School doors will open at 8:55 in the morning and 1:10 in the afternoon. Please do not ring the bell if you arrive with your children before this time. We are not prepared to accept them. When school opens, the Director and the assisting parents (who will all be wearing Park West aprons) will station themselves curbside or at the door to receive your children and help them to their classrooms.
If you come with a stroller, you are welcome to leave it in the vestibule folded and away from the handicapped elevator and ramp.
If driving:
- Enter Orchard from Lincoln Avenue.
- Pull into first available spot in loading zone.
Pull up as far north as you can – leave the zone in front of the church
available for church business.
- Stay in your car until you see the school door open.
- DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CAR UNATTENDED IN THE LOADING ZONE DURING
DROP - OFF. If you want to bring your child to his/her classroom, please find a legal parking space.
- Help your child from the car or allow the director or assisting parent to help your child from the car and into school
- Carefully pull away from curb to make room for other cars.
If loading zone is full, double park behind the loading zone - GREEN LIGHT POLE – is an easy marker of where the waiting line starts.
DO NOT DOUBLE PARK IN FRONT OF THE ST PAULS SPOT TO WAIT.
REMEMBER THE WAIT LINE BEGINS SOUTH OF THE ENTIRE LOADING ZONE.
- Do Not block crosswalk or hydrants.
- Do Not block Kemper Street.
- Pull into the loading zone when a spot at the loading zone curb becomes available.
- Do Not get out of your car until you are parked in the loading zone.
- We will only take children from cars that are parked in the loading zone.
- We will not take children from cars that are double-parked.
There will be a sign or wooden horse
indicating that the south end of the loading zone is to be reserved only for St. Pauls use at
all times. St Pauls will be towing cars from their end of the loading zone.
Dismissal
Our goal at Park West has always been to have a safe and smoothly run dismissal. Dismissal can be a stressful time for children, parents, and teachers. Please do not use this time to exchange information with teachers and staff.
If walking:
- Please stay on the sidewalk, not on the pathway leading to the school doors.
- Do not come up to the door.
- If you have a stroller in the school vestibule please wait to retrieve it until all children are dismissed.
- Teachers will dismiss intermittently children who are driven and those who walk
.
If driving:
- Enter Orchard from Lincoln Avenue.
- Pull into first available spot in loading zone.
Pull up as far north as you can – leave the zone in front of the church available for
church business.
- Stay in your car until you see the school door open.
- Then stand next to your car at the curb and wait for teachers to bring your child to you.
- Sign your child out and help your child into your car at curbside, not on street side.
- After buckling your child in, carefully pull away from curb.
If the loading zone is full, double park behind loading zone - GREEN LIGHT POLE – is an easy marker of where the waiting line starts.
DO NOT DOUBLE PARK IN FRONT OF THE ST PAULS SPOT TO WAIT. REMEMBER THE WAIT LINE BEGINS SOUTH OF THE ENTIRE LOADING ZONE.
- Do Not block crosswalk or hydrants.
- Do Not block Kemper Street.
- Pull into the loading zone when a spot at the loading zone curb becomes available.
- Do Not get out of your car until you are parked in the loading zone.
- We will only load children into cars that are parked in the loading zone.
The South end of the loading zone is designated for St. Pauls Church.
Park West parents may NEVER use the south end of the loading zone at any time including
arrival and dismissal. There will be a sign or wooden horse indicating that the south
end of the loading zone is to be reserved only for St. Pauls use at all times. St Pauls will
be towing cars from their end of the loading zone.
Please try to be patient with teachers, other parents and with your children. Dismissal
from school can be a hectic transition for everyone. The most important thing to
remember when you come to school to pick up your child is the safety of every child.
Therefore, parents are expected to cooperate fully with the outlined procedures, the school
personnel directing dismissal, and any subsequent procedural changes upon notification
All Park West parents are expected and required to strictly
adhere to this procedure. It is also expected that anyone who will be dropping off or picking
up children will be informed of this procedure. So make sure that sitters, grandparents,
aunts, etc., who will be dropping off or picking up your child at school understand how
arrival and dismissal is handled.
Dismissal lasts 10 minutes. Not every child can be dismissed at exactly 11:00, 11:45, or 4:00.
Please arrive at the end of the dismissal period if you find it too crowded or frustrating to wait.
Dismissal Times for classes:
2 day - 11:00-11:10 am
3 and 4 day AM - 11:45-11:55 am
JK and 3 PM - 4:00-4:10 pm
- Please enter dismissal line from Lincoln Avenue. If the line is backed up to the
Lincoln/Belden intersection, please circle until space becomes available. Do not block the
intersection.
- Please do not park or wait in the crosswalks or no parking zones on Orchard or Kemper.
Please do not block the intersection at Kemper. This is inconsiderate to the neighbors and
any through traffic.
- Do not park in or block St. Paul’s spots in front of church entrance
Parking
Parking is very difficult in the congested neighborhood where the school is located.
Whether you are coming to school to assist, for a parent/teacher conference, or a meeting,
be sure to leave plenty of extra time to find a legal parking space. There are meters on Lincoln,
Halsted and Fullerton. Park West parents are never allowed to park in St Pauls parking lot located
directly behind the church off of Kemper. If you do park there, St Pauls will have
you quickly towed. There is only one exception to this otherwise very strict policy and that is
on board meeting nights when it may be possible for the board members to park in the church lot
but only for the duration of the meeting.
Separation
parkwestcoop@aol.com
