Local

Elementary school children locked out of after-school program alone, parents say

Some Rock Hill parents told Channel 9 that their children were locked out of Northside Elementary School Monday for about 30 minutes.

“The kids were left outside alone with no adult supervision,” parent Kendra Funderburk said.

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The mother said her 11-year-old daughter and several other fourth and fifth grade students were in the after-school program called “Challenger.”

“Her Challenger teacher had a prior appointment (and) told them to go outside and leave their stuff in the hallway. She said she would be back to check on them and she never came back. The kids were left outside for 30 minutes with the doors to the school locked.”

Funderburk said the situation posed a risk to her daughter, Willow, and the other children involved.

“It’s a very dangerous situation. My child is a Type 1 diabetic. She has an insulin pump. We’re newly diagnosed so we’re still adjusting. Her sugar drops at any minute. There was no supervisor out there.”

She went to Rock Hills Schools district administrators for answers and wasn’t pleased with their response.

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“I get that it was a mistake, but it’s being handled very nonchalantly, like it doesn’t even matter,” Funderburk said.

District officials said they are investigating the claims.

“We understand there are some parents upset about this allegation and situation,” said Lindsay Machak, a spokeswoman with Rock Hill Schools. “We are doing our best to comb through the details and trying to find out what happened. If we find out something happened that shouldn’t have happened we definitely will take that action. We take all of this very seriously.”

Funderburk said she also filed a police report.

Officers said they looked into the incident and charges will not be filed.

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