TUKWILA, Wash. (KIRO) - A mother in Washington state wants answers after her 3-year-old son wandered away from his preschool.
Fortunately for the family, the child managed to walk home on his own.
Ana Maldonado is cherishing being reunited with her son after she said his teacher lost him, and he wandered off campus.
“Horrible, because if he wouldn’t have come home, I wouldn’t even know that he was in the streets,” Maldonado said.
The mother said her son Giovanni goes to a preschool program at Tukwila Elementary School.
Less than two weeks ago, Maldonado said her son showed up at her front door in the middle of the day after walking more than 100 yards away from the school.
“I was like, ‘How are you home, why are you here? School isn’t over for another 30 minutes,’” Maldonado said.
She then called the school district,
“I was in shock. I didn’t know what to do or say,” Maldonado said.
Maldonado said the teacher told her she lost her son after he went outside to grab something, but she didn’t look for him because of the teacher-to-student ratio.
“Oh, I was broken, when she said that,” Maldonado said. “I was like, you would seriously not chase after a 3-year-old?”
The mother said her son’s bilingual class has two teachers and 18 students.
She said she also learned from the district that the alarm, which prevents kids from leaving campus, was not working.
“Which completely broke my heart. Because I’m trusting you, I’m leaving you my kids,” Maldonado said. “I’m going to work, I expect them to stay in a safe spot, but yet your protocols and your gated system was not working.”
The district said it did an investigation and an internal review following the incident and that they’re always working to ensure student safety.