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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
 Posted - 07/10/2010 : 9:39:46 PM
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School bus monitor's clean record cited in Richmond case
A new Substitute School Bus Driver, and a Bus Monitor for more than 30 years working for the Richmond school system, both charged with felony child neglect.
By Reed Williams and Joe Mackenka, Staff Writers
July 10, 2010
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Richmond, Va. -- A bus monitor charged in the case of a 5-year-old autistic boy who was left on a school bus for about an hour had no previous complaints against her in more than 30 years working for the Richmond school system, her attorney said yesterday.
Michele Chiocca spoke on Irene Jenkins' behalf by telephone after Jenkins and the bus driver, Alvin Matthews, were arraigned in court yesterday on one count each of felony child neglect.
Chiocca said Jenkins has worked as a bus monitor throughout her more than 30 years with the school system, adding that Jenkins now has been placed on administrative leave.
"This is an unfortunate situation," Chiocca said. She declined to discuss the facts of the case.
Felicia Cosby, a spokeswoman for Richmond schools, said she was unable to confirm whether Jenkins had any previous complaints against her, calling it a personnel matter.
Jenkins, 60, of Manuel Street in Chesterfield County, and Matthews, 43, of Gloucester Street in Hopewell, made initial appearances yesterday before Judge Ashley K. Tunner of Richmond Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.
Jenkins said during the hearing that she had retained Chiocca. The public defender's office was appointed to represent Matthews.
The judge set preliminary hearings for both defendants for Aug. 23.
Neither defendant would comment outside the courtroom. Both are free on bond.
Richmond authorities on Thursday charged Matthews and Jenkins in the case of a boy with autism and asthma who was left for about an hour on a city school bus for children with special needs.
The child was left on the bus late Tuesday morning and ended his trip at the city's school bus depot instead of at Summer Hill for a summer educational program.
Authorities said the child, discovered a little before 11 a.m. when a driver walking through the depot heard a faint cry, was checked out at CJW Medical Center (Chippenham) and released to his family.
Authorities said the bus was not running and had its windows up at the time the child was left behind. According to the National Weather Service, the temperature in Richmond was 91 degrees at 10 a.m. that day and 96 degrees at 11 a.m.
Matthews was described as a substitute driver hired by the school system in March.
Cosby said earlier this week that neither Matthews nor Jenkins had been on a bus since Tuesday, but she declined to say whether either had been fired.
A court document signed by Matthews listed him as unemployed.
Click Here for source
School bus driver from Hopewell charged with felony child neglect
If convicted, Matthews and Jenkins face up to five years behind bars.
FROM STAFF REPORTS
July 10, 2010
progress-index.com
HOPEWELL - A Hopewell man who works as a school bus driver faces felony child neglect charges after a 5-year-old boy was left on a Richmond school bus for about an hour.
Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Mary E. Langer said the driver, 43-year-old Alvin Matthews, and the monitor, 60-year-old Irene Jenkins of Chesterfield County, were each charged Thursday with one neglect count.
Both defendants were arraigned yesterday morning and released on bond. Neither would comment following the arraignments.
The boy has autism and asthma. Richmond school officials say he was riding a school bus Tuesday morning to Summer Hill Elementary School for a summer educational program. He was still on the bus when it returned to the school bus depot.
According to media reports, Richmond Schools Superintendent Yvonne W. Brandon said in a prepared statement: "The behavior exhibited on Tuesday is inexcusable and does not reflect the quality of professionalism we uphold in the district," she said. "Swift and appropriate personnel actions have already been taken."
If convicted, Matthews and Jenkins face up to five years behind bars.
Click Here for source
UPDATED 07/01/2010
Death at the school bus stop booklet (pdf) Updated 07/01/2010 - Click Here for Link (Thread Post #4)
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Edited by - JK on 07/11/2010 03:10:24 AM
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2010 : 10:02:23 PM
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After bus incident, assurance needed from school officials
By Michael Paul Williams, Times-Dispatch Columist
July 10, 2010
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Richmond, Va. -- Driving a school bus is not rocket science.
Shuttling students safely from Point A to Point B should be the most difficult part of the job, given that drivers must navigate through child misconduct and text-messaging motorists. Checking the bus at the end of the ride to make sure no child is left behind should be the least complicated part of the equation.
So it's inexplicable when the nearly tragic occurs, as was the case in Richmond on Tuesday when a 5-year-old autistic boy landed at the city's bus depot instead of at Summer Hill Elementary School.
The child was discovered on a parked bus a little before 11 a.m. when a driver walking through the depot heard a faint cry. Paramedics and police were summoned, but the child was OK.
Still, since the stranded boy has asthma and the temperature in Richmond that day reached 103, this could have ended badly.
City bus drivers are supposed to walk the bus to make sure nothing -- lunches, backpacks, a sleeping child -- is left behind. This drill is pretty much the industry standard.
And yet, children get left behind on school buses more often than you might think -- at least one expert with the National Association for Pupil Transportation has estimated it happens 75 times annually nationwide.
Just this week, the Portsmouth School Board was seeking court approval of a $15,000 settlement in a case involving a child left unattended on a school bus in March 2007. The child reportedly was treated for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
In April, a 2-year-old boy in Brooklyn, N.Y., was left on a school bus for two hours after the driver forgot to drop him off at day care, leaving the boy in the parked bus outside the driver's home until a passer-by heard him crying.
