Oak Ridge Transportation Reminders
August 15, 2024
Dear Oak Ridge R6 Families,
On August 20th our yellow buses will once again be traveling the roads to take our students to and from school their first day of school. Please watch out for buses and students that are crossing the road to load and unload buses each morning and evening. Do not pass a stopped bus as a students that have not ridden a bus before may be crossing the road in a blind spot. Our school bus drivers have spent time in safety training this summer and we have evaluated each route for safety. All buses have passed the state inspection for the coming school year. Students will receive bus safety training within the first two weeks of school. If your student is a bus rider, please review bus safety with them before leaving them at the bus stop alone. They need to stay at least 10 feet away from the bus, wait until the bus is fully stopped, and wait on the driver to open the door and motion them across the road and to load the bus. The driver can see traffic that students cannot see. Please practice this with your student.
The short video link below is a good way to review bus safety with your student and with teenage drivers.
BUS ROUTE INFORMATION:
Bus routes will run essentially the same routes as last year. If there is a significant change, the district will contact you. Plan to be at the bus stop ready to load the bus approximately 10 minutes earlier than last year.
ELEMENTARY PARENT DROP OFF PROCEDURES:
Early Childhood-5th Grade parent morning drop off and evening pick up will be at the Early Childhood entrance behind the Baptist Church. Students are to be dropped off at this entrance between 7:00-7:35AM. After 7:35AM, students can be dropped off at the cafeteria entrance. Use the right lane for drive through pick up/drop off only. If you need to park and come in, enter in the left lane parking lot area. Do not drop students off in the left lane as they will have to cross traffic to enter the building. Kindergarten through 5th grade parents, please remain in your vehicle and let us bring children to you. Continue to pull forward as far as possible in the line. We have a good system in place for this. If you stop and get out of your vehicle, this only makes the pick up/drop off line take longer. Early Childhood parents, please use the left lane to enter the parking lot, park, and walk in to the lobby to sign your child in/out of the Early Childhood Center. Early Childhood parents please do not park in the K-5th grade drop off lane.
Refer to the diagram below for more information.
School begins promptly at 7:50am and will end at 3:14pm. Students arriving after 7:50am will be considered tardy.
BIKE RIDERS:
If your child will be riding a bike to school, please complete the permission to park a bike at school form below and return it to the office to ensure we know who bike riders are and so we can go over safety protocols for riding a bike on campus around bus and other vehicle traffic with these students. Students that had this form filled out last year will need to have another form filled out and another bike safety training with the elementary principal prior to being allowed to park a bike on campus.
*Parents that need to visit the nurse or office need to drive around the front and sign in at the front office. Drop off medications for students in the original container. Do not send medication to school with students.
JH/HS PARENT DROP OFF:
JH/HS parent drop off will be the same as last year at the cafeteria entrance on the high school side of the cafeteria. Please do not drop off or park in the bus lane on the south side of the cafeteria.
High school student drivers need to park in the student lot in front of the new gym and immediately leave vehicles and enter the building through the main entrance.
If you need help with resources or your family, please let me know. We have access to many resources to help families in need. Students learn best when their essential needs are being met. As always, contact me if you have any questions or concerns. We are here to help!
See you for the first day of school on August 20th.
Enjoy the last few days of summer break with your family!
Sincerely,
Dr. Sonia Wood
Superintendent
Transportation Director
573-266-3218