DD 6 put on the wrong bus

[CEDmom]

I'd be most angry that the school didn't follow it's own policy. Kindergarten classrooms have paraprofessionals for this very reason. Many of these kids have never been to school before and even those that had it's not likely as big as an elementary school.

Personally I'd go to the principal and ask why policy wasn't followed. He/she needs to know about this breakdown.

I hope your DD can put this past her.

The driver that had her needs to also be spoken with.

 

[mickeysgal]

You may want to give a stern finger wagging to the bus company about the driver's behavior. Perhaps the driver did not realize the implications of the confusion, but to twice deny having her and your dd claiming she told the driver she was on the wrong bus and getting her pleas ignored is dead wrong.

Yes, accidents happen and this is what this is. But the drivers must be made aware that when a missing child report goes out, they must be treated with the highest of priority and sensitivity, even if all it is a 6 yo getting on the wrong bus.

Agreed. All those drivers had to do is yell out "Is there a Suzy Jones on this bus" and/or taken a roll call. To deny that she was on the bus - and right in back of the driver to boot - was just plain wrong, wrong, wrong.

DS once got on the wrong bus at school. He recognized that it was the wrong bus and got off right away, but by then his bus had pulled away. He went to the office. When he didn't get off at the bus stop, I panicked. I couldn't call that school fast enough.

 

[mickeyboat]

I would have been terrified and furious, too. I don' t blame you forbeing upset. The school and bus people handled it all wrong.

I have had bus woes already this year, but I think I have solved the problem. The people at the bus garage have been very helpful. It doesn't hurt that both my kids are on the same bus, and they are very comfortable and familiar with where they should be going. If the bus was not bringing them to the right place, they would be sure to speak up. I have also instructed them on what to do if something goes wrong.

Good luck for the rest of the school year.

Denae

 

[SeeDisney]

I'm so sorry that this had to happen to you, your husband and your child.

This happened to our school as well almost every year.

Hope you're all better now.

 

[Steffi]

How terrifying for you and your poor DD! I know mistakes and accidents can happen, but to not have any idea where your kindergarten-aged child is for an hour and a half....unbearable! I would have flipped out!


I'm so glad that everything turned out ok in the end.

 

[luvflorida]

I had the longest hour and half of my life yesterday. My DD started kindergarten on Monday. I am a SAHM so she did not go to preschool. She was sooo happy and she loved to ride the bus home. Well, until yesterday. The teachers aid is "supposed" to put the bus riders on their buses afterschool. We also have the ID tags to get her at her bus stop. Anyway yesterday her father and I are waiting at the bus stop. The bus pulls up and the driver said I don't think I have her. He gets up and checks the bus, nope she isn't on the bus. My husband and I go to the school-it is less than a mile from our house-she isn't there either.

OK she is on the wrong bus, I wasn't out of control at this point, the school was calling the bus dispatcher and he was calling all the buses, there are only 4. Her teacher was standing with us and said the last two buses had pulled in in different order so she was sure she was on the wrong bus and my dd could have fallen asleep-ok I buy that.

All the bus drivers report back in NO THEY DO NOT HAVE HER. They have no idea where she is. The room started spinning on me. The school had them call all the bus drivers again. And again nobody had her. The teachers aid that was supposed to put her on the bus had already gone home. She had signed off on a paper saying she had put my DD on the right bus.

Then someone at the school said "you didn't see her walking down the street on your way here?" OMG!!!! I lost it. The bus dispatcher told the school to have us come over and go though the video to see where she got off the wrong bus. I have never been so scared in my life. I yelled What are these (fill in the blank) ID tags for.

So we get to the bus garage(sp) and the dispatcher is asking a driver who the child is that he has THANK GOD IT WAS MY DAUGHTER! But this driver had told the dispatcher at least 2 times that he did not have her. Everyone said she must have been asleep. Guess what she wasn't asleep she was sitting right behide the driver the whole time. SCARED TO DEATH. Her and her friend from her class tried to tell the driver she was on the wrong bus he told them to sit there and be quiet.

My DD tells me that the aid did not put her on the bus an older kid did. I asked her if the aid or her teacher put her on the bus the previous days she said yea but sometime the older kids come in the class and take them to their buses.

I think I aged 15 years from 2:30 to 4:00 yesterday. I am going in to talk with her teacher and try to remain calm with the aid this morning. DD has been up since 4:00 am this morning. She said she didn't think she was ever coming home yesterday...she was thinking about the movies she wouldn't ever watch again and that she wouldn't have another pb & j sandwich. It was heartbreaking.

I wrote this to the board hoping it would make me feel better....Thanks for listening!

Beth

There is so much wrong here that I don't know where to start.

First of all, to you and your daughter. I'm actually shaking just thinking of what you and your daughter went through. Your post really upset me and brought tears to my eyes.