Also in April, an 8-year-old deaf student riding a special-needs bus in Las Vegas was forgotten and left alone in the bus yard. And in Tift County, Ga., a child was left on a primary-school bus.
In the Richmond case, prosecutors have charged the driver and bus monitor with one count each of felony child neglect, which carries a maximum of five years in prison if they're convicted.
Driver Alvin Matthews, 43, of Hopewell and bus monitor Irene Jenkins, 60, of Chesterfield County are innocent until proven guilty and will have their day in court. Perhaps the evidence will provide a plausible explanation as to how a child -- one of only seven on the bus Tuesday -- somehow went undetected.
People are imperfect. Mistakes are made. But in the heat of summer and the cold of winter, the margin of error is slender, the consequences potentially dire.
Police are investigating this incident, but that won't be enough. There can be no whiff of systemic failure.
Richmond school officials must convince the community -- particularly the parents who entrust their children to bus drivers -- that what happened Tuesday reflects a breakdown on one bus and not an affliction of the fleet.
Click Here for source
NEW FOR 2010 SCHOOL YEAR!
Stopping bullying on the school buses - Fast Track slide presentation to help stop bullying on the school buses. Includes class handouts. Free to use in self-study, for class training, and for presentation to the school board. Click Here for Link (See Post # 14)
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Edited by - JK on 07/10/2010 10:54:22 PM |
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WallyG
Advanced Member
United States
255 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2010 : 05:32:32 AM
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| Maybe of a few go to jail for child neglect the road warriors will get the idea that it is something they must do, CHECK THE FREAKING BUS it is not rocket science, just check the bus. |
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Former School Bus M8
Senior Member
143 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2010 : 6:59:50 PM
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How many people does it take to check a bus for a sleeping student? Apparently more than 2 people in this case. No Excuse! |
School Bus M8 |
Edited by - Former School Bus M8 on 07/11/2010 7:02:37 PM |
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2010 : 11:18:53 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Former School Bus M8
How many people does it take to check a bus for a sleeping student? Apparently more than 2 people in this case.No Excuse!
Would suppose it depends on how inconvenienced beyond the claims, politics, and the outrageous slandering/libel remarks promoted against school bus drivers in the press. Where the drivers choose not push back, not a problem really.
Using the bus driver/monitor as scapegoats rather than replacing simplistic preventative methods sidetracks resolving this issue in an effective manner. Next would seem the necessity to counter the thrill some have with a lynching.
And now a 60-year-old woman and bus monitor throughout her 30 years with the school system stayed one day too long and is suddenly under threat of prison. An action that would rehabilitate her to become a decent person? And a new sub driver prepped by their own school district and the press for a lynching as well?
The child was not in any danger at the point in the event the story presents and regardless of the promoted slogans and myths.
No excuse for something alleged this important not to have a fail-safe monitoring procedure in place. Obviously, the current standard does not catch some 5,000 children left sleeping on the school buses every year.
Since you seem to be a former school bus driver you are no longer vulnerable to making the same mistake, which is an option I recommend to bus drivers working in a hostile workplace. Where the workplace is hostile leave that workplace at least one day before making the this thread's mistake. Guess on the side of leaving sooner, not later.
All are vulnerable, those that say they will never miss a sleeping child are the drivers that trouble me the most. I have more trust in a driver that has made this thread's mistake and now understands the reality of checking the bus, and also accepts that multiple checks at every school and at the end of the each route before returning to the parking area are necessary procedures. It may be second best but I will take that over a driver that claims he or she will never miss this procedure.
I'm still somewhat amazed to see school bus drivers from various facilities ignoring this procedure at schools and on trips. Some of these seem not to have the experience or interdependent motivation from management to follow this procedure every time. It is so very easy for a manager to catch a missed post trip child check in his or her own facility's parking lot or at the schools.
Where that is just too hard there remains the comfort from sitting in a chair while the manager, office staff or both note a few minutes of random driver videos in a comfortable air conditioned environment where available.
I can agree to no excuses for management as well.
None of this issue’s levels of responsibility have to do with excuses, in my opinion, but with doing what protects the child before one is left sleeping on the school bus. Catch those missed checks before a child is ever left sleeping on a school bus.
No rocket science here either. (jk)
Do your managers know new legal threat of workplace bullying?
June 11, 2010 by Tim Gould
Click Here for full story
NEW FOR 2010 SCHOOL YEAR!
Stopping bullying on the school buses - Fast Track slide presentation to help stop bullying on the school buses. Includes class handouts. Free to use in self-study, for class training, and for presentation to the school board. Click Here for Link (See Post # 14) |
Edited by - JK on 07/12/2010 10:51:29 PM |
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WallyG
Advanced Member
United States
255 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2010 : 05:02:55 AM
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WOW there you go again, seems like you are mitigating the sleeper you may leave some day.
Blame management for what, drivers have been trained, reminded and given tools. IN this case 2 missed the boat, both probably thought the other did the check, it is always an experienced driver or attendant who misses the check. Perhaps there should be age limits on them???
What part of CHECK the bus is not coming through. |
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Mr. Dave
Senior Member
United States
120 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2010 : 04:48:40 AM
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| I am still waiting for an answer on the potty break issue. |
Shiny side up
Greasy side down |
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WallyG
Advanced Member
United States
255 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2010 : 05:25:35 AM
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Dave I must have missed it if the question is posed for me please ask it again.
