Problem with my preschooler on the bus today

[dreamin_disney]

I work special ed and put the kids on the bus. The driver has a list of names and stops. Each stop is at the childs home or close to it.

I would be mad/upset worried

no i'd be even more mad if the bus driver...
-has a list of names of the kids and list of the stops

why because the driver should know how many stops and how many kids are on the bus. I bet your kid is quiet. Usually those are the kids that the bus driver forgets are on the bus. If its a sub driver or sub aide and they have the list they should be counting those heads. Driver should always walk down the asile at the end of his route to make sure no one is left on the bus. We had one kid fall asleep and driver didnt realize it until parent called the school then transportation once it was confirmed the child had been put on the bus.

The aide if on the bus should be paying attention too. I dont stay on the bus with the kids.

Sometimes if there are two people on the bus they get to talkiung and can easily forget kids.

Preschools should have head counts or a list to make sure they arent skipped.

Nextime your kids is late by 15min call the school to make sure the child was put on the bus or if the bus was late picking them up(if it was late then thedrop off will be delayed). If its confirmed then call transportation to find out where the bus is.

oh and parents are to call transportation if their child is absent or doesnt need a ride. if a child goes home early and they are the only bus rider then i will call and notify transportation so they dont waste their time coming to the school.

 

[pilotwife_02]

I would be upset too. For one, saving gas is a sorry reason not to follow a route. Like PP said, it's not the bus driver's job to do that. His/her job is to follow their route. Another PP said that if it was a sub driver how would he/she know that the OP that her son was on the bus. Well, in my mind if the bus drove down her street and made the stop like it was supposed to and OP didn't see her son getting off the bus I think she'd step up and stop the bus from leaving without her son getting off it, so I think that's not a good excuse either.

Also, the bus aide...what's her job? I would think they would do a little more when the bus driver called out a name. Actually I would think as each student got on the bus at school one of her jobs would be to see which students are getting ON the bus so she knows who is there. That way she can know if a child's name is called but doesn't answer.

Honestly, I have a 4 and 3 year old and there are many times A DAY I will call their name and they don't answer, they just get so distracted or focused on what they are doing they tune out surrounding noise (like their dad ). That's why the bus driver should have NOT strayed from the route.

I would definitely call the school and tell them what happened, do you know what would have happened if for some reason you didn't call and see where he was?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I'd let the school know what happened. The reason the aide is on the bus is to supervise the children and make sure everyone is dismissed correctly. If she/he was unaware of that, some retraining is called for.

Ding.

Driver and aide were out of line imo. If you are a bus driver, drive the bus route.

 

[huey duey & luey]

I am really surprised that people wouldn't be mad. I on the other hand would be furious. It is the bus aide's job to know who gets on the bus. If the aide was a sub than a list should be provided. I also can't believe that gas was given for the reason.There is protocol that needs to be followed so that children aren't left on the bus. What if he had fallen asleep? It's their job and I am sorry they did not follow procedures.
Really?? and blaming a 4 year old. He is 4 not 14.

 

[NikitaZee]

Ding.

Driver and aide were out of line imo. If you are a bus driver, drive the bus route.

Exactly. I'm surprised how many people think this isn't a big deal. The time to call the child's name is at his stop, not down the road to save time or gas. And if he doesn't answer, you sweep the bus right then and there. That's what the aide is for - to help keep track of the children. Both driver and aide were remiss in their duties in this case. However, I agree with the previous poster that I would have been driving my 4 year old from the beginning, and wouldn't have him on the bus at that age if I had another choice.

 

[PollyannaMom]

...Me to.
With gas being what it is why should they run the whole route if kids aren't there?...

Because if they don't run the exact route, the schedule gets ahead of itself, and parents who don't expect the bus to be there until x time aren't out there waiting for it when it arrives early, and those kids get scared, and transported back to school, and...

...I have lost faith that these people can competently transport my child and from now on I will drive him to and from school.

I mean what would have happened had I not called the school. Would he have been left at a bus terminal or driven to god knows where? That's a scary thought to me.

