INDIANAPOLIS — An Indy elementary school has filed a Child Protective Services report after complaints were made that a classroom visitor may have acted inappropriately toward students. The incident has since garnered social media attention.
In a statement sent to parents of South Creek Elementary School students, the school addressed an alleged incident that occurred on campus in February. The allegations have recently garnered attention from social media users, including one TikTok video with over 1,000 comments and another with 700+ comments.
"We understand that this situation has garnered the attention of our community and others outside our region on social media over the past couple of days," the school said in a statement.
The incident reportedly involved a visitor to an elementary classroom who the school said was there to speak with students about a "classroom connections activity." However, social media users began claiming that the visitor was "unauthorized" and acted inappropriately with the kids.
"We took the situation seriously and addressed it directly with those involved," the school said. "When the school administration was made aware of the allegation, a CPS report was filed."
The school said that the CPS report was filed in February after parents notified the administration. According to South Creek, CPS has since cleared the report.
South Creek Principal Patrick Guilfoy said that the school cannot share any further details on the incident, citing a "legal need to maintain student confidentiality."
"What we can share is that we will continue to adhere to our policies governing school visitors," Guilfoy said. "This incident has led to questions about our management of school visitors."
In its statement, the school told parents that staff members screen every individual prior to them being allowed inside a school. Guilfoy added that visitors' IDs are scanned before entry to prevent "individuals of concern" from coming in and that protocol was followed in this incident.
"We appreciate those who have spoken up and expressed their concerns," the statement said. "Please know that the safety and well-being of our students remain our top priority."
No other information was provided by South Creek Elementary School, which is a Targeted Assistance Title I School located at 9010 E. Southport Road.