Schools not allowing parents to enter- Covid protocol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do you need to go into the school except if there is something specific for parents? In fact, I think it’s something that should have happened a long time ago for safety of all kids and staff. People just can’t walk into my place of work without going through security and being escorted. And we don’t have children at our workplace. I’m 💯 supportive of these policies.

What are you speaking of ? There are security protocols in place whether the school is closed or open. Sign in at the security desk, check in at the office etc. parents are allowed to walk their children to class. Parents are not the enemy who will harm the school environment if they enter… wth

Some schools don’t even allowed parents to go into the office. Like the parents can’t walk through the front doors. Parents have to speak with an intercom at the door.

It’s ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are you speaking of ? There are security protocols in place whether the school is closed or open. Sign in at the security desk, check in at the office etc. parents are allowed to walk their children to class. Parents are not the enemy who will harm the school environment if they enter… wth

Some schools don’t even allowed parents to go into the office. Like the parents can’t walk through the front doors. Parents have to speak with an intercom at the door.

It’s ridiculous.

Yes, this is our school.

The first week of school this year, I was dropping my child off and had a bag of uniforms that I had promised for a girl in a younger grade, whose mom I'd met at a back to school event. I had told her I'd leave the bag with the front desk and figured I'd just drop it at the desk when I dropped my child off for school. The bag had the student's name on it but I wanted to explain the situation to the admin to make sure the clothes got delivered to the right place and also in away that wasn't awkward for the student. I wasn't allowed to go in and they took the bag from me but wouldn't even let me take a moment to write a note (they said I needed to clear the entrance) so I don't even know if the clothes got to the recipient.

It's a very standoffish way to run a school and is not conducive to building community at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To see preschoolers screaming and crying at hand off is so sad. Parents should be able to walk them in and warm them up. The teacher can handle telling the parent when it’s time to go, etc.

One nice thing at our school is that the preschool classrooms have a separate door, and many of the classrooms actually have their own door. So while parents are not welcome in the classroom in the morning, they can at least walk their kids right to the door, and since it's separate from normal drop off, it's a little more humane.

When the weather is good, some of the preschool teachers will start the day outside, also, which allows parents to do drop off on the playground where they actually are allowed to linger and acclimate their kids as needed. It absolutely helps.

But starting in K you have to drop off at the front doors and parents are not allowed in the building.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're at a Title 1 DCPS and have the same policy, OP. Though they no longer refer to it as "Covid protocol." They just don't want parents in the building.

We are allowed in for special events but, for instance, if my kid has a doctor's appointment, I have to tell the security guard at the front door that I'm there to pick her up, and then she is retrieved and brought to the front door to me. And when I drop her back off, I can't walk her to her classroom or even enter the building -- I drop her with the security guard and she walks to her classroom alone. She's in kindergarten.

I hate it. I get limiting how much time parents spend in the building because you can get overzealous parents who are around all the time and disrupting classes or just clogging up hallways. And I understand having security protocols in place and making sure any adult entering the building is actually a parent and has a reason to be there.

We started school during Covid so I have no idea if it was like this before.

There is literally no reason why you should be able to pick your daughter up from class or walk her back to class after a doctors appointment. What you described is exactly how a school should work.

I think it's weird that a parent can't even enter the building. I would be find with a policy where you walk your kid into the front office and then they either walk to their class alone or get escorted, once the admin has confirmed that the class is in the classroom (they could be at a special or at recess).

I also think that on a case-by-case basis, a parent might walk a young kid to the classroom, say if there is something they need to inform the teacher of regarding the child's absence (like if my kid just got a flu vaccine I might want to tell their teacher so they understand if he seems low energy). Yes, I can text the teacher or send a note with my kid, but I could see in certain situations where it would be useful of the parent to just drop the child off directly.

