Parent drop off car line

[Anonymous]

MS/HS car lines have so many cars cutting in line, double parking, not pulling up so more cars can drop off at a time… I’m missing how well ES lines were and only now realize how hard it is to do that- so shout out to any parent volunteers working car drop off lines- thank you for trying! School years almost over!

[Anonymous]

It’s crazy and dangerous. Why don’t kids ride the bus anymore? I had to drop off my HS daughter one morning. She normally takes the bus but had to bring in a couple bags of clothes that day. We waited in the line for 10 minutes and I saw parents cutting through the student parking lot, driving over the curb to get out of the student parking lot because cones were blocking the exit and impeding the kids with cars from parking. Basically using the parking lot as a cut through to avoid waiting in the line. School even had some guy out there to manage all of this but he couldn’t be bothered. It’s a chronic problem which could be alleviated somewhat if kids took the bus.

[Anonymous]

I’ve noticed this too (my kids are now in HS & MS).

I think it is the anonymity of larger schools. In elementary, there were a lot of teachers and aides rotating drop off line duties- the principal was often out there too. Also- the parents knew each other more. There definitely would’ve been more of an embarrassment factor if you broke the rules or got reprimanded.

At my kids’ high school it is just a security guy directing the drop off line, and there are so many people it would be hard to recognize most cars. If people want to drive like jerks and break rules, no one would really know.

As for the bus: our bus schedule and regularity has gotten worse and worse over the years due to lack of drivers and other things. It might come on time, might be 20min late, maybe 40min late- who knows? I drive my kids to HS most days because I want them to be on time for first period- also one has to carry a lot of large sports gear seasonally and get it stashed before first period which takes extra time and is inconvenient for bus.

[Anonymous]

I realize they may sometimes be carrying gear or extra bags but is there a way to avoid these lines? Drop them off a few blocks away?

[Anonymous]

I think my kid’s school is a unicorn. I am amazed daily it’s so easy. There are hardly any cars dropping off. I think most kids must walk or drive themselves and their parking lot has different access points.

[Anonymous]

If the students who were assigned to a bus would ride it, or the students in the walk zone would walk, much of these Kiss and Go issues would be alleviated, at any grade level.

- teacher and parent

[Anonymous]

Agree. It's ridiculous that parents drive their kids. I have never understood this. Does the school have any poser to prevent it? I did only when we needed to rush for a rare appointment. We'd arrange to meet on a side street, a short walk away from the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the students who were assigned to a bus would ride it, or the students in the walk zone would walk, much of these Kiss and Go issues would be alleviated, at any grade level.

- teacher and parent

In DC, the public bus system is how students would get around, and it isn't great at being regular and on time.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on where you live as reliability can be an issue. With that said, I know plenty of parents who live off of seemingly safe bus lines in NW DC full of mostly college and younger students and professional people that drive their kids to school when a bus literally comes within a block or so of both their school and their homes in NW DC. I understand when the children are younger, but at some point building the independence and confidence fromngetting to or from school by oneself becomes important, IMHO. When those same parents complain about the pick up lines taking so long, I simply roll my eyes and walk away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I realize they may sometimes be carrying gear or extra bags but is there a way to avoid these lines? Drop them off a few blocks away?

This is what we did for both MS and HS. There was an unofficial spot with easy access to the school that many families used. Across the street (at a crosswalk) for the MS and on a side street with a paved path directly to the school for HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree. It's ridiculous that parents drive their kids. I have never understood this. Does the school have any poser to prevent it? I did only when we needed to rush for a rare appointment. We'd arrange to meet on a side street, a short walk away from the school.

My kid walks home, but the first crosswalk he would have to walk across is filled with my a$$-hole neighbor’s cars getting to work in the morning. They seem to think that they can block the crosswalk AND the entire intersection while waiting for the traffic light. So, we drive him in the morning. The kids get out before afternoon rush hour, so it is fine to walk home.

I would make him walk if people could follow don’t block the box rules.

[Anonymous]

I've used the carpool lane in 6 schools, and driver behavior is ALWAYS related to the location set-up, which is something neither parents nor the school have total control over.

At one elementary, the carpool lane was a double wide, so there were line cutters and the Principal had to get out and bang on car hoods to get drivers to follow directions. Not so at the other elementary, which was all single lane for every direction, in a residential neighborhood. You couldn't cut in line at all. At both middle schools, it was orderly, again because the set-up did not allow for any thing else. One high school was a dangerous mess because there was no space for a carpool line and cars would spill out students everywhere, which freaked out the Principal on dark winter mornings. It's an accident waiting to happen. The other high school was able to make it work, despite sometimes blocking a major intersection with its lane of drivers waiting to drop off kids in the morning. No cutting in line.