The Antelope Valley Times

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First day of school becomes a “nightmare” for 2 local families

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Barrel Springs ElementaryEditor’s note: On the first day of school at Barrel Springs Elementary in Palmdale, two students went missing. The school bus was late in transporting students home, so the two students – ages 6 and 9 – left school premises and began walking home.  The young students were eventually found; but the ordeal was a nightmare for two local families. They blame Barrel Springs Elementary for not properly supervising its students and say the situation was mismanaged by school staff. The two mothers want to share their stories with the community. Read them below…

By Theresa Hurst, mother of a 9-year-old Barrel Springs Elementary student

On August 11, 2014, what was supposed to be a happy back-to-school day became two families’ nightmare.

How is a 6 and 9-year-old able to leave school 30 minutes after the bell with no adult supervision? These children were supposed to be picked up by the Antelope Valley School Transportation bus by 2:30 p.m.

Worried parents waiting for their children’s arrival on 25th street east began calling the school but got no answers. After several phone calls, the office receptionist finally answered saying, “the buses haven’t even loaded”.

Being the worried mother that I am, I drove down to the school to pick up my child… only to find out he went missing! The principal and the school staff had no idea my child and another student had gone missing.

I spent 20 minutes frantically searching the school campus for my child, with no help from the principal or the office staff.  I requested the Sheriff’s Department to be contacted, and the principal hesitated.   After multiple requests, she finally made the call, and a tactical team was dispatched to search for my child and the other student.

All the while, the principal and other office staff shared giggles and conversations with each other. Snide remarks were made to the parents of the other missing student after they asked why there wasn’t enough adult supervision. They were told, “Maybe you should go apply at the school district and help us out”.

After the principal and office staff laughed in our faces, the other mother and I had to ask our friends and family for help searching the local neighborhoods for our children. A long 30 minutes later, I received a phone call that my son and the other student were found. The boys said they were told that the bus had left without them, and the office staff was not allowing them to call home, so they decided to walk home. As frightened as they were, they felt that they had no choice but to walk home down one of the most dangerous highways – Pearblossom Highway. They crossed through the desert in 100-degree weather!

After complaining to outside resources, I was rejected and told the situation could only be handled if something was to happen to my child.  It shouldn’t take a missing child or anything worse to happen for more supervision at our local elementary schools!

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By Mia Bailey, mother of a 6-year-old Barrel Springs Elementary student

Monday, August 11, 2014, around 2:45 p.m., I was waiting for my son to arrive home from school on the Antelope Valley Transportation bus, but the bus never arrived. After calling the school to see what was going on, the receptionist finally answered and said the bus driver was running late.

I drove straight to the school to get my son when I heard the news. When I arrived, I was relieved to see all the other kids who get off at the same bus stop as my son.  I saw only one staff member there with about 12 other kids, and I told her that I was there to pick up my son.

I told her his name, and she called out for him but he was not there. I walked to the office to see if he was in there. I looked everywhere I could, but my son was nowhere to be found.  I started asking questions. WHERE IS MY SON?

The principal started having her staff members call out his name on the loud speaker. While that was going on, I was asking her why she couldn’t locate my son. She had no answer except to say that it’s after school and sometimes kids leave. My son is only 6 years old; you don’t just let a child leave!

I then saw my son’s friend who lives next to us, and I asked him if he had seen my son. That’s when I was told that my son and another kid left the bus line, where they were to stay until getting on the bus. All the kids saw them leave. How is it that all the other kids saw them leave, but the staff didn’t?

I called my husband, and he rushed to the school. He was mad, and he began to ask questions, but we could not get answers. The principal was trying to calm him down, while the receptionist was smiling and laughing. He told them the school needed more eyes and staff members. With a big smile on her face, the receptionist commented back, “If you want that, go to the school district and see about getting a job.”

Who wants to hear comments like this when your kid is missing? After a while, we got word that the kids were walking home on 25th Street East. They made it home safely, but my question is: WHAT IF?

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of The AV Times.

Email letters@www.theavtimes.com to submit a story to Your Issues | Your News.

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Editor’s Note: The AV Times spoke with Palmdale School District Superintendent Raul Maldonado. Maldonado said the Barrel Springs Elementary School principal notified him of incident on the day it happened. He acknowledged that there was some confusion at the school Monday afternoon, as is sometimes the case on the first day of school. The situation is being addressed, Maldonado said. He met with the parents of the two students on Tuesday to promptly address any concerns and to assure them that student safety is the number one priority of the Palmdale School District, Maldonado said.

 

Filed Under: Opinion

94 comments for "First day of school becomes a “nightmare” for 2 local families"

  1. 5 years ago my brother went to pick up my son the 1st week of school he couldn’t find him turns out he walked on the bus and no one stopped him I worked in valencia I was so upset the school didnt seem to care where he was I drove back home right away and spoke to the vice principal after waiting for an a hour. A few more things happened that week so a week later I pulled my son from that school.