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2010 : 08:40:09 AM
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<< Mr. Dave asked management members on this forum this question on 05/27/2010 : 3:03:47 PM
"It seems the need for a restroom break was a contributing factor to the shoddy post trip. When you got to go ,you got to go! It is inhumane to ignore the discomfort come embarrassment this causes the employee. Come on managers, I know you’re out there. How do we solve this?" >>
He asked again on 05/28/2010 : 8:33:02 PM
Do your managers know about new legal threat of workplace bullying?
June 11, 2010 by Tim Gould
Click Here for full story
NEW FOR 2010 SCHOOL YEAR!
Stopping bullying on the school buses - Fast Track slide presentation to help stop bullying on the school buses. Includes class handouts. Free to use in self-study, for class training, and for presentation to the school board. Click Here for Link (See Post # 14)
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Edited by - JK on 07/13/2010 08:54:53 AM |
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2010 : 08:42:37 AM
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<< "WOW there you go again, seems like you are mitigating the sleeper you may leave some day." ... "What part of CHECK the bus is not coming through." >>
What part of management's supervisory responsibility to make sure post-trips happen is not coming through?
Would suppose the age limit would have to be, oh, gee, about eighteen or so. Probably lower as time and experience proceeded using the current terminate upon event standard where used.
You are partly right. Although I check the school bus multiple times throughout the routes -- at every school, at large off-street stops, and prior to returning to the parking area -- and have done so for many years after awareness here in this forum concerning this issue. Regardless, I'm as vulnerable as anyone else to missing a sleeping child. There is no aura of protection for me or anyone else, including you was it that you got behind the wheel of a school bus or rode along as a monitor.
To my good fortune is an interdependent employer management style workplace that is no longer out to use their school bus drivers as scapegoats.
The airlines know how to properly present their employees and themselves in the press when a lost child is found hundreds of miles from his or her intended destination. Angry parents of misdirected kids found hundreds of miles form their departure point in that industry say the same thing parents say to this industry. But airline management knows how to turn a lemon into lemonade. To the airline workers and their management: You can thank God Laidlaw Airlines didn't become a reality in your industry.
The treatment of both a 60-year-old woman and bus monitor throughout her 30 years with the school system, and also a new sub driver under discussion concerning the same event is as fascinating in it's spectrum of worker experience as it is also so vastly outrageous; and so obviously crippling to this industry's desire for decent school bus drivers and monitors where that applies.
Leave a child - Go to prison
... is now worse than what Laidlaw sparked in their promotions. What happened to Laidlaw? Where is Laidlaw?
The part you miss is that I am no longer debating this issue with you or anyone else. I'm simply and continuously discussing in this forum and at hundreds of other resources throughout the year that decent school bus drivers have the option to leave the hostile workplace before used as a scapegoat or worse, be that concerning this issue, bullying in the workplace, or any other offensive workplace anomaly.
Would think myself that you would fully support this option that gets rid of these so-called flaky bus drivers before they screw-up. Makes your job much easier other than perhaps administrations having to force teachers and management staff to drive the buses. That might not be very convenient but should solve the problem with then really intelligent people behind the wheel of your school buses.
I realize that my position concerning this thread's issue, which I have held for well over a decade is not one that favors me with some political agendas, their special self-interests, and other power players in this industry and their self-interests. Realized that early on. Very early on. My Dad said that I’m like a yo-yo without strings. Flip me any direction you want and I still come back to my origin.
I am not alone to realize that to abandon the decent in this industry for the sake of pleasing my ambitions, be that also included abandoning the decent within management and also within the bureaucracy, for me to do so would include ignoring the decent in and outside our industry. Might not be the case for everyone, but probably applies to me based on my occupational ethics.
There is more to me than money and position can provide. But at the same time I'm as ambitious about the worth of the well behaved having the run as most assert they also want. Everyone claims they are looking for the best, but rather than cultivating that within the current workforce too many in this industry are continuously looking to the next kids, the next parents, the next driver, the next contractor or TD, the next superintendent, the next school board, and the next charismatic leader to provide that vision.
What do you get when that vision does not happen? Worse to come?
My position is not actually about protecting the decent or the malbehaved. Were that the case I would be emotionally drained after a decade of trying to fix others. My task is to be found helping to restore this industry's environment - one day at a time, one post at a time - so that the well behaved at every level might be reminded that they can restore this industry themselves.
You and others like-minded help provide a method for discussion to happen, and also provide me and any also like-minded with opportunity to remind the well behaved at all levels that they can have the run of this industry. They need first deal with themselves and their fears, then accept the task to restore their agenda one day at a time.
The malbehaved misuse fear to get their way. The well behaved use hope. When uncertain concerning which is which - Don't drink the Kool-Aid! (JK)
"Looking for a child on a bus, on the surface, seems to be a very simple task that, underneath the surface, is much more difficult [than] what we realize." ~ Kathleen Furneaux, executive director of the Syracuse-based Pupil Transportation Safety Institute.
Do your managers know about new legal threat of workplace bullying?
June 11, 2010 by Tim Gould
Click Here for full story
NEW FOR 2010 SCHOOL YEAR!
