I am curious about other districts and how they handle different
issues in the school routine. How does your school handle
dismissal of students at the end of the day? It seems so
caotic around here. Our principal has instituted a whole new
policy- it is not good. All of our students are either bused or
someone picks them up. NO ONE walks.
We have no busses and only about 6 walkers in a school of 400. We have about 20-30 that attend our after school program and everyone else is picked up by a parent, grandparent, etc. Talk about NUTS! Our parking lot as organized as they try to make it with the traffic pattern is a madhouse. Kindergarten is dismissed at 2:20, 1st - 5th at 2:25 and 6th - 8th at 2:30. Most of our kids have siblings in the other levels so their rides have to wait anyway. Then you have those parents who stand around and talk for 15 minutes, etc. I have never been in a school where they had a GOOD system.
There is probably no good way. Maybe the change is
driving me crazy... He (the principal) always seems to
be coming up with some wild idea that doesn't seem
to get thought out to well. Not the worst problem
in the world I will admit!!
all walking students leave by the east door at 3:15 and must be off school property immediately. Crossing guard walks them across the street to go in various directions - bikes are parked on that side of the street and must be walked to the nearest corner to use.
All cars on the street on the south side of the building going one direction and those students leave at 3:15 No Passing -
All bus students line up at the north door inside according to the number on the bus they ride. They are dismissed one bus at a time.
All classrooms have a red dot for the last bus rider out the room. No bus can leave until all red dots are collected by the bus supervisor who steps outside and waves them off
We have different times for dismissal (with bells). We have no walkers here (we're a country school):
2:28 - K-2nd grade car riders dismiss
2:30 - K-2nd grade bus riders dismiss
2:32 - 3rd-5th car riders dismiss
2:35 - 3rd-5th bus riders dismiss
It gets the little ones in their areas before the big ones go. We also have to walk ORDERLY down the halls - 2 lines (one down each side of the hall) all on the 3rd block away from the wall.
It sounds very rigid, but it sure makes for an easier exit! They ARE allowed to talk, so it's still noisy, but at least it's somewhat structured.
We have different times for dismissal (with bells). We have no walkers here (we're a country school):
2:28 - K-2nd grade car riders dismiss
2:30 - K-2nd grade bus riders dismiss
2:32 - 3rd-5th car riders dismiss
2:35 - 3rd-5th bus riders dismiss
It gets the little ones in their areas before the big ones go. We also have to walk ORDERLY down the halls - 2 lines (one down each side of the hall) all on the 3rd block away from the wall.
It sounds very rigid, but it sure makes for an easier exit! They ARE allowed to talk, so it's still noisy, but at least it's somewhat structured.
Susan, that sounds like a great plan. Do they ring a bell for each of the dismissal times?
Our school has 800 students and 14 busses. The other half or so of the school is picked up. Busses go out the back and the front is used for dismissal. We have a circle and children sit in the gym and names are called on a loud speaker. Car dismissal takes about 30 minutes. Busdismissal only 10 at the most!
Susanteach: What do families with children at multiple levels do?
My school has 1100 students, 17 busses, plus a car rider line that wraps the parking lot 4 times, out the drive, and down the road. Our car rider line is so long that the local police come daily to direct traffic in and out of the parking lot.
2:30- all car riders are dismissed (K-5)
2:32- after school programs, shuttle bus riders, and "walkers" (these students do not actually walk- they have parents who refuse to wait in the car rider lines)
2:34- K-2 bussers are dismissed- walked out by teachers
2:36- 3-5 bussers are dismissed- waked out by teachers
Busses leave from the front circle, and car riders are picked up in the back parking lot.
Car rider dismissal is handled by our wonderful assisstants. THe students all sit on the ground and wait for their name to be called. 8 cars pull up to the sidewalk at a time and someone walks down the line with a microphone and calls all the names, they pull forward and the next 8 pull up.
By 2:45 all the buses are gone. By 2:50 all of the car riders are gone. For so many students it goes really smoothly!