  2. I understand the frustration of the two mothers, and the responsibilities of the School District. 60% of the Faculty Staff are NOT ready to teach Classes. 80 or 90% of the Schools Administrators ( Principals, Vice-Principals, and the Secretaries) work there. but NONE of them are willing to help neither the Parents of the Students. In another words: They are all USELESS.
    Back to the Mothers: If they had all the time to Go to School and scream at everyone, and search for the Kids….. Why to let your kids to use the School Bus and NOT to take yourself your kids to School instead of staying at Home seated at the Couch watching TV all day?
    My son just graduated from Pete Knight HS on last July. My Daugher just started HS and My Wife always has been able to take our Kids to School. Then she drives to work, and work for 5 hours to have time to come back and pick up the kids.
    Why to make so hard for the Kids, and the School? just posting my comment.

    • @ HappyAVResident 100% agree with you. I have friends that live in Palmdale and they have kids in HS, Middle and Elementary school, those kids have always been taking the bus. The mom does not work and spends all day with friends. I heard them said once that they even “borrow” the address of other people to be able to qualify for bus service.

      • I also agree, staff should be more organized, but at the same time this community needs to get more involved with our children I work 40 hour work weeks and still make time to at least help out the classrooms once to twice a week, because again its our children, and every school no matter what location always needs the extra help.

  3. There are some very real issues discussed here and I hope the attitudes of those who work for and represent our schools are changed to humility and sober responsibility. Today’s world is very dangerous so policies and tactics need to be in place for the safety of the minor first and foremost. These rules and guidelines need to be strictly enforced, with respect for everyone.

    I’m afraid if I had seen a parent who was frantically trying to find a missing child met with callous attitudes by school staff I would try everything to get that staff person fired or put in a position not working with the public.

    And yes, it wouldn’t hurt to attend school board meetings if at all possible.

    • I agree with you! The lottery money that goes to the schools is used for administration costs Why that is not what it was intended for. The administration does not teach your children pay the teachers more get rid of the over abundance of adminastrators. And use the millions of dollars in lottery money for supplies and other things that it is supposed to be used for . Stop taking away from the children!!

  4. I sat and read ALL of the above comments, and from the sounds of it, PSD isn’t the only guilty school district out there and obviously issues like this have gone on for years, from the sounds of everyone’s complaints. How many of you actually go out and vote in any local elections? How many of you volunteer at your child’s school? How many belong to the PTA? I know many say they work and don’t get home in time, BUT if your child is as important as you say they are talk to your boss about the situation, and make it a point to get home early one day and address the situation with someone. I can understand the fear when your child is missing or not where they should be, and I agree that consequences for the receptionist’s behavior should be addressed in the issue at Barrel Springs,but parents need to take some responsibility and be more involved in what is going on. I was always told “if you’re going to complain about a situation to someone, come up with some possible solutions to rectify the situation.” I believe I read only two possible solutions from all the posts above.

    Regarding the buses…..The Palmdale School District’s transportation program is contracted to a vendor operator, Student Transportation of America (STA). The district OWNS the buses and the transportation facility; STA provides bus drivers, bus aides, mechanics, dispatchers and other operations staff. Maybe some issues with the busing falls on STA and not the District, Also, I remember reading back in March of this year that the district was rezoning, and I don’t even have a child in school, so the information was out there! It shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone. It read;“This fall we will be realigning zones with their neighborhood schools, giving more of our students the healthy option of walking to school.” That sounds like fewer bus routes to me. I am not making light of any of your complaints, but there needs to be more parent involvement. Go to a Board meeting, they happen once a month at the District Office, talk to the Board about your concerns, or go to the District website……lots of info. there as well. Several options folks. Good luck!

  5. As a parent you can never be over protective. My oldest daughter was almost kidnapped when she was 7. The man was caught but 2 wks later after he kudnpped another girl on the way to school and raped her.. Out here in the AV I see dangers everyday for children goung to school or going home. Parents need to be more involved cause the cutbacks on the schools seems to give reason to schools to say things they say and do. The schools are responsible for all children untill they reach home. Or an adukt takes responsibility for them.. The communication between the bus personel and the staff at the schoolneeds to be more. Also supervision of the students no matter the age.. Barral Springs of all schools should know this.This is not the first time issues with busses or even missing students. Everyone should be more aware. Next time the outcome can be differen’t.

  6. I worked for the palmdale school District and worked in many different school, yes Most Teachers and duty aids do not care for the students and they end up talking to them in a very harshly.manner…….Thats why when My kids went to school i started to work at there schools…. You need to pick and drop your kids off and ask alot of question.about school…….Don’t trust the school in taking care of your Kids only you can do that…..

  7. This happened last year to my son and nephew at Yucca El.
    I went to PSD the day it happened to my son and nothing was done they ask me to feel out a report of what happened and told me there all famous line someone will be contacting me. Will two days later it happened to my nephew and he was found by a construction work blocks from the school. They don’t care about people kids out here, the teacher is the one that my son and nephew go and after going to the police and they tell us there nothing they can do and call one of the new station and they did nothing. I think we all should come together and do something about it.

