Early Dismissals

Now that final exam week has begun, my son has a shortened daily schedule. Normally, his high school day runs from 8 am to 3:30 pm. During exam week, he will be getting out at 12 most days and 10 am the last day. For some reason, the school buses won't be running early--if they aren't picked up, they have to hang out in the gym for the rest of the day. I committed myself to picking him up after his exams each day--it's going well so far. I wonder how in the world I will do things like this when I am working full-time in Florida? I don't understand why the buses aren't taking them home after exams are over. We saw a bunch of teens walking along the highway--don't know exactly where they were going. The line of cars was very long and it took a while to get through the maze of the parking lot. Some teens seemed to be hanging out at the two fast food places near the school--it's not like there are many choices around here. I
just don't understand the disconnect between school schedules and real life--especially in the suburbs where there is no public transportation and no where to go. Working parents need to unite and demand that the schools and community find ways to work out these issues. When they were young, daycare helped many parents--what do they do with teens on days like this, or on holidays, or in the summer? I have some ideas that maybe I will discuss some other time--basically, I think schools should be front and center in communities with many activities and work options nearby--teens could go to community centers to do homework and to hang out--they could work at many places if there were many businesses nearby, and so on. Since we won't be completely overhauling school systems anytime soon, I have chosen to move my family to a place that DOES provide many of these options--if we could just GET there! I am REALLY noticing the pitfalls of suburbia lately--some are better than others, but the one I am in now is terribly isolated and disconnected from any kind of community life. It worked when they were younger, but it seems to be a less than ideal arrangement for active teenagers. I can't wait to get out of here!