Honestly, I understand how upset you were, and I would let the school/bus company know about the route not being followed. (Your DS probably would have answered the sub if he also saw you/your neighborhood out the window.)

But I wouldn't pull your child off the bus. They are required to check for kids hiding, sleeping, etc. at the end of their route, and he would have been returned to the school. If you pull him now, he gets the idea that the bus is not OK, and you're stuck driving a scared kid for a looooong time.

On my DS's first day of 2nd grade, a bunch of children were directed to the wrong busses, and DS and a neighbor girl did not get off at our stop as expected. DH and neighbor's mom went to the school to see if they missed the bus and drive them home. I stayed behind in case they came on another bus. Sure enough, the next route over had them, and brought them home. The kids were far less upset than the adults! I put on my calm and cheerful face, gave them their snack, and they brushed the whole thing off - and got back on the bus the next day, armed with bigger backpack tags and the confidence that mistakes get made, but they get fixed.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Exactly. I'm surprised how many people think this isn't a big deal. The time to call the child's name is at his stop, not down the road to save time or gas. And if he doesn't answer, you sweep the bus right then and there. That's what the aide is for - to help keep track of the children. Both driver and aide were remiss in their duties in this case. However, I agree with the previous poster that I would have been driving my 4 year old from the beginning, and wouldn't have him on the bus at that age if I had another choice.

Yea, I agree there. Esp if he had sensory issues.

 

[palavra]

Exactly. I'm surprised how many people think this isn't a big deal. The time to call the child's name is at his stop, not down the road to save time or gas. And if he doesn't answer, you sweep the bus right then and there. That's what the aide is for - to help keep track of the children. Both driver and aide were remiss in their duties in this case. However, I agree with the previous poster that I would have been driving my 4 year old from the beginning, and wouldn't have him on the bus at that age if I had another choice.

I agree with this. Kids get distracted, especially preschool kids. The bus driver should have driven the whole route.

 

[huey duey & luey]

Yea, I agree there. Esp if he had sensory issues.

actually, it is important for children with sensory issues to be exposed to many different situations. If they are kept away from the sensory situations then they can never be desensitized to them.

 

[Mermaid02]

I'd be mad- and the bus company would know it. He's FOUR for crying out loud.

 

[MiniGirl]

It's not up to the bus driver to save gas for her employer. How much gas could be saved by not going down this road, on this one day? If the bus driver was a sub and didn't know the kids...and these are LITTLE kids, who we all seem to agree get sleepy, get distracted, etc...it makes more sense to follow the route to avoid the very situation that occurred. And how much gas was used to bring with the child back, from further away?

Not following the route is something of a pet peeve of mine. My "block" is 3 1/2 miles. When my 2nd DD was in kindergarten (15 years ago), there was one other child on our block in afternoon K so there was a "little" bus late morning to pick them up for school. The bus driver and the monitor wanted me and the other mother to call the bus company if our child wasn't going to be on the bus so they wouldn't have to drive the route if BOTH weren't taking the bus. Which, I could kind of understand I suppose even tho it was annoying to have to make another call, esp to a company that was difficult to get through to sometimes. BUT...there were times when I'd be out shopping or doing errands with my DD in the morning, and by the time we got back and had lunch, I wouldn't have her ready in time for the bus. And they'd still have to drive the route anyway, except on the off chance that the other child was out the same day. My child was almost never sick; the other child...don't know. Maybe he was and it was now MY problem if we weren't back in time for the bus? For an idea of how often DD wasn't on the bus, I'm guessing it averaged once every 2 or 3 weeks. Whatever. I caught some grief one day from the monitor about my DD not being on the bus the previous day, and my not calling to tell them. That particular day, we had gotten home in plenty of time to catch the bus, but as we pulled in the driveway DD started crying and I turned around to see that she had a bloody nose, blood on her, her clothes...ugh. I dealt with that, gave her lunch, and took her to school. So getting snarled at the next day by the bus monitor for not calling if my child was going to be absent irked me, and I let her know what the situation usually was...last minute. That night when I told DH, he said "It's their job to drive the route" and I agree.

