Parents driving students for field trips-UPDATE pg 6

[Wishing on a star]

I would respond to that... but I just might have to run to the bathroom and puke...
Wow....
What an overt and sickening personal attack. Some people just have to show what they are inside. Here we go again!!!!!

Ohhhhhh.... never mind...
Such a nice beautiful breezy evening... I will just go on enjoying my day!!!!!

 

[Disneylover99]

This is how I handled it when there were long possibly overwhelming field trips when my son was still enrolled in elementary school.
Didn't matter if there were busses or not.
If I wanted him to go, he didn't go to school that morning.
I would happen to meet up with them at the destination...
We came, and went, on our own.
.

I hope you let the teacher know your plans ahead of time.

 

[Skippy918]

Our school provides busses for field trips. If parents are chaperoning, they have to drive themselves. Back in my day the parents used to ride the busses with the kids.

 

[georgina]

My kids rode the bus for school field trips. Whenever I chaperoned I had to ride the bus also. When DD who is 23 now was in 7th grade, the school implemented the clearance process for volunteers, we had to get a state child abuse clearance and a criminal check from the state police also. DD's coach worked in another school district and asked me to ride the bus with the 7th grade team to the after school games and she would meet us there.

When she was in high school I drove the model UN team in my car to a tournament 400 miles away. I did not stay at the hotel with them, as I had family in the area, but the other driver did stay at the same hotel where the tournament was held.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

This is how I handled it when there were long possibly overwhelming field trips when my son was still enrolled in elementary school.
Didn't matter if there were busses or not.
If I wanted him to go, he didn't go to school that morning.
I would happen to meet up with them at the destination...
We came, and went, on our own.

PS: IMHO this whole everybody who can show up is a 'driver' and the school bears no responsibility thing does NOT hold water.

While I've never done this before, I can understand why parents might want to do it in some circumstances. Slightly off topic, but it does seem like field trips at DD's school aren't particularly well planned and rely WAY too much on parent volunteers. Don't get me wrong, I fully understand why parents are needed for extra supervision and it's a great way to interact and volunteer with your kid's class. I do think it's a bit weird though to send one parent off alone with a couple of kids for a few hours expecting them to provide the learning aspect of the trip. DD experienced this at a science museum trip in kindergarten and came home disappointed that other kids learned about and played with cool exhibits on light and tornadoes and stuff, but the adult she was with just took them to a toddler play area in the building and sat on her phone. After that, I decided I would go on any field trips that seemed like they'd be parent-led, as I don't want her to miss out on an enriching experience because the chaperone she's with can't or won't engage the kids. If the school decided to limit volunteers and I didn't make the cut, depending on the circumstances and after talking to the teacher, taking her myself might be an option I'd consider.

All that aside, this particular trip is bowling so the parent supervision and learning aspect isn't really a concern except for the transportation issue. I am definitely going to speak with her teacher and/or the principal. All of the responses here have been very helpful and giving me insight on how to approach this. While responses have been varied, overall, it does seem like in public school if there are parent drivers for field trips in public schools, there's usually some sort of driving screening done. Perhaps there is something additional being done at DD's school that I just don't know about, so I do think I need to get clarification on that before I make my decision.

For all of you who have given advice or comments on the ways to and benefits of meeting other parents, I do appreciate the advice. I do have a lot of social anxiety which makes it challenging to strike up conversations with strangers, women especially, and it seems most volunteers are other women. From the parents I have seen when I've volunteered on trips, they all seem to be a fair bit older than me (mid to late 30s and up, I'm 28) and I've gotten the vibe a few times like they are judging me because of that or because I'm wearing jeans and a baggy t shirt rather than the ubiquitous leggings and flowy top that most women wear in my town. Sometimes it just feels like being around high school cliques and I just want to run, run away and never return.

In all seriousness though, I would like to work on my anxiety stuff and did tell DD she can give my cell number to a couple of friends (to give to their parents) on the last day of school so she can maybe have a couple playdates this summer. She plays with our neighbor too, but the little girl doesn't go to her school and the parents don't speak English so I don't interact a whole lot with them. Thankfully, DD is incredibly outgoing and makes friends everywhere.