I see a multitude of problems. The ID tags are absolutely useless if nobody is taking the time to make sure they match up with the correct bus. Older kids should NOT be the ones putting Kindergartners on the buses. Why did the assitant teacher sign off saying she put your daughter on the correct bus when it sounds like she didn't?

How on earth can the school check with all the bus drivers, (and like you said, there are only four buses, so it shouldn't have been too complicated), TWICE and have all of the drivers say they don't have her? Then when you got to the bus garage, the driver is sitting right there with your daughter!?!?! And what the heck was the person talking about who said they saw your daughter walking down the street?

I can't even imagine how you must have felt during the time your daughter was missing. I would have been a complete and total mess. And I can't even imagine how scared your poor little girl was.

I know people make mistakes, but if this had happened to my daughter, I would have been extremely upset. I certainly would talk to the teacher and principal about making sure school policy is being followed correctly, and I'd want to know why the bus drivers or dispatcher couldn't find out where your daughter was.

Please give your sweet daughter a and all the pb&j sandwiches she wants!!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

She is going to ride the bus, the right bus home today. She is putting on her brave face. What the school and my DD dont know is my husband is going to be in the parking lot to make sure she is on the right one and I will be at the bus stop just like normal.

I want to start off by saying that you are handling this so well! I'm sure that you feel like keeping your daughter with you and never letting her out of your sight and most certainly not letting her ride home on the bus, but you are not letting those feelings get the best of you. Good for you! You're having her get back on the proverbial horse, which I think is the best thing. And I would have my husband there watching, too.

I would have been scared out of my mind. I was just reading what happened and I knew it ended ok. I can't even imagine how frightened you must have been. That bus driver was so in the wrong for dismissing what the kids were telling him. Kids should be listened to at the very least and the bus driver needs to explain and be held accountable. At our school we do have patrols (5th graders) helping the younger kids. Not sure how often there are mix-ups, but I know it does occur. Our younger kids wear colored strips on their backpacks.

A friend told me that one kindergarten boy had a tantrum on the first day because he wanted to ride the "red" bus because that is his favorite color, but they obviously didn't let him on that bus.

In general the system works, but it is a concern of mine. My first grader is usually one of the last kids to get off at our bus stop and my heart always skips a beat, afraid that he has missed the bus or has gotten on the wrong bus.

 

[lclark0621]

The same thing happened to me when I was in K many many years ago. My Mother said she lost 10 - 15 years of her life that day.

And I did not ride the bus again until I was in 5th or 6th grade.

When my DS goes to school in 2 years, I am planning on bringing him & picking him up.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

The biggest problem with this story is the "big kids."

That is NOT something an older kid should be in charge of. The aids and teachers should ensure the children get on the correct bus, not a "big kid" helper. They are liable and despite their willingness to help, they are more likely to make mistakes.

The school system deserves to get an ear full from you.

Your school board representative should also hear about the bus driver's attitude as well.

im glad you are all ok but i also agree with this
bigger kids shoudl not be doing this
its the teachers job
god firbid somehting happens with a kid

 

[luvflorida]

She is going to ride the bus, the right bus home today. She is putting on her brave face. What the school and my DD dont know is my husband is going to be in the parking lot to make sure she is on the right one and I will be at the bus stop just like normal.

I hope all goes well this afternoon for your daughter. She is indeed a brave little girl to get back on that bus!

Just curious, and it's really none of my business, (so feel free to tell me so), but you mentioned that you live less than a mile from the school. Would it be quicker to walk your daughter to and from school instead of having her take the bus? If this had happened to my daughter, I'd be so tempted to avoid having her ride the school bus.

And before I get flamed, yes, I know I have issues with letting my kids go! That's why I have this quote taped to my computer monitor:

All The Art Of Living
Lies In A Fine Mingling
Of Letting Go
And Holding On.

It's just that they'e only little for such a short time.

 

[grlpwrd]

The procedures to ensure your dd's safety were really poor, but not only that - they didn't have a very good checks and balance system. I would be livid. I hope you set them straight.

to your dd!

 

[Aidensmom]

I am so sorry, how terrifying for you and your daughter! I have a kindergartner, and I still have tears in my eyes from reading your post.

My husband actually got his work hours changed slightly so he is able to pick our son up from school, we were so paranoid about him having to go to afterschool care somewhere. Sending good thoughts for your daughter that this incident does not cause her future anxiety in riding the bus.

 

[Jenn]

Same thing happened to us on our daughter's first day of first grade! We live 1 mile from the school, so I was planning on driving her and picking her up. It seems silly to wait at a bus stop in the winter time when I could be there and back in 5 minutes. Well, the school secretary convinced me she would be fine, it will be so much easier, etc. So, first day of school I am waiting at the bus stop. Bus comes, kids get off, she isn't there. So, I run home, get my car and drive to the school. They looked at me like "what do you mean she wasn't on the bus?". They started radioing the drivers and they found her within about 10 minutes. It ended up being a typo on a sheet of paper. She was supposed to be on bus 12 and was put on bus 2. Thank God she didn't get off the bus. The route she was on was a neighborhood my SIL used to live in but just recently moved from, so she might have been confused and thought maybe I'm supposed to go to my Aunt's house today. I was so scared. The driver drove back to the school with her and I just hugged her and cried. The funniest part - she was mad when I told her she wasn't riding the bus anymore.

