Student evacuations worry parents

At least five times this school year, pupils at Suncoast Elementary School stopped their school work and evacuated their classrooms.

Not as a drill, but for their own safety - to avoid broken desk pieces, paper weights and other items thrown across the classroom by a fellow student, who reportedly has anger issues.

For the most part, pupils have avoided being struck by items during the violent outbursts, according to school records obtained by Hernando Today. Only when they didn't and became injured were parents notified.

They're called "fresh air drills" or "fresh air learning" at Suncoast Elementary, although other schools have different names. They're names for when teachers evacuate a classroom to contain a student who acts violently.

Brian and Catherine Vredeveld, whose 8-year-old son was injured during one tirade, said they didn't know about the classroom evacuations until their son was hit by a piece of broken desk. When they asked why they weren't told about the incidents before, Catherine Vredeveld said they were told they didn't have a right to know.

"Their reasoning is that we didn't have a right to know because of the privacy rights of the other child," Vredeveld said. "But what about our right for our child to go to school in a safe environment?"

According to school records, there have been five classroom evacuations, or "fresh air learning" incidents since Aug. 24 at Suncoast Elementary. Two students were referred to the school clinic because of them.

However, in an e-mail to Hernando Today, the Vredevelds claim that in October, four children were struck during a student's fit - one with a paperweight in the head and others with pieces of a table that the child had broken.

After complaining to Principal Jean Ferris about the evacuation drills and bullying issues involving another student, the Vredevelds claim Ferris told them that maybe they should send their child to another school. The Vredevelds live in another district and send their child to Suncoast by choice.

Despite several calls to her office, Ferris could not be reached for comment.

The Vredevelds have since retained a lawyer and filed a complaint against Ferris. They allege she failed to complete an accident investigation form, tried to intimidate them after they complained about the fresh air drills and failed to keep their child from being bullied by another student.

Although he could not discuss the complaint, Jim Knight, director of student services, said school officials can't legally disclose a special needs child is in a classroom, even to parents whose child is injured during a tirade.

"Due to privacy rights, we can't go into details," Knight said. "There are times when we can let parents know that classroom evacuations occurred, but that's about it. We legally can't go into detail."

While there isn't a policy concerning the matter, Knight said teachers will evacuate a classroom for the students' safety while the student acting out is calmed down or, in some cases, restrained.

Meanwhile, Vredeveld said school administrators moved both problem students to another classroom. However, she said that doesn't solve anything.

"But that's the thing. When there's a problem, their solution is to just move the students somewhere else," Vredeveld said. "Now they're someone else's problem."