Katy ISD kindergartner let off at wrong bus stop, strangers returned him to school
KATY, Texas - This past Wednesday, Nadine Penn sent her 5-year-old son Corey, who goes by CJ, off for his first day of kindergarten at Faldyn Elementary in Katy. At the end of the school day, she went to his bus stop and waited, his bus arrived around 3:18 p.m., but she was shocked to learn that CJ wasn't on board.
"I got on the bus and asked her are you letting the kindergartners off the bus without a parent? She said no I ensure you I don't do that; and I said okay well my son's not here, and she said, well that's all the kids, and she just drove away, she didn't call anyone or anything," Penn explained.
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She rushed to his school in a panic where she says she overheard another parent also looking for their child.
"I was overhearing them saying a couple of buses were having to come back to the school because of overload," Penn said.
So she went back to CJ's bus stop hoping he was one of the kids being brought on a second trip, but he never arrived.
Around 4:30 p.m., more than hour after he was supposed to be dropped off, she got a call from CJ's teacher letting her know that a random family had brought him back to the school.
"He said he walked up to the people's car, and they rolled the window down, and he told the dad, I'm lost," Penn explained.
CJ was supposed to be let off at Signorelli Way and Franchetti Drive. Instead, he was dropped off in a subdivision near the intersection of Clay and Katy Hockley Cutoff Road. Google Maps shows he would've had to walk eight minutes and cross a main street to get to his destination.
"I just wandered in the second neighborhood," Corey told FOX 26.
His mother says the school never provided an explanation as to how this happened, and now she wants answers.
"I don't have answers. I still don't know what the reason was. I don't have any statements from them, it's frustrating," said Penn.
As for the family that returned him safely to his school, Penn sent them a message.
"I really wish I knew who the family was, so I could thank them, because they really saved my kid's life," She said.
FOX 26 has reached out to Katy ISD requesting an on-camera interview to discuss what happened, the protocol for how young children are let off of their school buses, and what changes are being made after this situation.
On Monday morning, Katy ISD sent the following statement to FOX 26,
"The safety of our students is of the utmost importance. Upon learning of the situation, the District took swift action — remaining in constant communication with the family and the contracted bus company that services the route. This includes reviewing protocols and expectations with the company to prevent future incidents, as well as having district-level personnel monitor dismissal and bus picks-up today at the campus to ensure those expectations are met and that all students feel comfortable and safe while utilizing bus services."
FOX 26 responded to this statement, again, requesting an on-camera interview and clearer answers to our direct questions.
As of Monday afternoon, we are still waiting to hear back.