BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Boston Public Schools officials are apologizing to a local mother after her 5-year-old son wandered away from his school, and no one noticed.
Quiana Philogene said Friday morning her son asked to go to the bathroom because he felt sick, and then decided to walk out of the Young Achievers School in Mattapan from a door next to his classroom.
"They are supposed to keep him there until we go get him. He shouldn't have been able to leave at all," Philogene told FOX25.
Instead, the kindergartener walked two tenths of a mile, crossing two busy streets, until he got to his grandmother's house.
Melody White said she opened her front door and was stunned to see her young grandson there, alone.
"He was like, 'yeah, I came to your house.' And I was like, 'how did you get here?' And he said, 'I walked.' That's when I felt like someone hit me in my chest. I was shocked," White said.
White called Philogene, who rushed from work to pick up her son and return him to Young Achievers.
"He could have got hit. Someone could have snatched him up, a dog could have attacked him. We don't know what could have happened to him," Philogene said.
Philogene told FOX25 when she returned to Young Achievers, she realized her son's teacher, and principal, still had not realized he was missing.
"I was livid," Philogene said. "Their responsibility is to keep him safe, educate him, keep him in the building."
Philogene said school officials blamed her son for leaving, but she said it's their job to keep him safe.
"We're upset with the fact that they need more safeguards," White said.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for Boston Public Schools said, "We are deeply sorry for this breach in safety protocol. The incident at the Young Achievers School today should never have happened. As a district, we pride ourselves on making BPS a safe haven for children. To that end, we will be seeking changes to protocols in the building that ensure the safety and well being of every child in this school."
BPS officials said they plan to meet with Philogene and her family next week to discuss possible security changes.
