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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2014 20:24:41 GMT
UPDATE: I heard back from the school board and they said that the drivers are supplied with a list of students for each stop and ARE supposed to ensure that the students get off at the correct stop.
This is our first year having the kids take the bus to school -- the French school moved from the school three blocks from our house to across the city, so now our girls are taking the bus.
Today was the first day of school.
DD1 is texting me saying the bus ride is really delayed. They left late. Almost all of the little kids don't know where their stops are. They got to one stop and there was a dad waiting for his daughter -- but she wasn't on the bus.
This bus is for grades 1-8, so there is a huge range of ages.
I'm sure it will all get straightened out, but I'm really surprised that the driver isn't taking attendance or making sure the right kids are getting off at the right stop? Especially the little ones. Is this normal? The drivers just drive and don't check to make sure the kids are where they are supposed to be?
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Post by monklady123 on Sept 2, 2014 20:27:28 GMT
This is our first year having the kids take the bus to school -- the French school moved from the school three blocks from our house to across the city, so now our girls are taking the bus. Today was the first day of school. DD1 is texting me saying the bus ride is really delayed. They left late. Almost all of the little kids don't know where their stops are. They got to one stop and there was a dad waiting for his daughter -- but she wasn't on the bus. This bus is for grades 1-8, so there is a huge range of ages. I'm sure it will all get straightened out, but I'm really surprised that the driver isn't taking attendance or making sure the right kids are getting off at the right stop? Especially the little ones. Is this normal? The drivers just drive and don't check to make sure the kids are where they are supposed to be? I don't know, because around here there would never been that age range on the same bus. Personally I wouldn't want my 1st grader on a bus with 8th graders! Although I do know that our high school buses are often in chaos for the first week or so. I can't speak to middle or elementary schools because my kids always walked.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2014 20:29:48 GMT
Well, there's no other option for bussing, it would not be feasible to put only same-aged kids on one bus.
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marianne
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Post by marianne on Sept 2, 2014 20:34:47 GMT
It's the first day for the driver too. She/he needs to get used to faces and who and where they get picked up/dropped off as well.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2014 20:35:29 GMT
It's the first day for the driver too. She/he needs to get used to faces and who and where they get picked up/dropped off as well. I realize it's the drivers first day... but I was asking if it's normal to have a roll call/name list/something??
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luckyexwife
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Post by luckyexwife on Sept 2, 2014 20:35:54 GMT
Our busses use a colored dot system. The kids have a tag hanging on their backpack with a large colored dot showing which bus to get on. They don't take attendence, though, so if a child did not get on the bus, the driver wouldn't know. It does make sure kids get on the right bus, though.
ETA...it's the second week of school, and it has gone very smooth. I'm always amazed at how punctual our driver is. Both morning and afternoon, she is right on time.
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Post by monklady123 on Sept 2, 2014 20:38:27 GMT
I'm sorry you have no other option. But seriously, I would drive my 1st grader before I would put him/her on a bus with middle school kids. Unless maybe if there were mostly younger kids and only a few older ones. But hearing what goes on around here on the middle/high school buses... no way.
But that aside, to reply to your OP, yes I would expect there to be some sort of accountability for younger children. I know in my district the drivers are not allowed to let K, 1st, or 2nd grade children off the bus unless someone is there to meet them. 3rd-5th are allowed if the parent has given the school permission. I have heard stories of kids being put on the wrong bus and then there's a panicked parent frantically calling the school looking for their missing kid. omg, I'd have heart failure. Like I said, that's usually when the school has put a younger child (who has no idea which bus is theirs at the beginning of a new year) on the wrong bus.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2014 20:42:31 GMT
My girls are home, 45 minutes late.
They say the girl who wasn't there to get off her stop was in grade 1. That would be terrifying for everyone involved.
The school gave DD2 the wrong bus number, but DD1 met up with her after school and they got it straightened out.
What a crappy system. I always walked to school and had no idea what to expect. My kids are fine, and they are old enough I wasn't worried about them, and I didn't expect the first day to go well, but I am not happy or impressed with this system at all -- so far. It's not like this is the first bus in this school system, I'd have hoped they would have better safeguards in place.
