I always keep tabs on stories like this, as a similar incident happened to me as a child. (Meaning it is nothing new and has been going on forever.) But it never stops amazing me how flippant the school employees are about such matters. :evil: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=5634972 (9/04/07 - KTRK/TOMBALL, TX) - It's your child's first day at pre-kindergarten. You go to pick her up at the bus, and she's not there. It happened to a Tomball couple and now they're asking questions. District officials admit a mistake was made when a four-year-old was put on the wrong bus at Willow Creek Elementary School. But they also say in the first few weeks of school, mistakes like this are not uncommon. That's little comfort for the mother whose biggest nightmare was caught on camera. "Unbelievable. It's horrifying, absolutely horrifying," recalled mother Mari Ortegon. That was her reaction when Ortegon realized her four-year-old daughter was missing. The Tomball mother documented what she thought would be a joyous moment on her cell phone camera. It was to be the end of her daughter's first bus ride home from school. Ortegon said, "We were expecting for the child next door to get off along with Elena, but Elena wasn't on the bus at all. It was a huge shock." Little Elena's parents rushed to Willow Creek Elementary School. When they got there, Ortegon says no one could give her definite answers. She said, "At that point, the principal looked at me and said, 'Ma'am, I have over 900 children here. Do you realize how hard that is to keep up with?' I was devastated." Tomball ISD spokesperson Staci Stanfield denies the principal ever made that statement and says the four-year-old's frantic parents were told she was probably on the wrong bus. "But the campus knew which bus the child had been placed on," Stanfield explained. "It was just a matter of getting through to the bus driver to confirm that." That process took more than an hour, and the Ortegons say no one from the school explained what was happening. Then, shortly before 6pm, someone with a Tomball ISD badge dropped Elena off at home. "Who gave her that authority? Who issued it? Why wasn't I notified? We were at the school," Ortegon wanted to know. Stanfield admits the employee violated district policy by taking Elena from the wrong school bus and putting her in her personal vehicle. Ortegon is now rethinking her decision to send Elena to pre-K in the first place. (Copyright © 2007, KTRK-TV)
No tomatoes, please, but.... lol! I feel the district in this case really screwed up and would have been better off saying "We messed up. We're working to find your child. We're contacting the bus driver, etc." Plus the principal's attitude was inexcusable!!! But we need to realize that mistakes DO happen. And we were just discussing the district that didn't let the Kindergartener get on the bus because she didn't have her pass. That school tried to AVOID this very thing (by issuing passes), but they still had problems. What are are districts suppose to do? (I STILL feel the other school should have held the bus until someone checked to see for sure which child the kid was to get on!)
I agree with you. All the difference in the world could have been made over HOW they handled this miss-hap. Same thing with when I was a kid. HOW it was handled was just stupid. I was a first grader, but was never told which school I was supposed to go to. I was dropped off at daycare, and they take us to our schools. When the time came, the driver had no "Master List" of who goes to what school (Their first mistake). I was asked which of two schools did I go to McMasters or Parks? Being 6 and shy, All I heard was, "This scary gray building or A PARK". I chose the later.... I chose incorrectly... I was dropped off at the Parks school along with the other kids, but their was no one to greet us off the van (Their second mistake). So we wondered up the step s of the school into a hall filled with registering parents and kids. Chaos. I sat down in the hall, waiting for someone to tell me what to do. (I had been in some form of daycare my whole life and you could say I was very "Institutionalized" and did not think for myself.) After a while, I got tired of waiting, so I got to and walked out. I just wanted to eat some more cereal and watch Casper. Because we moved so much, I was VERY aware of my surroundings and how to get from one end of town to the other, even at 6 years old. So I began walking home. I began walking down one of the cities most busy roads with creepy cars slowing down and honking at me. I made it to the freeway underpass, and the noise finally made me break down crying. I got to the other side of the freeway and began walking up the long driveway to our apartment complex. (It was set off the road). A bank was on the street sharing the same driveway. A woman came out of the bank to her car and her me crying. She coaxed me into the bank. When they finally got it out of me the name of my daycare, they called them <NOT my mom. When the driver showed up I WAS IN TROUBLE! He made it clear under no uncertain terms that he was going to tell my mother just what I have been up to and boy would I be sorry! So my mother never heard this story until 1986. Ten years later...... So, I know these things happen.. but it is HOW they are handled that make all the difference....
