Safety Tips If Your Child is Being Followed

In light of two female students who were recently followed to school, New Hyde Park High School and New Hyde Park-Garden City Park School District offered tips for parents and teachers for keeping their kids safe.

New Hyde Park Patch recently that a black man who is said to be in his late 20s or early 30s followed a female  student on her walk to school in his white sedan, according to high school Principal Michael DeMartino. A female student was also followed shortly thereafter.

DeMartino said, “Please remind your students to be aware of their surroundings and use caution when walking to and from school. Whenever possible, they should walk with a friend.”

The New Hyde Park High School female student who was followed made the right decision in immediately informing the principal what had happened; Demartino in turn sent an automated message to the homes of every student’s family.

Katulak also sent a call out to all parents after receiving the message from Garden City Park School as a caution for any child who walked to school back-and-forth by themselves or without visiting a friend after school.

Some quick tips Katulak gave were:

• If a student is being followed on a one way street, they should walk the opposite way of the traffic.
• The student should try to alert an adult as soon as possible or ring someone’s doorbell and let them know what is happening.

For more safety tips for your child, here is a video series from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.