Stopping bullying on the school buses - Fast Track slide presentation to help stop bullying on the school buses. Includes class handouts. Free to use in self-study, for class training, and for presentation to the school board. Click Here for Link (See Post # 14)
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Edited by - JK on 07/25/2010 10:20:40 AM |
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bus724
Top Member
USA
1609 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2010 : 09:23:35 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Mr. Dave
I am still waiting for an answer on the potty break issue.
I've had an urgent situation when returning to the yard from time to time. I can do a sleeper check in less than 30 seconds if I move fast - run to the back of the bus quickly scanning, drop down to the floor to check under the rear seats, push myself back up, push my CCM button to avoid accusations of skipping the check, then run to the front, quickly scanning again, grab my key and safety vest, and hall a** across the parking lot to the porta-potty.
Depending on management's attitude at your facility, you could probably request assistance via radio with a discreet phrase such as "I'm not feeling well, can you please assist me with my post-trip?"
5 years in prison is way too harsh, I'd compare that to cutting off someone's hand for stealing a candy bar.
Immediate termination for a single mistake by an otherwise good driver is also too harsh. However, when the post-check is missed because of not caring, I would argue that a driver with such an attitude has no place behind the wheel of a bus.
Some drivers are dedicated to safely transporting children, and will do whatever it takes to prevent making a mistake.
Some drivers just drive for the paycheck and convenient hours, and only do the bare minimum to keep their jobs. These are the ones who are most likely to leave a child behind, and these are the ones who will ignore the constant barrage of sleeping child safety messages from management at some companies.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. FS's attitude of training by repetition doesn't work. Those of us who care have already gotten the message. Those who don't care never will. |
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2010 : 11:12:15 AM
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Fascinating that a school bus driver, not a manager, first provides a possible answer to the question after the driver with the question waited months for an answer from management members.
I can also see where the time mentioned to do the check simply, frankly, and factually may not be available, especially the effect from dropping to the floor and pushing up again. Damaged bladders from holding too long over years of abuse becomes a chronic health issue for children and adults. The bladder damaged and the muscles stop working properly urine can then pass without any additional pressure.
A bully management style refuses to acknowledge the human body's reality which may include injury to children and also adults, including life-threatening infections. For what reason? To teach a lesson?
I simply do not tolerate ignoring a child's necessity to urinate, will accommodate best can by stopping at the nearest school with an escort to the restroom. To continue driving causing additional injury to the child is not available with me behind the wheel of a school bus or any other vehicle I happen to be driving.
The penalty for delaying the bus in route can certainly include a call to the parent and a citation if that is what the district wishes, or some other response that does not include additional risk to a child's health.
Kids will down drinks before boarding not realizing that drinks at lunch are already near triggering the necessity to urinate. I may remind the riders to remember a visit to the restroom before boarding the bus, and remind the school to also remind the students.
My answer to the drivers concerning this issue is also one that considers the driver's health, but myself would like to see a manager first step up with an acceptable answer. It's been months since that question was posed, management seems a bit behind the eight ball on this one.
The last three paragraphs in your post bring question. I understand the philosophy behind the statements, however may be a fallacy that employers have trained you to think. Everyone drives for the paycheck. Easily verified by simply telling the drivers the district positions they hold are now voluntary and without pay. How many would remain?
Although true some might do the bare minimum, then also please remember that the bare minimum is certainly acceptable. Managers that want more than the bare minimum must earn that want from the help. The lazy manager demands it. The leader cultivates for it to blossom within his or her department and in its own season.
Finally, the last sentence is also company training and usually a fallacy, myself dare not think otherwise and remain in trust of your otherwise good judgments. Anyone, including you and also me are vulnerable to missing a sleeping child.
The story in this thread presents a fascinating example of that reality: A thirty year employee and also a new sub missing the procedure. I find no evidence that either did so deliberately or that either were just lazy people. They more likely are no different than the rest of us that are vulnerable to missing a procedure, including this one.
This issue has nothing or virtually nothing to do with laziness and that sort of thing. The lazy assertion is a false assumption that needs remedied. It is a #2 assumption per se  , it is not a marker, in my opinion.
How is a false assumption remedied? Clearly management members in this forum have presented no valid answer.
I might say understanding the human condition and the accompanying realities might help. (jk)
Do your managers know about new legal threat of workplace bullying?
June 11, 2010 by Tim Gould
Click Here for full story
NEW FOR 2010 SCHOOL YEAR!
Stopping bullying on the school buses - Fast Track slide presentation to help stop bullying on the school buses. Includes class handouts. Free to use in self-study, for class training, and for presentation to the school board. Click Here for Link (See Post # 14)
Correction - I get em' mixed up, too many relatives.
Afterthought: My grandmother's sister was a very responsible and intelligent nun/teacher in a Catholic Abbey/Monastery/Seminary, and also a famous painter. She lived at work and was incredibly dedicated to her students. Knowing what I know, never, ever would I want her driving a school bus after retiring, something she didn't do anyway, retiring that is until death from old-age made her retire. I know she made her share of mistakes. May she rest in peace God knowing she made no mistake deliberately. (jk) |
Edited by - JK on 07/13/2010 1:45:22 PM |
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bus724
Top Member
USA
1609 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2010 : 1:49:36 PM
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Although I am a driver, I have had management training. I also have enough common sense to understand "the human condition and the accompanying realities."
