Crisis backpack taken from Hoffman Estates elementary school

A backpack containing emergency equipment and the names and contact information of every student was stolen from outside Lincoln Prairie Elementary School in Hoffman Estates after it was left behind by a teacher during an afternoon recess Friday.

The backpack was found empty by a Hoffman Estates police officer and returned to Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54 on Monday — the first time its absence had been noticed, district officials said.

The teacher in charge of the backpack had initially put it down to attend to a child but then forgot about it, District 54 spokeswoman Terri McHugh said.

The absence of the student information is considered more concerning than the loss of the equipment in the backpack, she added. Parents who have contacted the school this week have expressed concerns about the possibility of identity theft.

“Children's safety is our concern, not just at school but all the time,” McHugh said. “A mistake was definitely made. Parents at that school were immediately notified.”

The district has already taken the step of reducing the amount of student information in each teacher's emergency backpack to just first and last names.

That's the only required information in such backpacks districtwide, but at Lincoln Prairie the addresses, phone numbers and parents' names of each student had also been included until now. Social security numbers were never part of the information contained, McHugh said.

The emergency backpacks were originally designed by the Mount Prospect police department, and the idea spread between villages and school districts until it reached District 54, she said.

In anticipation of different types of emergencies, the backpacks contain such items as writing utensils, flashlights, first-aid kits, whistles, waterproof tarps, toilet paper and the list of students expected to be in each classroom throughout the school day.

Hoffman Estates police officials referred all questions to the school district.