Georgetown Day and parking

[Anonymous]

We did the tour and interview and found out that parents aren't allowed to walk in to school in the morning. Everyone MUST use the car pool line. A current parent told us that the afternoon line is crazy, it takes her 45 minutes to pick up her DD. More importantly, we have a 3 year old that we are applying for PreK. I can't imagine not walking in a 4 year old to school. Of course the chances of admission are low anyway, but I wonder whether we should even apply with these rules in place. Never allowed to walk in for drop offs or pick ups? How on earth would we get to know anyone? Am I overreacting?

[Anonymous]

Your child is very young, but yes, you are overreacting. You get to know them at parent potlucks, via playdates, parent coffee nights, on the DC public playground up the street where people meet after school. Those kinds of things.

[Anonymous]

Having just switched our DD from a school with walk-in drop off to a school where everyone drops off from the carpool line, I have to say it takes a LOT longer to get to know other parents, not to mention the kids in the class, even if you volunteer, go to the potlucks, etc. It is much harder to feel connected. I wouldn't rule out a school over this, but it would definitely make my list of "cons."

[Anonymous]

After the first day, when the Pre-K and K kids see the "big kids" leaving the cars and going to class on their own, the little ones generally don't want to be walked in anymore.

[Anonymous]

I think that this is a policy that needs to be changed. Seems like an overly restrictive interpretation of the agreement with the neighborhood. (Agreement hasn't changed but the policy has gotten stricter over the years). I wonder whether the new head will take the same stance on this issue.

I think pick-up is more of an issue (for both kids and parents) than drop-off and at pick-up time, the neighbors aren't nearly as impacted as at morning rush hour. So splitting the difference (drop them from the car in the morning; walk onto campus to pick them up in the afternoon) seems like a really reasonable way to balance all the interests involved.

[Anonymous]

Yes, yes. I am a new parent at GDS and its hard to feel connected to the school without the walk-in drop offs and pickups. Its very impersonal from the car. I have no sense of DC's classroom any more. I barely know the teachers. Not doing a lot better with parents as no one is standing around and talking and getting to know each other these days. We are in one of the very young grades and I know the school is incredible in the older grades. But its tough to love it now when DC is so young and I have been cut out of the school. (I volunteer. Its not the same.) I've talked to the few other parents that I do know and people are very disgruntled. The other poster is also correct in her description of the car pool line. Sitting in the car and waiting can be unmanageable on some days. Applicants should certainly know about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think that this is a policy that needs to be changed. Seems like an overly restrictive interpretation of the agreement with the neighborhood. (Agreement hasn't changed but the policy has gotten stricter over the years). I wonder whether the new head will take the same stance on this issue.

I think pick-up is more of an issue (for both kids and parents) than drop-off and at pick-up time, the neighbors aren't nearly as impacted as at morning rush hour. So splitting the difference (drop them from the car in the morning; walk onto campus to pick them up in the afternoon) seems like a really reasonable way to balance all the interests involved.

But remember drop off is the time when parents can get a feel of the classroom dynamics and get to know teachers over time. Perhaps another option is that there is very limited walking in at drop off. Say only preK and K. Maybe 1st too. In any case, someone does need to be thinking through this and it would appear at the moment that the school is ignoring its parent body's interests and the children's interests We certainly have not heard that there is serious work going on to renegotiate the agreement or build new parking on campus. The communication has been in the form of one fairly rude and patronizing email from the head of school and silence since then. So much for encouraging parents to be involved in the school. GDS may need to rewrite some of their advertising brochures if they are serious about keeping up this policy. Its certainly not the impression we got when we applied.

[Anonymous]

The teachers are there at pick-up as well and for PreK/K there will continue to be lots of in-classroom opportunities for parents (including the weekly writing workshop in the spring which is right after drop-off). 1st grade never had much classroom access for parents. Seemed like the goal was to make the transition to a place where school/the classroom was for kids. And that's reasonable -- especially since 1st isn't an entry year so parents/kids aren't new to the school at that point.

I'm not opposed to a PreK/K exception -- I just think it's a harder sell than the drop-off vs. pick-up distinction. But I could be wrong and the walk on to pick up (but not to drop off) option won't do much for many working parents. So it's certainly not a perfect solution.

Maybe it's time for the parents to organize around this issue and to take it up with the administration. I think parents bitch among themselves, some just ignore the policy, and occasionally one writes to the administration, but I have yet to see a collective approach taken on this issue.

[Anonymous]

My DC is new in K, and all sorts of people open the car door in the morning. Its not his classroom teachers. At least not so far. It definitely gives me no opportunity to see the classroom or get to know anyone. I would love to see collective action. But it won't happen by all of us bitching on an anonymous board will it? But I am not an organizer and I am also worried about making a negative impression as a new parent. Being silent and angry about it isn't helping the situation though.

