school for allowing children to exhibit this behavior-but people in the community feel very upset over this incident and have nowhere to turn because the Parent Hotline is not enough.
Plus, they feel the 2 Adm running the building have free passes to keep their jobs-the community does not like that as a whole. They need to be held accountable the Principal and VP. They should be demoted-and penalized for a poor job.
As for 7:12 PM-thank heavens they are alive to be questioned.
How many bus drivers have been fored for leaving kids on a bu.
Schools are accountable for our children from the movement they leave for school until the moment they arrive home.
There are many state law court briefs regarding the schools being at fault with education and safety issues.
Maybe you should work wiht kids at a school or when they go on classes on school time in other buildinga-you will be schocked-even if you have children-what children and teenagers pu;;.
"Pittsburgh Public Schools officials said the two students left Martin Luther King Elementary School through a back door while their classmates were entering a classroom about 2 p.m". What time were they found? I recall it was close to 3. This story keeps changing and reporters are not asking serious questions. Why were the police not searching? The children were seen running from the school yet the teacher did not notice or report them missing until they were back in the classroom.. I am not a detective nor a reporter but these seem like obvious questions.
If this is not addressed at the board meeting we will all know where our kids safety stands.
"The children were seen running from the school yet the teacher did not notice or report them missing until they were back in the classroom."
Where is this information from? If it's true, that's clearly bad -- but I can't imagine the teacher who would jeopardize his/her job by not reporting that immediately.
Obviously, you can't lock the doors -- the point was that the doors could be alarmed to ring every time they are opened.
The person monitoring the doors (and yes, someone does it all day, because it's the only way you can get into the school buildings) would then be alerted that someone had left and could check the camera on that entrance to determine if it was staff or a child.
I don't know if the office staff can run the cameras back, though -- that's why keeping a screen shot would be helpful.
Were school police called? Again, if they were, that's one thing, if they weren't, that's another.
But, if you think this is something UNHEARD of in schools, something that never happens, it's just not true. Kids, including little kids, are doing silly, dangerous, crazy things every single day in schools. It's amazing that more things don't go horribly wrong.
"Where is this information from? If it's true, that's clearly bad -- but I can't imagine the teacher who would jeopardize his/her job by not reporting that immediately"
Central office Ebony Pugh and company are twisting the story. The initial story was the teacher reported them missing when he/ she noticed they were not in her classroom. The latest news story reported that the kds were seen running from the school. I believe the initial story. PPS is "running" with the museum running theme. If they were seen running from the school somebody would have chased them and there would have been no need for the teacher to report them missing! The scariest aspect of this is the reality of how much more important public image is to PPS than the welfare of our children. The teacher will probably get furlowed and placed 100% of the blame for having a parent report it to the media. I hope the Mom, Ms. Kirby finds this site.
Anon 7:12 I understand your first response because you have a child enrolled at PPS. I want to send my kids to PPS, I really do, but I don't see it happening.
"I am not justifying the school or the actions taken, but stop and think about what these children did. They are six and didn't think it was wrong to leave school...kids have no fear whatsoever no matter what age they are. I am horrified that a six year old would leave school, but kids are different today and very grown up at a very young age. Come visit the schools anytime and most likely you would be shaking your head about the attitudes and behavior of children. The school should definitely be held responsible, but the kids should also have to answer some questions."
I am fine with diversity, I applaud it. 2 6 year olds bolt, run leave, scram..pick a verb from PPS. Do they call 911? I don't think so. Do they try to hush the Mom? Yes, indeed they do. Does PPS do everythimg to cover their tracks? I think so. Magically the Children's museum did not contact the police when 2 6 year old children walked in unescorted. They "found out" MLK was on lock down and found out the children were missing from MLK. I distrust PPS so much more than I ever have. The children certainly broke the rules, but sheesh they are 6 years old. Regardless of "street smarts" developmentally, children do not aquire the skill of age of reason until the age of 8. PPS will fiirst blame the kids, parents then teachers. No admin will be blamed. If the ADM are in the Gates program, if that is the case: divert,divert, divert! Our kds are not a priority, they hire expensive consultants to tell us that line.
No, google pittsburgh public schools, narrow your search to the past 24 hours. It was published in DC, NY, FL, and many other places, including South Dakota. The AP is a national news wire source.
