Transportation

TRANSPORTATION OF STUDENTS

The purpose of this section is to familiarize stakeholders with the procedures to ensure the safety and efficiency of arrival and dismissal policies. As you make plans for the school year, please note the times of arrival and dismissal to include wait time. Please carefully review the carpool map below.

Carpool-Map-(1).jpg

Car Riders:

Approximately 400 of our students arrive at and depart from school by automobile. Safety is our number one priority. If your child travels by car, it is most important that you honor the request of the school and follow procedures. When parents follow these procedures, we have found that traffic flows properly and we are able to maintain the safest environment for children. These steps are intended to create a standard of predictable traffic patterns designed to decrease the likelihood of children becoming injured. These rules, while increasing the number of cars in carpool on Brookfield Road, are intended to decrease the time drivers actually spend in line and remove the gridlock with cars turning across lines of traffic.

General Guidelines:

Morning drop off begins at 7:10 am. Do not drop off students before 7:10, as there is no supervision before that time. The staff will supervise drop off from 7:10 am until 7:40 am. Homeroom begins at 7:40 am.
NO students are to be dropped off or picked up from alternate locations. Please be advised that side streets are not drop off points for our students.
If a parent has a conference with a teacher, needs to leave medication in the health room, or is volunteering, etc. and must walk in with a child in the morning, the parent and child should enter the front door together.
No Richland Two student can be signed out after 2:00 pm. The office begins preparations for dismissal during this time period.
Afternoon pickup will begin at 2:30 pm. (The school is required to keep a record of students who are signed out early, just as a record is kept of tardies and absences.)
Afternoon pickup ends at 3:00 pm.
All traffic should flow to the Right only - No left turns
Please place a sign in your window with your child’s name or the carpool name.
Vehicles for car riders should get in the southbound traffic along Brookfield Road. A map of the area is provided as part of this handout.
All car riders should wait until the vehicle is in the drop zone before entering or exiting the vehicles.
Vehicles in the traffic circle should stay against the outside curb and advance in order. Do not pass unless directed to do so by a Forest Lake staff member.
Please remain in your vehicle at all times while in the carpool line. Do not exit the vehicle to receive your student.
Students should enter and exit the side door on Brookfield Road.
Staff is required to supervise, not open car doors. Children are to exit and enter cars at the appropriate times.
Please refrain from parking and walking your child to and from the building. Forest Lake has been advised that this procedure will cause traffic delays and additional safety hazards for our parents and students. Parking places are extremely limited.
No walk-ins should park in the traffic circle during arrival and dismissal. Should a parent need to park, use the spaces along the fence. If a parking space is not available, please circle the block. Do not linger in the roadway. A few minutes away from the area allows space to become available more quickly.

Walkers:

According to State Law, students living less than 1.5 miles from school are eligible to walk to and from school. If you would like for your child to be considered a walker, please review the following policy and return the walkers permission form to your child’s homeroom teacher. Parents with multiple children may return a single form to any one of your children’s homeroom teachers. Once we have verified your address, we will issue a walker badge to your child. Walkers will be dismissed and received from two locations: The gate on Brookfield Road and the bus ramp on the Wedgefield Road side of the building. Students in Pre-K through 2nd grades will only be released to a parent or adult specified on the student contact information. Pre-K through 2nd grade students may walk home with a 3rd, 4th or 5th grade sibling with parent permission.

All students must have a walker’s form on file before being dismissed daily. Students have been instructed to walk safely home and to cross the street with the assistance of the crossing guard when present or an area designated for a crosswalk. The walker badge displayed on the book bag can easily identify walkers. Discuss with your child the correct route they should walk home. Please follow school policies. This sets a positive example for your child, and makes transportation safe for all of our students. NOTE: Walkers will be released at 2:40.

Bus:

If your child travels by bus, you will be given the bus number, etc. at the time of registration. All students riding a bus must have a bus registration form completed prior to riding. A registration form along with specific bus rules and procedures can be found on the district website at https://www.richland2.org/Departments/Transportation/Get-on-the-Bus. Please turn in forms to the office staff. Kindergartners need to have an additional form filled out with authorization as to who your child can be released to from the bus.