  8. This is horrible at my daughters school they did not have buses till this year but I can say I am happy with how they release the little ones yes it’s a pain with so many parents all at one gate getting them but I know my daughters safe.. Now she’s old enough to walk out alone let’s see how it works out.

      • To Add We are a release for Pedophiles and many children and young adults have gone missing or found dead..I take my kids to and from chool I don’t care how old they are.

        • That is an unfair statement. If you are at a stay at home mom or your work accommodates you then kudos for you. Not everyone has that luxury and maybe you should have more empathy for those less fortunate.

  9. Please do not let this CRIME go unpunished. The fact that these children were told the bus had left them, that they were unable to even use the phone to call their parents, that they were allowed to WALK OFF ALONE on a busy highway in the smoldering heat, that the staff didn’t want the police called, that they were LAUGHING about such a SERIOUS AND POSSIBLE LIFE THREATENING SITUATION all point to only one conclusion….. This was done done DELIBERATELY to target/ punish these children and parents WHO CARE. DO NOT LET THEM GET AWAY WITH THIS. One reason I was given for being fired from my job as a teacher was supposedly for giving student THAT I HAD KNOWN FOR YEARS AND WHO HAD BEEN TO MY HOME, PLAYED WITH MY CHILDREN AND LIVED IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD a ride home from school during a very scary time when they were being terrorized by other students and when many reports of stalking, abductions, and assaults were happening in our community. There were no buses at the time and children from kindergarten thru high school were all walking AT THE SAME TIME within a two mile radius to their homes. This may come as news or shocking to people ( it sure was to me but they acted like I was crazy ) but I can’t tell you how many children were threatened, assaulted, weapons held on them and yes even sexually assaulted and abducted and NO ONE WOULD DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT EXCEPT DISCREDIT, FIRE OR ARREST ANYONE WHO SPOKE OUT OR TRIED TO HELP. Those causing the problems were rewarded, promoted, and named ” community advocates / helpers ” in this embrace diversity and have ” tolerance” crap. And those witches in the office who were laughing have sold their soles because they love being in a position of power and authority over others WITH TREMENDOUS BENEFITS I MIGHT ADD.

    AND ALL PARENTS WHO LOVE THEIR CHILDREN….. BE CERY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS TRANSPORTATION SITUATION. A DAY MIGHT VERY WELL COME WHEN YOUR CHILDREN GET ON A BUS OR ARE TAKEN AND DONT COME HOME…..EVER.

    If you need any help,advice , testimony etc please let me know. I’d LOVE to stop / get rid of these arrogant, cruel, manipulative fraudsters WHO ARE HURTING/ DESTROYING THE INNOCENCE/ FREEDOM/ MINDS / LIVES of OUR CHILDREN and the parents who love them

  10. Solution to the problem….stop providing bus transportation! All parents can handle their own business and take responsibility of how their children will get to and from school each day…might have to do some walking but the exercise would be good for all!

    • Quigley, you are just another racist, who now belives in cutting public school funding, after you yourself attended public schools your entire life. If our politicians, that represent us, would not have voted to cut funding to our public schools( before and after school programs),maybe there would not be a need for the public school transportation program. How is it, that in the Antelope Valley, where have more than 75% minorities, we are still being represented by politicians who are working hard to cut our school funds? Parents, I hope you are paying attention, and start getting out to vote these politicians out of office. Palmdale School District, you are very lucky that no kid got seriously hurt, thaks to this soup sandwhich that you created. WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND DECIDES TO CUT BIS ROUTES WITHOUT NOTIFYING ANYONE? AV times, in case you did not know……the Palmdale School District , not just created a nightmare for these two families……they created a mess for hundreds of other families. Kids have been without transportation since Monday August 11, 2014, and still have not found a solution.

      • Yep, and I walked my racist ass 10 blocks to school everyday, rain or shine, because I didn’t have the luxury of a school bus. I did have a nice big umbrella and rain boots that came in real handy.

      • MORE MONEY IS GOING INTO SCHOOL FUNDING THAN EVER BEFORE…. MAYBE NOT IN WAYS THAT MOST PEOPLE THINK BUT TRUST MEET, MEDICAL, TRANSPORTATION, ” SOCIAL” SERVICES, YOUTH PROGRAMS, POLICE FUNDING, SPORTS, MILITARY, ELECTIONS, ALL PART OF SCHOOL FUNDING MONEY

    • Quite frankly some parents have to work till five pm and can’t pick up there children so with that being this is why transportation is provided the school should have been more helpful with the situation and let them call home like there supposed to do in such situations like this one especially being that the children are so young. But then we have ignorant people such ad your self that are self centered and arrogant to the fact that two children could have been killed god forbid that but they could’ve been hurt do to the negligence of the school .. you should think upon spinking

    • Not everyone can take there children to school. Or even pick them up. A lit of people struggle with jobs , disabilities or other things that may prevent them from doing what you recommend. Sorry .

  11. This happened at Los Amigos School also, my children were MIA for almost two hours. Others were not located for more than five hours. Oops, transportation routes were changed, buses cut and parents were not notified. SMH!!!!