You're right it is not the driver's job to try to save money. I never said it was. What I said was that if a driver chose to take short cuts, believing she didn't need to go that way, it would not bother me. Like I said, we do not have preschoolers on buses around here, so maybe that is why things are different here. If the rule is strictly to drive the route, then that is what the driver should have done.

However, I have 3 friends, well acquaintances really, who are bus drivers, and one day they got to talking about this very thing, Although I don't believe it is an "official" policy, it is well known that drivers are encouraged do this in order to save time and gas. Our drivers will do their elementary school run and then have to get to the middle school and then the high schools right away. It keeps them on schedule and helps save a little bit of costs in gas.

Again though, we don't have preschoolers on the bus or aides. It does sounds as if this aide was not doing her job or was not given the resources to do her job properly as a sub.

I still would not have been angered though. Worried? maybe. Mad? No.

 

[snowywhite89]

I would think it was the aide's job to know all the kids and make sure they got off at the right stop.

 

[Anne MN]

I would be Pissed OFF!
there is a reason that HE has an aid.
The aid was WRONG she is there for HIM- talk to transportation- I don't know about preschool, but in regular grades, kids who ride a special bus have a reason to and it is not something that can just be requested because "johnny doesn't like a kids on the bus" it has to be approved and most of the time it is part of a childs IEP or 504 (special accommidations for learning)

 

[kamik86]

I know mistakes get made but I would wnat to talk to the school and see if they are doing anything to try to prevent this problem in the future.

For example I worked at a summer camp and was the bus monitor for one week of the summer when they bussed kids from my area (far from camp so they didn't do it every week).

I was the only councelor on my bus (some of the others had multiples as councilors that lived in the area would just take the bus home). Every day I had a list of who should be on the bus, would take attendance before we left to be sure all campers got in the right lines and walk to the bus. When I got on the bus I would count and be sure I had the same number of kids.

Well one day I had a student who wasnt on my list on the bus. I missed her when I did my head count on the bus so the count came out right even though another child wasn't there. I didn't find out until that childs stop, the last stop, that I was missing a kid.

I called my director who called the other two bus monitors. Turns out that while I was leading my line the kids in the next line got impatient waiting for the kids in my line (I had a few little ones that tended to drag their feet at the end of the day) and tried to go around. During this confusion the child went with the other line and got on the other bus. Being 10 we never really decided if she did this on purpose or not... because the 10 year old was with a friend and said nothing on the bus.

The worst part was when the OTHER driver found the chidl that shouldn't be there (I don't know why her count was right, or if she did one) it was at her stop and the monitor just let her go home with her friend (Note we are taking a made-at-camp friend not someone the childs parents knew).

The director ended up having to go to the friends house, get the child, and bring her to her stop where her parents were waiting.

I was really lucky in that once we found the child the parents weren't mad at me for the mistake (I kept apologizing over and over I coudln't belive I lost a kid!) They were quite upset with the other monitor though... She had even called the director to give an all clear (we were to call every day when all the kids were with parents) without mentioning this before I called (my route took the longest)!!

The point of this long story is first thing the next morning we had a meeting. It was first reiterated that we NEVER let a kid go home with someone that isn't on their list or have the "password" the parents choose for them. Then I asked for what I thought I needed to solve the problem, another councilor to walk to the bus with me at the end of the line. This way each line had someone at the front and back to make sure every child stayed where they should be, this person also had a duplicate list and count so the chances of the mis-count I had would be less. This policy was made and we went the rest of the summer with no problems.

 

[MinnieMe87]

I am really surprised that people wouldn't be mad. I on the other hand would be furious. It is the bus aide's job to know who gets on the bus. If the aide was a sub than a list should be provided. I also can't believe that gas was given for the reason.There is protocol that needs to be followed so that children aren't left on the bus. What if he had fallen asleep? It's their job and I am sorry they did not follow procedures.
Really?? and blaming a 4 year old. He is 4 not 14.