There are ways to limit parents in schools without having a policy that requires them to hand their children off to a security guard at the door. It's a very cold and impersonal way of interact with families, IMO.

i think this it nuts and i am a certified helicopter parents. my kids started in DCPS in 2009 and parents were never allowed to walk kids to class/retrieve them from class in any of the schools they went to (Murch, Deal, Wilson when it was Wilson and now JR). kids had to be dropped off or picked up from the main office by the front door> the idea of walking a kid to class to talk to the teacher is just crazy. you may interrupt the teacher while she is teaching kids, or talking to another parent who had an appointment. a teacher in DCPS is normally super busy during the day at school and I dont even understand how you can think that the teacher should there at any time ready to listen to you during the work day. I had a kid with high anxiety who had in a few occasions to leave class because of a specific trigger and it never occurred to me to show up at school to talk to the teacher. i always communicated by email and, when needed, i requested an appointment. especially in elementary school, adults should not be allowed to roam around the school with kids who are 4 or 5 going to bathroom or walking in the hallways. I know wiht the new Maga theme "all power to the parents" some people think they should be able to do what they want with schools but this is crazy. no parents in schools please, unless they are approved volunteers in some school program or unless there is an event open to the parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To see preschoolers screaming and crying at hand off is so sad. Parents should be able to walk them in and warm them up. The teacher can handle telling the parent when it’s time to go, etc.

This is not a good idea. This makes it so much harder on the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To see preschoolers screaming and crying at hand off is so sad. Parents should be able to walk them in and warm them up. The teacher can handle telling the parent when it’s time to go, etc.

This is not a good idea. This makes it so much harder on the kids.

Parents walking in the classroom makes it so much harder for kids, I agree.

Kids do better with a fast separation, and with teachers who can pay attention to them and aren't distracted by needy parents.

[Anonymous]

Sounds just like jail.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To see preschoolers screaming and crying at hand off is so sad. Parents should be able to walk them in and warm them up. The teacher can handle telling the parent when it’s time to go, etc.

No, even before COVID, the prek classrooms had a rule about no parents allowed in the classroom for the first 6 weeks while teachers built a classroom community. Minimize drop off, do it quickly, rip off the bandaid, and it works out better for kids (and I speak from experience, we were slow to learn this with our first kid, but it worked well with our 2nd kid who was much more shy, but did better with dropoff).

[Anonymous]

Why do parents need to be in the school? I don’t recall my parents ever being at school during the day. They came for Back to School Night, and Parent-Teacher conferences, and that was it. Maybe to pick me up when I got sick a couple of times.

[Anonymous]

What is this need for parents to be in the building?

Even in the 80s' and 90s, my parent never came in the building unless there was a parent teacher conference or event. I took the bus starting at 4-years old when I started Kindergarten and lived to tell about it.

Parents coming into school for dropoff and pickup makes a chaotic situation worse and is a serious safety concern.

[Anonymous]

I'd rather our school had this policy than allow anyone into the building based on what the person said at the intercom.

We have to push the intercom button, state our name and why we are there, and show a photo ID to get buzzed in. However, several times, I've been buzzed in without providing a photo ID.

[Anonymous]

I'm not in DCPS but our school pre-covid always had these policies.

They do not need parents clogging up the halls, standing around having social hour with each other if it's drop off or pick up, talking loudly with their child or other adults outside classroom doors. None of it. It's disruptive to everyone.

If you pick up a sick kid or need to get them for an appointment, you wait in the office and the kid is there or comes to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do parents need to be in the school? I don’t recall my parents ever being at school during the day. They came for Back to School Night, and Parent-Teacher conferences, and that was it. Maybe to pick me up when I got sick a couple of times.

Allowing parents to come in and observe classes, etc., is useful for fostering trust and may help to avoid those annoying emails from parents teachers on this board constantly complain about. As a parent it is hard to know what is going on in the classroom, particularly with young kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do parents need to be in the school? I don’t recall my parents ever being at school during the day. They came for Back to School Night, and Parent-Teacher conferences, and that was it. Maybe to pick me up when I got sick a couple of times.

Allowing parents to come in and observe classes, etc., is useful for fostering trust and may help to avoid those annoying emails from parents teachers on this board constantly complain about. As a parent it is hard to know what is going on in the classroom, particularly with young kids.

Allow parents to come in and observe classes? I've literally never heard of this. WTA helicopter F?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not in DCPS but our school pre-covid always had these policies.

They do not need parents clogging up the halls, standing around having social hour with each other if it's drop off or pick up, talking loudly with their child or other adults outside classroom doors. None of it. It's disruptive to everyone.

If you pick up a sick kid or need to get them for an appointment, you wait in the office and the kid is there or comes to you.

+1 not to mention the security risk in multiple ways.