To the Editor:

I am writing in response to the article “Bus driver fired after kindergartner left on school bus."

Let me start by saying that I am the mother of the kindergartner that was left on that bus for three hours. I read the article and I must say that I was appalled by Dr. Rabinovitch’s statement.

According to the article:

As a result of the incident, principals will now be required to create a system for calling a child's home when the child is absent from school, Rabinovitch said.

He noted that such a system might not have helped in this week's situation because a parent had called the day before to say the child would be absent. Obviously, he continued, something changed in the child's situation and he was able to come to school -- but the teacher didn't know that.

I wonder why Dr. Rabinovitch felt the need to even make such a statement. Aside from being inaccurate, it was an unwarranted remark. Surprisingly, the school has no policy to call children’s parents when they don’t hear from them. I suppose it was an attempt to portray me as being liable, just in case I tried to blame the school for the incident.

I don’t quite understand calling a child in if nothing is done to find out where those children are who were not called in. Monday was the first time that I did not call in one of my children when they were absent. I was under the impression that it was already a policy.

When I reported the incident, I stated that the teacher may not have questioned his absence because early Monday morning I e-mailed her to tell her that he would not be in on Monday. I also stated that he would likely be out Tuesday if he had the virus that his brother had a couple of days earlier and I had at the time.

The only reason that I even e-mailed her was because he was supposed to bring in snack on Tuesday for the whole class. I did e-mail her Tuesday morning to tell her that he was feeling better and coming in. She may not have had the opportunity to read it before school started. Regardless, the teacher would not have been the one to call and check to see where he was. It was not up to her to tell the front office whether or not he was coming in. I highly doubt that she did since it was not asked of her, nor was it expected of her.

In my attempt to be tolerant and understanding about the entire frightening experience, the information I gave became twisted. I never called the school to tell them that my child would not be in on Tuesday. So, my imaginary phone call to the school, Dr. Rabinovitch, would have had no bearing on your not-yet-implemented policy to call the homes of absent students who were not called in.

I am thankful for how quickly the matter was taken care of, that my son was OK, and for the manner in which Principal Seamans treated me - respectfully and truly apologetically.

I feel that the consequences for the driver were fitting. I am sympathetic for the driver’s loss because she seems to be a nice person. However, my loss could have been so much greater. We were all very lucky.

It was frustrating to read the comments made by the superintendent. It rather diminished the sincerity of his apology. A statement to shift liability from the school wasn’t necessary. An apology that it happened and a promise that policies would be implemented to ensure that it wouldn’t happen again would have been quite sufficient.

Also, I am curious as to when the new policy will be implemented. As of yet, according to other parents who have had children out and did not call in, they have not received calls from the school.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Burroughs

Wareham