I agree!! They should have a checklist and as the children get on the bus, they can check their names off as "present" or "absent" for riding the bus or something of the sort. That's what my baby cousin's bus driver does for his preschool class, and they've never had a problem with getting all of the kids home.

 

[jenrose66]

Thanks for all the replies. I did call the school yesterday and the bus company. I have little faith that my concerns were taken seriously. I was very calm in my conversation, I did not raise my voice or point fingers I just said this seemed like a very serious mistake that was made.

When I talked to the school I spoke with the principals secretary since the principal wasn't available to talk. She blew me off, said that this happens from time to time and "we just need to work through it" She also said that kids need to learn to answer when their names are called and what's important is that the school isn't at fault because they safely put him on the bus

The bus company didn't apologize either. They really didn't say anything, he just repeated to me that the bus driver skipped my street and then remarked about it being a substitue driver and aide.

This is why I don't think the problem is going to be fixed. The funny thing is, at the beginning of school we were required to go to Pre K orientation. They spent a lot of time talking about transportation and said they WANTED all the Pre K kids to take the bus if possible. They said it is inconvenient to have parents picking up and dropping off students because it slows down dismissal and makes the parking lot and street around the school congested as well as makes the main office congested cause you have to go in and sign out your kid.

 

[kimmar067]

...The funny thing is, at the beginning of school we were required to go to Pre K orientation. They spent a lot of time talking about transportation and said they WANTED all the Pre K kids to take the bus if possible. They said it is inconvenient to have parents picking up and dropping off students because it slows down dismissal and makes the parking lot and street around the school congested as well as makes the main office congested cause you have to go in and sign out your kid.

...oh boohoo, inconvenience for THEM - what a shame....I'm sure they wouldn't have looked at it that way had it been one of THEIR children. The ADULTS are in charge, so it's the ADULTS' responsibliity that stuff like this doesn't happen - NOT a 4-year-old!

 

[Mermaid02]

Thanks for all the replies. I did call the school yesterday and the bus company. I have little faith that my concerns were taken seriously. I was very calm in my conversation, I did not raise my voice or point fingers I just said this seemed like a very serious mistake that was made.

When I talked to the school I spoke with the principals secretary since the principal wasn't available to talk. She blew me off, said that this happens from time to time and "we just need to work through it" She also said that kids need to learn to answer when their names are called and what's important is that the school isn't at fault because they safely put him on the bus

The bus company didn't apologize either. They really didn't say anything, he just repeated to me that the bus driver skipped my street and then remarked about it being a substitue driver and aide.

This is why I don't think the problem is going to be fixed. The funny thing is, at the beginning of school we were required to go to Pre K orientation. They spent a lot of time talking about transportation and said they WANTED all the Pre K kids to take the bus if possible. They said it is inconvenient to have parents picking up and dropping off students because it slows down dismissal and makes the parking lot and street around the school congested as well as makes the main office congested cause you have to go in and sign out your kid.

They are just circling the wagons and trying to make you feel like you are over reacting, hoping you will go away.

 

[tiggersbombed2]

Jen, email your school board. Email either the person directly in charge of transportation or the Superintendent, copy the director of the bus company and the actual transportation secretary. It has been my experience that the more people you CC on your email, the better your chance of an actual resolution and less blow offs. I would also CC the principal of your school. Now, this is completely based on strongly you feel about the situation.

I would (and have) done it. Good bus drivers are worth their weight in gold, bad ones are ultimately a danger to our children and should be either corrected or replaced.

Best of luck!

 

[kirstenb1]

actually, it is important for children with sensory issues to be exposed to many different situations. If they are kept away from the sensory situations then they can never be desensitized to them.

Thank you for saying this. It is exactly why dd has ridden the bus since she was 3. It isn't fun to expose kids with sensory issuses to new things, but the alternative would hinder her development. So we choose to have her try as many things outside her comfort level as possible.