    • This is all done purposefully. It is a test , a drill if you will for the real thing which is TAKING YOUR CHILDREN SOMEWHERE WHERE YOU CANT FIND THEM. What is meant by this ” safe routes to school ” BS is for them to practice ways to safely ( without detection or blame) take your children to a ” school” ( concentration or detention center ) where they can own, sell , use or even kill your child for their own selfish purposes. WAKE UP AND SPEAK OUT. THIS IS WHATS HAPPENING PEOPLE

  12. My children (3/ Currently) attend Barrel Springs & Staff always been helpful. My oldest is now a Sr. N also had attended their & taken the bus. I’ve always been Happy Because I also do My part as a Parent. I always talked to them of WHAT IF EMERGENCY HAPPENS, Specially cause I use to live on 25 & they ride the bus home. Accidents & other incidents do happened. the first days I Would be their b4 they get on Bus I would look from Far as soon as they drove off I would drive home & wait. My opinion is that Us as Parent need to Understand & Do Our part. Its always so easy ro point the Finger or blame someone else. Specially when We go through something like this. First Day or Week All schools are Hectic for Drop Off & Pick up. And theirs so many People that make it worse for school transportation.

    • perhaps, but the staff needs to be more understanding of a frantic parent and more professional then telling them to go get a job at the school district… I think that needs to be addressed and reprimand of some kind of the receptionist. It would have taken everything in me not to slap her silly. What a thing to say!!!

    • @Maritza
      Most parents have the “safety talk” with their children, it is common-sense practice. However; in my instance, my kids could not call me to tell me they had not gotten on the bus and the office took almost 2 hours to contact me. Meanwhile; I waited for their bus to show-up and it never did. As I was driving back to the school site, I got a call to notify me they were there and I needed to pick them up. I tried to call transportation, the school office and the main district phone number and not one single person picked-up the phone! I am not a psychic and previous notification was not sent home, not via e-mail, phone or regular mail. SMH, again…!!!!

      @ Mr. Maldonado
      You know this happened at more sites than Barrel Springs and people were frantic. I am shocked to see the media is not involved, it was chaos and a horrible evening for many parents.

      The second story, are you sure it is AVSTA out of Lancaster? I thought they just transported high school students. PSD transportation is another entity, please don’t give a bad name to AVSTA if they are not responsible, not fair. (-:

  13. The his happened to my son in 5th grade, in Lancaster. He was a little but older but, is autistic. He didn’t know where to go, and couldn’t get anyone to help him or let him call home so he ended up walking over a mile home alone. When I called the school they said to call the bus people. I called the bus people they said the bus was running late. When my son walked in the house and was covered in sweat and told me what happened, I was furious. Of course I received lots of apologies but to this day I am still pissed that the people that are put in charge of our children don’t care about the wellbeing of our kids. Smfh. I say fire them all. There are plenty of people who actually want to work.

    • Something similar happened to my 6th grade son who is a nonverbal and autistic on the 11th in Lancaster. They put him on the wrong bus! I had to call the school and the bus company to find out what happened. And when I called the bus company, Antelope Valley School Transportation Agency, to complain the response the next day was I’m glad we called and told you your son was on the wrong bus and we got him home to you. Which would be fine except they didn’t know they had him on the wrong bus and told us to call the school and see if the school had put him on the bus before hanging up on me. I had to call back and tell them the school had put him on the bus. I am one super poised off mommy at the moment.

    • Changes Need to be made. Having a son with Autism and going through simular situation, but my son didn’t take the bus home cause we lived near the school. My son waljed out the front office of the School during School hours and no one new. He walked all the way home upset and scared. We called the school and we were told hes in class. This happened several times until I just stayed at school with him every day dueto no availability for staff to care for my son during school hours and cut backs…I

  14. I worked for PSD for 17 years. I know first hand how the district used to operate. Thank God that there is a new superintendent and school board. Under the former lack of leadership the district was a mess. It might take a few years to continue to clean up PSD, but things are already better. I have seen many small children (whom I’ve taken to the office) waiting outside the school alone. The fact is that funds were cut from employing campus aides therefore; no supervision. I worked at one of the larger schools (up to 1200 students) and it was a mess. We constantly had a rotation of principals and vp’s, so every year a different routine. One year the principal would make the students sit on the hot blacktop in the boiling sun during lunch instead of playing. Another made the students walk around and around the yard (again in the boiling sun) instead of playing. Made my blood boil and I would complain everyday! Hey, but who listens to a teacher. Also, with those 1200 students there was only two working drinking faucets. Hopefully, these kinds of abuse won’t happen again.

  16. I can’t believe some of these comments!. Children will make mistakes! Regardless of why they left the line, they should have been allowed to call their parents when they missed the bus! Where are the responsible adults that kids should be able to come to in these situations at school for help? When we leave our children at school, we should be able to feel confident that they will be taken care of. This is unacceptable!

  17. I am a teacher and taught in the PSD for seven years. I am not surprised that these events occurred, and I know that nothing will happen to the staff involved and nothing will be done to fix this problem. That is one of many reasons I will not send my own children to any PSD school.

