Winfield second-grader locked out of school

Two years after being found asleep on the wrong school bus, a Winfield second-grader is having a tough start to another school year.

This time, Genevieve D’Agostino says her 7-year-old daughter Gina Colosimo was locked out of Pleasant Hill Elementary School about 12:30 p.m. Monday when the youngster failed to keep up with classmates going to lunch after outdoor recess.

But while D’Agostino said her daughter was left outside for 30 minutes, Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 officials insist the child was never alone.

“At no point in time was she unattended,” said Erica Foreman, District 200’s director of public relations. “She was with other children and was supervised on the playground by four to six adults.”

Still, D’Agostino says her daughter told her that she was outside alone for a period of time before being found on the playground by her older brother, whose fifth-grade class was having recess.

“This is not the first time something like this has happened,” D’Agostino said. “They lost her on a school bus.”

In August 2009, Gina was leaving school after her first day of kindergarten when she wandered onto the wrong school bus and fell asleep. But she was delivered to her Carol Stream home safe after being found by the bus driver.

While her daughter wasn’t left alone two years ago, D’Agostino said she was unhappy with the school’s handling of that situation. And she’s upset now.

D’Agostino said what happened Monday was caused by “complete carelessness.”

“There was no responsible adult to make sure that she was with the group when they went back in,” D’Agostino said.

D’Agostino said her daughter wasn’t able to reach the school doors before they closed because she was suffering from leg pain. The doors automatically lock for safety reasons.

According to Foreman, Gina’s class was going inside at the same time her brother’s class was walking out for recess. One of the supervising adults could have helped, she said.

“Instead of telling an adult ‘Hey, I didn’t make it in before the doors locked,’ she stayed outside to play more,” Foreman said.

D’Agostino said that’s another reason why she’s so upset.

“Nobody inside noticed she was missing,” she said. “It’s unacceptable.”

School officials acknowledge attendance wasn’t taken before Gina’s class started eating lunch. When Gina came into the school around 1 p.m. with her brother’s class, a lunchroom supervisor grabbed a meal for her and escorted her to class. The little girl was able to eat lunch in the classroom.

Foreman said attendance will be taken during future lunch periods to prevent a repeat of what happened on Monday.

In the meantime, D’Agostino said her daughter is dealing with another negative experience at school.

“She’s afraid to go to school,” D’Agostino said. “She says she doesn’t feel safe there.”