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Palo Alto police cruised the streets near El Carmelo Elementary School this afternoon as school let out, keeping a watchful eye over the children. But few students walked home, as parents were there to pick them up.

Parents had been alerted via email earlier Thursday that a mountain lion had been sighted in a tree near Waverley Street and Loma Verde Avenue, two blocks from the school, at 10 a.m. The city also sent out automated telephone messages to neighborhood residents, telling them to keep children and pets indoors if possible.

“I’m really pleased there has been so much progress,” said Faith Brigel, referring to the incident last May when a mountain lion was shot and killed near the Palo Alto Art Center. She came to the school to pick up her two sons, Jason, a fourth grader, and Joshua, who is in kindergarten. “I really appreciated hearing the message.”

El Carmelo Principal Lupe Garcia and other staff kept a watch over the school grounds when the first through third graders were released at 2:30 p.m. “The police were keeping us informed throughout the day” of the hunt for the lion, Garcia said.

El Carmelo’s play area at the corner of the school is normally crowded with kids between 2:30, when the younger students end classes, and 2:55 p.m., when the fourth and fifth graders are released, said El Carmelo PTA President Lesley Kalmin. Today, though, there were just a few kids and parents, with more parents waiting in their cars for their children.