My comments about attitudes were not an assumption about the story in this thread. They were a sidebar commentary on the overall sleeping child issue, and I apologize for not wording them to reflect that intention.
There's a huge difference between people who are dedicated to the job and work for the paycheck and those who ONLY work for the paycheck. Would any of us drive if the position were completely voluntary? Probably not. But many choose to continue driving even if a different position with similar compensation and qualifications is readily available.
Those statements are not an opinion that employers have "trained me to think," those are based on my own personal observations of drivers' attitudes and behavior at several different companies and terminals. Your previous posts suggest that you work at a facility with effective management, and it's possible that you are fortunate enough to not have co-workers with this type of attitude.
The problem I have is with people who follow a procedure and do the bare minimum only because it's required, as opposed to those who do it because it helps to protect children. I check my bus to keep the kids safe, and would do so even if this step were optional. I see people who check their bus only because they have been told they will be fired if they don't. Such policies fix the symptom (buses not being checked) but not the problem (drivers not caring).
I never once said that I am perfect, or guaranteed that I will never miss a post-check. However, I will always care about the safety of the children I transport, and will continue to make every effort to protect them.
Maybe saying "those who don't care never will" was too harsh. It was meant to be a commentary against the repetition management style at First Student. I see no change in the negative attitudes mentioned above, despite years of this type of training. |
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2010 : 3:19:41 PM
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I’m compelled to apologize for too many in this industry's attitude for that which what you are looking for from your fellow drivers. Not nearly enough nuns and monks are available to drive school bus for hostile employers. They are very busy cultivators of their faith and already plenty busy being scapegoats by choice because of their faith.
There are plenty of the caring sorts at the level you describe wanting at your workplace, but most of these know too much about some employers to be attracted to those workplaces.
Does your employer terminate the employee on the first offense if a child is found unharmed while sleeping alone on one of your school buses?
Is ...
Leave a child - Go to prison
... the new slogan for school bus drivers in your community?
What an employer has is what the employer has cultivated in the workplace, with some exceptions. You may be an exception, above the norm. Happens sometimes.
Knowing that you are not intending to do this thing of 'better than' -- I myself refuse to present myself as better than because of whatever reason I do what I do, and for some reason some don't do what I do.
I would consider myself the least among my fellows, a necessary self-imposed mindset to keep my mind interested in learning what my fellows need to achieve beyond what they think they can achieve or even want too achieve. To let myself be the least among my fellows and still achieve is adequate.
The minimum is acceptable to me as are the persons that consistently meet that expectation. Nothing more would I ask from these and nothing more would I expect to get if I did ask. The minimum is normal and acceptable to me.
Those that post here in agreement or disagreement with this or that, these are achievers that have exceeded what I would expect from this membership, and did it themselves. Nobody made anyone post here that I know of. Great are they. But also the reader has achieved and great are these as well.
When the workplace is cultivated to be attractive to the most caring out there, then this desire will arrive in its own season to dominate that workplace. As the desire grows in achievement the rest either eventually catch up when encouraged without harm intended. The shrinking remainder eventually feels out of place and most of these drift on to the next employer. Misery loves company.
Management has a great deal of control over what style of employee they hire, but so very often hire what they themselves are. If that is underachievement, than that is what they hire, unless a mistake happens and they somehow end up with someone like you.
Achievement is first obvious in their management style, easily recognized by the potential workforce in their community.
Understand that every time the hostile employer open their mouths in the press they most clearly present what they are to their community’s potential workforce. I have warned about this reality over and over with all sorts of references and still some fight those warnings.
The best employees usually want to be found with the best employers, not always but usually. Sometimes that may involve the employees cultivating their employer to achieve, an anomaly that exists where the help believes they can cultivate their employer to greater achievement.
That rarely is how it happens, which then leaves us with another best option that I present where relevant when reading these threads ...
Do not meander about in your career. Do the work to find specific the best employer and go there. (jk)
"Looking for a child on a bus, on the surface, seems to be a very simple task that, underneath the surface, is much more difficult [than] what we realize." ~ Kathleen Furneaux, executive director of the Syracuse-based Pupil Transportation Safety Institute.
Do your managers know about new legal threat of workplace bullying?
June 11, 2010 by Tim Gould
Click Here for full story
NEW FOR 2010 SCHOOL YEAR!
Stopping bullying on the school buses - Fast Track slide presentation to help stop bullying on the school buses. Includes class handouts. Free to use in self-study, for class training, and for presentation to the school board. Click Here for Link (See Post # 14)
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Edited by - JK on 07/15/2010 01:20:27 AM |
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2010 : 4:03:57 PM
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HERE IS A SHORT REPORT THAT PROVIDES SOME ADDITIONAL DETAILS.
2 Charged After Boy Left on Richmond School Bus
Driver and monitor charged with neglect.
July 9, 2010
The Associated Press
WFLS News
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A substitute driver and a monitor face felony child neglect charges after a 5-year-old boy was left on a Richmond school bus for about an hour.
Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Mary E. Langer says the driver, 43-year-old Alvin Matthews of Hopewell, and the monitor, 60-year-old Irene Jenkins of Chesterfield County, were each charged Thursday with one neglect count.