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Post by JustCallMeMommy on Sept 2, 2014 20:42:39 GMT
I guess I picture little kid's parents waiting at the bus stop. Alison didn't ride the bus home when I wouldn't be waiting until 5th grade, and even then, our bus drops at our driveway.
ETA: Her bus was late on the 1st day of school, too. They had a substitute driver that day, but her regular driver was back by the next Monday. This year, she is the youngest on her bus - 6th-12th graders. I think she liked the bus with the little kids better.
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Post by shanni on Sept 2, 2014 20:43:14 GMT
That's normal for my area. Kids pile on the bus, kids get off on their own. If any kids are left over at the end of the run, the driver takes them back to the school and the secretary calls the parents to come pick them up. It's certainly scary sending younger kids on the bus, and many parents don't use the bus because of the lack of a good system. Many other parents follow the bus for the first few days to make sure their kids get on the right bus after school and get off at the right stop.
The first week or so can be pretty hairy, but after that it settles down as all the kids learn the routine.
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Post by stingfan on Sept 2, 2014 20:44:34 GMT
The bulk of the responsibility should occur on the school's side - not the bus driver's side. The teachers who are assigned to bus duty at the end of the day should be making sure the right kids are getting on the right busses.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2014 20:45:41 GMT
The bulk of the responsibility should occur on the school's side - not the bus driver's side. The teachers who are assigned to bus duty at the end of the day should be making sure the right kids are getting on the right busses. ? Well, how does that help the kids who don't know where they are supposed to get off?
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marianne
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Post by marianne on Sept 2, 2014 20:45:56 GMT
Sorry, I didn't mean to sound brusque and didn't finish my thought... got interrupted and posted before I meant to. At our school, the teachers usually made sure the little ones (who had name tags) got on the right bus, but no, the driver didn't have a list of names or attendance sheet. They were pretty good, though at getting the children where they were supposed to.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2014 20:45:56 GMT
When my kids were young they just let even the little guys get off where ever the child chose to get off. MOST little kids won't get off at a place they don't recognize and often they won't get off at a place they should recognize.
The issue sounds like the dad's little girl didn't get on the right bus to start with. It wasn't that the child got off at the wrong stop she was never on the bus to begin with. She likely rode the entire route with another driver who had to figure out what to do with her at the end of the route.
My grandkid's school gives each child a "bus pass" that lists the days of the week, which bus the child belongs on that day (some kids go to moms house m/w/f and dad's house on Tuesday and Grandma's house on Thursday) and the stop they are to be let off at. So a driver won't let a child off at the wrong stop BUT it is very easy for a child to not attempt to get off at the right stop so he ends up riding the whole route because the driver can't turn around to go back to a stop they have already passed by. As the semester goes on the driver will get aquainted with which child gets off at which stops but it takes a few weeks.
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scrapaddie
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Post by scrapaddie on Sept 2, 2014 20:46:20 GMT
I'm sorry you have no other option. But seriously, I would drive my 1st grader before I would put him/her on a bus with middle school kids. Unless maybe if there were mostly younger kids and only a few older ones. But hearing what goes on around here on the middle/high school buses... no way Lol! I spent 12 years riding buses... Grades 1-12....
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NoWomanNoCry
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Post by NoWomanNoCry on Sept 2, 2014 20:47:33 GMT
When I was a school bus kid it was the bus duty teachers responsibility to make sure the right kid got on the right bus. I know as kids got older it became more of our own responsibly. The bus driver never called attendance...never counted heads either. In fact the bus drivers were usually talking to other drivers as the teachers loaded the bus...so they never knew who got on and who didn't.
I actually got left on the bus a few times and had to be picked up from the bus barn lol I was so scared!!
Also K-12 rode the bus together.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2014 20:48:59 GMT
Well, if this is normal, DH and I are going to rethink sending DD3 and DD4 to French school. Yuck. What a disorganized and crappy system.
