Tiapet
Old Hand
Is the calmest, nicest words I can use at the moment. For 3 1/2 hours today I didn't know where my daughter or her bus were and the school wasn't sure either! How can this be? How can a school not know this?
We had a snow storm. The school dismissed early (though they should have done it earlier). Kids got out at 2:30. Schools only 10 minutes from house but it usually takes 1 hour ride home. Ok fine. I get a text from middle difficult child at 3.:59 using someone else's phone (she no longer has hers) saying they left school late and the bus was sliding all over. I wait, and wait, and wait. I start getting antsy a 1/2 hour past her time she should have been home but think it's not unreasonable with road conditions as they were being reported (although mr. busy made it home just fine and on time, however he was coming from opposite direction and a tiny bit closer). I wait some more. At an hour past time I'm REALLY starting to worry. I start posting to twitter for reactions from the local news to see if they know anything. Nothing, but I start hearing about bus accidents on the news with non specific information.
I get out difficult child's phone to see if I can piece anything together from her contact list. There is a text message that came in from this afternoon from a girlfriend of a boy on the same bus. She's also looking for him for his mother as he didn't come home. Good, well not good but good to know I'm not the only one looking. Now we're at 2 1/2 hours! I decide to CALL the newstation and see if they have any specific information. They told me try calling the school (I had done it once but no answer at the time), that there was apparently some bus accidents or something (information they gave sounded like they knew something but weren't releasing it). I call the school I do get someone. I am told that there were some buses that couldn't make it and there at a local grocery store being staged with school members and parents have to go get the kids but they didn't know if she was one of them! They needed to check and would call me back. I wait. 25 minutes go by no call back. I call them back and ask again! This time someone else and am told that the lady I spoke to is on with principal as we speak trying to locate her. Finally he comes back and tells me she is NOT on the list! I'm also told their is another bus "broken down" on a certain road. Maybe she is on that but they don't know. They don't know who's on that bus! Now we're at 3 hours.
I get a call from a girl in the neighborhood that difficult child knows and has hung out with on and off. She tells me "difficult child is at grocery store and me and my mom will go get her". I said really? You're sure? (thinking she should know this as she rides the bus with her) She said yes. I said thank you but I can go get her. I call school and tell them what I was told and they were a little dumbfounded but were happy to hear this. Said let them know when I have her so they know she is safe (the lady who was very concerned).
Now we're at 3 1/2 hours. Head out to get her and don't get to far. Here she is just being let out at the bus stop!!! Turns out she WAS on the bus that was on that certain road and it was not "broken down." It had slid off the road and was almost on it's side in a ditch! It had an accident! No wonder they were keeping it under wraps. I called school back and let them know we had her and NO she was not at school after all and WAS on that bus on rd. Said I have no clue how or why this girl gave misinformation (you know I'm going to find out what happened though- not mad at her but just wondering how this happened). I said to lady how they heck can the school NOT know what kids are on what buses? She said she thought they had a list too and she was going crazy. She yelled at security to get her a list. She really was just as upset and mad.
I'm sure this will NEVER happen again and they'll have a list from now on but still.....
How can a school have kids on buses and NOT know what buses and what kids? That to me is a liability waiting to happen!
I'm glad she is home safe and sound but after 3 1/2 hours.......grrrrr
We had a snow storm. The school dismissed early (though they should have done it earlier). Kids got out at 2:30. Schools only 10 minutes from house but it usually takes 1 hour ride home. Ok fine. I get a text from middle difficult child at 3.:59 using someone else's phone (she no longer has hers) saying they left school late and the bus was sliding all over. I wait, and wait, and wait. I start getting antsy a 1/2 hour past her time she should have been home but think it's not unreasonable with road conditions as they were being reported (although mr. busy made it home just fine and on time, however he was coming from opposite direction and a tiny bit closer). I wait some more. At an hour past time I'm REALLY starting to worry. I start posting to twitter for reactions from the local news to see if they know anything. Nothing, but I start hearing about bus accidents on the news with non specific information.
I get out difficult child's phone to see if I can piece anything together from her contact list. There is a text message that came in from this afternoon from a girlfriend of a boy on the same bus. She's also looking for him for his mother as he didn't come home. Good, well not good but good to know I'm not the only one looking. Now we're at 2 1/2 hours! I decide to CALL the newstation and see if they have any specific information. They told me try calling the school (I had done it once but no answer at the time), that there was apparently some bus accidents or something (information they gave sounded like they knew something but weren't releasing it). I call the school I do get someone. I am told that there were some buses that couldn't make it and there at a local grocery store being staged with school members and parents have to go get the kids but they didn't know if she was one of them! They needed to check and would call me back. I wait. 25 minutes go by no call back. I call them back and ask again! This time someone else and am told that the lady I spoke to is on with principal as we speak trying to locate her. Finally he comes back and tells me she is NOT on the list! I'm also told their is another bus "broken down" on a certain road. Maybe she is on that but they don't know. They don't know who's on that bus! Now we're at 3 hours.
I get a call from a girl in the neighborhood that difficult child knows and has hung out with on and off. She tells me "difficult child is at grocery store and me and my mom will go get her". I said really? You're sure? (thinking she should know this as she rides the bus with her) She said yes. I said thank you but I can go get her. I call school and tell them what I was told and they were a little dumbfounded but were happy to hear this. Said let them know when I have her so they know she is safe (the lady who was very concerned).
Now we're at 3 1/2 hours. Head out to get her and don't get to far. Here she is just being let out at the bus stop!!! Turns out she WAS on the bus that was on that certain road and it was not "broken down." It had slid off the road and was almost on it's side in a ditch! It had an accident! No wonder they were keeping it under wraps. I called school back and let them know we had her and NO she was not at school after all and WAS on that bus on rd. Said I have no clue how or why this girl gave misinformation (you know I'm going to find out what happened though- not mad at her but just wondering how this happened). I said to lady how they heck can the school NOT know what kids are on what buses? She said she thought they had a list too and she was going crazy. She yelled at security to get her a list. She really was just as upset and mad.
I'm sure this will NEVER happen again and they'll have a list from now on but still.....
How can a school have kids on buses and NOT know what buses and what kids? That to me is a liability waiting to happen!
I'm glad she is home safe and sound but after 3 1/2 hours.......grrrrr