I just discovered this blog while conducting a google search to gather more information regarding TFA. So informative!!! I know this is an old post, but I am a PPS teacher and I spent 4 years at King. There was an EPIDEMIC of students leaving classrooms and the building at all times of the day almost everyday. I would pick my students up from recess or their related arts classes and notice one or more students missing from my class. My students would tell me "Oh he got mad and left" or "She walked out" when I inquired about missing students. All we could do as teachers was call the office and report the student as missing and write a referral. There was often no follow up or effort made to locate the student. Teachers were terrified that something terrible was going to happen to one of these unsupervised students. We started keeping daily logs to record the students we reported as missing, who we reported it to, and what, if any, follow up action was taken. One time a colleague went to the Rita's across the street during her lunch break to end up in line behind two 2nd graders from our school treating them themselves to an Italian ice! Their teacher had called the office to report them missing hours prior to this. Students routinely walked out of classes and left the building. There were also students who just roamed the building all day long, everyday. Some of them only reporting class less than 10 times ALL YEAR!!! The truly sad thing is these examples of misconduct and disregard for safety are not even close to the outrageous and unsafe things that occur daily in almost every building I have worked in. The public has NO CLUE about the horrifying conditions the teachers and students are subjected to daily. The students who truly want to learn have no chance at all. Sadly there is less discipline and order each year. Any student who makes it to graduation or teacher who makes it to retirement will likely suffer from PTSD.
22 comments:
The article says ""The school is now working on a safety plan with teachers, including a buddy system, for students, so something like this doesn't occur."
- Elementary teachers, what is standard procedure for keeping track of students? This doesn't seem like a new type of danger.
They have no safety plan in place? I can't believe a kindergarten buddy system is the answer. What are they going to do next year with larger classrooms? Is this an issue in all the schools?
A Teacher Academy incident??
Losing little Kindergarten children as students at the END of this school!!!!
You can have a buddy system and the kids can still wander off. Constant head count and total control. Which would be bordering on sainthood for adults-if this was during recess at MLK.
Additionally, parents should realize and be screaming their lungs off with larger class sizes, no PARAS and playground aides. Safety is the first step in the education.
The ADM at this school should be docked pay-and all the teachers at this school must be happy to see the end of the year.
It is pathetic how buried this news story is. Those kids could have been seriously harmed or killed crossing streets. The hoarding animal story is apparently more important in Pittsburgh. The only reason this made the news was because the mom called the station!
WTAE is reporting it... Used the word coverup in the lead!
http://www.wtae.com/news/local/allegheny/Students-wander-from-elementary-school-head-to-Children-s-Museum/-/10927008/13632352/-/9ynmfvz/-/index.html
Thank You WTAE and a mother for reporting another serious infraction at this school . . …
MLK ADM should be fined and sued for safety issues.
And demoted.
They should be forced to resign within a month and take the antiquated retirement bonus offered to teachers.
Two 6-year-old elementary school classmates wandered away from their North Side school on Monday and were later found a few blocks away at the Children's Museum.
Well , they had to cross a very busy intersection for their run to a DAY AT THE MUSEUM.
The WTAE broadcast on the evening news with Sheldon Ingram speaks volumes.
Where was PPS security after reviewing the film?
IS the teacher a CRI?
Additionally, when will the consultants from the famed Philadelphia success story on discipline solve this issue-train teachers to be like Rocky, oh yes to run and catch the PR mess.
**and asked if admission was free.
When they were told no, the students ran through the museum and were caught by security.
"Soon after that, we learned that Martin Luther King School was on lockdown looking for these kids and the school arranged to come over, pick them up and take them back over to the school," said Children's Museum spokesman Bill Schlageter.**
I dunno, I've gotta side with the school in this one. Children know they aren't supposed to leave school. You aren't supposed to go to the bathroom without asking, let alone the nurse or the office, so it's pretty clear you aren't supposed to go out a door.
It also sounds like this whole thing didn't last very long -- that is, those kids were found within 10 or so minutes of their having walked away.
Of course, the following directions skills of the kids are illustrated by their actually trying to sneak in! That made me laugh out loud.
Had no one noticed these kids were gone (which might well take longer for kids who are generally quiet in class!) that would have been bad. Had they not gone on lockdown? Bad. But they did notice and they did lockdown and, it sounds like, notified the neighborhood.
The only safety measure beyond this that I can think of is to have security cameras on all doors hooked to a buzzer that will keep beeping until someone clears it and keep a screen shot of who left at that point. That way you could guarantee that someone would have checked the picture of who had left to turn off the beeping.
Even so, it could well take 5 minutes if, say, the secretary who monitors this happened to...use the bathroom!