Walkers and car riders go to the front of the building, busers go to the back. Two teachers on each grade level have bus duty, and two on each grade level have sidewalk duty. One takes the front of the line and the other takes the back. All teachers spread out along their duty area. One principal is at the buses with a walkie talkie. He can talk to the office and to the bus drivers in case any kid gets on the bus when he wasn't suppose to, or if the office gets a call that a parent is coming to pick up after the kid went to the bus. The other principal stands with the car riders and walkers. She stays there until every kid is picked up. It goes smoothly, and all kids are gone by within 15 minutes.
At 2:50 the first bell rings and bus and car riders are dismissed. The buses are on one side of the building and the car line is on the other. We have a very long car line. It runs throught a huge parking lot is done two cars side by side and then they feed into one line. The kids sit at the car rider ramp in sections by grade level and then they call the kids by name to get in their car. They can load about 5 vehicles at once. Then the next group pulls up.
Once all the buses leave. Normally between 2:55 and 3:00 the 2nd bell rings which is for walkers and daycare riders. The daycare vans pull up where the buses just left from.
Normally the car rider line is cleared out by 3:10.
We herd them out the doors, immediately lock the doors, and pass out the Prozac!
Seriously, we have all walkers escorted across the street, pickups are in the cafeteria and called as their parents arrive. We use walkie-talkies and have someone going down the line of cars so the kids can be outside by the time the parents arrive at the pickup area. All others are escorted to the busses. Busses are in front of the school and cars are routed thru a side lot in a one way line.
The only problems we seem to have is parents that come when they are good and ready. We always have students that are taken to the front office to wait in the hall till mom and dad decide they are risking a charge of child abandonment if they don't show up.
We have 600+ and we let them all leave when the bell rings. We have a bus lot that is only for busses. Those kids get about 5 minutes to get to the bus. We have 2 parking lots which cut down on issues, but doesn't stop them altogether. Most parents who come up to pick up their child (I am in primary and we are at the back), will get to school up to 30 minutes before school gets out to get a parking spot.
Drop off however is a bigger problem for us though. Many parents cannot seem to figure out that the drop off lane is not for stopping.
We have a silent dismissal via our in-house TV channel -- a different icon/word combo pops up on tv when the group is dismissed. This cuts back on bells/announcements. All students dismiss quietly and are expected to walk to their designated spot.
First, at 3:40 Kindergarten and walking patrols are dismissed. Walker patrols go out the front door and to their corner. Kindergarten patrols pick up their group of kinders for their bus from the classroom and walk them to their bus.
Around 3:44, SACC (School Age child care) Walkers, Bikers and Kiss N Ride are dismissed via tv announcement. Walkers Bikers go immediately out front door and down the street where the crossing gaurd and patrol are on duty. Kiss n ride is our pick-up spot in a loop -- it's dozens of cars, backed up down the road. They have a system of pull up, stop, pick up and move on. It moves pretty well.
Around 3:46 the first three buses get called -- and kids for those buses walk down and board. Every two minutes another 3 buses are called. We have 15 buses.
Finally the buses pull out when the Kiss N ride line is through!
It works and we have a couple of kids each day that have missed the bus or went kiss n ride instead of bus accidentally.... With a school of about 900 it's not a bad percentage!
We only have 54 students. The bus bell rings at 2:30 and kids run down the hall to the bus (one bus) that picks them up. At 2:40 the other bell rings and everyone else pours out the door. It is insane and needs some structure / order to it in my opinion.
Ours seems chaotic, but I think it goes well. We have three groups: parent pick-up, afterschool, and bus riders. I have a patrol walk my parent pick-up students to the car circle every day. Then we line up with afterschool first, then busses in the order in which they are usually parked. As we walk toward the busses, the afterschool kids go to the gym and I finish talking the bus riders to their busses. Not everyone at my school does it in an orderly fashion, but that's just the teachers, not really the system.
