Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

Highcroft Drive Elementary

The following procedures will be followed consistently to ensure the safety of all students.  All students will be taught these procedures at the beginning of the school year.  Please notify your child’s teacher of the usual dismissal method for your child.  Changes in the dismissal method must be sent in writing to the teacher.

Arrival and Dismissal Time

Students may arrive between 8:45 and 9:15. Students should not be dropped off before 8:45 since there is no supervision for students prior to that time.  Children arriving after 9:15 must come to the office with a parent to sign in and receive a tardy slip.  Students are dismissed at 3:45 each day beginning with walkers, daycare/van riders, and YMCA.  Student check out ends each day at 3:30. No students can be checked out during 3:30-3:45 p.m. 

Bike Riders

Riding bikes to school is a popular means of arrival/dismissal for many families in the Highcroft community.  Students in grades K-1 must be accompanied by a parent while biking to/from school.  Bikes should be parked in the available bike racks each day.  Students who bike to/from school will receive a ‘walker tag’ to indicate approval. 

Bus Riders

WCPSS bus transportation is available to our students who are not within immediate walking distance to our school.  Our school buses are efficient and safe options for arrival/dismissal for our students.  Families should check the parent portal for stop assignments and estimated stop times.  Bus route information will also be available on the WCPSS website under ‘transportation’.  Students are only allowed to ride their assigned bus.  All students eligible for bus transportation will be issued a red or yellow bus tag.  Red bus tags indicate the student is in grade Kindergarten or 1^st grade and must be picked up by an adult at the bus stop every afternoon.  Yellow bus tags indicate a student is in grades 2-5 and can walk home from the bus stop independently.  Bus tags will also be attached to backpacks with corresponding colored zip ties.  Bus tags should be affixed to backpacks with the correct colored zip tie that matches the assigned bus route color.  Students should stop by the office anytime a new bus tag or zip tie are needed. 

*Please note, any student who does not ride for 10 days will be removed from the route.  Parents will need to reapply for bus transportation if a student is removed from a route. 

Carpool Procedures

Our carpool system is also a safe and efficient means of arrival/dismissal for students and families.  Carpool drivers will queue in a single line from the main entrance off Highcroft Drive (second entrance from Green Hope School Road).  Please drive slowly as all cars will proceed through the crosswalk for students who walk to school/home.  Drivers are not to enter the bus loop at any time.  All parents of carpool students must obtain a carpool number to hang from the rearview mirror.  These will be available at ‘Meet the Teacher’ in August or at the front office anytime.

Carpool students will remain in their classrooms until their carpool number is displayed on the TV.  Drivers should pull fully into the designated position along the front of the school for quick loading.  If parents must come into school, please pick up your child first via carpool, then park in a designated parking space and enter the school for your appointment.  Please refrain from cell phone use as you drive through carpool.

Daycare Vans

Daycare vans will drop students off and pick up students in the bus loop each day.  Please notify the daycare van if your student will not be riding home in the mornings or afternoon so that they don’t make an unnecessary trip.

YMCA

The YMCA offers affordable before and after school childcare at Highcroft Drive Elementary for any family who needs it.  Please contact the NW Cary YMCA website for more information and for registering your child. 

https://www.ymcatriangle.org/locations/northwest-cary-ymca

Messages

Please make every effort to tell your child how to get home each day, prior to sending the child to school.  If there is a change in transportation, send a written note or e-mail to your child’s teacher.  Emergency messages can be delivered to your child by calling the office before 3:30 p.m.

Parking

Parents must park in designated visitor parking at the front of the school if you wish to come into school.  Parents must sign in at the office with a photo identification and receive a ‘visitor’ tag to wear while in the building. At dismissal, parents should pick up their carpool students prior to parking and coming into school.  Cars are not allowed to park in the fire lane except during carpool arrival and dismissal.

Parents should never park along the streets in the neighborhood or at Sears Farm Park to drop off or pick up students.    

Walkers

Students and families who live within walking distance will apply for a walker tag.  Students who do not live within a safe walking distance will not be permitted to be walkers and will be required to be carpool, bus, or YMCA.  Walker tags will be affixed to each walker’s bag pack and no students will be permitted to walk without a tag.  Students in K-1 will receive red walker tags to indicate they must be received by an adult or older sibling when leaving the building.  Yellow walker tags will indicate the student is in grades 2-5 and can walk home independently. 

All walkers should enter the school at the main entrance in the mornings.  All other doors will be locked for the safety of all of our students and staff.  At dismissal, students with red walker tags will exit the building at the playground double doors.  Students with yellow walker tags will exit the building through the doors at the end of the main hall.  Older students who are receiving younger students may exit through the playground doors. 

Please do not walk or bring pets on school property.  There is no supervision on the playgrounds in the afternoons so students should leave school grounds promptly at dismissal.