  18. Simple- talk to your kids. Do not depend on others to teach your children life lessons…the cost could be too high. Secondly, fire the principal and receptionist. Unemployment is still high and I am sure there are qualified candidates to replace these positions. More “help” or “volunteers” are not always the answer. Sometimes quality beats out quantity. Lastly, show up to your school board, write a formal complaint, have your voice heard should things happen. Many of you wrote about similar situations…don’t stay silent…use your voice. Don’t get mad, don’t scream, communicate! Don’t give up. There are lazy people in all levels of our education system…stay constant until someone listens.

    • I do thats why if your unable to pick up your child make arrangments. Have a a plan of actiin also have a backup. You can ask neibors friends family whichever works but always checkup to make sure kids get to there destinations. I do. I’d rather be an over protected parent. I have seen many issues. Better to be safe than Sorry.

    • I have made many of complaints. One was when my child attended PLP and Todd Cherland was principal. My son was assaulted on the bus by an aide for not keeping his seatbelt on although his restraint system that gets seatbelted in was given to another student. I notified Mr. Cherland.and he said he would look into it 2 wks later I found out he did nothing after me calling going in person trying to find iut wgat was being done and no response I filed a repirt at the district office. Guess who followed up after school year ended!?? Todd Cherland the new person following up on complaints in the district office. Guess what his job is today. His name is on letter head…

  19. On a side note. Am I the only one who is lost by that picture? That’s PLP (which is on R and like division by the way) with that address clearly photoshopped in. Is this even a real article? How long has this school I’ve never once heard of been open for?

    • this is not a photoshop this school PLP and desert willow intermediate (probably some other schools in the valley) have similar building design I believe it opened in mid early 2000s

      • Yeah, it’s totally a real school. Been around for years, it’s even where we vote on that side of town.

        • it is a real school I attended this school as a young girl when it used to be located where desert willow intermediate school is now located so this is a real school as well as my nephew attends this school and his house is not even a block away this school does exist

    • Please familiarize yourself with Google maps. I looked up the address on Google maps and found an image very similar to this one, albeit more washed out. You really think someone would go through the trouble to make up a school and photoshop a picture? Smh… Easy on the conspiracy theories buddy. LOL!

  20. If I was that parent and the receptionist would of talked to me that wAy it would not be nice! This is clearly the staff fault! Thank God my kids don’t go here! Everyone should leave a review for this school on greatschools.org and that receptionist should be disciplined!

  21. Come on! Your kids should not have left. If all the kids were still there why would they leave. Can you please think of how many kids are at that school and if they just left why would anyone just stop them. Please be more reasonable especially on the first day. Talk to your children and teach to be more cautious and stay safe. We all know now that not even the schools are safe anymore.

    • Blame the kid for not being responsible? They are 6 and 9 and were confused. They aren’t supposed to be responsible at 6 and 9. Someone is supposed to watch out for them at all times- all day.

      I will say to the parents that if your kids reasoned that the bus left so they needed to take matters into their own hands to get home, you have pretty gutsy children! Thank goodness they were safe, but these little guys have some potential in them; most adults can’t make a decision but your kids took action when they believed necessary. I think you have a future leader in your care. (Just don’t count on the idiot school employees to keep any eye on them, wink wink!)

    • Exactly!
      I was thinking why did they leave the bus line that they were clearly in with all the other students…. it’s really NOT the schools fault…. I have done that exact thing…. there are so many kids how r they supposed to know especially on the first day! Who takes the bus or who gets picked up….. TALK TO YOU’RE CHILDREN!

    • I agree! The kids should have waited for the bus! Parents need to take responsibility and teach their children to wait for the bus like all the other children! It sounds like these irresponsible parents want their 15 minutes of fame!

      • it amazes me when I hear a “responsible parent” speak like how you are all speaking. how is a child to know? I used to attend barrel springs and this does not surprise me one bit because the same thing happened to me as a child. first of all what is the point of having coaches at the school if they are not going to be doing their job. oh and sofia it clearly starts in the article that these children did ask and that they were told that the bus left them and they were not being allowed to use the office phones to call home. who does that? the receptionist at barrel springs are only polite to who they want to be polite too. I have dealt with them as well when I had to pick up my nephew and let me tell you they are rude. also when this happened to any of your kids I want to see if you are still saying be a “responsible parent” but I hope that this never happens to any of your children

        • I agree also I have seen children turned away from using phones after school also restrooms. Many issues…

    • I’m sorry…first day or not, the minute any child steps on the school bus, PSD immediately becomes responsible for each and every body on that bus. Once those kids enter their schools, the school becomes responsible for making sure all kids who ride the bus get on that bus!!! If the adults in charge can’t keep eyes on the kids till they get on that bus, then they shouldn’t be allowed to be in charge of young kids. And if that was me being spoken to like that by the principal and receptionist, they would’ve got it right back in their face!!!

  22. This makes no sense to me. If there was a whole line of children waiting why would the kids think the bus left without them? Also, I’ve met that lady before and she’s always been very polite to me.

