My absolute WORST fear:

[jenniferm]

Kindergarten student exits school, found walking alone on street

A 5-year-old kindergarten student was found wandering alone along a busy street in Shippensburg last week, nearly a mile from school. 

Her family is concerned. The school district said a miscommunication between staff members was responsible when Jazmyn Sanders walked out of school last Thursday afternoon.

The girl, who has mild autism, wasn't feeling well so she went to see the school nurse. She then got her pink coat and her Hello Kitty backpack and walked right out the door.

 "She was [supposed] to return to her classroom and get her belongings, but instead of going back to the nurse's office she exited the school," said Kris Carroll, superintendent of Shippensburg schools.

Jazmyn's mother, Michelle Sanders, said the girl's mild form of autism played a role. "She takes things direct ...she had one thing on her mind. That was to go get her things and to go home," Sanders said. "She wasn't told to go back and wait for Mommy - she was told to get her things and go."

Luckily for Jazmyn, the girl's aunt, Ashley Bender, was on her lunch break around that time and spotted the kindergartener walking unaccompanied.

"She was just walking with her hands in her pockets on the sidewalk," said Bender. "But the spiked hair and Hello Kitty backpack gave it away."

Bender put her niece in the car and drove her back to school. She then called Sanders, her sister, who said she had no idea what was going on.

"Of course I'm on the way there and I'm hotter than a hornet," Sanders g alone on street

said. "But as soon as I  [saw] Jazmyn I hugged her and started crying."

Jazmyn's parents met with superintendent Kris Carroll that afternoon.

"I was very concerned," Carroll said. "Safety is our number-one priority here in the Shippensburg School District, so it was very concerning that a child had left the building."

The district has since installed new safety alarms on the kindegarten doors at both of its elementary schools.

"If a student heard something wrong and decided to exit the building, an alarm would go off," Carroll said. "Our teachers have been trained so this will never happen again."

Jazmyn's family says that while this is an improvement, communication is still a concern.

"They keep apologizing and saying all their safety procedures are up to date," Sanders said. "But the whole time my daughter was missing nobody called me...that's not right."

[agentwanda]

Jan. 21, 2011 at 3:53 PM

This is or has been a fear for all of us… We can't take ANYTHING for granted!