 

[Disneylover99]

While I've never done this before, I can understand why parents might want to do it in some circumstances. Slightly off topic, but it does seem like field trips at DD's school aren't particularly well planned and rely WAY too much on parent volunteers. Don't get me wrong, I fully understand why parents are needed for extra supervision and it's a great way to interact and volunteer with your kid's class. I do think it's a bit weird though to send one parent off alone with a couple of kids for a few hours expecting them to provide the learning aspect of the trip. DD experienced this at a science museum trip in kindergarten and came home disappointed that other kids learned about and played with cool exhibits on light and tornadoes and stuff, but the adult she was with just took them to a toddler play area in the building and sat on her phone. After that, I decided I would go on any field trips that seemed like they'd be parent-led, as I don't want her to miss out on an enriching experience because the chaperone she's with can't or won't engage the kids. If the school decided to limit volunteers and I didn't make the cut, depending on the circumstances and after talking to the teacher, taking her myself might be an option I'd consider.

It’s a shame that your daughter had a parent volunteer like this. I hope you mentioned it to her teacher.

I teach kindergarten. Every time we go on a trip we make a judgement call. Do we travel as one big group? Do we separate and meet up for lunch? Last year, we went to the Science Centre. I had 28 students ranging in age from 4-6 years old. We made the decision to split up. It would have been too chaotic to stay together and the students would have spent a lot of time waiting their turn at an exhibit. It would have slowed us down to the point where we would not have been able to cover much ground. It was a good decision for us. Each volunteer had 3 or 4 students to supervise and a list of exhibits to get to in any order they chose.

I just wanted to comment on why we sometimes split up since you thought it was a bit weird.

 

[DisneyOma]

I would respond to that... but I just might have to run to the bathroom and puke...
Wow....
What an overt and sickening personal attack. Some people just have to show what they are inside. Here we go again!!!!!

Ohhhhhh.... never mind...
Such a nice beautiful breezy evening... I will just go on enjoying my day!!!!!

So silly.

 

[piccolopat]

I think the school district's legal team is wrong. They are doing nothing to screen the parent drivers for driving record or criminal backgrounds. They are responsible for the safety of the students and likely won't avoid liability if a parent drives and there is an incident. As long as a school district is busing kids to school, they should bus them to field trips. If they don't bus the kids to school, they should screen all parent volunteers to make sure they are properly licensed and insured and have no driving or criminal violations. I also think parents should know exactly who is driving their kids in advance of the event so they can make other arrangements if they have a problem with that person for any reason.

 

[motherof5]

DD's 2nd grade class will be going on a field trip where parent chaperones will be driving all the students. This will be her 8th field trip at that school and we've never encountered this before. Bus transportation was always provided for students, and parents were expressly prohibited from driving other students (and often even their own kid) to/from field trips. I'm not thrilled with the idea of my kid riding in a vehicle with a complete stranger, especially given that the school seems to be doing virtually nothing to screen these volunteer drivers.

The permission slip states that the district's legal team has ruled that the school is not liable for any injury to students that may result from riding in a private vehicle. The school does require a background check consent form to be on file for volunteers, though they are routinely turned in when people show up to chaperone, so I know the background check is not always even performed prior to someone volunteering. Even if it were were always performed, the background check only includes criminal convictions for our state only (nothing committed in other states) and the district's only disqualifier for volunteering is if someone has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor sexual offense. The background check does not include driving records. The school is doing no additional screening for parent drivers, doesn't require DL#, proof of registration or insurance, no safety checks or even questions are asked to ensure vehicles are in proper working condition, no requirements of a clean driving record, or stipulations against cell phone, drug, or alcohol usage while driving students. The volunteer form only requests you to list how many students you can provide seatbelts for, asks you not to smoke with kids in the vehicle, and recommends that kids under 13 not be placed in the front seat. For the record, this is a regular public school and I do not know any other parents at the school.

I'd like to get some feedback from other parents of kids in public schools.
1) Does your kid(s)' school ever utilize parent drivers for field trip transportation of students?
2) If so, what screening or requirements does the school have for parent drivers?
3) How do you feel about parents driving other students for field trips and have/would you be comfortable with your kid being driven by another parent (who you don't know) to a field trip?

I find this to be a liability, I can't believe the school is doing this. Also it seems like a lot of parents would be needed as they couldn't sit in the front either. I wouldn't want to have another child in my car and be responsible.