Richmond schools spokeswoman Felicia Cosby says a monitor was assigned to the bus because it was for children with special needs.
The boy has autism and asthma. He was riding a school bus Tuesday morning to Summer Hill Elementary School for a summer educational program. He was still on the bus when it returned to the school bus depot.
Click Here for source
"Looking for a child on a bus, on the surface, seems to be a very simple task that, underneath the surface, is much more difficult [than] what we realize." ~ Kathleen Furneaux, executive director of the Syracuse-based Pupil Transportation Safety Institute.
Do your managers know about new legal threat of workplace bullying?
June 11, 2010 by Tim Gould
Click Here for full story
NEW FOR 2010 SCHOOL YEAR!
Stopping bullying on the school buses - Fast Track slide presentation to help stop bullying on the school buses. Includes class handouts. Free to use in self-study, for class training, and for presentation to the school board. Click Here for Link (See Post # 14) |
Edited by - JK on 07/15/2010 01:03:50 AM |
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2010 : 5:36:44 PM
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THIS IS INTERESTING. GUESS IT IS JUST TOO BAD THIS DIDN'T HAPPEN A YEAR AGO. DOES HELP BUT ONLY WHEN THE DRIVER IS NOT DELIBERATELY KEEPING A CHILD TIED UP AND HIDDEN ON THE BUS.
Safety devices for all Richmond school buses
In some states this safety measure for buses is mandatory, but not in Virginia. 83 of Henrico County's 400 buses have it. School leaders say they will add more as older buses are replaced.
By Rachel DePompa
Posted by Terry Alexander
Jul 13, 2010
WWBT TV 12 NEWS
RICHMOND, VA -- It's called a child reminder system. Buses will soon have alarms that force the driver to check the back of the bus. The city is adding the device to about 180 buses at a cost of $30,000.
The child reminder system will soon be on all Richmond city school buses. It's a measure, that was not in place last week, when little 4-year-old Nyheim Butler was accidentally left on a school bus for over an hour. He has autism and severe asthma. His driver and bus monitor both face a felony charge. This incident pushed city school officials to add the safety device to the entire fleet. ...
School Board Member Kim Bridges began asking about the safety alert feature for city school buses more than a year ago.
"It increases the chances if a child is on the back of a bus asleep that they'll see them. And get them off the bus," Bridges said.
She's had two of her children accidentally left on daycare buses. She says these incidents are traumatic for the children. ...
Click Here for full story
"Looking for a child on a bus, on the surface, seems to be a very simple task that, underneath the surface, is much more difficult [than] what we realize." ~ Kathleen Furneaux, executive director of the Syracuse-based Pupil Transportation Safety Institute.
Do your managers know about new legal threat of workplace bullying?
June 11, 2010 by Tim Gould
Click Here for full story
NEW FOR 2010 SCHOOL YEAR!
Stopping bullying on the school buses - Fast Track slide presentation to help stop bullying on the school buses. Includes class handouts. Free to use in self-study, for class training, and for presentation to the school board. Click Here for Link (See Post # 14) |
Edited by - JK on 07/13/2010 5:42:34 PM |
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bus724
Top Member
USA
1609 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2010 : 5:42:07 PM
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I'm sorry if my post offended. I don't expect perfection from anyone, any more than I expect it from myself. Perhaps if you worked with people who showed the attitude of not caring, you'd understand the point I'm trying to make. I don't consider myself "better than" anyone, but I do see drivers whose attitude and behavior concern me. I started in this industry working for one of the best companies, which is now out of business due to the owner's personal health issues, failure to properly delegate management, and failure to keep up with the changing corporate culture as the company expanded. I now work full-time for First Student, and part-time for a small, privately-owned charter company (considered to be among the best in the area in many ways.
You're right about the caring type not wanting to work for certain employers. I made the decision to work for First Student, because I wanted to drive a route in a specific town. I know many good drivers who wouldn't even consider working for this company.
Corporate management seems to have the attitude that all drivers are the uncaring type. Our training seems to be focused on programming us to drive like robots, and creating a policy to cover every possible situation (with dire consequences for failure to comply). It's insulting really - we're too stupid to remember on our own to check for sleeping children, too stupid to back up a bus, too stupid to decide on a safe driving style in different situations, too stupid to walk across a bus yard without getting run over. We can't be trusted to do a proper pre-trip, honestly report time worked, or drive the speed limit, so soon we'll have Zonar installed in every bus.
It doesn't surprise me that my employer can't attract quality employees, it just bothers me. Our local manager tries to be fair to us, but the company only lets her do so much. Top management has no respect for the bus drivers. A regional manager flat-out told us once that we're just "bodies to fill the drivers' seats."
Yes, my employer terminates for a first offense if a child is found unharmed alone on a bus, even if it's for less than a minute. They've terminated for a first offense of failing to do a proper check, even when no child was found on the bus. They've also terminated for a first-offense low-speed rear-end collision (foot slipped off the brake while behind another bus in a school loading zone), but Wally informed us in another thread that they've now eased up on that policy. Nothing about prison yet - to my knowledge, there is no effective or pending legislation in CT regarding criminal charges for leaving a child behind.
My employer has cultivated the employees it has. I do consider myself the exception, and I thank you for recognizing that. Unfortunately, there's little I can do to change things, as I have no intention of ever working for this company above the level of a driver. My conscience would not allow me to treat employees the way this company expects its managers to.
