Two adults and three Dorris Intermediate School students they were chaperoning on a school trip to Bush Stadium Wednesday were accidentally left at the stadium.

Photo by Roger Starkey

The five went souvenir shopping following the afternoon science exhibit and baseball game, and arrived late to the area where they were to meet their bus, which had left without them, Collinsville Unit 10 Superintendent Bob Green said.

The confusion arose, Green said, from the fact that the students and chaperones were not assigned to a particular bus, which made it difficult for those in charge to account for everyone.

“We didn’t do a good job of planning,” Green said. “We let people get on any bus and we didn’t keep good track of them.”

With no ride home, the five rode the MetroLink into Illinois, where they were picked up by family members.

“The good news is, everyone got home safely,” Green said. “The good thing is the kids were never without an adult chaperone.”

In response to the incident, a change to field trip procedures was issued, effective immediately, Green said. Every individual will be assigned to a bus and a teacher will be responsible for taking roll call before a bus departs.

Students from Collinsville High School and Webster Elementary School also attended the game Wednesday. No children were left behind from either school. High school teachers were given a roster of names for whom they were responsible. Green said this was not policy across the entire district before the incident Wednesday.

“It was left up to the individual or the school how to account for the students,” Green said.

No disciplinary action was taken against anyone involved in the incident.

“We don’t see a need for it,” Green said. “If it happens again, with the new procedures, we may have to consider it.”