**Dismissal Update - Please Read**

January 15, 2025

Hello Eisenhower families,

The last couple of days we have had numerous calls from families regarding our parking lot at pick up time. Yesterday afternoon I had an opportunity to watch the pick up process from start to finish. I can tell you it did not look pretty, particularly as I watched a car pull out of a non designated parking spot and almost hit a staff member. I realize that the snow is definitely throwing things off, however, I noticed many things that we can all do to ensure a smooth, efficient pick up process. We will be making these adjustments starting TODAY for safety reasons. Please read the following updated pick up process carefully.

1. All pick up will be shifted to curbside. Please do not park and walk to pick up your child(ren). Each time foot traffic crosses the traffic line, whether to or from the building, traffic is unable to continue moving. Also, as families return to their vehicles to leave the parking lot, traffic is forced to slow for those merging or even come to a complete stop as traffic jams are being created. This also creates better visibility on the sidewalk for supervision purposes.

2. Please move forward as far as possible. Closing the gaps between vehicles will allow more students to enter their vehicles at one time and will create a smoother flow out of the parking lot. It may not seem like much but it really matters.

3. Our crossing guards are not allowed to stop the cross traffic when the light on Northdale Boulevard is green. This means they have to stop our outgoing traffic to allow walkers to cross the street. Moving forward ALL walkers will meet in a designated spot inside the building at the end of the day. They will be escorted to the crosswalk by a staff member limiting the number of times traffic is stopped.

4. It seems simple, and it is, if you want to help speed up the traffic line, please place a sign with student and teacher names clearly printed in the passenger window or on your front dash. This will allow all staff members to quickly match students with the correct vehicle. We did print and send home bright yellow signs earlier in the year. If you would like a new one, please let your child's classroom teacher know. We are happy to print a new one for you.

We recognize that pick up lines can be frustrating, and for what it's worth, the pick up line is not our favorite part of the day either. We will be expecting all cars to follow this process. Please plan for a little extra time at first, however, I am confident that once everyone gets into the routine the line will move faster as we eliminate all the unnecessary stopping.

We appreciate each of you who greet our team with kindness, compassion and patience as we work to keep every child and adult safe.

In partnership and appreciation,

Lillian DeRung

Principal