R2 school allows 9-year-old to walk home unsupervised

BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. (WIS) - A mother says she’s relieved that her child is safe after an elementary school in Blythewood allowed the 9-year-old to walk home by herself.

Briana Buckner is the proud mother of a third-grade girl with social and emotional disabilities. WIS is not naming the child at Buckner’s request.

“We fill out forms for these kids, and how they go home. And there’s never been a change in her transportation. She’s always been going to the same afterschool program,” said Buckner.

On Monday, Buckner’s daughter was allowed to walk from Lake Carolina Elementary School - Upper Campus with the permission of a substitute teacher.

The 9-year-old attempted to walk 1.5 miles to her mother’s home, also located in Lake Carolina.

At the time of this journey, Buckner was in West Columbia and under the impression that her daughter was in an after-school program titled the Boys and Girls Club. The house was empty.

“They actually had to send a school resource officer to go find her in the neighborhood, get her, and bring her back to afterschool care where she should have gone in the first place,” continued Buckner.

Buckner did not receive an apology from the Lake Carolina Elementary principal until Tuesday afternoon. She never heard back from Richland School District Two.

WIS reached out and received this statement from the district:

As of Tuesday, Buckner’s daughter is back in school. The mother told WIS she fears for her daughter’s safety.

“I hope that the school district itself, and the teachers, learn from this. Because this could’ve gone a totally different way had my child not come home. Or had she been injured,” concluded Buckner.

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