 

[piccolopat]

It’s a shame that your daughter had a parent volunteer like this. I hope you mentioned it to her teacher. I teach kindergarten. Every time we go on a trip we make a judgement call. Do we travel as one big group? Do we separate and meet up for lunch? Last year, we went to the Science Centre. I had 28 students ranging in age from 4-6 years old. We made the decision to split up. It would have been too chaotic to stay together and the students would have spent a lot of time waiting their turn at an exhibit. It would have slowed us down to the point where we would not have been able to cover much ground. It was a good decision for us. Each volunteer had 3 or 4 students to supervise and a list of exhibits to get to in any order they chose. I just wanted to comment on why we sometimes split up since you thought it was a bit weird.

I agree that sometimes splitting up is necessary but it sounds like not all teachers do as you do and provide some instructions as to what the volunteers should cover with their groups. It should be standard practice that each volunteer be provided with a basic lesson plan so every student has a similar experience and know what the expectations are (and sitting by talking on a cell phone is not a part of that). If the kids are old enough, these discussions can be student led.

 

[sk!mom]

School buses don't have seat belts so you can't use booster seats in them.
Here this wouldn't be bizarre at all for parents to drive kids on a field trip. It has been the norm for probably 20 years (lord, that's a generation). But we have open enrollment here. Few students go to either their assigned or neighborhood school. Because of that, the district stopped providing bus service for the regular school day, no way to put together a route when nobody is going to the same school. They sold the buses, and laid off the bus drivers....except those they were required to have for special needs students. For longer out of town trips, they would charter buses, and parents had to pay for that.
I worked overnight shift, so I was "available" and had a 9 passenger Suburban, so I drove a whole lot of those field trips for my kids.
And a side note, I am amazed at the line of parents dropping off and picking up kids at school these days.

Newer school busses do have seat belts. It's interesting that your city is well planned enough to be able to avoid federal bussing laws.

I teach at a small neighborhood school. All students live within a walkable distance or are transfers so parents are responsible for transport so no busses except for field trips. However, my district has busses for some elementary schools with larger attendance zones. Then 20 elementary schools funnel into 3 middle schools and then to 2 high schools so bussing is absolutely required for Middle and High School.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

DD's 2nd grade class will be going on a field trip where parent chaperones will be driving all the students.

That's crazy.

This will be her 8th field trip at that school and we've never encountered this before.

That's also crazy. 4 field trips per year? 2.67 if you include kindergarten?

 

[tvguy]

Newer school busses do have seat belts. It's interesting that your city is well planned enough to be able to avoid federal bussing laws..

The seat belts on school buses is a huge debate, but they are still optional on new buses. Some safety experts advocate them other safety experts say it buses more difficult to evacuate kids in an emergency.
The district does comply with Federal Busing laws, which only require buses for special needs students.*
Like I said, we have open enrollment, so buses went away because there was no way to put together routes. There are 44 houses on my street, none of the high schoolers went to the assigned school, and most interestingly, none went to the same high school. I guess the big trend now is parents picking the schools nearest their work, not their home.


*Busing was much easier when kids when to assigned schools, and BEFORE declining enrollment forced the closure of schools. Our district was laid out in a grid. The goal being no student would be no more than a mile from an elementary school, 2 miles from a Junior High School, and 3 miles from a High School. School closures have blown that grid system up.

 

[tvguy]

I'm a public elementary teacher and I've never heard of this.

My kids are 27 and 31 and this was the norm for their field trips in town. Longer trips....the week long science camps......pioneer camps......they chartered buses and parents had to pay for them.

 

[mjkacmom]

I'm sorry, this sounds so bizarrely overprotective and smothering. Thank Goodness not all parents insist on special rules for their kids, it'd get ridiculous.

I’ve never heard of a parent doing this, either send your kid, volunteer as a chaperone, or take them at a different time. I’ve heard of some crazy parents just showing up at field trips because they weren’t chosen to chaperone, and you can probably guess why.

 

[tvguy]

Just discussed this with a couple of co-workers. At there schools......in a different district than I live in......parents are required to do so many hours of volunteering at their kids school as a condition of enrollment. Driving for field trips is one of the things they can volunteer to do. But they have to do a criminal background check, and have proof of insurance on their vehicle. The schools also have other volunteer opportunities that are not in contact with the children, and after school hours for those who do not want, or can not pass a criminal background check. DUI's and incidents involving Domestic Violence for example...exclude parents from being in contact with kids when they volunteer.

