Kindergartener temporarily lost following transportation miscommunication in Roanoke

ROANOKE, Va. – A Roanoke City kindergartener was mistakenly placed on a school bus Thursday and dropped off at Westwind Apartments, leaving his parents searching for him for about two hours

Terry Mills and Daniel Howard say they arrived at Round Hill Elementary School expecting to pick up their five-year-old son, D’Terrion, as usual

The parents say D’Terrion is a regular car rider and did not have a bus pass to ride the bus

When they arrived at the school, however, D’Terrion was nowhere to be found

Mills said school staff checked buses and camera footage, but the family still did not know where their son was

“They tell us to pull to the front of the main office. We go to the main office. And I’m just still frantic. At this point, I just — I want to know where my son is,” Mills said

According to Roanoke City <a href="https://jiuniversity.com/cebu-citys-postgraduate-scholarships-for-public-school-teachers-established/” title=”Cebu City's postgraduate scholarships for public school teachers established”>Public Schools, D’Terrion mistakenly boarded a school bus on his second day of attendance. The bus’s only stop was Westwind Apartments

After the bus dropped him off, another student escorted D’Terrion to the apartment complex’s leasing office. An assistant manager realized the child was in the wrong location and contacted the school

RCPS said approximately 17 minutes passed between the time D’Terrion got off the bus and when the leasing office called the school

Mills said the family was relieved when they learned D’Terrion had been found

“Tears of joy, but more like you’re so smart for not walking in the street, going into nobody’s house or getting into anybody’s car,” Mills said

“He didn’t have a bus pass to even get on the bus to begin with. He’s a car rider, and then the fact that the bus driver let him off here, she didn’t even notice if there was a parent here to receive him off the bus.”

Terry Mills, mother of student

RCPS said the school immediately informed D’Terrion’s parent after being contacted by the leasing office. The family then met with a school division leader to address the incident

The school division said it has investigated the incident and that appropriate personnel actions are being taken

RCPS also said it is working with its transportation provider, Zum, to reinforce bus and car rider procedures with students, staff and bus drivers

The division thanked Westwind Apartments management staff for their help in making sure D’Terrion was safe

Howard said the family hopes sharing what happened will remind other parents and school staff about the importance of closely monitoring young students

“Things like this happening, you don’t want to happen often. You want to let it be known when it does happen to inform other parents to pay attention to that child in school,” Howard said

The family says they are now working with Roanoke City Public Schools on transferring D’Terrion to another school following the incident

RCPS has not provided additional details about the family’s transfer request, citing student privacy laws. They provided a statement folloiwing the incident, which you can read below:

“Our students’ safety is Roanoke City Public Schools’ top priority. On Thursday, August 20, a kindergarten student at Round Hill Elementary School mistakenly boarded a school bus on their second day of attendance, despite being a car rider. This bus’s only stop is Westwind Apartments. Upon being dropped off, another student escorted the student to the leasing office, where the assistant manager realized the student was in the wrong location and called the school. Approximately 17 minutes elapsed between the time the student got off the bus and when the assistant manager called the school.

Upon being contacted, the school immediately informed the student’s parent, who was already at the school, and the parent picked up the student. The family then met with a school division leader to address the incident

RCPS and Round Hill Elementary School have investigated, and appropriate personnel actions are being taken. Further, actions are also being taken in partnership with Zum to ensure students, RCPS staff, and bus drivers follow the bus and car rider procedures. Because of federal and state student privacy laws, we cannot share identifying details. We are thankful that the student is safe and extend our gratitude to the Westwind Apartments management staff for their diligence and support in ensuring student safety.”

Claire Mitzel, Director of Communications & Public Relations for RCPS

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