My son is supposed to be dropped off at the sitters at 4:38 (this started when I came back to work a couple of weeks ago). Well everyday it is a different time that he gets dropped off - today being the earliest at 4:05. The sitter has asked if he could explain the huge difference of time and the driver said it is b/c it always depends what kids have to stay after school for tutoring/sports activities and that affects how many kids he has to drop off. I don't know the whole story on this part - whether he was not going to allow my son off the bus (a 5 yr old kindergartener) b/c no one was at the stop to pick him up or he was going to just leave him there with out an adult (the drop off spot is a good ways down the street from the sitters house). So the sitter called me to see if I would call the transportation dept and see if either A the driver could stop in front of her house so she knows when to go outside to get my kid or B see about making the drop off time more constant each day. She has 5 other kids at her house and is unable to leave them alone the entire time waiting outside for the 20 min difference drop off times and plus winter is coming and will not be able to stand out there trying to guess when the bus will come.
So, I am the "first time school aged kid on a bus" mom. What should I do? Because I really do not know how to handle this situation?
Thanks
Is he the only one getting off at that stop? (If so try to change it to her house) If there are others how are they dealing with the wide range of times? could you get another mother at the bus stop to pick him up and walk him to the sitters if it's on her way home? This sounds difficult, I hope they will help you, Good luck
Make the call, you never know what they can/will do unless you ask.
I work on the schoolbus and I know my district will try to work with you any way possible. Call the transportation office and explain the issue to them and I am sure some kind of agreement can be reached.
Call transportation. Last year my son was the only one getting on at his bus stop. We live very close to the school and he was able to ride only because he was in K. I have 2 younger children, and I actually didn't really want to stand in the street with him in the middle of January when the snow is piled at the curb and there is no place to stand but the road... so I asked that they pick him up at our house (about 1/2 block from the stop) and they agreed. I did have to fill out a formal request, but had no problem getting the pick up changed. I can imagine that getting the stop changed for a Kindergartener would be very doable.
J.
Maybe you'd get no help fom the bus company, but why not try? I always thought that they couldn't let a kindergartrner off without an adult present. Definitely call and ta the manager of your route -- "hey I'm having this problem and I'm new at this so I thought you could help guide me through it"
Drop off times will vary for just those reasons - number of students on the bus, traffic patterns, weather. My son has been a bus rider for years and I know to allow at least a 10 minute variance on his drop (and pick up) times. Since mine is in 10th grade now it is not a big deal for us anymore.
With that being said, since your child is so young, I would definitely call the transportation dept. (here we call it the bus barn) and ask if the bus could drop him off in front of the sitters house. It is a reasonable request and surely not that much out of the way for the driver.
Good Luck !!!
You will get ZERO help from the transportation department. In my area, even stopping in front of the house does not help. They are not allowed to honk and I can't sit at the door waiting for that 30 minute window of time. My house is closed up tight as a drum. So I can't hear the bus.
The only thing she can do is park up the street ahead of time. Then walk the kids up the street and have them sit in the van or car with the motor on and heat on. That way, she can read stories to the kids and wait for the bus. However, if she doesn't have that many seats or car seats, someone could make an issue of it, even though she wouldn't actually be driving the kids anyplace.
Hello, I would positively call transportation. I don't think they can leave a child that young until there is an adult there to meet him, but I would certainly make sure. You could ask for them to drop him off at her home. I'm not sure that you can change the drop off. I worked at an elementary school and after I got off, I would go to care for a high school special ed student at his home. The driver was not supposed to be there until 2:50 and I would get there around 2:30. Most of the time the bus would get there just after I did, but occasionally, they would be there when I got there. One time, I came around the corner and the bus was moving. I got out of my car as it came to a stop. I told the driver that he was early and that he needed to make sure he waited until I was there to unload my friend. I told him that I was okay with him getting there early, but that I was coming from my other job and I knew that he had to wait until the "drop off" time before he was allowed to leave. The actual bus drop was next door to his home, but all but one of the drivers would stop at my friend's home. They really want to accomodate the parents and people picking up the students.
Good luck with your precious little boy.
K. K.
I can certainly see the problem here! I think you should call the transportation office. Does the driver have a cell phone where he could call her when he's at the stop before your child's stop so she'll know when to go out? That doesn't seem too problematic to me, but I just about bet they won't go the extra mile. I like the idea of putting the car down the street and then walking the other children down there to sit in the car. If you're worried about a ticket for not enough car seats, even though you're not driving, I would suggest what should be done when you've had a bit too much to drink and want to pull over and sleep it off. If you are in possession of the keys, even if he motor isn't running, you can still get a DUI. So, I would either have the kids sitting in the car with the sitter standing outside or, if it's too cold, put the keys in the trunk and everyone sit in the car. That way, law enforcement should not be able to ticket her because she's not driving and the keys are not accessible from the passenger area of the vehicle. Seems like a hassle but I don't know what else to suggest. Good luck! Why does EVERYTHING have to be so difficult?
I too, have a kindergartner who is dropped off/picked up at daycare. My husband used to be a bus driver. Honestly, there is not really anything you can do. The time varies because of different variables. Sometimes there is a child missing, so your child may get there earlier, sometimes there is a bus malfunction, a new driver, traffic, etc. Last Friday, my son, who usually gets dropped off between 3:40 and 4pm, did not show up until 4:45. The regular bus driver called out sick, and the "cover" driver, was lost. Transportation called and let me know of the situation, the driver himself called me, and he was not going to leave my son anywhere until he knew he was safe.
Where my son is, they dont wait outside for 20 min..they just watch out for the bus. Have the daycare provider get to know the regular driver, as it helps immensely. My son gets dropped off on the side entrance, because that is preferable to the daycare.
Please don't forget to follow up to this question. I really want to hear what happens. I hope you get it resolved. I can see being late for whatever reason (bus breaksdown, new driver, etc) but if the bus is running 30 minutes early it seems he should be driving slower and sitting at stops a little longer to get it back on the regular schedule. It is called a bus schedule for a reason and it should not fall out of a 10 minute window.
