Number of children not picked up after school on the rise

Laura Emerson/ViewClark County School District attendance officer Derrick Turner walks in the common area outside John Miller Elementary School at 1905 Atlantic St. on Oct. 28. Turner and other attendance officers transport elementary schoolchildren who aren?t picked up after classes to Boys & Girls Clubs around the valley. Advertisement

The bright, yellow strip of paper is stuck to the public school door, a telltale sign that children have been left behind. In today's economic climate, It's happening more and more often.

After an elementary school-age child's educational day is finished in the Clark County School District, parents have about 10 minutes to pick up their children before campus staff are supposed to attempt to contact the family, according to district policy. If nobody is reached, the school staff is then supposed to contact the district's attendance office, and an officer will come to the campus to pick up the child in question.

Students who are left at elementary schools are taken to area Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas. Children younger than 5 or those with a disability are taken to Variety School, 2601 Sunrise Ave. If the children still are not picked up when the club or Variety School closes, they are transported to Child Haven.

As of Oct. 23, 459 students had been transported to Boys & Girls Clubs around the valley as a result of not being picked up from school. No children as of that time had been taken to Child Haven.

"It's quite high this year," Pam Gunter, senior attendance officer for the Clark County School District, said. "Usually, that's our total at the end of the two semesters."

Gunter said she thinks the number is so high because of the hard economic times. The public school system doesn't charge families when officers come to pick children up from the schools.

"It's more than ever," Gunter said.

Gunter said officers began the school year by checking to see if families were home, but most didn't live at the address on file with the child's school anymore. Now, the officers aren't checking addresses, and children are taken directly to a Boys & Girls Club or Variety.

"A lot of people are very transient now," Derrick Turner, a truancy officer, said.

Safekey, the city of Las Vegas' before- and after-school program, costs about $14 per week for the morning sessions and $30 per week for the afternoon sessions. Financial assistance is available for families who can't afford the cost of after-school care based on income.

Safekey follows the school district calendar and operates on days that school is in session. Morning sessions usually run from 7 to 8:30 a.m., and the afternoon sessions run from immediately after school dismissal until 6 p.m.

While at Safekey, children can complete homework, as well as participate in arts and crafts, sports and life skill-related activities.

Gray Elementary School in Spring Valley, 2825 S. Torrey Pines Drive, has a Safekey program after school in its cafeteria. Principal Carl Johnson said that if his students are outside waiting and haven't been picked up, the protocol he follows is to bring the children inside to Safekey.

"We try to make them feel comfortable," Johnson said.

After they are brought inside, the children's parents or guardians are called. If there is no answer, the children wait inside the school cafeteria. Johnson said thus far this year, he hasn't had a problem with any of his students not being picked up from Safekey.

Gunter said that while some principals do send children who are left behind at school to Safekey, the majority call the school district's attendance officers, who then transport the kids to Boys & Girls Clubs.

The school district employs 23 attendance officers in the Las Vegas area and one in Laughlin.

At Diaz Elementary School, 4450 E. Owens Ave., Principal Maribel McAdory said she has had to request transport for one child thus far. However, the child's grandmother came to pick the youngster up just after the attendance officer left. It was a case of transportation not working properly, and the grandmother didn't have a cell phone to notify the school.

McAdory said when a child isn't picked up at her school, it's usually a result of miscommunication.

"They thought someone else was picking the child up," McAdory said.

Diaz's principal did agree with Gunter's assertion that the economy was affecting children being left at school.

"Kids are waiting to be picked up much longer than usual," McAdory said. "They seem a little nervous, but we try to ease their minds."

Turner, who is in his third year working as a truancy officer, said sometimes the children can be upset about not being picked up from school, but some aren't.

"It depends on how the school office preps the children before we get there," Turner said.

McAdory also said children are being dropped off at Diaz earlier than she arrives at work, which is about 7:15 a.m. Classes don't begin until 8:55 a.m.

McAdory tells parents they should register with Safekey even if they don't plan on using the service because children can't attend if they're not registered. Parents don't pay for Safekey unless the service is used.

For more information about Safekey in the east part of town, visit 300 E. Charleston Blvd., Suite 105, or call 229-2526. For the west side, visit 1651 S. Buffalo Drive or call 229-3399.

Contact View education reporter Laura Emerson at lemerson@viewnews.com or 380-4588.