First day off school and kid was put on wrong bus

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[Post New]08/28/2023 21:05
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:My kid is in MCPS elementary school and first day off school , teaher at school put on her wrong bus. we provided instruction and there was a tag on her back pack as well. is it normal ?

they didnt have any live tracking system to track bus ? is it really normal ? in the worst case scenerio what if bus driver takes kids how they can track the bus ?
do you really think its normal ..

thank you


It isn't normal, but it happens.

[Post New]08/28/2023 21:32
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Can you suggest where to complain for negligence ? I don’t expect much from mcps but this is something horrible and can turn out pretty bad for soemone..

Negligence? Did your kid make it back to school (which is what should happen when a kid gets on the wrong bus)? If so, they weren't negligent. Sheesh.


So they can put your kid on any bud for ride and you need to wait for it.. don’t you think things can turn ugly any time in this situation.. they don’t have real time tracker of the bud…


Unfortunately, this occurred but your child is safe. I am not sure why you are posting here. This situation probably happened in numerous elementary schools today. Talk to the school staff. They are probably horrified and will ensure it doesn't happen again.
[Post New]08/28/2023 21:48
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Anonymous
I’m an elementary school secretary. I had no fewer than 5 children sent to school today with no identification, could not tell us their names. Literally no way of knowing who these children were or where they were supposed to be. So these things work both ways.
Also, in most schools the teachers are not walking the kids to the buses. buses are called, kids go. there are adults in the hallway to help but no one is walking every child to the bus. We’ve asked for parent volunteers for this and had a small number show up. Not nearly enough for every classroom.
i’m sorry this happened to some children today. but the drivers did what they are supposed to do and made phone calls and then returned the children to the school buildings. that is the system working in event of error.
[Post New]08/28/2023 22:36
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Thanks for telling me what my job is. Again, come and help any day of the week. Furthermore, I’m not physically putting kids on buses; they are called and it’s the kids job to walk down the hallway, walk out the front door and get on the bus on their own. I have kids that I am in charge of in the classroom so I cannot personally escort every child to the bus. Rather than blaming the teacher, maybe look at the processes/lack of bodies that are available in the building? But again, thanks for reminding me that I’m meant to keep kids safe when your children are the ones that physically attack me. I put myself on the line every single day to teach. You have no idea.


You're expecting 5-6-7 year olds who have never been on a bus to walk down the hall, front door and get on a bus on their own. No way my 5 year old could do that first day. Our teachers made sure the kids got to the right bus or handed off to a parent so clearly if they can do it, you can too. I would have been happy to volunteer at our ES but our school wouldn't allow parent volunteers. OP has every right to be upset.

P.S. my kid has never physically attacked anyone. Most kids don't. And, as a teacher you need to advocate for supports and a good iep for those kids struggling.
[Post New]08/28/2023 22:53
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jordan31
Member Offline
Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. Managing how 27 students get home when more than half have a different schedule every afternoon, all while getting a few last min emails with changes…. Doing the best I can here. Most of you complain having to juggle your own kids schedules (2 on average), but please come and do dismissal one day before ever complaining online. Parents like you make this happen bc you don’t train your kids and then expect me to perform miracles. But you’ll never take accountability and will blame everyone else…
. People like you shouldn’t be in this profession who direct blame parents without knowing situation.. bagpack was clearly marked with color of the bus to Identify which bus kid is going.. but yeah may be the person was blind so she couldn’t see it.. elementary kid on first day should be aware of every thing.. sorry my kid isn’t that smart …
[Post New]08/28/2023 23:03
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. Managing how 27 students get home when more than half have a different schedule every afternoon, all while getting a few last min emails with changes…. Doing the best I can here. Most of you complain having to juggle your own kids schedules (2 on average), but please come and do dismissal one day before ever complaining online. Parents like you make this happen bc you don’t train your kids and then expect me to perform miracles. But you’ll never take accountability and will blame everyone else…


I didn’t know putting children on the correct buses was a miracle.

I can still picture me on the first day of school in the bus line behind my best friend when the teacher grabbed me by the collar (maybe I’m remembering that wrong) and told me that was not my bus. She led me to another bus. I was so tiny I could barely see out the window. I remember kids getting off one by one until it was just me and the driver. I must have given the driver my address because he dropped me off on the busy street that my side street was connected to. Back then of course no cell phones or anything.

My mother called the police when I didn’t get off my bus and they told her to wait and don’t leave the house. It wasn’t traumatic or anything but I still remember a lot of the details decades later.
[Post New]08/29/2023 05:00
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Anonymous
I have seen how kids get dismissed at the end of school days, and there're walkers, bus riders, kids waiting for pickup in carpool or kids waiting for parents walk up to pickup. There were a lot of students coming out of school front door at the same time, and it was quite scary and chaotic in my eyes. I cannot keep track and locate where my kid is in a crowd.
[Post New]08/29/2023 05:19
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Anonymous
Op..
How was it resolved? I
[Post New]08/29/2023 07:33
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Can you suggest where to complain for negligence ? I don’t expect much from mcps but this is something horrible and can turn out pretty bad for soemone..

Negligence? Did your kid make it back to school (which is what should happen when a kid gets on the wrong bus)? If so, they weren't negligent. Sheesh.


