School officials and parents try to find out how students were able to leave school grounds.
By:Sally Goldenberg
A parent wants to know how it is that two 7-year-old Sunnymead first-graders were able to walk away from recess, cross busy Route 206, trek more a mile to the Commerce Bank and generally go missing for more than an hour around high noon on Friday.
Gloria Colon said she hasn’t had a good night’s sleep since her 7-year-old son left Sunnymead School unattended.
Police returned him to the school after someone called to report the two children near Kohl’s department store. By the time police found the duo, they had made their way south to the Commerce Bank.
"It’s the first time it’s happened in years, everybody tells me. That’s not the point," Ms. Colon said. "Two 7-year-old first-graders got away from the school and crossed a major highway. It just is very, very upsetting to me.
"My son’s life was in danger, out there by himself crossing a highway. I feel his life was in danger."
Ms. Colon said her son and his friend left the school playground during recess at about 11:30 a.m. after the boys had an argument with some of the other children, a few minutes before the students returned to class.
The students’ teacher noticed their absence and assumed they were in the school office, Superintendent of Schools Robert Gulick said.
When the teacher realized the students were missing, the school called the Hillsborough Police Department, he said.
Ms. Colon said Principal Linda Gross told her the police were called at noon. Lt. Paul Kaminski said police left after a resident called to report seeing the students near the Kohl’s Department Store at 12:33 p.m. He said school officials called at 12:45 p.m. Ms. Gross was unavailable for comment. Police found the students further south on Route 206, near the Commerce Bank at Hamilton Road.
"I think too much time went by until the cops were called," Ms. Colon said.
Ms. Gross informed her that the building was searched for 10 minutes before the police were called, but during the hour her son was missing, Ms. Colon said she fears what could have happened.
"I’m having nightmares about it, everything. Is our school safe now?" she asked. Ms. Colon did not know where the boys were going when they left the school.
Dr. Gulick said each student must be accounted for when leaving from and returning to a school building.
Since two students left the school unattended and the incident went unnoticed for a period of time, he said, the schools must evaluate their accounting.
"I have had a meeting with all of the elementary principals and we have audited the practices that are being used on each playground because all of the schools take the kids outside for 20-minute intervals," he said.
Regardless of the method put in place, the students must be counted, he added.
"We need to be certain that if 18 little people go out in a line in the playground, 18 people come back in," he said.

