ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL PROCEDURES
Please adhere to the following guidelines when dropping off and picking up your child from school.
Arrival Procedures for car riders: 

• We do not have staff on duty before 7:40 am. If you arrive early, you are welcome to wait with your child in your car.
• Arrival after 8:00 is considered tardy and you need to sign your child in outside the office. 

• The student will then take the sign in slip to their teacher. Please give a reason why the child did not arrive on time for school.
• Parents may drop off their child(ren) once they are beyond the “Student Drop Off” sign and within the marked drop off zone.

• Letting a student exit a vehicle before this point is neither safe nor permitted. Children need to exit the car on the passenger side.
• Students will go directly to their classrooms or to breakfast in the cafeteria.
• Parents who are dropping off must remain in their vehicles at all times.
• Cars must stay in line, parallel to the curb. No vehicle should pull around or pass another vehicle in line.
• Please adhere to a 5 mph speed limit while driving on school grounds.

Dismissal Procedures for car riders:
Dismissal time is 3:00 pm, no later than 3:20 pm pick up
• Parents will display a sign on the passenger side that lists the name of any student they will be picking up. The sign needs to be displayed until your child/children is/are safely in the car. We will provide one copy of this sign per child. However, you will be responsible for making additional signs if needed.
• If someone, other than the parent is picking up the child, you, as the parent, need to send in two notes stating the name of the person who will be picking up the child.
• There will be a “caller” standing in the pick-up zone that will read off the name(s) from the sign into a 2-way radio as the parent passes by.
• Parents who are picking up must remain in their vehicles at all times.
• Cars must stay in line, parallel to the curb. No vehicle should pull around or pass another vehicle in line.
• All children will be loaded on the passenger side of the car only! Due to the quick stops and starts we cannot load children on the driver’s side of the car.
• Drivers should pull up directly behind the car in front of them to maximize the use of available space.
• Please adhere to a five mile per hour speed limit while driving on school grounds.
• All car riders need to be picked up no later than 3:20 pm. If your child is not picked up by this time and you have not called to inform us why you are running late, the bus garage will be called and you can pick up your child there.

Arrival and dismissal times at Margaretta Elementary are busy times. We are asking for your help to ensure that all our students arrive safely at school in the morning and at home in the afternoon. Parents are asked to avoid calling the school between 2:30 and 3:00 pm as the office staff is focused on dismissal. While our intent is to design arrival and dismissal procedures that are convenient for families, the safety of our students is our top priority. Should you find that it takes a few minutes for traffic to clear the area, your patience is greatly appreciated.

Late Arrival
• If your child arrives after the final bell (8:00 am) you need to bring the child into the building and sign them in. A student will not be allowed in to class without the signed slip for the teacher.
• Arrival after 8:00 am is considered tardy. This tardiness will count against your child’s attendance hours.

Early Dismissal
• If you must pick your child up early, please come to the main office to sign your child out. A state issued ID is required.  

• We will contact the teacher and have your child come to the office to meet you. Early dismissals will count against your child’s attendance hours.
• Two notes stating the reason for dismissal with a phone number where the parent can be reached needs be sent to the homeroom teacher who will forward one copy to the office. This way both the teacher and the office have documentation as to the dismissal procedure.
• A “Car Rider Permission Slip” will be sent home at the beginning of the school year. This is to be filled out only if you are picking up your child every day of the school year. Otherwise two notes need to be sent in to the homeroom teacher, as stated above, even if you are picking up your child the same day(s) every week.
• IN THE INTEREST OF STUDENT SAFETY – NO PHONE CALLS WILL BE ACCEPTED TO CHANGE THE WAY A CHILD GOES HOME AFTER 2:00 pm.
• End of the day phone calls to the office to change your children’s dismissal plans create many problems for the school. These calls should be limited to emergencies only. When numerous calls are made to the office near the end of the school day, it is difficult for the office to honor these requests.
• Parents are asked to assist with dismissal procedures by making certain that children are clear about dismissal plans before they enter school each morning. Last minute changes in plans are often confusing to the children.