2016-17 Carpool Procedures

Here’s what you need to know to make carpool run as smoothly as possible!

MORNINGS & CARPOOL

Please make note of our Morning Drop-Off procedures:

TCS provides Early Morning Child Care at no charge from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Parents must accompany children to the gym and sign them in to be admitted to early morning care. The school cannot be liable for children who have not been properly signed in.

Carpool runs from 8:00 a.m. to 8:25 a.m. during which time a uniformed law enforcement officer will assist with the flow of traffic. Classroom teachers and sixth grade students will open car doors each morning in front of the school.

Morning drop-off works very smoothly if everyone remembers the following:

1. Please follow the law enforcement officer’s instructions.
2. Signal when entering the drop-off zone and reduce your driving speed.
3. Pull up as far as you can, allowing cars behind you to get into the drop-off zone.
4. After stopping, put your car in park. (Sometimes cars continue to move after the door has been opened.)
5. Allow a faculty member or student helper to open your car door and assist your child out of the car.
6. Use your turn signal when leaving the drop-off zone.
7. Remember that only the lead car pulls out. DO NOT PULL OUT AROUND THE CAR IN FRONT OF YOU. (This may take an extra minute, but it is the absolute safest procedure to follow.)

If you need to escort your child into school, please do not park in the loading zone in front of our buildings. You may park on Tenth Street or in the neighborhood. Please pay attention to neighborhood parking signage, as some areas do not allow non-resident parking. 

School begins promptly at 8:30 a.m. each day. Please have children at school no later than 8:15 a.m. so they can get settled, greet friends and be ready to begin class on time.

Children who arrive after 8:25 a.m. must have an adult sign them in at the front desk and accompany them to their classrooms. Please know that we continue to emphasize our expectation that parents have their children at school on time. Late arrivals are disruptive to the entire class. Please work with us so that your child may receive the maximum benefit of every school day.

AFTERNOONS & CARPOOL

Afternoon Pick-Up is from 3:15 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 2:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. on Fridays. Please adhere to the following rules:

1. Please follow the instructions of the officer directing traffic.
2. Do not queue up before 3:15 p.m. (2:15 p.m. on Fridays).
3. The school’s office assigns carpool numbers that parents must visibly display in the windshield. Please help your child learn his or her carpool number before the start of school.  
4. Pull forward to keep cars close.
5. Stop and allow a faculty member to place child (children) in car.
6. Signal before pulling out.
7. Wait for the lead car to pull out. DO NOT PULL OUT AROUND THE CAR IN FRONT OF YOU UNLESS YOU HAVE BEEN DIRECTED TO DO SO BY THE OFFICER.
8. For safety and minimal disruption to all families, it is important that conversations between parents and teachers are kept to a minimum during carpool. Please email or call your child’s teacher to set up a meeting, or park your car to meet with the teacher after carpool is over.

School is dismissed Monday through Thursday at 3:15 p.m. and on Friday at 2:15 p.m. During afternoon carpool, teachers will send children to their cars only when the car has reached our designated loading zone.

Children not in the Discovery Extended Day Program must be picked up by 3:45 p.m. (2:45 p.m. on Fridays). Otherwise they will be sent to The Discovery Extended Day Program and you will be billed a drop-in fee of $30.00.

CARPOOL RULES & REMINDERS

At all times, please adhere to the following Safety Rules:

1. Do not pull into our driveways to pick-up or drop-off children.
2. Do not make U-turns or cross lanes to drop off children against the traffic flow.
3. Do not leave your car parked in the loading zone during arrival or dismissal time. If you need to come into school, park in a designated parking zone.
4. Do not park across the street and send the children across traffic to school.
5. Do not pull into the front of a carpool line.
6. Do not block our Tenth Street neighbors’ driveways while waiting in line.

The drop-off procedure is to drive around the block so that you do not have to cross the line of traffic on Tenth Street to drop your child off in the loading zone. There is no Ninth Street access to the campus. All drop-off and pick-up must be done on Tenth Street. Please follow all rules in order to avoid accidents and traffic tickets.