Stranger Alert in Millburn School

September 21, 2012

Dear Parents/Guardians:

I would like to share some facts with you about an incident that occurred in the district this morning.

At approximately 8:25am, two students walking to school along Wyoming Avenue noticed a vehicle traveling slowly behind them on the shoulder of the road. The students became uncomfortable and ran away and proceeded directly to school. They then informed their teacher at school (Wyoming Elementary School) of the incident, who promptly notified the building principal (who in turn promptly called the police).

The Millburn Police Department immediately responded to the scene to speak with the students, and then contacted me with the following information. The vehicle was a four door sedan, light (tan) color (license plates unknown), occupied by the driver only who was described as a white male. The police will continue to investigate, but at this time there is no reason to believe that there was any intention of malice on the part of the driver. If further details surface that suggest otherwise, I will forward them along to the school community ASAP.

In conclusion, please know that your child’s safety is our top priority and I assure you that we will continue to rely on our close relationship with the Millburn Police Department to make sure nothing gets in the way of that priority. I would also like to commend the students and school staff, who all reacted exactly as they should have to a perceived danger such as this. “Stranger alert” topics are sometimes uncomfortable to discuss with children, but the more teachers and parents team together to emphasize how to react in such situations, the better prepared we as a community will be to respond when/if they do occur.

James A. Crisfield, Ed.D.

Superintendent