How does the afternoon bus work?

[Anonymous]

I'm starting to think about how to adjust our schedule for DS who is entering kindergarten in a few weeks. I found the bus routes online and figured out where/when he can catch the bus in the morning. But what about in the afternoon? How do I figure what time I need to meet the bus? I'm trying to figure out if I need aftercare. The school day ends at 3:50pm. I can't seem to find anything on the MCPS website.

[Anonymous]

Ask a neighbor with an older child at the school. That being said with the new elementary bell times in MCPS, we'll all be playing it by ear for the first week or so. Last year, mine got home about 20-25 minutes after last bell

[Anonymous]

If you know what bus he'll be on, contact the school office and check with them. They may refer you to the bus depot, but they should know approximately when it will arrive. Generally the buses depart school within 10-15 minutes after dismissal, and arrive at bus stops any where from 20 mins to an hour after dismissal. However, with the later dismissal times this year, buses will run into more rush hour traffic, so they may take longer than they used to.

[Anonymous]

Last year, my kid got off the bus at around 3:50pm. Dismissal was 3:30.

This year, dismissal at our ES will be at 3:50, and I'm guessing he'll get off the bus around 4:10 or 4:15 (like the PP said, I think there will be some extra traffic).

It probably depends on how far you are from the school, etc? Agree that you could ask around the neighborhood, but it'll be tough to predict this year since the times are different.

[Anonymous]

Plan to do some waiting the first week until there is a pattern.. Even if it is 4 on day #1, it could be 3:50 by day #4. Also make friends/exchange numbers with others at the bus stop to cover in case the bus is early (rarely) or you are late.

[Anonymous]

The first week the buses are often late.

[Anonymous]

Our school has the bus schedules posted as of Wednesday this week -- check your school's website, and you'll get a good sense of what time it will be. There's a lot of variation because some kids are on buses that do double-runs -- so our kids always wait for a half hour after school because the bus takes another load of kids then comes back for them.