School Changes Kindergarten Pickup Policies After Woman Drives Off With Wrong Child

WILTON (CBS13) — Something went terribly wrong at a kindergarten pickup on Friday afternoon after a woman picked up a six-year-old girl that she didn't know.

"For some reason, the woman mistook this little child for one of her grandchildren and put her in the car and drove away," Mike Nelson, a C.W. Dillard elementary teacher.

The school said that a relative went to the kindergarten pickup at the school to pick up a student. Parents and others CBS13 spoke with say that this grandmother eventually made her way to pick up another student at Albiani Middle School when the middle schooler told her she picked up the wrong kid.

The kindergartner was brought back to her school and parents after the mix-up.

"Terrified, clearly. It had to do with a little girl that I've known for the last three years," Jacqueline Logan, C.W. Dillard Kindergarten parent, said.

"I was shocked before because it's supposed to be that parents have to communicate with the school first," Shu Xan Un, C.W. Dillard Kindergarten parent, said.

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Some kindergarten parents at the school also told CBS13 that they have had nothing but great experiences with the faculty at C.W. Dillard Elementary.

"I know that the kindergarten teacher always keeps the children right next to her until parents show up," Logan said. "I think this honestly just a bunch of events that all came together at the wrong moment and it was just a fluke."

CBS13 reached out to the school principal to see if we could discuss the procedures at the school and who's being held accountable for this situation, but we were referred to the Elk Grove Unified School District for answers.

A district spokesperson said the proper practices and procedures were followed, that the mix-up was a mistake and nobody will be punished.

But people we spoke with were still wondering how this situation happened at all.

"It's kinda hard for me to understand that you could mistake your grandchild for someone else's especially that they were picking up a boy and she grabbed a little girl," Cindy Shaver, a grandparent of C.W. Dillard students, said.

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A letter sent to parents on Sunday stated that the school's changing the kindergarten pick-up procedure immediately. Until Monday, parents and guardians could pick up students at an assigned pick-up spot inside the school. Now, students will have to be picked-up directly from their classroom.

"I think for kindergarteners especially, having parents park walk up and get them is really the best policy," Logan said.

There are some who said maybe other measures should be taken to ensure students' safety.

"Maybe they should do more, you know, about signature and cameras, asking questions with the child if they know the person," Un said.

The school district said it will continue to review the updated procedures to see if any other possible changes could be made in the future.