Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First thought?
I don't do drop off/pick ups at the school and have no idea where the lost and found is.
I only heard recently about things being donated that were not collected. DS lost a jacket back in October so odds are it is long gone.
I think school or PTA facebook pages should include photos of lost and found items so parents know to go in and get what is theirs.

The way it works is, if you lose the object, you go to the lost and found to find it.

If your child lost the jacket in October, that's when you go to look for it. If you didn't realize it was lost until June... you have plenty of jackets I guess!

No one is going to take pictures of items in the lost and found and post them so you can see if anything belongs to your child. If you don't realize his stuff is gone right away and didn't write his name on the water bottle or jacket (yes, we teachers will check if there is a name and if so will get it back to your child) then you really can't complain!

I don’t know why people can’t figure this out: the reason why the coats are piled up there isn’t because the parents can’t be bothered, but because the items didn’t make it until weeks later.

If she loses a coat, I look every day for the next few days for it in L&F. But if she put it in a weird spot where it might not be easily found, then it might be a few weeks until it makes it to L&F.

There is a massive pile at my daughter’s school. I don’t have time to dig through all the bags and bags, but I try to rummage a bit every month or so. Even though her NAME is on everything, I still find items there. It doesn’t help when other parents are stealing items too.

Going shopping in L&F is tacky and wrong.

This is an excellent point. Plus the kids who wear the coat on the last cold day of spring (which probably fell after a bunch of warm days) and the parents assume it's in the closet somewhere.

My kids' school makes the clothes available to anyone that wants them before donating them.

Anonymous wrote:If your kid loses an item, why wouldn't you go claim it from Lost and Found? The kid/parent clearly isn't missing that item, so who cares if it goes to another kid in their school or to Good Will?

This. Half the time, when you drop stuff off at Goodwill, the employees rummage through first.

Anonymous wrote:My immediate thought is, man there are always some people who abuse the system. If I were a parent of that school, my reaction would have been, oh good, it’s going to goodwill and hopefully some needier kid will get it. It wouldn’t even enter my mind to think, how can I minimize the chances of basically stealing that nice NF jacket away from donation.

+1000

If someone who worked at a nonprofit did this, it’d be a huge scandal. People would be outraged that others are stealing from donations. Same thing, except you’re also stealing from parents who now don’t have a chance to recover their kids’ coats and bottles.

unbelievably tacky and gross

and also potentially embarrassing when the real owner realizes it

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First thought?
I don't do drop off/pick ups at the school and have no idea where the lost and found is.
I only heard recently about things being donated that were not collected. DS lost a jacket back in October so odds are it is long gone.
I think school or PTA facebook pages should include photos of lost and found items so parents know to go in and get what is theirs.

The way it works is, if you lose the object, you go to the lost and found to find it.

If your child lost the jacket in October, that's when you go to look for it. If you didn't realize it was lost until June... you have plenty of jackets I guess!

No one is going to take pictures of items in the lost and found and post them so you can see if anything belongs to your child. If you don't realize his stuff is gone right away and didn't write his name on the water bottle or jacket (yes, we teachers will check if there is a name and if so will get it back to your child) then you really can't complain!

I don’t know why people can’t figure this out: the reason why the coats are piled up there isn’t because the parents can’t be bothered, but because the items didn’t make it until weeks later.

If she loses a coat, I look every day for the next few days for it in L&F. But if she put it in a weird spot where it might not be easily found, then it might be a few weeks until it makes it to L&F.

There is a massive pile at my daughter’s school. I don’t have time to dig through all the bags and bags, but I try to rummage a bit every month or so. Even though her NAME is on everything, I still find items there. It doesn’t help when other parents are stealing items too.

Going shopping in L&F is tacky and wrong.

My immediate thought is, man there are always some people who abuse the system. If I were a parent of that school, my reaction would have been, oh good, it’s going to goodwill and hopefully some needier kid will get it. It wouldn’t even enter my mind to think, how can I minimize the chances of basically stealing that nice NF jacket away from donation.

Anonymous wrote:If your kid loses an item, why wouldn't you go claim it from Lost and Found? The kid/parent clearly isn't missing that item, so who cares if it goes to another kid in their school or to Good Will?

I have had something lost and didn’t realize for a long time. My 4 year old had two Polo Ralph Lauren coats ($90) she got from from grandma. She wore one color once in a while but the other one stayed home. It wasn’t till the next spring that I realized that the one she wore once in a while was missing. Yes, she had about four total coats/jackets. Her closet was full of clothes and coats and disorganized (I could have kept better track). There were coats that she had outgrown and the opposite, ones grandma buys for her that were too big. Grandma refuses to remember that my child is tiny and she has to buy down a year. So we end up with clothes that we have to wait 12-18 months to fit into. Anyway
At that age, the teachers in her one class small daycare know which kid wears what and make sure kids are dressed warm when they go out to play. I mean, they see the same kids 8 plus hours each day every day and take them out to the playground twice a day. I figured that if it had been left behind somewhere on school grounds, they would have sent it home with the kid. I figured it was my fault for not noticing it sooner.

