Bus driver- long, sorry

I'm trying not to over react, but dh just told me dds bus driver drove off while she was still standing in the aisle, in the first row, so it's not like the driver wouldn't have seen her standing there . This is her first year taking the bus. She's in kindergarten. We were told by multiple sources at the school that kids in K would get to sit in the first few rows of the bus. On the very first day of school, I watched her have to walk all the way towards the back of the bus bc she couldn't find a seat. Then she came home sitting towards the back too, and almost didn't get off the bus bc she didn't realize it was her stop. And the driver didn't tell her. I had to yell thru her window for her to get off. The next day I spoke to the driver nicely, saying I thought dd would get to be near the front. She pretty much said there's nothing she can do about it. But dd didn't seem to bothered by it, so I let it go. But today she didn't know where to sit. She's the last stop and the bus is packed when she gets on. So dh said she was looking for a seat and the driver just took off. Am I crazy or should she have helped her find a seat before driving off with a little kindergartener standing in the aisle. I'm trying to take deep breaths and not call the bus company or school and get the driver in trouble without talking to her directly first. But I don't know if i can wait until this afternoon wondering if dd got to school ok without falling down in the aisle. Is this just how it is when kids take the bus?

Re: Bus driver- long, sorry

I would be angry too and I really don't get upset over too much. Especially with the schools.
Try talking to the bus driver first with your concerns. Especially about her waiting to move till DD is buckled. In K my son would raise his hand after he's buckled to let the driver know it's ok to go then he would drive off. Now my boys are in 3rd and 1st. Rules are the 1st graders go to the front and then 2nd behind and the rest of the kids. The driver has been very good about this.
If the driver still doesn't listen then go to transportation with your concerns and school.

Re: Bus driver- long, sorry

Bus driver- long, sorry

I would call transportation, but honestly, I see this happen all the time. Seat belts aren't required on the bus, and I know the drivers don't give a crap if your kids are buckled or not. I see kids standing on the bus all the time when I'm behind the bus. One time, I was behind the bus, and kids were flipping me off while standing, the whole way down the road!!!! This was a K-2 school, so 2nd grade is the oldest! Little did they know that I was going to the same place they were...school! and I went right in to speak to the Principal!

Message edited 9/13/2017 9:21:06 AM.

Bus driver- long, sorry

I didn't expect her to care if they're buckled (even though ideally it would be preferred if they were) because I remember we never buckled when I was a kid, and I remember kids would stand all the time. But there's a difference between a kid choosing to stand and knowing to brace their body a certain way to stay upright , vs a very young child who is brand new to riding the bus who can't find a seat and has the bus start moving before she can sit.

I just looked at the transportation website for my district and the rules clearly stare that kindergarten students must be giving assigned seats in the front and all students must be seated when the bus is moving.

Re: Bus driver- long, sorry

I would call the principal.
I know in our school the principal's aide handles issues with the buses.
That is bullshitt, i'm sorry,
She needs to be seated

Message edited 9/13/2017 10:00:54 AM.

Bus driver- long, sorry

Call the principal. Tell them you want to know why the K kids are not sitting in the front on the bus. It is the principal who can fix that, not transportation. After they fix the seating issue the rest should fall into place. They know exactly how many K, 1 and 2s they have on the bus and there should be enough seats for them to sit no matter what. The rest of the grades can file to the back.

Re: Bus driver- long, sorry

I would call the principal and ask if they can pair her up with an older child on the bus to be a buddy. They can save a spot for her in the front.

Bus driver- long, sorry

I would be very angry - I would call the school first and maybe they can handle it with the bus company. It isn't the bus companies "rules" - its the school so let them call and get it straighten out.

Bus driver- long, sorry

Thanks for all the replies. I spoke to the driver when I got dd off the bus. She denied the dd was standing when she started driving, laughed it off and was like "no, she was sitting with her friends right behind me" while dh had seen her trying to figure out where to sit because her only 2 friends on the bus already had a 3rd child in their seat, so dd could not sit with them and had to find some where else to sit. So either she was lying and started driving knowing dd didn't have a seat, or she didn't know because she really didn't look behind her in her mirror first to check that dd was sitting before she took off. Both are bad to me because either way dds safety was at risk. I asked dd what happened and she said the bus started to move before she was sitting. So now dh and I will be watching closely to make sure it doesn't happen again, and if it does I will be calling the school right away.

Re: Bus driver- long, sorry

Re: Bus driver- long, sorry

No matter what they should be saving seats in the front for the K students. I would call the principal and ask that they confirm that is the policy and that it be better applied.

Re: Bus driver- long, sorry

Message edited 9/14/2017 10:25:56 AM.

Bus driver- long, sorry

I would call the bus company. In my district the kids have assigned seats. If they don't do that, than maybe request that they assign her a seat in the front.

Re: Bus driver- long, sorry

I would call the school - when there have been issues on my DS's bus in the past, the assistant principal has been good about going on the bus at the end of the day and reviewing the rules for bus conduct.

Also, it can be hard to talk to the bus driver in the middle of them driving the route, so you may want to call the transportation department to express your concerns -- we get a contact name and number when our bus pass/stop info comes home at the end of the summer.

I think, realistically, it is hard for the bus driver to focus on what is happening with the kids on the bus, given their primary responsibility is to drive the route safely and in a timely way. I wish our district had bus aides in the budget. So I don't know that I would expect the bus driver to wait for every child to sit before driving off when or always remind kids when to get off. But I do think it's reasonable to have the older kids sit in the back and leave the front seats for the kindergarteners, and that's what I would focus on when speaking to the district. I would also remind your DD to find a seat asap when getting on the bus and remember to pay attention at the stops.

Bus driver- long, sorry

All K are in the first few rows in our bus, And the bus driver also assigsn seat to make sure K are in the first few rows. Don't be afraid to call I just did becasue there bus in the morning til after school started one day and then they had a substistue bus driver that was yelling at the kids that she wasn't taking them home if tehy didn't behave and all this BS. I called the school and complained and so far teh bus has been on time and no complaintes about teh bus driver