Negligence? I understand OP being upset. However, why come on social media right away to escalate the situation? Talk to the people at the school, not strangers on social media. You have many years to work with the school so foster a positive relationship. By this morning, they probably have a plan to make sure this doesn't happen to.your child or any other child.
[Post New]08/29/2023 07:41
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I get that it's stressful and scary but what happened is exactly what you seem to think is lacking-- there are safety protocols in place in case of mistakes. Kid was on the wrong bus. The bus driver made stops and that child did not have a grownup waiting for them, so the bus driver did not let them get off the bus at any of those stops. When all the stops had been made, the child was brought back to school so that parents could be contacted. Your child was safe and supervised the entire time and at no time was in any danger. Of course you did not know that at the time, but the priority was keeping the child safe, and that's what was done. No system is 100% and people are human and make mistakes. Thankfully, the system in place worked perfectly and one mistake--the child being put on the wrong bus--did not cause a catastrophe.

Again, I get that it's scary, but really, you should be more relieved and secure right now. The system was tested and it passed.


This right here. Every system has failsafes built in and it seems like those worked. Yes, it would be amazing if the primary system (kid gets on correct bus) happened every time, but anyone who has worked outside the home can tell you that relying on the primary system to work and not building in backup plans will end in tears.

So MCPS has two systems. First, get the vast majority of the kids on the correct bus. Next, have a system for what happens if that first system fails. In this case, it was not letting a kid under 3rd grade off the bus without a parent/guardian waiting at the stop. If there is a child remaining at the end of the route, call it in and return to the school.

This happened to my kid, OP, and I was terrified and angry. But then I had to remind myself that the system worked. My child was not let off at a random corner because the driver followed the rules and brought her back. Everyone learned a lesson, and no harm was done.

Take a breath, toss and AirTag in your kid's backpack if it will make you feel better, and be glad that MCPS made sure every plan has a safeguard.
[Post New]08/29/2023 07:52
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:It should not be normal, but it happens, and when it does, it's very stressful. I hope your child is feeling better now, OP.



+1
This happens every year at the beginning of the year until the kids learn their buses. It's scary but resist the urge to overreact. Teachers are human.
[Post New]08/29/2023 07:58
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Thanks for telling me what my job is. Again, come and help any day of the week. Furthermore, I’m not physically putting kids on buses; they are called and it’s the kids job to walk down the hallway, walk out the front door and get on the bus on their own. I have kids that I am in charge of in the classroom so I cannot personally escort every child to the bus. Rather than blaming the teacher, maybe look at the processes/lack of bodies that are available in the building? But again, thanks for reminding me that I’m meant to keep kids safe when your children are the ones that physically attack me. I put myself on the line every single day to teach. You have no idea.


You're expecting 5-6-7 year olds who have never been on a bus to walk down the hall, front door and get on a bus on their own. No way my 5 year old could do that first day. Our teachers made sure the kids got to the right bus or handed off to a parent so clearly if they can do it, you can too. I would have been happy to volunteer at our ES but our school wouldn't allow parent volunteers. OP has every right to be upset.

P.S. my kid has never physically attacked anyone. Most kids don't. And, as a teacher you need to advocate for supports and a good iep for those kids struggling.


Yes that is the expectation which is why kids should be taught things like how to follow directions, their name and emergency info and their bus #. But the Everyone here agrees this was an unfortunate incident, but most understand that no system is perfect which is why there are backup plans in place and people responding to situations to course correct. I totally get how as a parent this is upsetting and may have even been upsetting for the child. However, they are safe precisely because they weren’t neglected. Bring up your concern with the principal who is likely already aware the situation. The teacher and school probably already feel bad and will work specifically to make sure your child gets on the correct bus tomorrow. Yesterday was the first day of school in a district w/ 165k students. While some things went wrong, if all of them made it home safely, a thousand things also went right.
[Post New]08/29/2023 08:01
quote
Anonymous
Same thing happened to both me and my DH in different states in 1980. Our moms still tell the stories but things were worked out by Day 2 and we survived Kindergarten.
[Post New]08/29/2023 08:09
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It should not be normal, but it happens, and when it does, it's very stressful. I hope your child is feeling better now, OP.



+1
This happens every year at the beginning of the year until the kids learn their buses. It's scary but resist the urge to overreact. Teachers are human.


+1

At our elementary school the younger kids have a color-coded shape, which corresponds to a bus route. It hangs off the back of their backpacks. Yours might have something similar so maybe you can make one that’s larger and more visible so that it doesn’t get overlooked. Hopefully this does not happen to you again.
[Post New]08/29/2023 08:33
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Can you suggest where to complain for negligence ? I don’t expect much from mcps but this is something horrible and can turn out pretty bad for soemone..

Negligence? Did your kid make it back to school (which is what should happen when a kid gets on the wrong bus)? If so, they weren't negligent. Sheesh.


Negligence? I understand OP being upset. However, why come on social media right away to escalate the situation? Talk to the people at the school, not strangers on social media. You have many years to work with the school so foster a positive relationship. By this morning, they probably have a plan to make sure this doesn't happen to.your child or any other child.

OP also posted it on NextDoor, where OP is identifiable.
I understand being upset, but I already feel sorry for the teachers at OP school who are going to have to deal with OP for the rest of the year and years.
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