How a 36-year-old got into a Wichita school —twice — and what district visitor rules require
The Wichita school district has a protocol meant to prevent unauthorized visitors from contacting students. But it wasn’t followed earlier this month at Gordon Parks Elementary when a man entered the school twice and made contact with a student without permission.
Michael Arnold, 36, was charged last week with stalking after entering Gordon Parks Academy twice — once on Monday, March 9, and again on Tuesday, March 10 — and making verbal and physical contact with a 13-year-old girl without her parents’ permission.
After Arnold’s arrest, Wichita schools strategic communications supervisor Susan Arensman confirmed that he worked for the district as a para and Future Ready advocate for almost two months during the fall 2024 semester before resigning.
She also said that the school had not followed district protocol to confirm which visitors should have direct contact with students.
The protocol says that all adults who visit district buildings are required to show a driver’s license or other government-issued ID, Arensman wrote in an email to The Eagle.
Adults who want to see or check out a student during the school day must also provide an ID. Then, their name is checked with the student information system in order to verify whether the adult is permitted to have contact with or leave with the student. The names on that list are provided by a parent or guardian, and typically include other parents, grandparents or guardians.
The IDs are then scanned through a Hall Pass system that checks the visitor against national sex offender databases. Then, guests are given a printed visitor badge with their name and photo ID.
Clerical staff at Wichita schools participate in visitor protocol training, which includes checking a driver’s license or other form of ID, at the beginning of every school year.
But despite annual training on proper procedure, it wasn’t followed when Arnold entered the school and asked to speak with the 13-year-old school girl.
Arnold was able to enter Gordon Parks the morning of March 9 after being buzzed in by members of the office staff, Arensman said. As at all other district schools, the school doors remain locked during the day and visitors are required to buzz in for entry. They are then routed through the office and granted access to the rest of the building after signing in.
Arnold did not go past the office into the rest of the school, Arensman said, but he made physical and verbal contact with the 13-year-old. He gained entry again the next day by following someone who had been buzzed in. He was then recognized by staffers, who called for an administrator, who contacted police, she said.
The staff member who allowed Arnold in, Arensman said, received the visitor training but did not follow protocol.
“District administration has addressed this issue with the staff member,” Arensman wrote in an email to The Eagle.
The arrest and the district’s acknowledgement that safety protocol was not followed came after a woman who claimed to be the girl’s aunt posted about the incident on social media.
In a March 11 post that’s since been shared more than 800 times, she condemned the district’s, police department’s and media’s inaction.
“There has been no public acknowledgment, no reassurance to families, no clear explanation of what will change so this NEVER happens again,” she wrote. “Our children are not safe if a man can walk into a building and attempt to leave with a Black/Brown child, touch her inappropriately in front of adults, and the system shrugs.”
She said Gordon Parks Academy did not want to involve law enforcement, and that the family had to push to get authorities involved. She also said the district failed to properly address the incident and inform Gordon Parks parents of the security breach.
She called for a full, transparent investigation by Wichita Public Schools and the Wichita Police Department, an immediate review and enforcement of building access and student release protocols, and mandatory staff retraining on student safety and reporting obligations.
“Our children are supposed to be safe at school,” she wrote. “Until the district and WPD treat this as the serious violation it is, every parent at Gordon Parks Academy – and across Wichita – should be asking hard questions and refusing to accept silence as an answer.”
Later that same day, Arnold was arrested and an email was sent to Gordon Parks Academy parents from Principal Philip Ingram. It read in part:
“First and most importantly, I want to assure you that all children were kept safe and that no one was harmed and that no student was checked out of the building or attempted to be checked out.
“There was a person who came into the office to talk with a student but didn’t attempt to leave with the student. While we don’t know the intentions of the individual, we called police and they’re investigating. “We take this very seriously. As soon as the issue was identified, it was addressed with the staff involved and we reviewed the proper procedures to ensure this does not happen again.”
When asked about the Facebook post, the district said several of the aunt’s claims weren’t true. Members of the girl’s family did not respond to requests for comment.
Arnold’s bond was set at $50,000 and he is not allowed to visit any USD 259 facilities. He’s due in court again on April 2.
This story was originally published March 25, 2026 at 6:47 PM.
