The morning of the second school day. All parents were again waiting at the north side of the street, as we were originally instructed.
All of a sudden, a bus arrived on the other side of the road again. It was the same driver as yesterday. I signed to her that she is not our bus, but she kept waving us over. Another parent finally went over to her and after brief conversation came back and said that this time the bus has the sign up and it's the correct route. It really was the correct route number posted on the bus. So, how could this have been the “wrong” bus yesterday? So, reluctantly, we put the kids on.
I asked the driver how come yesterday she was the “wrong” bus, and today she is the “correct” bus, referring to the bus numbers given to us by the school. She answered that the numbers given to us by the school have nothing to do with the route numbers and that she does not even know which school-issued number she is. Ok, so I asked how come she was the wrong “route” yesterday and today she is the correct route? She only answered that today she is route #XYZ that our kids should be on.
While this was going on, an enormous traffic pile-up was building on this busy, main street, increasing the risk that someone will drive through and injure our children.
Thankfully the school called, again, very apologetic. I talked to the principal who unequivocaly assured me that my child will without a doubt be put on the correct bus on the way back.
I made it clear that having the bus come on the wrong side of the street is unacceptable.
I also stressed that I was terrified not knowing where my child was for an hour and that for these problems to still not be sorted out two bus runs later is really a huge organization failure.
Sigh of a relief. Afternoon should be fine.
Well, afternoon came around and our child was nowhere. Fighting back that panic feeling one gets when they lose the knowledge of the whereabouts of a small child, knowing the probable cause, we again went an to making phone calls to the school. Other parents waiting at the stop were also understandably very, very upset by this time.
Turns out that our child was about to be put on the "correct" bus, but the bus driver refused to take the children who shared in this ordeal. She even radioed the dispatch that said that these children are not on the list (according to her). I know that at least our child definitely is on that route, since I had to get her entered manually and I repeated all the information back to the administrator twice, just to make sure.
So, she was put on the wrong bus yet again and arrived more than half hour late.
Now this experience is beginning to traumatize my child and I am sure that the other children are not taking it lightly as well. To my great surprise, I received an apology form my child and when I asked what it is for, I was told that it was an apology for blaming me for all these mishaps with the bus and that, even though I didn't know it, my child was initially very angry at me. Then I was told that my child no longer wishes to go to the school, because of fear of being misplaced and lost by the bus service and fear of not seeing parents again. Way to start the school year.
I share the same sentiment, I don't feel that my child is safe with a bus driver that cannot figure out her routes or with a company that fails to figure out theirs or hires drivers unable to fulfill the requirements of their job. I would have expected for the driver to learn her route long before she even drives a school bus through it. She could end-up in a dangerous situation by not knowing her route and having the added distraction of a full bus of children. Also, labeling the buses with two sets of numbers, one by the school and another by a route number, without any reference given to the parents and without any of these numbers being displayed on the bus, was an incredibly bad judgment call, as was not paying attention to the route numbers attached to a child's backpack, which we filled out as instructed.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
First day adventures
So, as I mentioned in a previous post, the bus information that was supposed to be available on August 25th was still nowhere to be found on the 29th. After calling the bus company, I finally had our child entered into the system.
Despite calling several times, the staff at the YMCA-run after-school would not let me speak to anyone else aside from the designated person, because this person WILL get back to me within 24 hours. The day of school and many phone calls and messages later, we still have no after-care. No one ever called back.
Morning of the first school-day. Parents are waiting at the bus stop with, as it happens, all first-graders. About 10 min after the designated time and a bus passes us by. Then another one stops in the opposite direction, on the other side of the road. The traffic is piling up, since no one is supposed to pass a stopped school bus. Finally, a couple recognize the bus driver from last year, their child went to the school for kindergarten. The bus driver tells us that she is from our school and that she confused her route and is going in the wrong direction. So, turns out, it really is the bus our children are supposed to take. Thankfully, all children had their parents there, otherwise they would either be left behind, being confused as to what bus this is, or would have to cross a busy street, with cars just barely fighting the nerves at this point not to drive through, as the confusion is being sorted out. It took a few more minutes as parents somewhat reluctantly load their children into this unlabeled bus Being a little hesitant, I went to the school to wait for their arrival.
It took at least another half hour before they arrived, about fifteen minutes after the last of the other buses of arrived. I think the driver was lost. At first I was satisfied with the way things were handled, One of the staff boarded boarded the bus and gave the children stickers as to which bus they will be taking home. The problem was, these numbers had nothing to do with the actual route numbers given to the parents, who were told to write them on the tags and attach these to their backpacks. I think you can see where this is going.
Anyway, in the mean time, the children came off the bus and were told to go around to the back of the school. All by themselves. I was happy I was there to escort my child, especially when I saw the back of the school, which is a soccer field, full of children and adults, trying to sort out where their children belong. The teachers were holding up small signs with their name, which didn't help, as we were not told who the teacher will be. To my surprise, there was no organized way of catching the children as they enter and escorting them to their group. It looked like a mayhem. I'm really not sure how a lone first-grader would find their teacher, with all the towering adults, blocking any possible chance of seeing a sign with a name, even if the first-grader knew who the teacher was and could read the sign. Perhaps they mopped-up the last few lost souls when the crowd dispersed?