[Anonymous]

There are actually more classroom teachers doing carpool at pick-up than at drop-off. During drop-off the classroom teachers are generally in the classroom getting ready for the kids, so the specials teachers (esp PE but also some music and foreign language) and administrators generally do drop-off.

[Anonymous]

I don't live in the GDS neighborhood nor do I have a child there, and I think some of you are being quite inconsiderate to the surrounding community in discounting their legitimate complaints. We are considering applying to GDS and I agree, the lack of walking-in is a negative in my mind. But I certainly wouldn't expect the school to renegotiate the community agreement, or act as if their concerns are no big deal and the parent body is all that matters. (Referring only to some of the PPs, not all.) Talk about an entitled, spoiled attitude.

If you already had a child there when the policy was changed, you have the right to feel annoyed; change is hard. If you are only applying, then get a grip and decide whether you still want to apply, policy and all. Just don't whine about the policy.

[Anonymous]

Personally, I'd hate to see this become a voting issue for parents who are applying. It's a great school and there are worse things than having an administration that is overly-solicitous of the neighbors. That said, I agree with PP that the parents' interests have been pretty much ignored/sacrificed on this particular issue.

For those of us who live in DC, often in neighborhoods near schools, playgrounds, shopping, churches, etc. we're used to being the neighbors, so we understand the traffic issues from that perspective. But we expect a little reciprocity. If anyone can park for two hours in front of my house to go out to lunch, why can't I park in front of their house for 20 minutes to walk my kid in to school? And why does the Head of my kid's school get to make that call. DC government already made it when it decided how to ration on street parking under the residential permit system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't live in the GDS neighborhood nor do I have a child there, and I think some of you are being quite inconsiderate to the surrounding community in discounting their legitimate complaints. We are considering applying to GDS and I agree, the lack of walking-in is a negative in my mind. But I certainly wouldn't expect the school to renegotiate the community agreement, or act as if their concerns are no big deal and the parent body is all that matters. (Referring only to some of the PPs, not all.) Talk about an entitled, spoiled attitude.

If you already had a child there when the policy was changed, you have the right to feel annoyed; change is hard. If you are only applying, then get a grip and decide whether you still want to apply, policy and all. Just don't whine about the policy.

PP: I think there are ways to respect the neighborhood and to also allow the school community to thrive, make young kids comfortable in the classroom, allow teachers and parents to interact normally, allow parents to interact normally. You said you don't live in the neighborhood and you don't have a child at the school. I do have a child in the school and I know two people who lives in the neighborhood. I can assure you that our school community is being adversely affected by this strict policy. In many ways. My neighborhood friends says that they really do not mind if parents use legal spots and follow traffic rules. It seems the issue is that past parents have done rude and obnoxious things such as block people's driveways for lengths of time. That is being a bad neighbor. We are all paying for this and for the school's non-policing in years past. Renegotiation should certainly be on the cards and among other things parents should be heavily penalized for things like blocking driveways. In the meantime, it would be good for everybody to remember that GDS brings a lot to the neighborhood too. It truly is a give and take. I don't think any of us are being spoiled whiners. Its not just about the parents and kids either, ultimately all of this affects what kind of school GDS is. This saddens and disturbs many parents. We'd like to look for a compromise so that the school can be a good neighbor but we can also have a thriving community. I hope the administration cares about this but perhaps it does not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the meantime, it would be good for everybody to remember that GDS brings a lot to the neighborhood too.

I'm genuinely curious about what you mean. What does GDS bring to the neighborhood? I live near another big school, and mostly it brings traffic. But maybe GDS is better about giving back?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I'd hate to see this become a voting issue for parents who are applying. It's a great school and there are worse things than having an administration that is overly-solicitous of the neighbors. That said, I agree with PP that the parents' interests have been pretty much ignored/sacrificed on this particular issue.

For those of us who live in DC, often in neighborhoods near schools, playgrounds, shopping, churches, etc. we're used to being the neighbors, so we understand the traffic issues from that perspective. But we expect a little reciprocity. If anyone can park for two hours in front of my house to go out to lunch, why can't I park in front of their house for 20 minutes to walk my kid in to school? And why does the Head of my kid's school get to make that call. DC government already made it when it decided how to ration on street parking under the residential permit system.

We live in the district and understand traffic issues. We're very interested in the school. We would support good neighborhood policies. (Who would not?). But this thread is troubling. Fantastic school but I don't like what I am hearing about parent and student interests being ignored and sacrificed. What else could go in the future? This doesn't sound like GDS is doing right by its community. And one of the things the parent tour guide talked about was what a great community it was! It won't be as easy to keep that up with parents using only the car pool line.