KANSAS CITY — The parents of a three-year-old boy say he was alone, crying and knocking on a school door for help for nearly two hours. On Monday, the boy was left by his teacher on the playground after recess. On Adrian Mitchem Jr.’s first day of pre-school he was all but forgotten.
“He said, ‘Daddy, I was just scratching and crying, and I knocked on the door, daddy. I knocked on the door. Nobody let me in,'” said Adrian Mitchem Sr., father.
The parents of that three-year old say they dropped the boy off at Primitivo Garcia Elementary in Kansas City Monday morning.
“I thought he was going to be in good hands,” says Erica Banks, mother.
When Erica and Adrian returned to pick up their son, he was missing.
“I said, ‘I’m here to pick up Adrian Mitchem and she said go ahead and get him, and I’m looking around the classroom, like, my son’s not down there,” said Mitchem Sr.
The boy’s father said he and the teacher searched the school, finally finding the child standing at the door near the playground, crying and trying to get in.
“He was just standing there screaming, with his hands up,” Mitchem said. “So I’m feeling bad. I just rush over and pick him up and he just embraced me just real tight.”
Mitchem said he asked the teacher how this could happen?
“She said he must have been out here from recess. I asked what time was recess over. She said 1:50 and now it’s 3:40. So my son’s been out here for almost two hours?” Mitchem said of his conversation with the teacher.
Kansas City Public School District said in a statement to FOX 4 they are investigating a claim that a student was left unattended outside for a short time. They also say corrective action was taken regarding those responsible for the oversight.
The boy’s parents say they want more to be done.
“If you see back there, there’s a lot of open space. He could have wandered off,” Mitchem said. “Somebody could have grabbed him. Anything could have happened to him.”
The boy’s parents say they want in writing a new policy or procedure in place that ensures another child can’t be forgotten or left behind.