CHARLES COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — Parents and community members in Charles County said they are concerned about transparency from school officials after an incident in an elementary school bathroom sent a child to the hospital on Friday.
According to a letter sent to parents at C. Paul Barnhart Elementary School from Principal Carrie Burke, two students were in the bathroom “horse playing” when one student’s jacket got caught on the bathroom stall hook and they could not get free.
The other student ran to get help, and school officials contacted 911.
The child has since been released from the hospital and the Charles County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident, according to a letter sent out on Sunday by Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) Superintendent, Maria Navarro.
Since the incident, parents and community members have voiced their frustrations with how the school system communicated the incident with parents.
“I just think it’s unacceptable,” said Patrice Allen, a community member showing support for the family of the injured child. “It could have been a really bad outcome.”
Dayna Jones, mother of two CCPS students, questions how bathroom supervision is conducted inside Barnhart.
“How much time were they in the bathroom before something like this could potentially happen?” she asked. “I just was immediately concerned about what happened to the level that this child had to be sent all the way to [the] Children’s Hospital. That normally indicates there’s a serious concern – just a little horseplay or whatever could potentially happen – it could have turned fatal and that concerns me as a parent.”
Melick McCreary’s little brother is in second grade and a classmate of the injured child. He said he was not happy when his younger brother told him what happened.
“It made me upset because I think the teachers should have better supervision of the kids,” he said. “It hurt me to my heart, I ain’t gonna lie.”
A woman who said she is the child’s mother posted on social media sharing what happened. The post also made references to bullying and has since been widely circulated.
In the letter on Sunday, Navarro addressed public concerns and condemned comments that were made online “stating that the school and CCPS are covering up what happened.”
“This is not true. The principal nor the school system are hiding anything. Rather, we are sharing what information we can while we conduct a full investigation,” the letter read in part.
In the meantime, parents are still worried about what went down as some said the school system has “challenges with the level of information” that is shared with parents.
“There’s so much that takes place that we don’t know about. And if you’re not in a group chat, you have no idea what’s going on in your own neighborhood,” Allen said.
On Monday morning, a rally organized by the Charles County Moms of Color was canceled out of respect for the injured child’s family.
The purpose of the rally was to demand transparency, accountability and safety measures following the “traumatizing” incident.
“I think just educating the parents and making sure that something goes home to the parents. If nothing else, to talk to their children about different things like playing in the bathroom or making sure that they’re focused throughout the day. I think that a lot of times kids, they think that they’re doing things in jest, but there could be serious consequences,” Jones said.
DC News Now has reached out to the injured student’s mother but did not hear back in time for publication.