It was the first day of school for our kids today. They always go back the Tuesday after Labor Day. It was a much nicer day today than it was over the long weekend. The weekend was cold, rainy and just plain miserable. Today there was a brisk wind, but a nice day all in all. This afternoon was warmer than I'm comfortable with.
Brandon was looking forward to getting back with his friends and was really quite excited about what grade ten would hold in store for him. Jordan was less enthusiastic. He is in grade eight and just wants to be out of elementary school.
About 4pm, the boys' dad called me to see if I had heard from Brandon. I hadn't. Seeing that he was dismissed from school at 3pm, I was quite concerned because he wasn't home. He should have been bussed just three doors down and in the house by 3:30. I tried to phone the school, the Board of Education and the bus company. No one answered at any of these places even though they are to stay open until 4:30. I was getting quite frustrated and decided to go looking for Brandon in case he missed the bus and was walking home. It is about 5 miles from the school to his place and the last time he walked it too him and his friends about 3 hours. I certainly didn't want him walking alone all that way, but couldn't see him doing that. He carries a cellphone in case of emergency and knew he would call someone if he had missed the bus.
Just before I went out the door, I phoned Jordan and he told me that Brandon was about 15 miles out of town...on the school bus. I couldn't believe it. I told him to have Brandon call as soon as he arrived home. When he did, Brandon told me that the bus driver was within about ten blocks of his house to drop other students but forgot to drop the kids from his neighborhood at their stop. He drove all that way out of town before he realized what he had done. Around 4:15, Brandon called home and told his dad where he was. All in all, there were seven teens missing from that one neighborhood for over an hour and no one in the education system to take the parent's phone calls. I'm thinking the bus driver should have radioed the company, admitted his mistake and asked them to call the parents to let them know where their kids were. It was a scary situation for a few minutes and I'm angry that the system is letting the kids and the parents down.
Just venting a little. So thankful that Brandon and the other teens were safe and sound, even if they were on a bus for an hour longer than they should have been. Counting our blessings.
What a way to start the year! I'm glad it had a good ending, but agree that they need someone answering phones. That alone could have saved some stress!
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ReplyDeleteI really screwed that last comment with typos galore, so I thought I'd start over...
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I 'said'...I dealt with that scenario many times when our kids were in school with buses to and from during the day...in the foothills no less, where just about anything could happen. I tried not to panic.
And I also mentioned that I finally did email you, and hope you received it...I never got a reply tho!!!!
Do stop by to visit with me at Driftwood Tree on the Shore. Have a great Wednesday Mary.
Glad it turned out well. What a scare. I absolutely agree with you. The bus driver should have radioed in so the parents could be notified about what happened.
ReplyDeleteSchool around here used to start the day after Labor Day, too. Now it starts at least a week earlier. But then, Keely, who is in the eighth grade had Friday off for a teacher's workshop and then, of course, Monday for Labor Day!
I hope the boys have a great school year!
Take care. :-)
Wow, Mary, what a way to start a new school year! I don't blame you at all for being upset over this because as you say, the bus driver should have called the school to let them know what was going on and to let the parents know. No doubt the families of those kids were all worried sick wondering where their kids were! What a screw up indeed. Brandon seems to have taken it all in stride which is a good thing:-)
ReplyDeleteI'll call you on Friday after lunch if that's ok...been out most days this week but I plan on staying home Friday. Today I was gone out with June and tomorrow I have to bring mom shopping. Good thing I like shopping and going out for lunch! lol xoxo
My boys were dropped off the first week anywhere from 2:40 to 4:10. We never could get a consistent drop time. So now we pick them up from school!!
ReplyDeleteI think you had a point to complain about. I am surprised you could not reach the school by phone. Teachers use the time after an early dismissal to do some business; Someone should have been there until the end of school.
ReplyDeleteThe bus company should have an emmergency number to call after hours.
A little forgiveness for the driver! He could be knew, screwed up and no doubt heard about it from the company. His day did not go well.
I never ever road a bus to school. If I was late my mother must have figured I was playing in the creek or at a friends house. Panic would have set in if I didn't show up for dinner. I never missed a meal.:)
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