Bus didn’t show up

[Anonymous]

My high schooler waited 45 mins at the bus stop with about a dozen other kids this morning for a school bus that didn’t show at all.

I ended up driving her to school, arriving 15 mins late. Does anyone know if this is excused?

[Anonymous]

Should be. They’ll probably already know the bus was delayed, but your student should have let the attendance secretary know that’s why they were signing in late. The school doesn’t necessarily know what bus they take.

Our HS has a google form for absences, and they usually just tell kids to have their parents fill that out.

[Anonymous]

It is absolutely an excused absence for your child. It is also absolutely inexcusable for MCPS.

[Anonymous]

It is. You should also email the school attendance secretary so it’s documented and in writing.

[Anonymous]

You drove her to school, but just couldn't bother to walk to the main office with her to get a late pass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You drove her to school, but just couldn't bother to walk to the main office with her to get a late pass.

Stop it. High schoolers don't want their parents in the building, and at our high school in particular, parents are not very welcome, unless there's an appointment in the books. They just can't deal with more people.

OP, it should be excused, but maybe your kid will have to let them know or something. During all our years in MCPS, I've noticed that absences are not well documented by schools: sometimes my kids are marked absent when they're not, sometimes they're not marked absent when they are, and there's been frequent confusion over what's excused and what's not. I ended up not caring AT ALL, because guess what? It doesn't affect their grades. So now, when my youngest, who is my only kid left in MCPS, has a doctor's appointment or is sick or something, I sometimes forget to jump through all the hoops required by her high school. It's just too much bother for no consequences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You drove her to school, but just couldn't bother to walk to the main office with her to get a late pass.

Stop it. High schoolers don't want their parents in the building, and at our high school in particular, parents are not very welcome, unless there's an appointment in the books. They just can't deal with more people.

OP, it should be excused, but maybe your kid will have to let them know or something. During all our years in MCPS, I've noticed that absences are not well documented by schools: sometimes my kids are marked absent when they're not, sometimes they're not marked absent when they are, and there's been frequent confusion over what's excused and what's not. I ended up not caring AT ALL, because guess what? It doesn't affect their grades. So now, when my youngest, who is my only kid left in MCPS, has a doctor's appointment or is sick or something, I sometimes forget to jump through all the hoops required by her high school. It's just too much bother for no consequences.

It doesn’t affect them anymore. I got an LC 20 years ago because a teacher falsely marked me tardy 16 times

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is absolutely an excused absence for your child. It is also absolutely inexcusable for MCPS.

+1
This has happened to our child multiple times this year. It's excused. Our child's teachers believed him but I think he did sign in saying late bus or something like that and when they see like 50 kids signing in at the same time there's no reason for them to worry that kids are lying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is absolutely an excused absence for your child. It is also absolutely inexcusable for MCPS.

$hit happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is absolutely an excused absence for your child. It is also absolutely inexcusable for MCPS.

$hit happens.

Of course it does, but not showing up for 45 minutes without an automated system kicking in to notify that fact is inexcusable today. That would fly 30 years ago. We have the technology to see that a bus driver didn’t make it in and that no substitute took the route

[Anonymous]

Yes. Just email the attendance secretary with what happened. Your kid should also have the number of the bus depot in their phone -- if the bus is 10 or 15 min late, kid can call and get an update on whether the bus is coming or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is absolutely an excused absence for your child. It is also absolutely inexcusable for MCPS.

$hit happens.

Of course it does, but not showing up for 45 minutes without an automated system kicking in to notify that fact is inexcusable today. That would fly 30 years ago. We have the technology to see that a bus driver didn’t make it in and that no substitute took the route

MCPS said they would have a system a few years ago but it never happened. Other school districts do so I don't know what the problem is.

[Anonymous]

Why wouldn’t you just email the attendance secretary instead of posting on an anonymous forum??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You drove her to school, but just couldn't bother to walk to the main office with her to get a late pass.

Are you SERIOUS?!!!! In high school? No, absolutely not. Who does that?

Apart from the fact that I wasn’t dressed to leave the car after this unexpected drive there were about 30 kids in line outside the school waiting to get in, late. Not one of them had a parent with them. So I should have stood there with my kid amongst her peers so that I could vouch for her? Wtf. Any parent that would do that to their high schooler is unimaginably cruel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why wouldn’t you just email the attendance secretary instead of posting on an anonymous forum??

Because the attendance secretary isn’t very responsive. Why would you take the time to make a snarky comment like that without saying anything actually useful?