As a parochial school (K-8), we don't have any buses picking up kids -- all are picked up by parents or whoever picks them up or walk home if close enough. The walkers are dismissed first so they are not around all the cars. Then we have 3 lanes in the circle drive in front of the door, although it is only 2 lanes coming off the street. As cars get up to the school they split into the 3 lanes. The kids gather in the chapel by grade (near the front door) and a staff member goes out and walks the lines, writing the family names down in the order they're waiting. He/she then uses a headphone radio that goes into the PA system in the chapel and reads off the names -- the kids form 3 lines at the front door corresponding to the order of the cars in the lines. Lines are dismissed one at a time and the kids go out to their cars. As the cars are filled in a line (and when all kids who have been released are in their cars), the line of cars moves out and the ones behind fill in. At the beginning of the year each family has a laminated paper with the family name and number of kids -- this goes into the windshield, but after a while the staff recognize cars and parents so they get pretty good at it. I hope this makes sense! It sounds complicated but it's a pretty good system.
at our school the buses pull up out front and the principal and a few staff members go out and supervise the students getting on the buses...the car rides all go to the gym, we have a second driveway that goes to the back of the school and the gym opens out to it, so the cars line up outside the gym door and the students exit through there and go to their cars. i'm not sure how hte sign out works on the car riders thoug since my kid rides the bus. but my friends kids school has them go in to the gym and there is someone there wiht a clibboard that signs them out.
I appreciate all the feedback! Thank you all so much and please keep the ideas coming. I am getting a little from everyone to help with crafting an interim plan for our school. I must admit that the story from dillons5 has me a little timid about the loop pick up scheme Ü but I'm glad the injury wasn't more serious. ~Joan
We also have car riders and bus riders exit the school seperately. We are pre-K thru 5.PreK thru 2 leave their classrooms five minutes before 3-5. The bus riders go out 2 sets of doors at either end of the main hall. The homeroom teachers walk their classes to the buses.The car riders go to the auditorium where 3 teachers are on bus duty. The buses load in a loop in the front of the building. The cars go thru a loop on the side of the building. We have 4-5 teachers outside who call the students by walkie-talkies. The cars have laminated sheets in the dashboard with the name of who they are picking up. The teachers walk each child to the car and help them in and help with seatbelts so that parents do not have to get out.
We have had to put cones up all thru the parking lot (the loop goes around the parked cars) because parents will cut through rows of parked cars if the loop is not full. We had this happen one morning last week and a teacher walking got hit by a truck. She is OK but very bruised and beat up.
I like the idea of signing students out of a "car rider room" but with so many students, that just seems really hectic! But anything is better than running over the staff!!
At my daughters school(K-5), teachers of students K-2 walk out with the students and each child must shake hands with their teacher when a parent has arrived so the teacher sees who the child is going home with. Bus students come out with an aide a few minutes before school gets out. Kids in grades 3-5 are allowed to walk or bike home so they are allowed to come out without a teacher but the teacher still shakes their hand so they know they have left. Also, there are seperate doors, kindergaten has their own door, 1st and 2nd grades come out the side door and 3rd-5th come out the front door.