She is in 4th grade now and I still drive her to/from everyday.

 

[dzorn]

I just returned from the school. The County Board is involved needless to say everyone at the school was super nice. They assured me that action would be taken and I will get a full report. I told them that older kids- which means 5th graders- putting kindergarteners on the buses is completely unacceptable. They stated they dont do that, well it happened.

She is going to ride the bus, the right bus home today. She is putting on her brave face. What the school and my DD dont know is my husband is going to be in the parking lot to make sure she is on the right one and I will be at the bus stop just like normal.

And make sure your husband takes note of any student helpers directing them to the bus instead of the aids and teachers. It could prevent this from happening to another little one.

Denise

 

[mickeysgal]

How terrifying. If you ever watch school let out, its utter chaos with kids scrambling all over the place boarding buses. Its a wonder this kind of mix-up doesn't happen daily.

We moved into this new house and started school two days later. My kids did not know the neighborhood, the streets, and they were very shaky on their new phone number and address. We were so new that they wouldn't know if they were on the wrong bus or not. So there I was, mom to a middle schooler and two high schoolers at the bus stop with them the first day to talk personally to the bus driver to let her know just how "new" we were. Kids of course, were embarrassed that I was there. I was a nervous wreck the first week of school. They did fine.

 

[maelcu]

Thanks to all you, your replies have helped!

luvflorida- it is a bit of a walk to school I take her in the mornings she is the one who wanted to ride the bus in the afternoons. Thanks for the quote it is now taped to my computer too. Think I will put another on the fridge!

Here I thought it was hard leaving her class the first day...I really didn't want to leave today. Kept telling myself Your a big girl now you can do this.

Think I will fix me a PB & J an wait for 2:30 so glad this is Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!

Beth

 

[agnes!]

Oh my...hope everything goes better for your DD & the family for the rest of the school year.

I don't know quite what I would do in your shoes, but I think I would call a lawyer (NOT to sue) but so that everyone concerned would know the family meant *business*.
The lawyer would contact the school & some meetings would be arranged for all the adult parties...one for the school (teachers, whoever is letting the 'big kids' get Kindergartners from classrooms, the principal, any other administrators), one meeting for the bus transportation people (the actual bus driver, the dispatcher, the driver supervisor), maybe a meeting with your School Board member/Disrtict Superintendent, maybe a final meeting to make sure proper procedures are in place and are ACTUALLY being followed. The best thing to be done would be to make sure that this doesn't easily happen again to anyone else and to ensure student safety in the future.

I would also think about...
*contacting the PTA and ask to make a short reasoned(no tears! no accusations! You must the the voice of reason.) report at the first meeting
*activate what I always call 'the Mom's Network'...talk to your friends, have them ask their kids if 'big kids' have taken any other students from the classroom to the buses this year. See if any 'big kids' know anything. If the school is consistently not following its own and the County's stated transportation policy, you'll find out.

agnes!

 

[summerrluvv]

Yikes! I hope the driver that said he didn't have her is going to be disciplined. Mistakes happen, but sheesh...he could have at least checked to see if the kid was on his bus!

I hope all goes smoothly for you and your DD today

 

[okeydokey]

Wow, this is more common than you think. It happened to my Kindergarten daughter the second week of school, three years ago. I asked her if she recognized the bus driver when she got on, and she said no she didn't because they had been through three different bus drivers in 7 days. I did have her ride the bus the rest of that week, because I didn't want her to be afraid of the bus or have her last bus experience be negative, but the next week we starting dropping off and picking up and continue to do so.

I'm so glad she was found safely.

 

[CathrynRose]

I wrote this to the board hoping it would make me feel better....Thanks for listening!

Beth

OMG Terrifying. Im so sorry you had to go through that. You made me tear.... With a 15 y/o and a 11 y/o Ive had a few "I dont know where my child is" moments, in my life and theyre terrifying. Simply terrifying.

I had one last week - for an hour and a half, my youngest wasnt picking up his phone. Last I heard, he was "on his way home, Ill see you there" I went to everyone's house I knew, banged on the door of the last place he was - His friends. With no answer....

After 1.5 hrs, he comes strolling in with a donut. Apparently decided to stop at Dunkin Donuts - he saw my face, realized he didnt have his phone, and started crying cuz he knew he was in a deep, ol' pile of you-know-what.

I swear to you, I felt every beat of my heart pumping blood through my veins. I was TERRIFIED.