I'm just going to keep doing the best job I can every day, and sit back and wait for the giant to fall. |
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2010 : 6:43:11 PM
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<< "I'm sorry if my post offended." >>
There was nothing I can find that was offensive about any of your posts. Different perspective, different experiences, different points of view - don't know how any of that could be offensive in a forum that wants to actually discuss an issue. You presented your position very well, and if by chance someone would be offended, so what? Over the years I've probably offended many, and soon got over it. Say what you believe and change not a smidgen unless you see a valid reason yourself to do so. I like your posts and appreciate the time you take to write them. (jk)
"I had well over 62 friends on Facebook, but half unfriended me and the remaining ones were imaginary."
~ Jonathan Thymius
Do your managers know about new legal threat of workplace bullying?
June 11, 2010 by Tim Gould
Click Here for full story
NEW FOR 2010 SCHOOL YEAR!
Stopping bullying on the school buses - Fast Track slide presentation to help stop bullying on the school buses. Includes class handouts. Free to use in self-study, for class training, and for presentation to the school board. Click Here for Link (See Post # 14)
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Edited by - JK on 07/14/2010 10:38:31 AM |
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 07/16/2010 : 01:24:11 AM
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IGNORED? ANOTHER VETERAN DRIVER AND MONITOR MISS THE PROCEDURE WITH A CHILD LEFT ON BOARD. Another New Slogan: LEAVE A CHILD - $500.00 FINE.
Kindergarten student left on hot bus; driver admits mistake
Mason Stewart, 5, had nightmares after being left on a Shelbyville school bus for more than 30 minutes. The bus driver, who ignored a state law, and another school district employee apologized to the boy and his family.
Jul 15 2010
WXIN FOX 59 NEWS
Shelbyville, Ind. - Little Mason Stewart, 5, had nightmares the night after being left on a hot school bus, unattended for more than 30 minutes.
The Shelbyville student was supposed to be dropped off Wednesday morning at Loper Elementary School.
He fell asleep and went unnoticed by the driver and a teacher's aide.
Stewart got on the bus around 8:15 am and was not discovered until he was found wondering in the Shelby Central School District bus parking lot at 9:50 am.
"At first I thought that the bus was still driving then I realized it wasn't and there wasn't anybody on the bus," said Mason Stewart.
The boy's mother remembers being first scared and then later upset that a veteran driver and an aide would not follow routine procedure or a state law.
"At first I had just thought the bus was parked at school until I found out that it was in a parking lot far away from the school It is unacceptable," said Amanda Stewart.
A school district spokesperson says a recording from the bus video camera appears to confirm there was no check performed and that Mason Stewart was by himself more than 30 minutes from around 9:15 am to approximately 9:50 am.
"The driver and the aide have been removed from the route and are not participating in the program and will not until we have the results of the investigation," said Kim Owens.
Child Protective Services was notified as required.
The driver and aide apologized in person to the Stewart family, but the driver will likely not be able to talk her way out of the $500 fine required by the state law on the books just a year. ...
Click Here for full story & Video
Do your managers know about new legal threat of workplace bullying?
June 11, 2010 by Tim Gould
Click Here for full story
NEW FOR 2010 SCHOOL YEAR!
Stopping bullying on the school buses - Fast Track slide presentation to help stop bullying on the school buses. Includes class handouts. Free to use in self-study, for class training, and for presentation to the school board. Click Here for Link (See Post # 14) |
Edited by - JK on 07/16/2010 01:25:34 AM |
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2010 : 10:00:18 PM
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MORE ON SHELBYVILLE EVENT - THE DRAMA NOT PRESENT
Child fine after bus error
SCS: Driver, aide failed to check bus after drop-off
By Mark Swincher, News Editor
July 17, 2010
The Shelbyville News
Shelbyville, Ind. - Two Shelbyville Central Schools employees have been suspended from their jobs as bus driver and aide, respectively, after they left a child on a bus after dropping off children for the new Jump-start summer school program.
A 5-year-old boy, who had lain down in his seat for a nap during Wednesday morning’s pickup route, was fine and wearing his nametag when he was found exiting the unlocked bus. SCS Transportation Director Jeff Kolls encountered the boy just outside Kolls’ office in a fenced area at the bus garage at Blue River Career Center, 801 St. Joseph St., according to district spokeswoman Kim Owens. She said the boy was alone on the bus for about 30 minutes.
The boy was returned to the school while Kolls and school officials contacted the boy’s family, Owens said. He completed the day at Loper Elementary, and rode the bus home as usual.
The driver of the bus, a 16-year employee, and the aide, a seven-year employee, will be placed on a 30-day suspension without pay, effective Aug. 11, which is the first day of school, Owens said. Both employees had good records of employment at the time of the incident, she said, but they failed to conduct a full walk-through after dropping off the students Wednesday morning.
Owens said the driver dropped off the aide and proceeded to park the bus at the bus garage at approximately 9:20 a.m. At about 9:50, the boy woke up and left the bus. At that time, Kolls had left his office and encountered the boy, who told him that he had been asleep on the bus.
Owens said Kolls reported that the boy looked fine physically — like he had just woke up from a nap. She added that because the bus was going be driven a little while later, most of the windows had been left down, so it didn’t get too hot inside.