I was able to catch one person with a list who, eventually, after wondering if we are registered at all, did find my child's name and sent us in the right direction. Once in the group, I was satisfied that my kid had a fighting chance making it to the classroom and I left.
What else could possibly go wrong? After all, I called the school to make sure that there would be no more hiccups with the bus and they assured me that our child will get onto the correct bus. So, everything should go smoothly now, right?
End of the day. We were waiting for 35 minutes for the school bus, then we started making phone calls. I called the school inquiring about my child. Finally, another 10 tense minutes and a bus approached, we were relieved, our child was there. Finally the school called back, we were told that our child was on the wrong bus, among a couple of others, and that they are being taken back to school. They were surprised when we told them that we have our child already.
Turns out that the bus in the morning wasn't our bus after all, although it went to the right school. Because it wasn't labeled, we didn't realize that there are two routes on that street for the same school and neither did the bus driver. The fact that she said that she confused her route and that she is going in the wrong direction assured us that this is the correct bus. So, by getting on the wrong bus, getting the wrong sticker on arrival and the bus numbers having no connection to the sticker numbers indicating which bus the kids should board on their way home, therefore making the school bag tags useless, our kid and the others who boarded the same bus in the morning, got sent home on the wrong bus, arriving about 40 min later than they should.
I sure hope for a smoother ride to morrow!
Despite calling several times, the staff at the YMCA-run after-school would not let me speak to anyone else aside from the designated person, because this person WILL get back to me within 24 hours. The day of school and many phone calls and messages later, we still have no after-care. No one ever called back.
Morning of the first school-day. Parents are waiting at the bus stop with, as it happens, all first-graders. About 10 min after the designated time and a bus passes us by. Then another one stops in the opposite direction, on the other side of the road. The traffic is piling up, since no one is supposed to pass a stopped school bus. Finally, a couple recognize the bus driver from last year, their child went to the school for kindergarten. The bus driver tells us that she is from our school and that she confused her route and is going in the wrong direction. So, turns out, it really is the bus our children are supposed to take. Thankfully, all children had their parents there, otherwise they would either be left behind, being confused as to what bus this is, or would have to cross a busy street, with cars just barely fighting the nerves at this point not to drive through, as the confusion is being sorted out. It took a few more minutes as parents somewhat reluctantly load their children into this unlabeled bus Being a little hesitant, I went to the school to wait for their arrival.
It took at least another half hour before they arrived, about fifteen minutes after the last of the other buses of arrived. I think the driver was lost. At first I was satisfied with the way things were handled, One of the staff boarded boarded the bus and gave the children stickers as to which bus they will be taking home. The problem was, these numbers had nothing to do with the actual route numbers given to the parents, who were told to write them on the tags and attach these to their backpacks. I think you can see where this is going.
Anyway, in the mean time, the children came off the bus and were told to go around to the back of the school. All by themselves. I was happy I was there to escort my child, especially when I saw the back of the school, which is a soccer field, full of children and adults, trying to sort out where their children belong. The teachers were holding up small signs with their name, which didn't help, as we were not told who the teacher will be. To my surprise, there was no organized way of catching the children as they enter and escorting them to their group. It looked like a mayhem. I'm really not sure how a lone first-grader would find their teacher, with all the towering adults, blocking any possible chance of seeing a sign with a name, even if the first-grader knew who the teacher was and could read the sign. Perhaps they mopped-up the last few lost souls when the crowd dispersed?
I was able to catch one person with a list who, eventually, after wondering if we are registered at all, did find my child's name and sent us in the right direction. Once in the group, I was satisfied that my kid had a fighting chance making it to the classroom and I left.
What else could possibly go wrong? After all, I called the school to make sure that there would be no more hiccups with the bus and they assured me that our child will get onto the correct bus. So, everything should go smoothly now, right?
End of the day. We were waiting for 35 minutes for the school bus, then we started making phone calls. I called the school inquiring about my child. Finally, another 10 tense minutes and a bus approached, we were relieved, our child was there. Finally the school called back, we were told that our child was on the wrong bus, among a couple of others, and that they are being taken back to school. They were surprised when we told them that we have our child already.
Turns out that the bus in the morning wasn't our bus after all, although it went to the right school. Because it wasn't labeled, we didn't realize that there are two routes on that street for the same school and neither did the bus driver. The fact that she said that she confused her route and that she is going in the wrong direction assured us that this is the correct bus. So, by getting on the wrong bus, getting the wrong sticker on arrival and the bus numbers having no connection to the sticker numbers indicating which bus the kids should board on their way home, therefore making the school bag tags useless, our kid and the others who boarded the same bus in the morning, got sent home on the wrong bus, arriving about 40 min later than they should.
I sure hope for a smoother ride to morrow!
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