Schools

Rockburn Incident Heightens Safety Awareness

After a student was reportedly offered a lift to school from a stranger, police are investigating and administrators issue precautions.

Several Howard County schools sent emails to parents this week warning of “stranger danger” after a student at  said a stranger offered him a ride to school Tuesday morning.

 Principal Lauren Bauer sent a letter to parents on Jan. 3 that a student reported as he was walking to a bus stop in Rockburn Township, a man in a silver car pulled up to the curb and offered him a ride. When the student called out to a friend and ran away, the driver made a U-turn and left, said Bauer in the letter.

"Since I had the report, I wanted to let the parents in the area know," said Bauer in a phone interview with Elkridge Patch.

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Parents told the principal they were grateful for the information. "Our PTA meeting was last night, and they appreciated knowing," said Bauer on Jan. 5.

"I also let some surrounding schools know that we had sent the letter home and that there had been an incident," said Bauer, "to heighten awareness." 

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Other school administrators took the opportunity to communicate about safety; , ,  and  emailed families about what transpired at the Rockburn bus stop. 

"While this incident did not occur in our community, I felt it was important to reiterate the importance of safety procedures and encourage you to review those procedures with your children," wrote  in an email to parents on Jan. 4. "If possible, it is best for an adult to walk to the bus stop and wait until children get on the bus."

Administrators also emphasized the need for parents to remind children of ways to keep themselves safe.

Through the health department, "We teach what we call 'stranger danger,'" said Bauer. "It's something that we talk about but it doesn’t thank goodness happen that often.

"Especially with the little ones, we want to reiterate because...children tend to talk to someone who talks to them...oftentimes a stranger might approach you in a nice way," said Bauer. "We want students to know you don’t ever stop and talk with strangers."

In her letter earlier this week, Bauer offered these guidelines for children:

  • Never speak to strangers.
  • Never accept a ride from a stranger.
  • If approached by a stranger in a car, the best response is to run away, make noise to attract the attention of others, and find an adult to help.  

These kinds of incidents should always be reported to the school and police, said Bauer.

Howard County police said that the Jan. 3 Rockburn incident is under investigation. Police described the driver of the silver, four-door sedan as a heavyset white man with brown hair, said Elizabeth Schroen, spokeswoman for the Howard County Police Department.

On April 7, 2011, Rockburn administrators sent out this notice:

It has been reported that a stranger in a gray sedan approached and talked to several students in our neighborhoods yesterday. We have taken precautions regarding this report, contacted our security department, and will review safety procedures with students at school today. The police have also been notified. We encourage you to talk to your children about this and review steps necessary to keep them safe in the neighborhood. We also encourage you to help maintain safety by ensuring that an adult monitors the bus stops before and after school.

Schroen said police are investigating the Jan. 3 incident in Rockburn Township as isolated.

This article was updated at 12:40 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7, to indicate that Rockburn sent a letter, not an email, to parents about the incident and to reflect that Elkridge Elementary also informed families of the situation.


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