"walkers" really kids picked up by parent leave at 2:10 dismissed by classroom teacher, no bells
busers/after-schoolers: leave at 2:15, dismiseed by classroom teacher, no bells, and walked out to the bus by the teacher. Teachers all meet at a certain spot and the principal waves the buses on.
very simple and not chaotic
Our high school starts first and has the first bus cycle in our district (school begins at 7:15 there), then the middle schoolers are picked up and start at 8. Finally the buses pick up our guys and we start at 8:55.
We have walkers, car riders & bus riders...All students are taken to their designated areas by the teacher at 2:37.
Walkers go to walkers' hall where a teacher waits with them. They are dismissed at 2:45.
Bus riders go to the cafeteria where they wait for the bus and then they are escorted by 2-3 teachers to the bus. (We are a small neighborhood school about 250 students so we only have 2 busses).
Car riders wait in the gym in their designated lines (each class has a line in the gym) with the rest of the teachers. There is 1 teacher that has a 2-way radio and mic that calls names and 2-3 teachers outside. One teacher outside has another 2-way radio. Parents drive in a loop and students are called when their ride arrives. I'm the outside person and recognize 90% of the cars as they drive up so their students are waiting for them when they get into the loop. Each student is escorted to the car by a teacher and put into their car.
Most of the students are out of the building by 3:00. Late goers wait in the lobby with a TA until they are picked up. Sounds complicated, but it is a well oiled machine and we know exactly who each child goes home with. Before this system we had a problem with students not getting home and going to friends' houses and such. Now if a child doesn't get where they are supposed to be we know exactly who they went home with and where they were last seen.
I think that our system works pretty well. We don't have any walkers because we are on a main highway.
At 2:05 the principal announces that all bus riders should be dismissed. Bus riders are walked out by 2 teachers per grade level and immediately go to the bus. At 2:08 the principal announces that van riders are dismissed. These are walked out by 2 teachers per grade level and sit down while they wait on their van to arrive. Bus riders and Van riders dismiss from the circle in front of the school so the van riders have to wait until buses get loaded and out of the way.
At 2:10 the bell rings to dismiss car riders. The remaining teachers walk the car riders out to the side of the building where we have another circle and the parking lot. If parents are in the circle the MUST remain in their car so the traffic doesn't get stopped. The principal will not hesitate to get angry with a parent for getting out of their car or holding up traffic. All students sit on the sidewalk and they are called to silent. The coaches walk down the line and call names which the principal calls over a loudspeaker. Those students come to the front line and watch for their ride. When their ride crosses a designated spot, they raise their hand and one of the teachers on car duty takes them and puts them in their car. When it rains or is really cold, the kids dismiss from the cafeteria, but the procedure is the same.
I have been really impressed with this procedure. We are normally done with dismissal by 2:30 on good day. The longest I've ever known it to take was until 2:40.
Kids either ride the bus or are picked up. We are somewhat rural, so walking isn't convenient for most kids. There are several day cares that pick up at my school and a day care that is housed within the school.
Sp. Area teachers take the kids down to the bus and teachers take car riders out. It is chaotic here as well.
I work in an inter-district magnet school that houses about 800 students, pre-k to 8th grade. We have students that are picked up(pre-k students and some of the other grade students), walkers and bus students. We have 20 buses!!!!! Our dismissal is at 3:30. Walkers and pick ups are no problem-that system works very well. The problem we have is with our bus students. By contract, teachers are only allowed to stay until 3:45-some teachers will stay until all of their students are gone, some will leave right on the dot. At 3:45, the remaining bus students are sent down to the first floor---this is where our problem lies. There are usually 2-3 staff members helping out in the building on the first floor where the remaining bus students are waiting. They are in the hallway that leads to the gym, and near the stairwell that leads for the parents of our pre-k babies to come and leave. Our problem also is, the buses are late, and there are too many students waiting for the bus, and sometimes I am the only staff member in the hallway directing the students to sit, be quiet, move out of the way for the babies and call out the buses that are here.
We have tried the gym, you cannot hear the buses being called. Any suggestions, please.
Mbkiely
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03-06-2007, 11:32 AM
