I live in Kingwood and my grandson who is 6 attends Woodland Hills Elementary School. I can only imagine how hectic school must have been yesterday, being the last day before spring break, Nevertheless, my daughter called the school and told them she would pick her son up and not to put him on the bus. She spoke to someone in the office. I guess they got busy and the message was never relayed. If the lady in the office would have only relayed the message, all would have been okay. When my daughter got to the school, they said he was on the bus. They also told her protocol is if there is no adult present when the bus stops the child is brought back to the school. My daughter waited for the bus to return and she finally called a neighbor. She asked the neighbor to see if she saw the bus or Athens anywhere around the house. The neighbor checked around and did not see him....she went in the front door and there he was, sitting on the couch crying because he was scared and no one was home.
When the bus driver was questioned she claims a women with a dog said she was there to pick him up. When my daughter called the bus barn in Humble (where the buses are kept), the video was pulled to see what actually happened. It seems the bus driver lied. Not only did she lie, my grandson walked behind the bus to get to the house...out of the sight of the bus driver. Anything could have happened to him. Also, if the bus driver had been telling the truth, why didn't she ask for id from this person? The supervisors in the bus barn said it will be addressed after spring break....I would like it addressed now.
My grandson won?t let my daughter or his dad leave him alone even for a minute....if she has to go the bathroom or into the garage, he follows her...he is so afraid of being left alone again. 

Ohhhh ... bless his little heart. He must be terrified. That is so sad.

I hope someone is held accountable - that's not something that should ever happen to a 6yr old. 

Poor baby! The bus driver should be fired and the office worker who dropped the ball should also be fired. At the least they should all be reprimanded and have some sort of suspension. 

Not saying the bus driver wasn't wrong but the policy is if there is a dismissal "procedure" change the parent has to send it in writing (email or note) or else they will dismiss the child the way s/he is normally sent home. 

How did the child get in the house? If he was in the house, why didn't he call his mom?

My child walks home and I meet him outside the school. We have a plan about what to do if he ever gets out and I am not there. He is to walk home and sit in the backyard and wait for me. If the neighbors arrive home, he is to go to their house and ask to call me. We tested him once to make sure he knew what to do. If I am every late, I know he will not panic. 

Good luck dealing with anyone at the bus barn or the admin over Humble ISD transportation.

We had an issue with a sub driver acting erratically, driving too fast, arriving too early at the stops and leaving kids behind, etc. It was horrible. I made numerous calls to supervisors and then the main guy in charge. They don't care...don't return calls, it's ridiculous. Thankfully, my situation wasn't nearly as severe as yours...I really hope your daughter is able to get answers and action taken! 

Good luck... 

At my son's elementary, you cannot make dismissal changes without written consent. 

Is this the bus to the YMCA? My two grandkids go to WHE and there really are no busses except to the Y day care.

Having said that, my daughter, who is now a WHE parent, got caught in a situation like this when she was a kid. We were in the process of moving, so my husband was gone, my older daughter was sick and had to be hospitalized, so I called the elementary school and told them to put her on the bus to the babysitter, not home, because I could not be there. They thought I said put her on the bus to home, and she was there alone. She did what she was taught and found a person in uniform (a mailman) who most graciously took her to a neighbor who called me. She was only 9 years old. It was the most scariest day of my life so far. 

The mom was with me, I was taking her to get her son because she had miss placed her keys (horns how he got in house) door was unlocked because keys were misplaced. He couldn't call her because NO home phone homes. They only have cell phones and he is only 6 and has NO reason to have a phone at that age. The school is now changing policy to where parents can no longer call in to change dismissal procedure to clear things up. The protocol for that school is that if the parent(s) or whomever is NOT present at bus stop they are to return to school with the student, at least just for kindergarten, and notify parent. However this bus driver failed to do that. The ball was dropped by the school and the bus driver. The bus drops him off right outside their house. 

I had an issue with bus driver a few years ago. I even spoke to the drive to see if he would resolve the issue. I emailed the supervisor, directory of transportation and superintendent. Needless to say i received several calls the following day and the issue was resolved by the time my kids got out of school. I prefer to send emails, it can be traced and the recipient cant lie and say they didn't get it. Plus when i send email i can calmly and rationally get all my thoughts out.

My kid (2nd grade) was put on a bus after i notified the school i would pick her up. But she was returned back to the school. 

I was told that there were no busses at WHE except for the YMCA after school care. Was I lied to? I would like to know. 

I think the kids who live in Sherwood Trails that are zoned to WHE get a bus because it isn't safe for them to cross North Park Drive. 

thank you, my girl. I appreciate that. 

We live in NWH and I have seen a school bus parked in front of the school. 

My kids got off the school bus and walked to the house alone. Of course, my youngest is 26. I can't believe that someone has to be standing there to meet the kids when they get off the bus. When I was in the first grade, I walked about eight blocks to my house everyday after school. I didn't bother me and I was never scared, but every other kid in the school was walking home too. I'm sixty, so things sure have changed since I was a child.