Field trip/private transportation/teacher communication

scatterbunny

New member
Okay, not the best title, but I couldn't figure out how to word it. :p

At H's school they have a reading program that includes take-home books and a reading log. Parents are supposed to write down every book the child reads, every book the parent reads to the child and every book the parent and child read together. When we have logged 100 books the child gets to go to a local ice cream parlor with a group of students who also reached the goal. H has been talking about this forever and was very excited.

The permission slip came home on Friday and it said transportation is not by school bus, but by a private driver, and the school does not inquire as to the driving record or insurance coverage of the driver. :eek:

I called the school and the secretary told me it's actually H's reading teacher (another 1st grade teacher) who will be providing transportation. I left a voicemail with the teacher and she called me back within 5 minutes. I explained my concerns to her, adding that I'm a CPST and that our state law changed over the past summer and all kids under age 8 or under 80 pounds must be in a booster. I said H couldn't come unless I could send her with a booster seat, and that, by law, all those kids should still be in boosters (all first graders, all age 6-7, none over 80 pounds that I am aware of).

The teacher told me she drives an older Jeep with only lapbelts in the back. :( Which means she is exempt from Oregon law, the kiddos are legal to ride in just the lapbelts. I explained how it was safER for the kids to use only the lapbelts, instead of a booster plus the lapbelt. So I said H would need to ride up front in her booster so she had a shoulderbelt. The teacher was very concerned and wanted to know more, about how she could safely transport the kids, if she should have them walk to the ice cream parlor in the rain, what type of restraints, if any, would work in her vehicle. She's a grandma (her youngest child is 24) and had no idea she wasn't doing things as safely as possible.

I gave her the contact info for EZOn and told her I'd get the tether anchor info for her Jeep today, and then she asked me to put together some booster seat info in both English and Spanish to put in every child's cubby (to be sent home in their backpacks). :D

When the school has its yearly carnival I'm going to ask about having a car safety booth and/or offering seat checks.

Aaaaannnnd, I go to all this trouble only to realize H's allergy appointment (1.5 hours away) is tomorrow at 1 pm. There's no way we'll be back in time for her to do the ice cream parlor trip at 3:10. :( She's going to be soooo disappointed. I'm going to hear about it all night tonight. :rolleyes:
 
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Mama2J

Member
It looks like you don't have to worry about this trip if has an appointment. But is there any way you can talk the teacher into letting you be the driver? Then you could make sure your child is properly restrained? How many kids go, and do you have any extra boosters? I'm not looking forward to the field trip thing!
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
This thing is tomorrow, or am I misreading it? Is there any way they can postpone it until they can find some safer transportation? Maybe they can have an ice cream party at the school, rather than going out?
 

scatterbunny

New member
Thanks for replying, guys, I figured no one would because of how long my OP was! :p

I will broach the subject of volunteering to be a driver in the future. They do the ice cream trips fairly often, whenever 3 or 4 kids have reached the reading goal (first they have to reach 100 books, next time it's 200 books, then 300, and so on) she schedules a trip. I'm positive now that I've mentioned all of this to the teacher that H would be properly restrained in a booster, but I do worry about the other kids in only lapbelts.

But I just picked H up from school and talked to this teacher, gave her the carseat.org 5 step test handouts and asked for more specific information on her vehicle. She said it's a 1998 Jeep Cherokee (regular, not Grand). So, it should have shoulderbelts at least outboard in the rear. :confused: Unless she really meant 1988? But she seeme sure it was a 98. The parking lot was so busy with pick-up that I didn't want to ask to look at it, but I will ask her if she minds if I check it out soon. I'm REALLY hoping she's wrong about the year and the no shoulderbelts thing, it would make things a whole lot easier (just pick up some highback boosters to have on hand, and only transport 3 kids {never 4, as she sometimes did} so all would have boosters and shoulderbelts).

I thought about offering my extra boosters (I have two Britax Bodyguards and one Compass B510 and a backless Britax Starriser) for the occasional use, but I never mentioned it when she said she only had lapbelts.

Yes, the party is tomorrow. The permision slip only came home on Friday (so very short notice; but most field trips are not scheduled like this; I've known about the upcoming aquarium trip since school started), which is when I called and had the conversation with the teacher.

When I talked to her this afternoon in person and told her H wouldn't be there because of an appointment, that she'd have to reschedule, the teacher said another girl had to reschedule as well, so there would only be one child, and so she was considering rescheduling the whole thing because it wouldn't be much fun for the one child--no classmates/friends there. I hope that's what she does.

The party is after school hours (right after school), so I'm not sure if having it AT the school is an option. We have a really cool ice cream parlor in town that's kind of an attraction for the kids, so it wouldn't be the same.

My plan is to talk to the teacher tomorrow (if I'm not too busy with the appointment) or the next day about checking out her vehicle in person. Once I figure out what the backseat and seatbelts look like I can proceed from there, either helping her find alternate transportation for these events, or helping her get EZOn harnesses or Ride Safer travel vests and tether anchors retrofitted.

I'm happy she is receptive to learning more and making the situation better, not only for the school kids but for her own grandkids.

H almost cried at school (while we were waiting to see the teacher) when I told her we had to reschedule her ice cream party for her appointment. :( She held herself together very well, but her eyes filled with tears and her chin was quivering. Poor thing. I felt really bad for her, but we rescheduled this appointment once already and the weather is unpredictable this time of year and it looks good for tomorrow so we need to get it done now.
 

Baby D

New member
I am one of those teachers who takes kids out to eat for reaching their reading goals. We have 3 HBB to put my first graders in. I work in a high poverty school where very few of our kids are properly restrained. This is my 5th year taking kids out to eat and I have yet to have a parent ask about car seats.
 

scatterbunny

New member
We are also a high poverty area, as well an area with a huge English-as-a-Second-Language population. Many of these folks simply don't know that times have changed, they simply don't know what's safe or not safe in the car. :( The teacher also didn't know, and I'm sure she's been doing the ice cream party thing for years. So I hope I can make a difference.

Kudos to you, Baby D, for taking your students' safety so seriously, despite the fact the parents don't know or don't care.
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
I feel so sorry for your DD! :( But if they reschedule, maybe she won't miss it after all. Can you take her for ice cream after her doctor's appointment? (Not the same, I know, but hey, ice cream is ice cream, right?)

I used to have a '98 Cherokee and it did indeed have lap/shoulder belts outboard, and I'm nearly positive it had them in the middle, too. Hopefully that's the case, and then there won't be *quite* so much of an issue.
 

scatterbunny

New member
I told her we would go for ice cream after the appointment, and that I'd try to get permission for one of her friends to go with us. But she's sick now! :( When I picked her up from school she said she was freezing cold and had a sore throat and an upset tummy. She fell asleep awhile ago (very early, we're on the west coast) and woke up with a fever. :(

I really hope the teacher's Cherokee is a 98, that will make things so much easier. I can't imagine why she thought there were only lapbelts, though? :confused: I really hope it's not an 88.
 

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