OP, for kindergarten only, you want to be there between 3:30-3:35. If you show up at 3:40 your child will probably be the last one there.

Since the kindergarten students need the most help with the bus the teachers bring them down before all the other classes. They also have the most people (parents and younger siblings) at pickup, so getting them released first clears out the corridor before all the bigger kids are released.

If you are running late they bring them into the office to sit with the secretaries until you arrive.

OP here.

Thanks for all the tips! We live down Arley (pool side) and would always use the crossing guard. My daughter actually will be starting in a year, but I'm trying to set up a part-time schedule with work this far ahead in advance (I want to have it all nailed down before our administration possibly leaves) and had been wondering how this all worked. I work downtown and would be metroing back. One of the things that has made me nervous is the possibility of a metro delay, which would mean I might be late in picking her up. I've tried to leave as big of a window as possible (leaving work at 2 or 2.15) on the days I don't telework...and hoping that's enough time to get home for a 3.40 pickup.

PP, I look forward to meeting more families! We feel kind of isolated because it seems like many families we see in our neighborhood have a stay at home parent, and the few children on our street are much older. My kids go to daycare in Burke and none of their friends are going to Hunt Valley.

The other tip to remember about Kiss and Ride is that the later you get there, the faster the line goes. Sometimes it makes sense to arrive a few minutes after the dismissal bell. Then you can pull up pretty quickly after the rush is gone. I'm not saying that you should be late in picking up your kid--just arrive at the tail end of the window. You may have to try it a few times to get the timing right.

Anonymous wrote:Park on Arley and cross with the crossing guard. Teach your kid how to do it right.

Definitely. Be sure to use the crossing guard f you live on the other side of Sydenstricker (the pool side). Don't park in the pool lot and run across the busy street. Between buses, kiss and ride and people speeding to work jaywalking is not a good idea.

If you are on the school side park on Kentford and use the crosswalks.

OP, you will enjoy picking up your child with the walkers. There are very nice families at Hunt Valley and it is a wonderful way to meet your neighbors and get to know many of your child's classmates and friends. Everyone always has a nice smile and friendly greeting. Hunt Valley is a very warm and welcoming community. Welcome to the school!

Park on Arley and cross with the crossing guard. Teach your kid how to do it right.

Anonymous wrote:Please don't double park along Kentford and block traffic when you are picking up your kid. That road is crazy at dismissal. Kids bolt out between cars to get to their car on the other side of the street. I've had people honk at me as if I'm passing a school bus with lights flashing when they've been double parked picking up kids.

Yes. Definitely park and walk in. Or at the very least, park, get out on the sidewalk and make sure you kid gets safely into your car.

Do not double park and wave your kid to you accross traffic. There are a very tiny handful of parents who do this and it is not safe. However, the truly dangerous drivers are the ones barreling down Kentford at 35+ mph while the school is emptying, and the folks on Sydenstricker too impatient to wait for people to turn into the school. The people who are too important to obey the 25 mph posted school zone are the ones to watch out for.

OP, the vast majority of parents who park on Kentford are very respectful and careful about pedestrian safety, but it only takes one.

OP, it also sounds like your child is rising kinder based on the seatbelt comment. The kinder classes are the first to be dismissed from the school, so if you park and walk in you should be just fine.

Please don't double park along Kentford and block traffic when you are picking up your kid. That road is crazy at dismissal. Kids bolt out between cars to get to their car on the other side of the street. I've had people honk at me as if I'm passing a school bus with lights flashing when they've been double parked picking up kids.

You don't want to park in the parking lot. You will get blocked in until the kiss and ride line is finished.

OP here. Thanks again!

Fellow Hunt Valley parent- if you pick up your kid as if they were a walker, can you only park on a side street or can you park in the same lot as the kiss and riders?

Hunts Valley parent here in a very similar boat.

Here is the easiest and quickest thing to do.

Classify your kid as a walker who sometimes does kiss and ride so you can get the tag on the days you need it.

Drive to the school and park on the side street near the school. Walk in to pick up your childn just as you would do if you were walking home.. It takes minutes. Check with the school to find which area your walker will be released to.

By mid-late year the kiss and ride seemed to go smoothly but it was very slow in the beginning until everyone got their routine down.

This is done school-by-school. The kiss n ride line at our school is long and goes way down the street. In our line, you do have to wait for the cars in front of you to get their kid before the cars move up, and there are only about 3-4 cars along the curb at any time. There are no window signs or groups...the kids are just standing out in the side yard with some teachers and assistants.

Our school has four different groups. Those that go on afterschool buses, regular school buses, walkers, and kiss and ride. You can have your child go to one the first day and another the next day. You just have to let them know the schedule at the beginning of the year. Kiss and Ride isn't too long since only about 1/4 of the kids are in line there. On rainy days it can be longer.

Thanks, PP! That was very helpful! So does the whole kiss and ride thing move fairly quickly? Good point about it being faster to get out and get your kid (kind of like a drive-thru- much quicker to go inside McDonald's when the drive-thru line is long but no one is inside the restaurant). Actually, that may be what I need to do anyway as my child isn't quite strong or able enough to do the buckles on her car seat by herself.

You have to tell the teacher or fill out the form saying your child is "Kiss and Ride" for pick up. Then the school gives you a white piece of paper that you use to put your kid's name on and put it in the front windshield when you drive into the kiss and ride line. When the teacher who is running the kiss and ride sees the name (and grade) of your child on the windshield, they call your child's name (usually they are standing in a line outside, but they stand inside if it is raining). Your kid comes out, you drive away. If your kid isn't ready when you show up, you have to cycle around the kiss and ride lane again. I never do the kiss and ride pick up. Seems quicker to me to go to the door, meet the kid and walk back to my car. I do the kiss and ride drop off in the mornings b/c that is faster -- no waiting for your child to show up, you just drop them off and go.

My apologies if this seems like a no-brainer, but I don't know anyone who picks up their kids from elementary school in a car. We live within walking distance to Hunt Valley in Springfield, so there's no bus service. I will need to pick up one child and then drive to a daycare to pick up the other one. My thought was that I would drive there and pick her up, then drive straight to daycare. Otherwise, I'd lose about 15 or 20 mins walking her back home.

So, my question was how exactly does picking up a kid work? If you're in the back of the car line, does that mean you have to wait until all the cars ahead of you have their child? Or if your child is ready and you're at the back of the line, are they allowed to go to you?

Thanks.