Official: protocol was breached, discipline possible
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia School District by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Kristen Graham.
Official: protocol was breached, discipline possible
Kristen Graham
When a woman calling herself “Tiffany” took a 5-year-old girl from a West Philadelphia School, protocol failed several times, a spokesman said Tuesday.
The unidentified woman, who was dressed in a black burqua, did enter Bryant Elementary school through the main doors and sign in with an aide stationed at a desk just inside the entrance, said Fernando Gallard, Philadelphia School District spokesman.
But visitors must then proceed to the main office, and instead, the woman asked for directions to the kindergarten classroom of Nailla Robinson, and went directly to the little girl’s room.
The woman approached the girl’s substitute teacher and said she was there to take Nailla. The teacher released Nailla to the woman.
That’s another breach, Gallard said.
“At no time should a child be released in a classroom,” he said.
Instead, a parent or authorized person is supposed to request a child be released in the main office, and present government-issued identification proving their identity. School staff must then check the child’s file to see if the person asking for the child is permitted to pick them up.
If an authorized person is asking to pick the child up, a staffer would call up to the classroom and have the child escorted to the office. The child would then be released in front of an administrator.
“You want to see the interaction between the child and the adult,” Gallard said.
And if a visitor is able to get past a check-in desk and access a classroom directly, "the teacher is supposed to say, 'No, you must go into the main office,'" he said.
Gallard said that since the investigation is still ongoing, no decisions have been made about possible consequences for employees who may have failed to follow district procedures.
“We will let the facts lead us to whatever disciplinary action we must take,” Gallard said. “If someone failed to do their job, we will take action.”
Both the aide at the front desk and the substitute teacher are represented by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, the district’s largest union.
Bryant, at 60th and Cedar, has about 500 students, 94 percent of whom live in poverty.
the substitute teacher was probably intimidated by the burqa..which is why they should be outlawed...the purpose of the burqa is to cover the woman from the eyes of men other than her husband...but i know for a fact that the women are told to use their covering as a way to intimidate westerners...the ludicrous thing of course is that the wearer of the burqa is herself a westerner despite how she is presenting...this is america...the tenor of society on many levels is that this burqas threaten security ...they should really be outlawed despite the objections of a religious nature...they may have been ideal in the 1500's but its 2013 lets go. sincerely twitter.com/dannyozark— danny ozark- Danny Ozark, I agree. I just shake my head and say WTF everytime I see these. That's another sign that neighborhood is going downhill, and picking up speed.— jcc1960
- How is it a woman dressed in all things a burqa is allowed to take a child out of a school to go to breakfast without any ID after all of these recent shootings? How is it the girl didn't say this wasn't her mother? Sounds like there is a lot more to this story.— 4WelfareReform
- There better be some discipline administered. After all that's been going on in these schools!— manyhats
- Who picks their child up from school to go to breakfast? So many mistakes it is hard to believe this happened.— The One Who Knows
- thank you jcc1960 i agree with you and all other posters here so far. sincerely twitter.com/dannyozark— danny ozark
the woman in the burka was probably grooming the child to be her husband's 4th wife, as many of the muslim degenerates enagage in polygamy— hannibal barca- The first mistake happened at the sign in desk. Not only must the visitor sign in, but must offer official Photo ID like a driver's license. The visitor must also state where he/she is headed. To sign out a child, they must go to the office and repeat the ID process. Most school staff get to know the parents who visit the school.
The substitute teacher obviously neglected the proper protocols. And, yes, it is a mystery why the child went so willingly with a stranger.
There needs to be a thorough investigation. The whole thing smells fishy.
I wonder how much the lawyer is going to sue for.— Gendres - Furthermore, religion or not, wearing masks should be forbidden in a public school. This is not Saudi Arabia. There have been robberies by masked gunmen posing as women in burquas. Anyone can hide a weapon under those folds. If the woman wants to wear her garb anywhere else, that is her business, but once she enters a school, all masks are off.— Gendres
- I have worked with married Muslim teachers and other staff. They never felt the need to wear face masks. They might cover the hair and wear long skirts but that was it.
The face covering is a tradition not a religious rule demanded by Allah or Muhammed.
NO masks in any public building, including banks, malls, movies or schools.— Gendres - Procedures violated? Hey, Philly has a big school district. Things can fall through the cracks, you know.— Falls Ed
- Falls Ed - the important thing is that the child was not harmed. In Sandy Hook, they had all the right security but the gunman blew his way into the building. Nothing would stop someone like that determined to commit mayhem. And, no, we cannot arm everyone in the school.
But a few simple precautions like making sure the visitor UNMASKED herself and was properly directed to the office to give photo ID before signing out the child would have prevented this whole mess.— Gendres - For every one of these incidents that get reported there are 99 that don't.— AlwaysRight
If she wears a burka what use is checking her photo id?- Always "If she wears a burka what use is checking her photo id?"
The use is that she has to reveal her FACE. She should have been required to reveal herself to security, to the office and to the child before anyone released the girl to her. Basically she was able to hide her identity the whole time she was in that school.
Really unconscionable.— Gendres
During the school year, you’ll frequently find her hosting live chats about the district on Philly.com. Please do pass along the scoop about what’s going on at your Philadelphia public school; Kristen welcomes tips, story ideas and witty banter at kgraham@phillynews.com or 215-854-5146.
You can also follow Kristen on Twitter here.