And no, I'm not a PPS teacher, I don't know anyone who teaches at MLK and yes, I do have a younger child in the PPS.
These things happen -- it's how you react that is the key. The mom is right -- if her kids left and she didn't notice, that would be bad. If her kids left and she was looking for them and then calling the authorities, well, then, she'd be doing what the school did.
Anon .. . 6:05 PM
Sorry even as a parent of a PPS student-you cannot lock doors from the inside to be buzzed out-safety issue regarding fire ordinance laws.
The school cameras supposedly caught the children running from the school. In addition, yes PPS took the precautionary steps as lockdown, etc., etc.
I still place blame on the school because they need to instill the rules even if school is winding down, what if the worst case scenario happened and the kids were injured or even worse.It is a blessing nothing happened.
Sorry ANON they are underage and are the responsibility of the school for education-yes-all kids are going to try a free run to the Museum and want free passes.
In a way this has a humorous feeling tone with the run to the museum and wanting free passes. What spurred their interest for the run to the Museum?
But, in reality the parent is correct no matter what PPS did After the incident—it was an incident that the school needs to take responsibility-they are under the supervision of the teachers and ADM for the allotted time.
The etc, etc, afterwards are just not enough in today's scoiety.
This school incident is a very seriuos example for PPS to acquire more eationale to waste foundation money on consultants for behavior modifications.
Kindergarten age children should not be held accountable! They were not missing 10 minutes, it was closer to an hour. They crossed streets and were wandering around one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Pittsburgh. If the 6 year olds had been hit by a car and killed would 10 minutes still be acceptable?
No Pittsburgh police called? The Mom wasn't even called! I imagine this has happened at this & other schools more than we are aware of.
The administration and the school staff are 100% responsible for children, (especially little kids) when enrolled at the school. Would you feel the same way if a 6 year old wandered away from daycare, or a home? They require supervision. I hope the Mom calls Mr. Brentley.
I am not justifying the school or the actions taken, but stop and think about what these children did. They are six and didn't think it was wrong to leave school...kids have no fear whatsoever no matter what age they are. I am horrified that a six year old would leave school, but kids are different today and very grown up at a very young age. Come visit the schools anytime and most likely you would be shaking your head about the attitudes and behavior of children. The school should definitely be held responsible, but the kids should also have to answer some questions.
I think we are all well aware of behaviour problems. The schools should be prepared for this.
I agree with the two posters 6:47 PM and6:48 PM-the school is accountable for the actions of the students when they are assigned to that school for an education.
It is sad the mother was not notified in a timely fashion.
And no secretary is sitting at a monitor to watch cameras-the secretaries due not have time in a large school for buzzing in-and fire regulations are state laws for lock ins.
Mr. Brentley should be contacted and make a big verbal shakedown at the Board meeting-for it to be in the Board minutes. People stated the Board should not be giving ADM passes at this school or any school for allowing children to exhibit this behavior-but people in the community feel very upset over this incident and have nowhere to turn because the Parent Hotline is not enough.
Plus, they feel the 2 Adm running the building have free passes to keep their jobs-the community does not like that as a whole. They need to be held accountable the Principal and VP. They should be demoted-and penalized for a poor job.
As for 7:12 PM-thank heavens they are alive to be questioned.
How many bus drivers have been fored for leaving kids on a bu.
Schools are accountable for our children from the movement they leave for school until the moment they arrive home.
There are many state law court briefs regarding the schools being at fault with education and safety issues.
Maybe you should work wiht kids at a school or when they go on classes on school time in other buildinga-you will be schocked-even if you have children-what children and teenagers pu;;.
Parents state-not my kid-but kids will try.
According to the WTAE report:
"Pittsburgh Public Schools officials said the two students left Martin Luther King Elementary School through a back door while their classmates were entering a classroom about 2 p.m". What time were they found? I recall it was close to 3. This story keeps changing and reporters are not asking serious questions. Why were the police not searching? The children were seen running from the school yet the teacher did not notice or report them missing until they were back in the classroom.. I am not a detective nor a reporter but these seem like obvious questions.
If this is not addressed at the board meeting we will all know where our kids safety stands.
"The children were seen running from the school yet the teacher did not notice or report them missing until they were back in the classroom."
Where is this information from? If it's true, that's clearly bad -- but I can't imagine the teacher who would jeopardize his/her job by not reporting that immediately.
I'm the anon 6:05.
Obviously, you can't lock the doors -- the point was that the doors could be alarmed to ring every time they are opened.