    • agree 100%. Kids make silly decisions all the time. Who says the kids even asked to call home? Oh yeah, the kids did. When faced with getting scolded, kids sometimes make things up to cast blame elsewhere. I know, I know, not these kids. (wink)

    • Honey have you not payed attention? When parents are not around or ither staff looking over others lots if things get said. At a school that is on the Eadt side if Palmdale Staff member completely list her appropriate vocabulary and cussed out students for there parents not following her rules. This staff member than threatened the parents which turns out isher neibor. All this in front of other children and adults which this went on for 20 minutes untill finally someone intervened but imagine everything all those children were exposed to. Mind you kindergarten classes are at the front if the school.

  23. It’s is completely despicable the way this receptionist talk to the parents in the time of sheer terror, fire her now or does the school board find in ok since this is an east side Palmdale school

    • What, we’re you there when the receptionist talked to the parents in a “despicable” way? The ladies in the office have always been nice to me and other visitors. Let’s start taking responsibility for our own children. Don’t be gossip!

  24. I know first hand the fear and horror those parents were feeling. A similar situation occurred at a Lancaster school. My daughter, 2nd grade at the time, was in the office not feeling well. I was at a work meeting in LA that day, so after receiving the call that she needed to be picked up, I called on her nana to pick her up. She was at an appt, but would be there in 30 min. I called the school back to let them know. In the mean time, nana got there just as school was letting out, so it took her a few more minutes to park and walk to the office. Much to our surprise, my daughter was not in the office, and not in her classroom. She was not with the other kids that she carpooled with. Then the panic sets in… she cannot be found. Upon returning to the office, the secretary would only say, “well, she is not here.” Really? You don’t know where a sick 7 year old is that’s in your care? They didn’t seem to care at all. My mom, the carpool mom and a helpful teacher started driving the neighborhood..not sure which direction she would be headed or if god forbid, someone took her. Another gruelling 20 minutes passed before nana found her walking, in the rain, no jacket and crying uncontrollably…away from school and away from the direction of home. The worst time of my life until I got the call that she was found. My poor baby!

    After some investigating, it was learned that the same secretary who didn’t know where she was, told her to go home since no one cared enough about her to come pick her up. Unfreaking believable! Principal was not there when this happened, so I took off work the next morning to go have a chat with him. The so called secretary told me I needed an appt to speak with him. I went bat sh!t crazy on her telling her I wasn’t going to leave, and to get someone else here instead of her…I’m not dealing with an idiot anymore. The principal took swift action and apologized profusely. He was calling her into his office as I was leaving. I didn’t see the secretary ever again!

  25. Teach ur kids better next time not to run off places at that age they should know better

    • You are a [removed] are you kidding me. These people are responsible for the children while in their care. Did you read the articles on how old these children are. Unbelievable that you would even respond in such a way.

    • Don’t you teach your kids to follow directions and to listen ti adults and teachers at school? Than why would you say teach your kids!?? Think about it..

  26. STOP IT. Stop acting so disappointed in your community. You knew. JUST LIKE WE ALL KNOW about how corrupt and misleading our schools are. That’s why it is our rewponsbility to do something or live with it. I prefer take all the Action Required TO LET People take action with you and make a difference.

  27. Also not the end of the problems. As I went to pick up two children that I watch at the bus stop this afternoon I noticed a young girl maybe five or six standing on the corner alone. The bus was gone and there was no parent to pick her up. She was squatting against a wall with her arms over her face crying. I stopped and let her sit in my air conditioned car while I called the school. It turns out the school put her on the wrong bus, and the bus driver either didn’t see her get off the bus or thought it was ok to leave her there with no parent to pick her up. Apparently the mother was at the. School looking for her daughter because when I called the receptionist put me on hold and sent her to where I was. She is understandably livid and I am pretty sure the school has not heard the last of this.

    • Connie, that little girl was lucky you were there and took action to help her out. May God bless you for your good deed.
      My daughter attends Los Amigos on ave R8 by Pete Knight. I got a call from my sitter (I was at work) telling me that they wanted to send my daughter on the wrong bus because “The District” had removed some buses and stops and had a new rule where the child needs to be dropped off at a new location assigned based on the childs parent’s address and not the sitters address. I spoke with “Hins” at the district offfice and she told me that it was not their responsibility if my child is left at a stop and no one is there to pick her up!!I was mortified by her answer!! she told me it was the parent’s responsibility to have someone pick her up if I worked!! As I told her I DO Have someone to pick her up but at the bus stop she has been dropped off for the last 4 years!!! All of the sudden the district has this new rule and fails to inform parents prior to school starting. WHY do they wait until the day school starts to start bombarding the parents with messages regarding all these changes????? very disappointing to not being able to get clear information from someone in “charge” at the district’s office. I cried this morning just thinking that could happen to my daughter where she can be left at a total different stop and be lost :( it’s horrifying just to think about it.
      In trying to fix this problem, had to basically answer my own question and go by the school and have the address changed. Still very disappointed and basically just don’t trust the school system.