Owens said a review of the videotape on the bus confirmed that the driver and the aide failed to conduct the walk-through.
“Clearly, we had a breakdown within the communication between the driver and the aide,” Owens said. “We expect all drivers to check buses during routes — all routes, every day, no exceptions. These two employees are very upset about the situation.”
Owens said the boy’s mother was very concerned, but she was glad that it turned out fine in the end. ...
Click Here for source
Do your managers know about new legal threat of workplace bullying?
June 11, 2010 by Tim Gould
Click Here for full story
NEW FOR 2010 SCHOOL YEAR!
Stopping bullying on the school buses - Fast Track slide presentation to help stop bullying on the school buses. Includes class handouts. Free to use in self-study, for class training, and for presentation to the school board. Click Here for Link (See Post # 14)
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Edited by - JK on 07/18/2010 10:06:03 PM |
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 07/22/2010 : 08:42:46 AM
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NOT MUCH DETAIL - APPARENTLY NO REMINDER SYSTEM
Autistic boy left on school bus in Allentown
by Walter Perez
July 21, 2010
WPVI-TV 6 NEWS
ALLENTOWN, Pa. - July 21, 2010 (WPVI) -- There are tough questions for school and bus officials tonight after a 3-year-old child was left on a bus in Allentown, Lehigh County.
Justin, Sr. tells us, "About a half hour after he was supposed to be dropped off I called. I said, you know, 'Where's my son?' And they had no idea."
School officials quickly launched a search for the youngster. But it was another 40 minutes before Justin Styer and his wife got the call letting them know their son was found.
"He was asleep on the bus," said Styer. "And they were parked in the parking lot... they were done for the day. He was in the closed up bus on a hot summer day - no windows down... the bus was locked up."
The Styers took Justin to the Emergency Room where he was treated for mild dehydration.
Officials from the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit would not speak with Action News on camera, but the school's executive director sent us a statement saying, in part:
"The CLIU does not as a matter of practice share details of the results of internal investigations. However it does wish to note that the suggestion that the student was left unattended for over an hour appears at this stage of the investigation to be unsubstantiated." ...
Click Here for full story
2009 School Bus Related Deaths - A useful document when wanting a quick reference to deaths while discussing bus stop safety and when looking at updating school bus safety policies. Click Here for Link
(See Post #10)
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2010 : 04:38:12 AM
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Although no deaths have been found that have occurred on actual school buses, many have occurred in daycare and private vans, cars, SUV’s and pickups. These vehicles used by schools and daycare centers are dangerous environments if a child is left sleeping. When used as a bus these vehicles must have a child-check system installed, in my opinion. Absolutely can help protect a child that can die within a short time when trapped in a hot vehicle.
The article provided below did not condemn, it did provide some excellent suggestions, some of which can be used by schools and daycare providers when using these vehicles as buses:
First and foremost, always put your cell phone, purse, or briefcase, and anything else you'll need that day, on the floor of the backseat. When you retrieve it at the end of the ride, you'll notice your child.
Seat your younger (or quieter) child behind the front passenger seat, where he's most likely to catch your eye. Parks', Balfour's, and Edwards' babies all were behind the driver's side when they died.
Keep a teddy bear or other stuffed animal in the car seat when it's empty. When you put your child in the seat, move the animal to the front passenger seat, to remind you that your baby's on board.
Ask your child's baby sitter or day care provider to always phone you promptly if your child isn't dropped off as scheduled.
Make a habit of always opening the back door of your car after you park, to check that there's no kid back there.
Never assume someone else -- a spouse, an older child -- has taken a young kid out of her seat. Such miscommunication has led to more than a few hot-car deaths.
Invest in a device to help you remember small passengers. The Cars-N-Kids monitor plays a lullabye when the car stops and a child is in the seat ($29.95). The ChildMinder System sounds an alarm if you walk away and leave your child in the seat ($69.95).
Put visual cues in your office and home. Static-cling decals reminding you to check the car seat are available at Emmasinspirations.com and Kidsandcars.org.
HERE’S THE STORY
Tragedy in the backseat: Hot-car deaths
STORY HIGHLIGHTS: Death by hyperthermia has happened to about 450 children in the United States since 1998. An infant might die of hyperthermia in just 15 minutes on a 75-degree day. 60 percent of adults involved in hot-car tragedies face criminal charges. "Given the right scenario, I would say this can happen to anyone," says memory expert David Diamond, Ph.D., a scientist at the Veterans' Hospital in Tampa, Florida, who is often consulted on such cases. "It has nothing to do with how much parents love their kids. It is, to me, a tragic way of learning how the brain works."
By Melissa Balmain
July 7, 2010
Parenting.com
(Parenting.com) -- Each year about 37 babies and toddlers die when they are accidentally left strapped in car safety seats or become trapped in vehicles that rapidly heat up.
If you think this senseless tragedy couldn't happen to you, think again. ...
Click Here for full story
FREE School Bus Safety Ads & Photo Library - Post Check, Child Left Behind, Hostage Takeover, Bus Fire, Danger Zones and special effects photos now available Free to use at websites, in newsletters, memos, the local press, letters to parents and more.
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Edited by - JK on 07/27/2010 07:21:49 AM |
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Sub Driver & Bus Monitor in Court - Child left
