Middle Drop Off / Dismissal
Middle Car Loop Details:
The flow of traffic is laid out for you. When lining up on Arlington Drive, please pull your car off the road as much as possible. Do not worry about parking on the grass. Do, however, worry about not blocking the entrance or exit to the bus loop. That’s very important during morning drop off as well as afternoon pick up. There are four buses that come over each afternoon. They arrive on campus between 2:50 and 3:00 and require a lot of room to enter and exit the bus loop. After all four buses have arrived in the afternoon, please begin lining up behind the buses. Do not pull into the bus loop unless you see all four buses. The buses will leave before the car line starts moving and when they’re gone, you can pull up and start zippering back into the car line as it starts moving. This will get a lot of cars off of Arlington Drive, which is the goal. In the morning, there is never a need to pull into the bus loop.
Please keep in mind that this is a neighborhood and people need to get to and from their houses. Don’t block driveways or roads. The Charleston Police Department has been known to ticket those who do not pull off the road as much as possible while waiting, so I want you to be aware of that as well.
If you park in the main parking lot (the white box on the map) in the afternoon to pick up your child(ren), which I do not recommend, you need to know that both exits to that lot will be blocked starting at 3:15 until 3:25 when the car loop dies down. You’ll be stuck there until 3:25. This is due to the number of cars that pull out of that lot in the afternoon, causing the car line to stop. We’re trying to make the afternoon car line safer and more efficient. Staying in your car and using the car line is the best way to accomplish this.
If it's necessary to park your car, we ask that you only do so in designated parking spots. Please do not make your own spot. Students will be asked to only cross the roadways where there is a cross walk and we ask the same of everyone else as well. If you park your car, you must get out and meet your child at the crosswalks. We will not allow students to cross the crosswalks without a parent present.
There is more than one way to get to the middle school and I encourage you to look at the other options and try those out (map attached). You don’t have to come up Arlington Drive from Savannah Hwy. There are arteries you can take if you want to go the “back way” to or from the school.
If everyone follows the procedures we’ve outlined, I’m confident it will alleviate some of the stress.
Pro tip: If you arrive between 3:20 and 3:25 to pick up, the line will be moving and you’ll experience less anxiety, frustration, and chest pains than if you arrive early and have to sit and wait for dismissal at 3:15.
The car loop will be very busy for the first week or two of school. This is normal. Please be patient. It will get better, I promise.
The doors to the school open at 7:45 am. If you drop off before then, know that there is no adult supervision outside.
Bus riders get dismissed at 3:10 and car riders at 3:15.
The car loop is done at 3:30 and any students not picked up by then will be brought inside to extended day, which is fee-based. If you pick up between 3:31 and 3:45, you will be charged $10. From 3:46 – 4:00, you will be charged $15. After 4:00, the normal rates will apply. If you have extended day questions, please email our extended day coordinator Allison_Steffens@
Please don’t hesitate to ask me any questions you may have.
Thank you,
Steve Schonveld, Principal
steven_schonveld@orangegrovecharter.com