  28. This isnt the first time this happens at barrel springs, i wouldn’t blame it on the receptionist but the ones who are in charge of getting the kids on the bus, but she shouldn’t of said what she said….i can just imagine her reaction(receptionist) if some one would tell her ask district for a job, while fearing the worst for her child!…Very Inappropriate!

  29. Mr. Maldonado said “there was a confussion at the school and child safety is FIRST” ……with that said Ive had a case open with the Palmdale school district since the week the kids were going on summer vacation, about my son being pushed/shoved by a teacher . Who has contacted me? No one but an assistant who advised me that as soon as school started, the investigation would continue. I had to take my son in to see his Dr! My son is still now attenting the school all while the teacher is still there. Oh there is sooo much more to this. If nothing gets done SOON, im going to contact FOX11 AGAIN, as they we’re willing to pick up my story so long as I sent it to them with names of people, dates and times. I HAVE IT ALL. Why even bring this up? BECAUSE IT SEEMS THE ONLY WAY PEOPLE GET TERMINATED OR PUT ON LEAVE WHEN THEY HAVE DONE SOMETHING WRONG IS IF THEY ARE VIDEO RECORDED AND OR IF IT ENDS UP IN THE MEDIA . Who knows maybe someone at the school or district may read this and finally “continue” the inveatigation. If not Im personally going to make copies of the report I made and pass them out to the parents so that they are aware of what happened. Not to mentioned after she shoved my son and told him he disgusted her, I PERSONALLY went to talk to her, 2weeks later child services showed up to my home “the teacher all of the sudden suspected child abuse on our part” . She obviously had to find a way to cover what she had done wrong and make us look like the bad people BECAUSE MY BBIGGEST MISTAKE WAS CONFRONTING HER A AND NOT GOING DIRECTLY TO THE PRINCIPAL. All of the sudden after this “she suspected child abuse”. the case against US has been closed would child services but the case with the teacher remains OPEN!

    • Are you freaking kidding me? That teacher should have been fired or at the very least transferred! OMG! Get the media involved for sure! What school….if you don’t mind me asking. SMH in disgust!

      • Karen, you are rude! Why don’t you become a volunteer at the school site? I hope you take responsibility when your kids begin have problems with discipline but it sounds like YOU won’t!!

        • Why is she rude? Are you a teacher or work at a school? Discipline problems? Ya, those can come home from school too.. I’m not gonna sit here and make my son sound like an angel because he can be a chatter box, he likes to talk a lot!. But that’s doesn’t justify ANYONE laying hands on my kids or anyone else’s kids EVER!!!!! All kids go thru a stage amd its all in how you deal with it! Child abuse should apply TO EVERYONE! What this teacher did should NOT BE JUSTIFIED IN ANYWAY. If it would have been a parent who did what she did the child would have been removed from the home. In this case the teacher remains at the school. Now thats a load of bull. I have friends who are teachers and EVEN THEY believe no one should teach for more then 10years because after time it becomes overwhelming. Ever since T.A’s were taken out of schools due to “school budget cuts”, MORE AND MORE CASES SEEM TO BE COMING UP where teacherw are involved in situations. So much for budget cuts when it seems to me like all the schools out here are spending so THOUSANDS on Solar panels to save money in the FUTURE on electricity. When in FACT we have a growing problem NOW! Now im not saying all teachers are bad but the ones who are need to be properly disciplined themselves.

          • Who got abused? You seem to be all worked up about a couple of kids who decided they wanted to walk home instead of ride the bus. They made it home safely. Maybe the 9 yr old needs to be talked to about taking a 6 yr old on an adventure without permission.

          • I can’t speak for all districts, but LSD did not spend any money for the solar panels. The City of Lancaster paid for them and LSD pays the City less than they would pay the electric company. Of course the city makes a profit. The school district is saving hundreds of thousands now as well as in future years.

      • Ocotillo . She began complaining about my son about 2months after starting school. He would tell me she yelled a lot at them. I just never thought it would happen to us, i just thought to my self, maybe all the kids are giving her a hard time. Even if he got all the answers right on assignments, She would STILL drop his grades down for “sloppy writting”. Heck, my son has better writting then my husband! Every time my son would complain about her I would go in and talk TO HER. Eventually she gave me her cell number and stated that I was able to call her “whenever I needed to speak with her about any matter”. When.even I would go talk to her she wouldn’t mention names but she would tell me what other kids did. Complaining about other students. I should have known better then just talking to her! Then again the Principal didn’t do much either! after the whole shoving incident I asked the teacher if I could go in to evaluate my son myself while school was in session, she hesitated for a moment but then said I could, I told her I would be going in randomly. after I started going in and after a visit from the first police officer my son in between so much with tears in his eyes said “she is doing this to get rid of me, she is doing it and it’s kind of your fault for believing her she’s not happy that you’re going into class”. Remeber I WENT IN to talk to her when my son told me what she had done but of course her version of the story was different. According to her “she had only grabbed em by his shirt to move him behind another student”. As far as im concerned their not allowed to grab students in ANYWAY!

