Wellesley Public Schools Superintendent David Lussier credits parents for “using good common sense and ensuring that [hoverboards] are not coming to school.” He says “This really hasn’t become an issue for us yet” (echoing a response we got from Dana Hall School in Wellesley).
Lussier was responding to our inquiry about whether the self-balancing — and sometimes flammable — two-wheeled scooters had become an issue for the local school system and whether any policy had been put in place to keep them off school grounds.
Our question was prompted by Wellesley College’s recent decision to put the kibosh on hoverboards on campus until safety standards are established. Wellesley College is among a growing number of higher education institutions banning or restricting use of hoverboards on campus.
Indeed, when we reached out to parents whose kids we know have hoverboards, they said the students have not taken them to school.
“From my perspective, taking them to school would present all kinds of potential trouble — not using them safely, friends asking to borrow them without their parents’ permission and the distraction they would surely pose in the classroom. Our rule is they can ride them only at home with all their protective gear on,” says Deanna Dwyer.
She notes that her older son was concerned that hoverboards might not come the way of he and his brother this Christmas after seeing Wellesley resident and TV anchor David Wade’s story about the dangers of hoverboards.
“My son was convinced that David had single-handedly ruined his chances of getting one. Fortunately for him, Santa visits our house with a sense of humor and left not only the hoverboards but a brand new fire extinguisher too,” Dwyer says.
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