A Houston mom is calling for protocol changes after she said Whidby Elementary School lost her 6-year-old son during dismissal time.
According to the mom, the young boy was found by a stranger nearly a mile away.
Monique Daniely said she pulled up to Whidby on Monday to pick up her son, Logan. She said a school employee flagged her inside after about a five-to-six-minute wait.
"They said, 'We can't find Logan,' and I said, 'What do you mean you can't find Logan? Where is he?'" Daniely recalled.
Daniely said Logan was allowed to board the METRO bus at the stop located right outside the school.
"I am like, 'He caught the METRO bus? Like, what is he doing catching the bus? He is a car rider.' So, I am panicking, and I am trying to wrap my head around what was happening and what was going on because I'm thinking like my son could be anywhere," she said.
Daniely's son had boarded a METRO bus in one of the most populated cities in the United States. She said that about 30 minutes later, the principal got a call from a parent saying Logan was at the Corder Place Apartments, less than a mile from the school.
"I got the address, and I went there, and I went to pick him up. But I was just heartbroken when I found out that they lost him," Daniely said, adding the school profusely apologized.
She says they explained a new staff member was helping with dismissal and did not know Logan was supposed to be picked up by family. But the explanation does not sit right with Daniely.
"That makes me feel like I don't want my son to be there," Daniely said.
HISD sent ABC13 the following statement regarding the incident:
"Student safety and security are our top priority and primary responsibility at every campus, every day. The district is aware that an elementary school student was allowed to board a bus when they should have been picked up by their family. We take any issues that jeopardize student safety very seriously, and we are taking steps at the campus level to ensure this does not happen again. Specifically, the campus will be updating bus and dismissal protocols for all students. We understand the distress this caused for our student and their family, and we will support them through this process. The district will continue to monitor progress and improvements at the campus moving forward."
"I kept him home (Tuesday), and I don't know about sending him (Wednesday) because I don't feel safe," Daniely said.
The dismissal mishap, unfortunately, does not fall in line with the criteria that would warrant a transfer to another school.
HISD did not elaborate further when we asked for specifics, nor did they respond with what exactly their new dismissal protocols would be.
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