Young Boy Lost In Scheduling SNAFU
By LisaAKAmom
09-22-08
Young Boy Lost In Scheduling SNAFU
Child arrives to empty home
By Jennifer Emert. rurl.org/10h4
Albany, GA (WALB) - A six year old boy was found wandering Albany streets after being dropped off by a school bus driver.
Dougherty County students got out of class early Wednesday, and when the special needs student was dropped off at home, his parents weren't there.
The parents say the bus driver didn't follow procedure for ensuring the child was left in someone's care.
This story has a happy ending, but John and Nakelya August worry if there is a next time, the outcome may be different. That's why they've asked the school system to have their bus drivers be more cautious, especially with special needs students.
John August got a ride home from Live Oak Elementary school from his mother. After Wednesday's adventure she wouldn't chance another early dismissal.
"My child had been wandering five blocks over the neighborhood. He got out at 12:30, we found out at three o'clock," said His mother, Nakelya August.
The Augusts didn't realize Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are early dismissal days for parent teacher conferences. The school sent home a notice, but they apparently didn't see it.
"There are multiple ways we inform parents about a change in school schedule and one of them is a letter that went home last week about the parent teacher conferences," said DCSS Public Information Director R. D. Harter.
The bus driver dropped off John in front of his home and the driver looked to see if the family's door was cracked, a mutually agreed sign that someone was there. The bus drove off, but six-year-old John was locked out. He began walking, his parents think toward Westgate where his grandmother lives.
"He could have been hit by a car, bitten by a dog, someone could have taken him and we wouldn't have known anything," said his mom.
Unable to communicate because of Autistic traits, he finally knocked on a stranger's door. "He walked up to someone's house and knocked on the door and I guess they saw that he's a special child so they took precautions and called police. Thank God for that because if he would of knocked on the wrong person's door I would never know what happened to my baby," his mother says.
+ Read more: rurl.org/10h4
Child arrives to empty home
By Jennifer Emert. rurl.org/10h4
Albany, GA (WALB) - A six year old boy was found wandering Albany streets after being dropped off by a school bus driver.
Dougherty County students got out of class early Wednesday, and when the special needs student was dropped off at home, his parents weren't there.
The parents say the bus driver didn't follow procedure for ensuring the child was left in someone's care.
This story has a happy ending, but John and Nakelya August worry if there is a next time, the outcome may be different. That's why they've asked the school system to have their bus drivers be more cautious, especially with special needs students.
John August got a ride home from Live Oak Elementary school from his mother. After Wednesday's adventure she wouldn't chance another early dismissal.
"My child had been wandering five blocks over the neighborhood. He got out at 12:30, we found out at three o'clock," said His mother, Nakelya August.
The Augusts didn't realize Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are early dismissal days for parent teacher conferences. The school sent home a notice, but they apparently didn't see it.
"There are multiple ways we inform parents about a change in school schedule and one of them is a letter that went home last week about the parent teacher conferences," said DCSS Public Information Director R. D. Harter.
The bus driver dropped off John in front of his home and the driver looked to see if the family's door was cracked, a mutually agreed sign that someone was there. The bus drove off, but six-year-old John was locked out. He began walking, his parents think toward Westgate where his grandmother lives.
"He could have been hit by a car, bitten by a dog, someone could have taken him and we wouldn't have known anything," said his mom.
Unable to communicate because of Autistic traits, he finally knocked on a stranger's door. "He walked up to someone's house and knocked on the door and I guess they saw that he's a special child so they took precautions and called police. Thank God for that because if he would of knocked on the wrong person's door I would never know what happened to my baby," his mother says.
+ Read more: rurl.org/10h4
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