Parents turned to social media, sharing frustrations on how playtime before school and at recess has been handled at Castaic Elementary School as a new principal takes the reins. 

As parents dropped their students off at Castaic Elementary School for the first day of class on Tuesday, parents noticed children on the school grounds walking around in a circle instead of seeing them running around and playing on the playground as they had done for years.

After parents saw this, they turned to Facebook, saying the school looked like it was a “military camp,” and not a free, structured play area for the Castaic students.

Soon after the complaints made their rounds on Facebook, Erika Bowden, the new principal of Castaic Elementary School, addressed the issue with parents in a mass email.

“Over the summer, our Castaic leadership team brought to my attention that our campus was in need of stronger safety structures in the morning and during recess,” Bowden said in a Tuesday morning email to parents. “The intent is not to create an entirely new recess or overhaul our routines, but to shrink the play areas when needed so that students are always within sight and close proximity to supervising adults.”

Over the years, Castaic Elementary School had as many as 800 students; however, with decreasing enrollment, there are now just over 400 students.

With enrollment now half of what it has been in the past, staff have decided to create play zones.

In the initial plan, before school starts, the field is expected to be closed completely to prevent kids from slipping on the morning dew, and the playground would be off limits, according to Bowden.

“For organizational reasons, our playground and yard areas are divided into supervision areas, sometimes referred to as zones, for example, the apparatus is one area, the blacktop is another, and the field is another,” Bowden said in a second email sent to parents Tuesday evening. “This is a way that helps our supervisors maintain better oversight and allows them to quickly call for support if a particular area becomes overcrowded.”

Despite these zones, a parent who spoke to KHTS anonymously claimed staff did not even bring balls out for the children to play with until Tuesday at lunch, after several parents called the principal and superintendent regarding their concerns.

All day Monday and half day Tuesday, there were either two tetherball courts, the playground to play on, or kids could walk around on the blacktop or field, according to the parent.

As Tuesday concluded, Principal Bowden acknowledged that she was not transparent enough with the families of her new school and told them that in the future she would be better at getting their input for certain issues concerning students.

“This is not how I intended to begin our new school year together,” Bowden said in the second email sent to parents Tuesday evening. “I appreciate being part of this community and your trust in welcoming me into this beautiful school family. I realize I made a mistake in my lack of communication and collaboration with families, and I want to make this right for our students, for you as parents, and for our entire Castaic community.

I value open communication and collaboration, and I know our community appreciates being part of the decision-making process. While there are times when administrative decisions must be made quickly for the safety and well-being of our students, this was not one of those times, and I should have first included our families in the conversation.”

She concluded her email to parents by making a deal with them.

“Let’s make a deal, when significant changes on our campus are being considered, I will ensure our parents and community are included in the discussion before decisions are made,” she said.

On Wednesday, parents dropping their students off at Castaic Elementary School were thrilled to see what they had been used to seeing in years past.

Kids were back on the playground before school started, and those who chose to walk around and talk with friends could also do so if they pleased.

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