Laurel Elementary School Curbside/Carpool Pick-up Program

Drop-off and Pick-up Procedures

Getting over 500 children to school and home again every day poses a few logistical challenges, especially for a school that was designed for pedestrian and bus transportation.  To keep our students as safe as possible during arrival and departure, Laurel School has worked out these drop-off and pick-up procedures.

If you are in a motored vehicle, please drive slowly at all times through the driveway and parking lot and follow the arrows: do not exit from the entrance or turn left from the right-turn exit.

Morning Drop Off

Drive-Through

• Starting at 7:55 a.m. you may drop off your child along the circular drive in front of the school
• Form a single line of cars next to the sidewalk for drop-off. Do not double park to drop off your child, as it is very dangerous to allow children to walk between cars.  Please pull up as far as you can along the curb, so not to block incoming cars.
• The drop-off area gets very busy as 8:25 approaches and on rainy days – if you can drop off at 8:00 it is less hectic and helps stagger student arrival.
• Do not park your car in the drop-off area, even for a few minutes, this backs up the drop-off line.  If you want to walk your child to class, park in the main parking lot or along Ringwood.

Park and Walk In

• You may park in the main parking lot or along Ringwood. 
• Do not park on Edge Road, (Atherton Police will issue tickets)in staff parking spaces, in the red curb area, or along the drop-off curb in front of the office.
• Lock unattended vehicles and keep valuables out of site.

Walk or Bike

• All children walking or riding must be accompanied by an adult.
• Children who bike to school are required by law to wear bicycle helmets.
• Bike racks are provided. (near the K yard and near 2^nd grade playground).  Please provide your own lock.
• Please walk bikes through campus.  Do not use the driveway in front of the school at drop-off time.

Afternoon Pick-up

There are only four student pick up options at Laurel:

• Curbside pickup/carpool
• 2nd Grade Arbor (walk in and meet your child(ren) in person)
• Bus (Newton, Big Yellow, Menlo Park Rec Van, Shuttle)
• AfterSchool Program

Pickup Pickup time can be chaotic and confusing, as hundreds of children are matched with adults in about 15 minutes!  In the beginning of the year all parents are asked to fill out a form indicating your pickup schedule.  Any change in pick-up schedule must be in writing to the office and to your child’s teacher.

Curbside/Carpool Pick-up

• Only cars with official Laurel carpool pick-up cards will be allowed to pick up children.
• Make sure your child knows your carpool pick-up number and listens carefully in order to be in the right spot when you arrive. 
• Obtaining a pick-up number card does not obligate you to use the drive-through pick-up – you may still park and walk in to meet your child if you choose, as long as your child’s teacher knows where to expect you.
• If your child or group is not available when you arrive at the carpool pick-up area, you may be asked to drive around again to collect your group.  This helps prevents excessive delays while teachers relocate children to the right place.
• Carpooling – if you wish to pick up children other than your own on a regular basis, include them on your form when you request a carpool pick-up number.  Otherwise, you must make arrangements with the child’s teacher as well as notify the office.
• Children are supervised until 15 minutes after school dismissal, or until all children are picked up.  Children who remain after this time are taken to the school office.

The carpool pick-up line forms in the circular driveway and overflows onto Edge Road and up Ringwood.  While waiting in line:

• Please remain in your vehicle as you will need to move up frequently.
• Please do not block crosswalks or the parking lot entrance/exit.
• Please refrain from turning left from Edge Road into the school driveway as doing so cuts into the carpool pick-up line, prevents others from exiting after picking up children and thereby stops the entire flow of traffic. 

Second Grade Arbor

You may meet your child at the 2nd Grade Arbor immediately afterschool if you are picking up your child by any means other than curbside/carpool pick up.  This includes parking your vehicle and walking onto campus, or walking or biking home with your child(ren).

• Children (K-2) will wait to be met in the second-grade arbor area.  Children will remain seated at tables until claimed by an adult – this helps the supervisors determine which children are still waiting.
• Children are not allowed to leave the second-grade arbor area without an adult.  Do not ask your child to meet you somewhere other than the arbor (such as the parking lot). 
• In case of rain, children will wait under the overhang along the wall of the multi that faces the arbor area.
• Once you find your child, please move quickly away from the arbor area so the supervisors can keep track of the children who are still waiting.  You are welcome to move to the second ground playground to visit with friends and let your children play.

If you need to park and walk in, please park in the main parking lot or along Ringwood (leave enough room for people to pass safely along the passenger side of your vehicle.)

• Do not park on Edge Road, in Staff parking spaces, red curb area, or along the curb in front of the school.
• Please do not walk through the carpool pick-up area in front of the office - use the walkway behind the office and library.  It is very crowded during pick-up, and much safer if we restrict the area to children waiting for car pick-up. 
• If your child is waiting in the carpool pickup area, you must pick up with your car.  It is too disruptive to have parents walking up to meet children in the carpool pickup area.
• No left turn out of the main parking lot through the entrance at any time– you must drive past the pickup line to exit onto Edge.
• Please lock unattended vehicles and keep valuables out of site.
• Encinal Buses:  If you have a child arriving at Laurel on the Encinal Bus, you must park and walk in to meet this child at the designated area.  You may not pick up directly into your car.

Buses

Children waiting for any of the buses must sit together in their assigned area.

Afterschool Program

• Children enrolled in any of the Afterschool Programs may be met and picked up at the designated program area.  Program instructors will release each child to his/her respective parent or care provider.
• Although curbside/carpool pick up should be completed by the conclusion of each of the Afterschool Programs, please follow the same parking guidelines as stated above.