Anonymous wrote:So, I worked at a school and organized the last week lost and found day. Where kids and parents will come and try to find lost things. I found my DS's sweatshirts and then kids(private school, so pretty pricey stuff) came and just started taking stuff. Maintenance guy told the director that they are taking everything to Salvation Army, so I thought this would at least go somewhere and some kids took things. Whatever. Then the maintenance guy tells me, why don't I just take it all?! I was stunned, why would I want all this crap and clothing?! He says, he just puts it in his truck and dumps it in the first garbage container! I said, what about Salvation Army, he said, I can do it if I want, too much trouble for him. So...let them take it.

So the maintenance guy lies to his boss and does not follow instructions given him as part of his job. That's what I hear in this anecdote. I wonder what other convenient shortcuts he uses and what other tasks he just ignores. What a lazy jerk. You were "stunned" but were you stunned enough to let anyone know he doesn't follow his instructions because they're "too much trouble"?

Anonymous wrote:
I figure it's charity, and the clothes were destined for charity anyway, so why not. On the other hand, if I took something for my own kid, who does not live in poverty and has a mother who can buy him pants, I would consider that stealing.

Except the clothes weren't destined for charity, actually. They are abandoned property.

IMO (I'm a teacher who manages the school's lost and found as one of my assigned duties) they are completely and totally up for grabs. If no one claims them I will haul them to the thrift store, sure.

If a teacher at our school can use them for her students, that's cool. If we don't want the clothes for our storage closet and some parent wants to take them, that's fine too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see how this is a problem, honestly.

Let's say the PTA is in charge of moving the items from lost and found to Goodwill. I am on the PTA, let's say. I am boxing the items for goodwill...I'm putting them in my car. I find nice pants, a jacket, a lunchbox, and more. Can't *I* take those items?!? What difference does it make if I take it, or if I give it to goodwill (which throws a lot away).

Goodwill throws a lot away, but are the things they throw away the same as the things that you'd take? Or are you taking things that are higher quality and would have decent resale value?

I'm a teacher. I've raided lost and found at the end of the year end then traded with teacher friends at other schools, so I have age appropriate stuff to give my kids who don't have enough, and they don't run the risk of meeting the person whose pants they are wearing. But that's taking what was headed for charity and using it for charitable purposes. Taking what is headed for charity for yourself or your own kids is stealing.

That is some questionable logic.

Oh wait-does “my kids” mean your students? That’s makes more sense.

I think this is what she meant. The teachers swap clothes so no one at the school sees a needier kid wearing their lost stuff.

Yes, my students. I keep a supply of clothing in the classroom, because sometimes accidents happen, and sometimes kids come in without appropriate clothes. Sometimes the clothes are hand me downs from my own kids, and sometimes former parents will donate things to us. I also purchase new underwear with the gift cards I get for Christmas, because hand me down underwear is gross. But I still have times when I need more of an item, particularly pants, and also warm tops. I don't want to put a kid in something that might get recognized on the playground, so in June, right before the end of the year when things will be donated, I take a few pairs of pants and some sweatshirts and a hat, and my friend at another school does the same, and then we swap.

I figure it's charity, and the clothes were destined for charity anyway, so why not. On the other hand, if I took something for my own kid, who does not live in poverty and has a mother who can buy him pants, I would consider that stealing.

I really don't understand why anyone would have a problem with someone taking some of the items in the "lost and found" on the last day of school. Our school has a large table and box with items and they've been reminding parents to check the lost and found for the past month or two. There are several blazers, jumpers, cardigans etc with the school logo on them and i don't think most people want to buy stuff with another school's logo. To me it would be great if another parent took some of the items and used them for their kid next year.

Anonymous wrote:I disagree,
sometimes a hat/gloves/scarf go missing and my K kid didn't say anything.
if i see it on facebook i will know its ours and go in and get it.

No, no one is going to post pictures on Facebook for you. If your K kid doesn't tell you his gloves are missing, what does he say when you tell him to put on his gloves because it is cold outside in February and he doesn't have his gloves?

THAT'S the time to go look in the lost and found for your gloves. Don't wait till June and expect someone to take a picture of all the leftover gloves. That's ridiculous.

Anonymous wrote:First thought?
I don't do drop off/pick ups at the school and have no idea where the lost and found is.
I only heard recently about things being donated that were not collected. DS lost a jacket back in October so odds are it is long gone.
I think school or PTA facebook pages should include photos of lost and found items so parents know to go in and get what is theirs.

The way it works is, if you lose the object, you go to the lost and found to find it.

If your child lost the jacket in October, that's when you go to look for it. If you didn't realize it was lost until June... you have plenty of jackets I guess!

No one is going to take pictures of items in the lost and found and post them so you can see if anything belongs to your child. If you don't realize his stuff is gone right away and didn't write his name on the water bottle or jacket (yes, we teachers will check if there is a name and if so will get it back to your child) then you really can't complain!

I disagree,
sometimes a hat/gloves/scarf go missing and my K kid didn't say anything.
if i see it on facebook i will know its ours and go in and get it.