        • I can be here forever! I have a 5PAGE REPORT that I turned into the district. 5 PAGES! she had my son ALL YEAR LONG PRACTICALLY and it wasn’t till after what she did that she called child services on US! she knew exactly what she was doing. All year, all year she had him and she never once suspected child abuse until after what she did!!!!!! everyone makes mistakes my biggest mistake as I mentioned before was going to and only directly to her, standing by her side each and every time she would complain about my son. I know I sound like an idiot now because I should have protected my son from the beginning but her sides of the stories sounded so legit.I would always take my son and have him sit next to me while the teacher would tell me everything she had to complain about and every time he would shut down. He wouldn’t really say anything. His doctor said to me ” of course he would shut down, he knew he was stuck in school with her for hours a day 5days a week” Little did she know that her shoving my son is beyond another level of her just calling me to complain about him. My son kept telling the officers and child services people that it was his teacher treating him bad and not his parents. For the first few weeks of summer my son fears being kidnapped by someone at the teachers request. Dont make the same mistake I did. if your kids ever complain about even the smallest things to you about their teachers go directly to someone of higher authority

    • Hopefully they can be helpful but don’t hold your breath. Many stories have been given to the media just like the teachers molesting the children at a PSD School….have you heard of that at all?

  30. Not the receptionists fault, she was extremely helpfully to those of us who wer calling the school trying to sort out when the children would be arriving at the bus stops, she is the person who answers the phones she is not directly responsible for getting the kids on the bus. Don’t shoot the messenger.

    • There is NO defense for the receptionists. If You read the article the receptionists was NOT helpful to the parents of these two children she was laughing in their faces. What kind of person does such a thing. Not a very good person that is for sure. She could of showed some compassion to the parents. She might be good at answering the phones. But it looks like that is as far as it goes.

      • The receptionist should be fired! I worked for PSD, Barrel Springs as a matter of fact a while ago as a campus supervisor. PSD likes to sweep any wrong doing under the rug, pretend everything is great but they lie, to the parents , the receptionist has the principal’s support so No! she won’t be fired. During a meeting with the principal ( campus supervisors) were told NOT to renew our CPR certification in case of a lawsuit” I guess kids safety is not that important. I wouldn’t send my kids to this school.

  31. Totally unacceptable if that happened to one of my grandchildren heads would be rolling. The parents should go higher than the school board and demand that the receptionists and principal be fired immediately these are the people that are children have to look after them Oh my God we need help. Go to your elected officials state your concerns and demand that something be done. Just because it was the first day of school and the confusion was justified in these idiots eyes oh hell no. I am so happy your children are safe. It could of gone so badly in some may ways.

  32. I personally know that the PSD covers up horrible atrocities! Parents must be heads up. The district has gone downhill quickly!

  33. It should be noted that it was Not Antelope Valley bus. The buses that transport the K-8 students to and from Palmdale School district sites are actually Palmdale School District buses. Lay the blame of the late buses to the correct transportation agency. This time it was Palmdale’s issue.

  34. No person in charge of a child s well being should make light of anything while a child is lost! Someone needs to remove that person from the office. That principal needs to be called to answer for their hesitation in calling law enforcement. The law enforcement officer joking with the receptionist should receive some sensitivity training! Thankfully these boys are safe. Do a better job watching children or get out of the way of those who do watch them well.

  35. The school staff obviously needs more training. Receptionist needs to be fired! They must not have any children of their own to not have compassion for the parents of these children. Unacceptable!

  36. I know a lot of people who would apply for the receptionist position. This is frightening for parents and children alike. Take care of our kids if you work at a school, take it seriously or find work elsewhere.

  37. I would be demanding the removal of this receptionist. That is completely inappropriate behavior and should not be tolerated at all. In this world that we live in you can never be too careful with your children or the children that are in your care. All it takes is one laxed person in supervision to have a tragedy happen. I understand that it is not the receptionists fault the children wandered but a little “bedside manner” would have been nice. If it had been her children I’m sure she would have been upset as well. Glad to hear the children were found safe. This time it was a happy ending. Next time….maybe not.

  38. Always nice to see that some people can’t even dismiss their sarcastic and snide mentalities during a crisis. Fire that receptionist. There are some jobs where a lack of compassion is NBD, school receptionist is not one.

    I’ve driven by some of the schools when they release, it is a madhouse. They do need to keep a better hedge on the children. Maybe it would help if they weren’t releasing so many at once; try staggering it.

    • Eric—You’re right about the after school madhouse. Staggering is a great idea and would be more organized.

    • My childrens elementary school had all the children stay with their teachers in class “pods”. One teacher would go to the parking lot and as parents showed up, used the walkie talkie to call that one child to the parents vehicle.
      The children who took the bus would come to the front where an adult would wait with them making sure each child got on the correct bus.
      It was really great because each instructor had to take a turn calling for the children, which meant each instructor got to know which parent went with which child etc. It was efficient and moved everyone in and out quickly.

    • If you’re trying to find a reasonable solution, such as this one, go to a board meeting and make your voice be heard. Don’t complain, do something about it.