Jacksonville mother upset after school tells son to walk 2 miles home
JACKSONVILLE (FOX 13) - A Jacksonville mother says she is livid after her 7-year-old son was told to walk two miles home from school.
Shameka Sims told FOX 30 her son knew his aunt would be late, and went to the front office of North Shore Elementary School searching for help. Instead of letting him wait in the office, a teacher told Shad Anderson to walk home, which is about two and a half miles away from school.
Sims said she received a call that her son couldn’t be found after dismissal, and before she left her home to search for him, she heard a knock on the door. She found him standing outside their front door, asking for water, FOX 30 reports.
“I said what do you mean you walked? You walked all the way from the school home? He said, ‘Yeah mom my legs hurt, can I have some water?’ I just started crying. I was so mad,” Sims explained.
Duval County Public Schools sent FOX 30 the following statement:
"Thank you for reaching out to me. This incident certainly raises concern, and we looked into it with the school to figure out what happened. While student privacy laws prevent us from discussing this incident, the school is aware of the situation and has communicated with the parent to resolve the issue. Whether car rider, bus rider or walker, there are protocols in place for parents to designate specific instructions that control how students are released from school. This incident shows how important it is for schools to have up-to-date residency information on all students and clear parental guidance on how their children are to be transported. For the safety of students, any modifications to dismissal instructions must be made in writing by the custodial parent or guardian, not verbally. We encourage parents to notify schools immediately of any changes in residency, contact information or dismissal instructions. As always, we would like to share our appreciation to the parent for contacting us directly and working with us to best meet the needs of her child."
Sims said the principal called her to apologize, but she wants more oversight.
"We can do better and we can maybe put some enforcement some rules so this doesn’t happen again,” she said.