Brooklyn parents locked out of school

Some Brooklyn parents are lashing out at one local school that keeps them outside the school gates. Parents of students at P.S. 306 say they do not want to leave their children at the door, especially

News 12 Staff

Sep 19, 2008, 7:43 PM

Updated 5,864 days ago

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Some Brooklyn parents are lashing out at one local school that keeps them outside the school gates.
Parents of students at P.S. 306 say they do not want to leave their children at the door, especially those who are attending pre-K and kindergarten.
?I would like to make sure that he's in school and he's not just walking in the door,? says parent Nigeri Venable. ?I want to make sure he's in his classroom safely.?
Some parents who try to accompany their kids inside are stopped at the door by a security guard and turned away, forcing young children to find their own way to the auditorium. From there they are escorted by a teacher to class.
?She's scared, she doesn't want to be in there with the bigger kids,? says Luani Smallwood, referring to her daughter.
Parents are concerned that the situation will have long-term psychological consequences on the younger children.
?They get discouraged to go to school in the first place, and you don't want kids like that at that young [of] an age,? says Michael Lopez.
Next week, parents are going to pass a petition and gather as many signatures as they can in hopes of reversing the policy with the help of the Department of Education.
According to parents, the policy stemmed from a fight between a parent and the school principal last year.