March 13, 2019
Lee Fuller
Each morning hundreds of children make their way to school in Jacksonville at both Jacksonville High School and Kitty Stone Elementary. Regardless of how these students arrive, either the bus, drive themselves, or are dropped off they all merge into high traffic congestion area. Most days these arrivals take place without incident. To help ensure that this continues the principals of Kitty Stone would like to make sure all drivers know the procedures that are in place.
The faculty and staff of Kitty Stone Elementary are committed to the safety and security of each of our students. A reminder of school procedures is necessary in light of recent issues during student arrival each morning.
Kitty Stone Elementary personnel are on duty outside each morning from 7:30 to 7:55 a.m. to monitor students as they arrive in cars. Drivers pull into the lane closest to the school so children can exit the passenger side of their cars. Only the single lane closest to the school building is used to protect children from walking between cars, thus ensuring their safety. Personnel enter the building at 7:55 a.m. in order to begin the instructional day.
The 7:55 a.m. time serves as a clear cue to parents that children will not arrive in their classrooms by 8:00, which is the official start of instruction. Therefore, any parent dropping off his/her child at 7:55 a.m. or later should park and walk his/her child in the office for sign in. All students must be in their homerooms no later than 8:00 a.m. to be considered on time to school.
Within the 25-minute drop-off time, there are several breaks in traffic. It is a trial and error event but it is possible for all car rider children to be dropped off in this time frame and still remain safe. It is very concerning that some drivers have begun to disregard safety when they arrive at or after 7:55 a.m. and allow their children to be dropped off and walk in unescorted.
By and large, the majority of KSE parents who drive their children to school willingly follow the safety procedures consistently. The faculty and staff of Kitty Stone Elementary are appreciative for all parents assisting with our safety procedures for student arrival each morning.
Ms. Tinker wanted to stress that the majority of parents and students have no issues with the procedures and all the staff at Kitty Stone appreciate their cooperation and understanding. The school will be looking into getting new signage stressing that after 7:55 am no student should enter the building unescorted. Ms. Tinker also advised that if arriving after 7:55 am please park alongside the curb closest to the school to walk your student in or utilize a designated parking spot. As always she encourages parents to reach out to the school with questions and concerns and to utilize the facebook page for updates.
Chief Marcus Wood also discussed the recent concerns with drop-off. He made assurances that he, the school resource officers (SROs), and all of Jacksonville Police Department are focused on the students arriving safely. The SRO’s and school administrators review the traffic cameras and handle individual problems as they arise. The goal of Kitty Stone staff and the Jacksonville Police department is to ensure the safety of all students.