The person monitoring the doors (and yes, someone does it all day, because it's the only way you can get into the school buildings) would then be alerted that someone had left and could check the camera on that entrance to determine if it was staff or a child.
I don't know if the office staff can run the cameras back, though -- that's why keeping a screen shot would be helpful.
Were school police called? Again, if they were, that's one thing, if they weren't, that's another.
But, if you think this is something UNHEARD of in schools, something that never happens, it's just not true. Kids, including little kids, are doing silly, dangerous, crazy things every single day in schools. It's amazing that more things don't go horribly wrong.
"Where is this information from? If it's true, that's clearly bad -- but I can't imagine the teacher who would jeopardize his/her job by not reporting that immediately"
Central office Ebony Pugh and company are twisting the story. The initial story was the teacher reported them missing when he/ she noticed they were not in her classroom. The latest news story reported that the kds were seen running from the school. I believe the initial story. PPS is "running" with the museum running theme. If they were seen running from the school somebody would have chased them and there would have been no need for the teacher to report them missing! The scariest aspect of this is the reality of how much more important public image is to PPS than the welfare of our children. The teacher will probably get furlowed and placed 100% of the blame for having a parent report it to the media. I hope the Mom, Ms. Kirby finds this site.
"Were school police called? Again, if they were, that's one thing, if they weren't, that's another"
If it was my 6 year old I would want the city police called. I personally would call 911
Anon 7:12 I understand your first response because you have a child enrolled at PPS. I want to send my kids to PPS, I really do, but I don't see it happening.
"I am not justifying the school or the actions taken, but stop and think about what these children did. They are six and didn't think it was wrong to leave school...kids have no fear whatsoever no matter what age they are. I am horrified that a six year old would leave school, but kids are different today and very grown up at a very young age. Come visit the schools anytime and most likely you would be shaking your head about the attitudes and behavior of children. The school should definitely be held responsible, but the kids should also have to answer some questions."
I am fine with diversity, I applaud it. 2 6 year olds bolt, run leave, scram..pick a verb from PPS. Do they call 911? I don't think so. Do they try to hush the Mom? Yes, indeed they do. Does PPS do everythimg to cover their tracks? I think so. Magically the Children's museum did not contact the police when 2 6 year old children walked in unescorted. They "found out" MLK was on lock down and found out the children were missing from MLK. I distrust PPS so much more than I ever have. The children certainly broke the rules, but sheesh they are 6 years old. Regardless of "street smarts" developmentally, children do not aquire the skill of age of reason until the age of 8. PPS will fiirst blame the kids, parents then teachers. No admin will be blamed. If the ADM are in the Gates program, if that is the case: divert,divert, divert! Our kds are not a priority, they hire expensive consultants to tell us that line.
The AP picked the story up and it ran in many papers all over the country today.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/WaterCooler/t/story/year-olds-wander-pa-school-museum-16412077
Was it the Post-Gazette?
No, google pittsburgh public schools, narrow your search to the past 24 hours. It was published in DC, NY, FL, and many other places, including South Dakota. The AP is a national news wire source.
I just discovered this blog while conducting a google search to gather more information regarding TFA. So informative!!! I know this is an old post, but I am a PPS teacher and I spent 4 years at King. There was an EPIDEMIC of students leaving classrooms and the building at all times of the day almost everyday. I would pick my students up from recess or their related arts classes and notice one or more students missing from my class. My students would tell me "Oh he got mad and left" or "She walked out" when I inquired about missing students. All we could do as teachers was call the office and report the student as missing and write a referral. There was often no follow up or effort made to locate the student. Teachers were terrified that something terrible was going to happen to one of these unsupervised students. We started keeping daily logs to record the students we reported as missing, who we reported it to, and what, if any, follow up action was taken. One time a colleague went to the Rita's across the street during her lunch break to end up in line behind two 2nd graders from our school treating them themselves to an Italian ice! Their teacher had called the office to report them missing hours prior to this. Students routinely walked out of classes and left the building. There were also students who just roamed the building all day long, everyday. Some of them only reporting class less than 10 times ALL YEAR!!! The truly sad thing is these examples of misconduct and disregard for safety are not even close to the outrageous and unsafe things that occur daily in almost every building I have worked in. The public has NO CLUE about the horrifying conditions the teachers and students are subjected to daily. The students who truly want to learn have no chance at all. Sadly there is less discipline and order each year. Any student who makes it to graduation or teacher who makes it to retirement will likely suffer from PTSD.
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