I do agree, Jackie, sadly mistakes do happen. It is just a terrifying mistake for the parents. I think the school should have admitted they made a mistake and assured the parents that they were doing everything to find the child. What employee put this child in a personal vehicle? How long was the child in the vehicle? I am not liking that part. I can imagine how easy it is to make mistakes. Seems there is no easy to solution to the bus situation. Problems arise with no control or passes and problems arise with passes. As much as I can understand that a mistake can happen, if I were the parent I would be out of my mind with rage.
Our school system has "passes" and the first few weeks of school here there are "teachers helpers" (parents who volunteer their time) to help make sure the kids get on the right busses. They also meet them in the morning to help make sure they get to the right classrooms. I understand that mistakes do happen, but the school couldn't forsee a problem happening with 900 students to look after? I could just imagine how terrified that little girl was! I would have strangled that principal and anyone else who I came in contact with if I were her parents, I would have been such a reck! Jen, that is a horrifying (sp?) experience!!! I could imagine how that could affect you for life!! I'm so glad you are ok today... or are you
I agree these things happen.. it happen to us when my oldest went to K. it was scary and sad she was on the bus for 3 hours before they decided to she was on the wrong bus... talk about one scared money...
Sorry but I would have ripped those school officials a new one if you know what I mean. Yes mistakes happen but my child is more than just a number to me even though they are nothing more than that to school officials.
I haven't read all the replies yet just have to add my story. When my son was in kindy he wandered away from school during school hours in the middle of january in noting but his sneakers, t-shirt adn jeans(January's here get colder than -30s). He was missing 2 hours and no one noticed! A neighbor of the school watched him leave the building and when she realized there was no one coming out after him she ran and brought him to her place and warm him up, give him a snack etc. She waited 2 hours to see if teacehrs would be out looking, police called, something. After 2 hours she returnd himt o school. I went to pick him up the school didn't say a word to me! She saw me leaving with him and came to tell me what happened. I ran back inside and got 3 different stories about what happened, one from the prinicpal, one from the sub-teacher and one from the teacher's aide. By the next day all 3 were denying anything had happened and that he had been at school the whole time trying to shove it under the rug. I pulled him out. Anyway, my point in that, is I am not surprised by the prinicpal's attitude about the missing child. They do everything they can to cover their own arse rather than everythign they can to help the child. I am on a local messgae board for my city, yesterday we had posts from several different parents with stories baout their kids not allowed on buses, put on wrong busses, dropped of at wrong bus stops, or being dropped off at school and not knowing what to do because not a signle teacher or prinicpal came out to greet the buses. Things happen yes, but when they are placed in charge of the care of our children they need to take that very seriously. Imagine the uproar they would cause if the daycare worker they left their own child with lost their child, and tried to blow it off with "I have X number of kids to keep track of"
This is sort of the opposite, I guess, but the first day back for Joyce this year the bus never came that morning because the bus driver thought she was on the right road and wasn't. I got her to school and since we were a new stop this year I told her to get off a neighbors drop off if the driver wouldn't drop her here. They get out of school at 3:45. Granted, it is the first day, but when 4:45 came around I started worrying. My neighbor kept watch at her window and hadn't seen her. I kept calling transportation with no reply until almost 5:30 when the woman there told me she had no clue what was going on and that all the buses were still at the school. It turns out that they wouldn't let any bus pull out until all the kids were accounted for. This is okay, but I felt the school should have let transportation now the deal. They were only getting feedback from their drivers. We are only 5 miles from the school, so figure a 5 minute drive, max. I wouldn't have been quite as worried if it weren't for the fact that alot of the routes are back country roads and I hate the thought of them being stuck in the boonies.
Wow, Swellmomma, that is some story! I can't imagine! I am glad you took him out of school. That is just terrible. You should have gone to the media. ha, like that really does anything...I don't know...I just would have wanted to do something. I mean...that is insane. What if someone else had picked the kid up?
