SWAMPSCOTT — School officials are vowing to thoroughly review their supervision policies after two students at the Clarke Elementary School wandered away from school grounds during recess Friday. 

When school officials noticed the students, both first-graders, were unaccounted for, they immediately began a search of the area and notified the police department. The students were found 15-20 minutes later by a police officer working a detail near the Whole Foods Market on Paradise Road. The school is located slightly more than a half mile away from Whole Foods. Both students were unharmed, Superintendent Pamela Angelakis and Clarke School Interim Principal Jason Knowles said in a letter sent to parents Friday.

“As we try to determine exactly how this happened, we do so in the context of acknowledging that there was an obvious lapse in supervision on the part of staff who were overseeing the recess,” Angelakis and Knowles wrote.

In the wake of the incident, Angelakis and Knowles said they would meet with staff on recess duty at the time, hold a mandatory meeting for all staff at the elementary school, and review policies and procedures regarding supervision of students outside the building, with an emphasis on ensuring all potential exits are monitored at all times.

“We are keenly aware of our responsibility to provide a safe learning environment for students at all times and are disappointed and disheartened when we fall short,” the letter reads. “Please know that we will use this as a learning experience.”

Angelakis and Knowles also asked parents to remind their children of the importance of not leaving school grounds unattended. 

Charlie McKenna can be reached at [email protected].