 

[tvguy]

FOUND THIS ON MY DISTRICTS WEBSITE
Does San Juan Unified School District Transport all school age children?
On January 25, 2011, the San Juan Unified School District Board of Education approved the elimination of all non-mandated home-to-school transportation. Mandated transportation services, such as special education and alternative education programs, are not affected.

 

[cabanafrau]

I'm sorry, this sounds so bizarrely overprotective and smothering. Thank Goodness not all parents insist on special rules for their kids, it'd get ridiculous.

It opens up the potential for non screened "chaperones" or those who could not pass a background check to join the group and potentially have access to the children as well. It was specifically disallowed back when my children were still in school.

 

[aprilchem]

FWIW I want to chime in here on the meeting and knowing other parents issue. DH and I work full time as teachers. There is no volunteering in DDs room, no chaperoning on field trips, no dropping off or picking her up at school start and end times (she has to attend before and after school care), and no PTA opportunities (they meet during the day). So outside of the kids who live in our neighborhood and aren't even in her class, or in most cases even in her grade, we don't know any parents either. She plays with the kids in our neighborhood. We've been invited to birthday parties for kids in her class, and while we chatted with parents a bit I don't really "know" them nor did we exchange contact info as our kids aren't close enough to ask for play dates.

It's a shame your PTA and school don't allow you to get more involved. I'm president of my school's PTA, and we have a teacher representative, plus two of our board members are teachers who have kids at the school. We meet at 7 am to allow parents who work outside the home to attend the meeting, and children are allowed and encouraged to attend.

Have you spoken to the board president to request that the meetings be changed so that working parents can attend? That is how I got ours changed - back when my kids started school I sent a request to the current president to ask them to consider choosing a time to allow working parents to attend (they used to meet at 3:30 pm). Once I became president of the board (I'm finishing up my second year now) I kept the 7 am meeting time because it really does help our working parents.

 

[firefly_ris]

I do have a lot of social anxiety which makes it challenging to strike up conversations with strangers, women especially, and it seems most volunteers are other women. From the parents I have seen when I've volunteered on trips, they all seem to be a fair bit older than me (mid to late 30s and up, I'm 28) and I've gotten the vibe a few times like they are judging me because of that or because I'm wearing jeans and a baggy t shirt rather than the ubiquitous leggings and flowy top that most women wear in my town. Sometimes it just feels like being around high school cliques and I just want to run, run away and never return.

High five on jeans and a tee. I'm a little older than you (34) but I could never get into the pyramid scheme leggings everyone and their sister seems to be wearing and the work-out tops (but they're never working out...?!). I was also socially awkward back in the day when I was in school and I immediately get high school flashbacks where everyone was staring at me in my Beatles t-shirt and retreating into my walkman music (now it's phones I guess). So I can relate. It's hard to be an introvert mom.

BUT I have found a couple moms that I can relate to. It just takes a little time -- and even with the moms you don't relate to, you just frame it out as setting up a play date for your kid... my oldest is now 8, so she will have friends that get dropped off at our house to play for a few hours and then get picked up, so there's really not much interaction -- I don't have to entertain them with coffee. So it's really here nor there if we don't "click". And then the couple of moms I feel I kind of relate to and like to chat with, I'll ask them to stay and have coffee. So it's a case by case kind of thing.

Does your school have a student/parent contact directory? At my kids' school, at the beginning of the year you fill out a form with your contact info -- you can check off what you want shown in the directory (like if you want everything including your address shown, or just phone, or just email, or nothing) -- then they send home a packet listed by class. That's how I contact most parents, if there's a number I usually try texting first because phone calls give me heart palpitations. If they don't have contact info in the directory I will write a note and ask my daughter to give it to her friend to pass to the parents with my contact info. There's only 1 kid's parents that I never got a response from -- everyone else was happy to reach out back. Again, doesn't need to be a chummy situation, just setting something up for the kids.

As for the actual main topic -- my kids are still young so I don't have several years of experiences yet but so far, only buses for field trips. My 2 older kids are in public school and my preschooler is in Catholic school (will be in public in the fall) and they use a bus for PreK field trips too. They ask that any parents that want to attend besides the 2 pre-selected chaperones meet them at the destination, but their kids still need to ride the bus.