A Collier County mother experienced a frightening situation when her children were dropped off at the wrong bus stop.
This incident took place at DeSoto South, although the children were supposed to be dropped off at DeSoto North.
The Collier County School District is now explaining how this mix-up occurred.
The district transports roughly 20,000 students to public schools every day, with just under 13,000 bus stops. When the school district learned about what happened, they acted immediately.
They described the incident as a “perfect storm” involving a new family, a new route, and a new driver.
Sarah Baker, the mother of the children involved, shared her experience.
“My daughter cried, and well, all three of my kids they don’t want to ride the bus at all, like, they’re begging me never to ride the bus again,” said Baker.
Baker is a mother of three young children, ages 5, 7, and 10. On Monday, her excitement turned to panic when she received a shocking call from her kids during their first bus ride home.
“So my kids first time riding the bus home, they put them on the right bus, they said, and the bus driver got DeSoto South and DeSoto North mixed up. They dropped the kids off,” said Baker.
According to Baker, her children realized something was wrong and tried to communicate with the bus driver that they were not at their designated stop.
“‘Hey, this isn’t my stop. I don’t see my house, and I don’t see my mom; she said she would be outside,’” said Baker.
Collier County Public School’s best practice states that children should only be let off the bus if they can see an adult or parent, especially for younger students like Baker’s kindergartner.
“All three of my kids told them that this wasn’t their stop, that wasn’t their house, and they didn’t see their mom. The school policy is if unless they see someone with a kindergarten or that they’re not allowed off the bus,” said Baker.
In response to this distressing mix-up, the school district took immediate action. The principal personally went out to locate the children, ensuring their safety was a top priority.
“The principal, I mean, she was very helpful. She said that she got in her car and started driving and looking for the kids,” said Baker.
Baker believes this incident could have endangered her children’s safety and is calling for better training and oversight for school bus drivers.
Chad Oliver, a representative from the school district, emphasized the importance of their best practices.
“As a best practice, you want to drop off a kindergarten student to an actual parent or guardian at that stop, and in this situation, that obviously didn’t happen,” said Oliver. “As a best practice, you want to make sure that our youngest riders, our kindergarten students, are dropped off with a parent or guardian present at the stop.”
The Collier School Board plans to review the bus footage from that day to gain a better understanding of what happened and to ensure that such an incident does not occur again.
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