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Post by monklady123 on Sept 2, 2014 20:50:17 GMT
I'm sorry you have no other option. But seriously, I would drive my 1st grader before I would put him/her on a bus with middle school kids. Unless maybe if there were mostly younger kids and only a few older ones. But hearing what goes on around here on the middle/high school buses... no way Lol! I spent 12 years riding buses... Grades 1-12.... Lol. I'm sure a lot of people did. And I'd have no objection to my 1st grader riding an elementary school bus. But not one with secondary kids also.
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Post by stingfan on Sept 2, 2014 20:54:31 GMT
In the beginning of the school year, the Kindergarten kids generally got tags attached to them or their backpacks with the bus number, stop info, etc on it. The drivers aren't allowed to drop off kindergarteners unless an adult is present at the bus stop. So if the little girl was in fact on the right bus, she wouldn't be able to get off at the wrong stop since no one would have been there to meet her. I was under the impression, though, that she wasn't on the bus at all.
Sounds like the school needs to put some practices in place to clean the system up.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2014 20:55:48 GMT
In the beginning of the school year, the Kindergarten kids generally got tags attached to them or their backpacks with the bus number, stop info, etc on it. The drivers aren't allowed to drop off kindergarteners unless an adult is present at the bus stop. So if the little girl was in fact on the right bus, she wouldn't be able to get off at the wrong stop since no one would have been there to meet her. I was under the impression, though, that she wasn't on the bus at all. Sounds like the school needs to put some practices in place to clean the system up. No, my girls both said there were no checks in place at all for kids getting off the bus.
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Post by leannec on Sept 2, 2014 21:02:17 GMT
My dd rides the bus and there is definitely no attendance taken ... she goes to a middle school so at least it's not really small kids trying to figure things out ...
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Post by SabrinaM on Sept 2, 2014 21:02:25 GMT
It takes time to work out the bugs. Late arrivals/departures are expected.
My daughters are occasional bus riders, typically car riders. Our tiny little town has students from elementary, middle and HS riding the same bus.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2014 21:04:38 GMT
If the school is worth going to you'll find a way around the bus issues. You may be able to do some voluntee work in the office to organize it better between now and then, of pair your little one up with a bigger "buddy" that can speak up if she isn't on the bus before it leaves school and remind her to get off at the right stop. Sometime parent's shadow the bus for the first couple of weeks in the car. They watch to make sure their chld go on the right bus (teach the kid where to look to make sure the bus is the right one) and then they drive to the bus stop to watch them get off. Inconvient for a couple of weeks, sure. But some peace of mind that the kid does know what to do.
But, the bus driver has no way of knowing who should be on the bus. Even if an attendance sheet existed there is no way for him to know who was picked up early by parent today, who was sick and not riding home.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2014 21:06:38 GMT
Around here it seems the bus drivers don't take any responsibility for who gets on or off. They leave it up to school staff. The kids just have to know their stop.
My little girl's bff was supposed go in the car pick up line but accidentally got herded into the bus line. She got on one of busses (she was too shy to say anything). Along the route she noticed a stop that was close to her grandma's house. She got off and walked there. Her grandma wasn't home so she hung out and waited. It was terrifying. Her father raised a hell like none other with the school and bus line and things have improved a bit.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2014 21:07:32 GMT
If the school is worth going to you'll find a way around the bus issues. You may be able to do some voluntee work in the office to organize it better between now and then, of pair your little one up with a bigger "buddy" that can speak up if she isn't on the bus before it leaves school and remind her to get off at the right stop. Sometime parent's shadow the bus for the first couple of weeks in the car. They watch to make sure their chld go on the right bus (teach the kid where to look to make sure the bus is the right one) and then they drive to the bus stop to watch them get off. Inconvient for a couple of weeks, sure. But some peace of mind that the kid does know what to do. But, the bus driver has no way of knowing who should be on the bus. Even if an attendance sheet existed there is no way for him to know who was picked up early by parent today, who was sick and not riding home. With only one car and a parent who needs it to go to work each day, plus younger children at home, not everyone can afford to work at the school or drive behind the bus. I don't think expecting the bus driver to make sure the kids are getting off at the right stop, for the first few days of school are unreasonable. I expect the school bus to be a safe extension of the school day for all children.
