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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Trying To Be Optimistic About This New Pick Up Procedure
BumbleBee 03:33 PM 09-04-2017
at the Elementary school. We used to pick up kids inside in the cafeteria, which was essentially it's own building but they built 2 hallways to connect it to the new elementary building. Now we pick up outside on the lawn-which is bordered on 2 sides by a parking lot and 1 side by a busy road. This lawn is not that big, about the size of a tball field. And we all learned about this 6 days ago.

I suspect one of the main reasons behind this is parents would pick up their kids in the cafeteria, start heading outside, then stop to talk to their parent friends and their kids would go ahead, unsupervised outside of the building. Or parents with multiple kids in multiple grades would let the older ones go outside on the lawn and play unsupervised while the parents waited for the younger ones.

Last year the school made a rule of no high schoolers or middle schoolers in the elementary cafeteria unless they were picking up a sibling. That lasted about 3 months then the high schoolers and middle schoolers trickled back in and the school didn't enforce the policy. They cut through the cafeteria instead of going around the school because it's faster.

I really don't see how picking up outside is going to stop this. Parents are still going to not be aware of what their kids are doing and chit chat with their friends while their kids run wild. I feel like it's a half *ss effort by the school to get parents to be responsible for their kid(s). Unless it has to do with liability but the kids are still on school property so I'm not sure how that works.

I can easily see a kid running into the parking lot and getting hit by a car. I could see it happening before but now it just seems more likely

I'm kinda ticked to because I used to take kids with me up to school for school pick up. I'd make sure they walked, were quiet, and sat at the tables while waiting for the school agers to come into the cafeteria. Granted some other parents didn't but how is that going to change if we're outside? Now I don't feel comfortable taking kids with me up there with nowhere to sit and being outside in the elements-which right now it's not an issue but in the winter there's no way. So I've had to figure out what to do schedule wise for my 2 assistants since I'll most likely be leaving the kids at home. 1 assistant can have 6 kids by herself, the other has another job they have to be at by 3pm each day.

Basically the school doesn't enforce anything long term and then wonders why it's chaotic at pick up time. So they throw out a new procedure and expect it to magically work. It's like discipline, it has to be CONSISTENT and ENFORCED in order to work. Apparently they missed that part of working with children. Though it's the administration who put this out, not the school itself, so there is that.
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hwichlaz 08:43 AM 09-05-2017
I flat out can't do indoor pick-up. I'm not dragging 6 toddlers out of the car, lol. The bus kids get released first, then the kids that get picked up come out and wait on the lawn with a few teachers by the pick up circle. Parents pull all of the way forward until the pick up zone is full, then the children for those cars are released. The kids get in and buckle their boosters. Then all of those cars pull out and the next batch pulls in.
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CityGarden 09:02 AM 09-05-2017
I do not take SA logistics is one of many reasons.

At my dd's school 3-4 programs do pick up SA children and they all bring vans (one brings a schools bus) and they have 2-3 adults one on the vehicle and 1-2 to get the children class by class. Pick up is staggered time wise by grade... 1st-2nd, 3rd - 5th and Kindergarten is half day and has their own schedule. It makes it streamlined to pick up by grade. One of the afterschool programs is walking distance to the the other elementary school so they arranged with the school to have two picnic tables outside where children going to their program are dismissed to. They have a staff member hold a sign high there each day the children then walk to the program from the school.

Can you ask the school for a picnic table for the children you pick up? You can then have the others sit there while you wait.
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mommyneedsadayoff 09:07 AM 09-05-2017
That does sound crazy. I would think it's a liability for the school as well, so kind of odd they chose that route. At ours, you walk in the doors, but the second doors are locked. A teacher comes, you show I'd or say who you are picking up, they get them, you leave. NO ONE enters the building and once you have your kids, you have to leave the building. It is easy and safe.
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BumbleBee 11:11 AM 09-05-2017
We walk to school. I'm a no transport daycare so no driving up there. I can understand nobody coming in to school but there were other ways to do this.
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Unregistered 03:19 PM 09-05-2017
Luckily for us we have a bus that brings our kids to us because we are a no transportation daycare.
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hwichlaz 03:16 PM 09-06-2017
I don't transport daycare kids to and from school, but they occasionally have to tag along for me to get my own kiddo.
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Tags:pick up issues, pick up policy
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