Heath Brook School Phone System Suffers Glitch

A glitch in the phone system that delivers automated messages to Heath Brook School families led to the parents of every student at the school receiving a call reporting their student was absent on Tuesday, according to Superintendent of Schools Dr. John O'Connor. 

325 families received the message due to the glitch, according to O'Connor. 

The message was intended to go out to parents of the approximately six students who were absent from school on Tuesday, according to O'Connor. 

The glitch led to an influx of calls to the school in a matter of minutes, more than the school's phone lines are capable of handling, according to O'Connor.

Tewksbury Police Department Deputy Chief John Votto said police lines were also held up for several minutes due to parents calling in as a result of the glitch. 

O'Connor said the school sent out a message to all Heath Brook parents following the initial call to let them know that a glitch had occurred and that their student was safe at school. 

It remains unclear what caused the glitch, and the school is still working to find out what led to the message being sent out to more than 300 families instead of six, according to O'Connor. 

Tewksbury Patch reader Rome Miano received the call reporting his son, who had been put on the school bus by his mother Tuesday morning, was absent from school and to call the school to confirm. 

Miano said he rushed from his work in Woburn to Heath Brook School, calling Tewksbury Police on his way to try to find out what was going on.

"When I arrived I found that Tewksbury Police had 3 or 4 cruisers at the school and there were parents in a panic everywhere,"  Miano said "When I walked up to the school the school officals said everything was ok and that they accidentally sent a message out to all the parents in the school."

Miano said not knowing the status of his son was one of the most frightening moments of his life.

"I was able to go to my sons classroom and see him and then I took a deep breath and came back to work," Miano said. "Honestly this was the scariest thing in my 37 years of life I have been through. Not knowing where your 6 year old is and if he's safe or not."