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Post by melanell on Sept 2, 2014 21:08:00 GMT
Well, here, buses are by school, and the schools are broken down into smaller age groups. So 1st through 8th wouldn't be together.
But for the important part of the post, whether the driver should take attendance or whatnot, *here* that is not their job.
It is the teachers who are responsible for making sure that the kids are on the correct bus.
In elementary school, each child goes to school with their bus number from their parent(s). There are several lines formed at the end of the day, one line for each bus, and one teacher in charge of transporting that line to the correct bus. There are a list of names and the days they will/will not be on the bus at each line's meeting place.
There are also teachers helping kids get to the correct line in the first place to cut down on the number of kids who need to be changed at the last moment.
In Middle School the set-up is quite similar, but with a bit less hand-holding. The kids do still line up in certain areas, and there are teachers available to get kids to the correct lines, but once the teachers lead the kids outside, it is then up to the kid to walk from the school to the bus on their own. (In elementary, the teacher stays with their line until every student is on the bus.)
Then all of the lines of kids are brought out together.
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Post by ten&rose on Sept 2, 2014 21:20:02 GMT
Did rode the bus k-4 and the bus was always that late the first day. It was substantially better the next day.
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PaperAngel
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Post by PaperAngel on Sept 2, 2014 21:23:53 GMT
Our child attends private school where busing is not available. However, IMHO it is the responsibility of the school district to inform parents of the assigned bus number & stop; the parents to ensure students know which bus & stop & meet them, as necessary/required; the school/bus duty staff to educate students on the procedures for locating & loading the buses & rules of conduct while riding the bus; & the bus driver to safely operate the bus & announce the stops by name, as printed on the information originally given to parents, at least for the first couple of weeks (e.g. intersection of Main & 1st St.). Given the age range of students riding buses, I can understand how it would take time for everyone to adapt & suggest you reserve judgement for now. If these problems persist past the second or third week, then voice concern. In the meantime, glad your girls have each other!Well, if this is normal, DH and I are going to rethink sending DD3 and DD4 to French school. Yuck. What a disorganized and crappy system. You always have the option of volunteering to improve the busing system &/or transporting your children to & from school, rather than denying them attendance at the school that addresses their academic needs/interests.
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Post by bc2ca on Sept 2, 2014 21:24:22 GMT
If I'm reading this right, your kids are going to a magnet school, not the neighborhood school.
In this case, I would expect a bit more care from the school. Being late the first few days isn't unusual, but a child getting off at the wrong stop shouldn't happen. They aren't just a few blocks from home, but could be miles from home. I would definitely be talking to the school about this, but research and go in with solutions/suggestion.
It might be worth talking to private schools that bus over a similar catchment area and distance and see how they ensure safety.
FTR, we only bussed going home from half day K, so it was a dedicated "little bus" that dropped off all the morning K's then picked up the afternoon class. Morning K went in on the big bus and afternoon K went home that way. When my kids were older, if they wanted to go home with a friend that bussed, they had to have a note from me.
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sweetandsour
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Jun 30, 2014 17:43:52 GMT
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Post by sweetandsour on Sept 2, 2014 21:30:05 GMT
My kids get bussing until Grade 6. So K to Gr 6 ride the same bus.
There are 4 buses servicing the school. Each has a route number on the side. Over half of the students are bussed at their school so it can get hairy. The first few days, each classroom teacher lines up the kids at dismissal by route number. Once outside, the kids then proceed to the teacher holding up the sign of their route number and are marked present. Then as the buses pull into the bus loop, the teacher proceeds to the gate with the correct group of students and attendance is taken again as they get on the bus. If someone gets separated from the group, the principal is there with her megaphone.
The bus drivers then follow the list of stops and which students are supposed to get off at that stop. So the first few days, the route will run late.
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