My blog information is typically informative and filled with classroom photos, activities, upcoming events or academic updates, but today my posting is about the carpool process to give an insiders perspective of safely loading 300 or more students each and every day in vehicles. I have posted about carpool before and asked for your patience at the beginning of the school year and every time tracks 1 and 4 are together. Our line about doubles when these two tracks are together and therefore the time to wait in the carpool line is longer. Today I tackle the question of "why can't the students come out at 3:45 p.m. when the bell rings?" Great question being posed by our parents. Let me give you the inside perspective of of the multiple purpose room during carpool:
At 3:40 p.m. the bell rings indicating to teachers and students that all carpool students need to report to the multipurpose room for dismissal. Students are supposed to be ready when the bell rings (packed up and ready to exit the classroom). Students exit classrooms and are supposed to immediately report to the multipurpose room. We generally have three quarters of the carpool students in the multipurpose room by the the 3:45 dismissal bell. Occasionally students are not ready (not packed up) or do not immediately report to the multipurpose room (stop in restroom or visit an "old" teacher.) Once in the multipurpose room student are asked to sit in grade level lines quietly and listen for their carpool numbers. The staff on duty begins to call numbers and direct students to their assigned cone. The expectation is that students would hear their number and immediately jump up and line up behind their appropriate cone. Once the students have been called to all of the cones then line then proceeds to head out the carpool dismissal loop.
While doors are opened and students are being loaded in the outside loop, students are continually being called to report to a cone. The process should continue smoothly in this manner. "Hiccups" occur when students report to the wrong cone, don't hear their number being called at all, cars decide to pull around one other and the numbers become out of order or a student hasn't reported to carpool and we need to call the classroom for him/her to report to the loop. These hiccups lengthen the carpool dismissal time.
The staff inside and out works extremely hard to run the carpool lane as efficiently as possible each and every day. It is our goal to place each and every student in your cars safely. In order to do that, I need your help. Please talk with your child and reinforce carpool expectations, such as listening for their numbers, immediately coming out of the multipurpose room when their number is called and waiting in an orderly fashion at the carpool cone for their vehicle. Additionally, I have shared before our expectations of not using cell phones once the carpool lane begins moving. Often times, parents are pulling up to the loading cone and they are engaged in a conversation on the phone. We all know that our attention is compromised when we are on the phone and driving. We do not want to jeopardize our student's safety. I receive many phone calls and many parents share their concerns with me during carpool about cell phone use once the line is moving. Lets give our best effort to not use cell phones once the line begins moving.
Thank you again for your support with this matter and know that we will continue to work very hard to maximize our carpool line for you this year.