When Samantha was in ps for 4th grade the bus didn't come at all on the first day of school. My driveway is a bus stop and I had about 6 kids waiting there. Finally a bus came by and stopped and asked if the kids were going to Voegel (middle school) I said no they have been waiting here for an hour and a half for the bus to Ford (elementary). She looked shocked and immediately called the bus barn. She waited there 5 mins and noboday responded to her call. She took all the kids even though she wasn't going to their school and took them there anyway. After school the kids didn't get home until 6pm and school had let out at 3pm. The school is only about 4 miles from our house. Shortly after that Samantha began crying everyday and begging me to hs her. I saw how missrable my daughter was coupled with the fact that one of her teachers constantly picked on her and now I wish I would have pulled her out of that crap a lot earlier than I did. I won't let them ever have my kids again!
Must be a 4th grade teacher thing....my 4th grade teacher always picked on me. I will admit I was a talker. However, even when I was the quiet one...and I sat in the front row and was right in front of her...she YELLED at ME and only ME for talking. I once turned in a test first...and she said as loud as possible. "just because you are the first one done Richele does not mean you got an A." Well, I got an A but not an apology. UGH...no I am not bitter at all. LOL
I had a high school teacher that picked on me. It sucked. Samantha was not a talker in school. This teacher just didn't like her for some reason. She broke her collar bone at dance one night and had to go to the ER. She stayed home on medication the next day which was a Friday and on Monday she only went to school half a day and then had to go to the doctor. Well she had this teachers class in the afternoon. So she missed this class Friday and Monday both excused absences. This teacher refused to let her make up her work at all and was very rude to both me and her. She made Samantha cry. I wanted to snatch that lady baldheaded! Of course I went abover he head and got it worked out. I just really wish I would have not sent her back after Christmas break. Instead I made her finish 4th grade at ps and didn't send her back for 5th. Now she is so "schooled" it kills me! I am slowly trying to get her to understand that our home doesn't have to be like ps. Everything is a learning experience.
Let's see....in the 1st grade Elianna was put on the wrong bus. I called the school when she didn't get off the bus but they had already changed over to voicemall. I went to the school and no one knew where she was!! Needless to say I was scared and angry!! They tried to blame Elianna, as in "She should know what bus she's on". In 1st grade? In the first month? Maybe I expect too much but I think that the kids should still be walked to their bus in the 1st grade. But hey I am just a mom, what do I know? She was taken home on yet another bus while I was at the school looking for her. Thankfully, my MIL was there when Elianna showed up. Once, she was left on the playground, alone, when the whistle was blown for final bus run (she didn't hear the whistle). The school called me to come and get Elianna then. In 2nd grade she and a friend were locked out of the school during a snowstorm for about 15 minutes (no coats, no snowboots) before another teacher saw them and let them in. For the snowstorm incident the girls were washing tables at lunch after the other kids had gone back to their classrooms. Well, the girls thought that the kids all went outside to play so they went out there and the door locked behind them. One would think the teacher would have missed them but guess not. A different teacher saw them out the window and let them in. I guess I could have Elianna take some responsibilty for these incidents but I think the school needs to as well. Oh, yeah I forgot once to send lunch money in for Elliot and rather than call me to bring it in or bring Elliot some lunch the teacher decided that Elliot didn't "need" to eat. Apparently, I told her that if I didn't send lunch money in Elliot was not to eat lunch. Ummm, ok. YAY!! For homeschooling!! Sorry So Long.....When I get on a roll about the school........
Mrs Mommy... Your signature is genius! "My mind works like lightning. One brilliant flash and it is gone!" Too funny!
I subbed in a school where the teacher was given a big laminated bus with the bus number and the names of each kid that rode on the bus. Also (and this is most important!) the "bus" was a certain color. The bus itself also had a colored bus in its window to correspond with the correct color. THERE WERE NO "YELLOW" BUSES!!! Why? Because ALL the kids rode a "yellow" bus, and it would be more confusing. Anyway, they would call over the loud speaker for the "green" bus. The teacher would line up all the kids on that bus, checking the names to those on the bus. A "helper" would come around and collect the kids. That helper would know which kids were NOT there. As the kids got on the bus, she would again check the names against the list. Not a fool-proof plan, but it was about as good an effort as anyone has! Keep in mind, the teachers/principals/bus drivers don't want to lose a kid, either!
