Arrival & Dismissal General Guidelines: Safety First, Then Efficiency
Safety
The speed limit on campus is 5 mph.
Drivers: pay attention, stop, and allow any waiting pedestrians to pass through the crosswalk. Please do not block crosswalks at any time.
Pedestrians: please use the pedestrian gates and crosswalks.
Do not use your mobile phone while driving on campus. Stay alert! Mobile phones may only be used if your car is parked.
Keep safety belts buckled until the car comes to a complete stop at the arrival area. Buckle all safety belts before you resume driving.
Efficiency
Please do not engage staff members in discussion during arrivals and dismissals. If you need to get a message to your child’s teacher, call or send them an email.
Stay in your car when you are waiting in line. If you need to get out, please park in the visitor spaces of the parking lot.
Please be patient; a few seconds spent by you can be very important to the child who is gaining independence.
Do not send toys into school with your child.
Walkers, please stay on the sidewalks and designated walk ways. Please avoid walking through the parking lot, as this can be dangerous for you and your child.
Vehicles may not travel north on Avenue B from Bissonnet during arrival and dismissal times. This is illegal, and you can be ticketed. Only southbound traffic from Fournace is permitted.
Maintain a single line on Ave. B; do not form a second line in the northbound lane. The City of Bellaire has warned us that they will issue citations if this happens.
Do not enter the arrival/dismissal line via Wedgewood. You are cutting in line, and this may anger your peers.
Have your car sign displayed when you enter Ave. B. This helps us identify you and direct you to the appropriate line. If you require additional signs, please contact the registrar.
Young Children’s Community
Arrival time is based on the child’s contract hours (see below). YCC children may not arrive between 8:00 and 8:35 a.m. while the Elementary children are disembarking. If you arrive during this time, you will be directed to exit campus.
For YCC families with children at other levels, this schedule will require separate drop-offs for the different levels. This staggered schedule has been created with the safety of both parents and children in mind.
Elementary
Cars arriving on the Avenue B side before 8:15 a.m. are requested to leave the space open at the FDYCC gate by parking behind the “Wait Here” sign
Only students enrolled in before-school programs may enter the building during this time.
Students with siblings who are Middle & High School that ride the shuttle may enter at 7:50 a.m.
Other students arriving earlier than 8:15 a.m. must wait in their cars.
Drop-off locations for students in the before-care program:
Young Children’s Community: the regular Full-Day Young Children’s Community (FDYCC) gate on the Avenue B side of the school; parents escort their children to the classroom;
Primary: Primary playground gate on the Avenue B side of school; parents escort their children to the classroom;
Elementary: enter through the front door of the school on the Bissonnet side of the building.
Drop off for all of your children will be at the youngest child’s environment. For example, if you have a child in Full-Day Young Children’s Community and in an all-day Primary classroom, you would drop off both of your children in Full-Day Young Children’s Community. The older child will enter the school through the classroom and walk to their designated environment.
To speed up Primary arrivals, once stopped, please unbuckle your child if you can do so from the driver’s seat. If you are unable to do this without getting out of your car, we are ready to unbuckle your child for you to keep things moving.
In the Peace Circle, please remain parked until all children are safely out and the line starts moving. Do not drive around cars that are in the process of dropping off a child. It is unsafe for the child and staff.
If you have a shuttle rider and a BC student, please drop off both students inside the campus. The shuttle rider walks to the bus, and you remain in the appropriate arrival line. Please do not drop off the shuttle child outside the gate and U-turn on Avenue B to enter the parking lot from the northbound lane or back your car down Avenue B to turn into the gate.
Please have your shuttle riders here on time. The shuttle leaves promptly at 8:00 a.m. If it leaves late, this creates a backup on Ave. B.
At 8:30 a.m., the doors into the school are locked on the Avenue B side. At 8:40 a.m., the doors to the Peace Circle are also locked. Students arriving after those times must enter the school through the front door with a parent or other designated guardian; adults park in the visitor spaces at the front of the school and then walk children into the reception area of the school. A staff member will guide your Primary child to class as needed.
As we are a small campus on the edge of a residential area, please be courteous and aware of all local traffic, especially along Autrey Street.
The Museum District Campus has a one-way driveway around the buildings to allow for off-street drop-offs and pick-ups. Traffic moves around the buildings clockwise, entering from Autrey Street (south) and exiting on Montrose Boulevard (east). If you are picking up or dropping off your child, please drive along Autrey Street from the east, enter the driveway, and pull around to the Middle School entrance or High School entrance.
Do not park your car and leave it in the driving lane. When exiting, please turn right onto Montrose Boulevard (southbound).
Arrival
The Middle and High School buildings are open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Students should plan to arrive by 8:15 a.m. Classes start at 8:30 a.m.
Students are required to be on campus from the beginning of their first commitment of the day until the completion of their last commitment. Students are expected to attend all class commitments, field experiences, school trips, class meetings, sports, activities, and any other required school function.
The High School building is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The school day begins at 8:30 a.m. Students should arrive at school by 8:15 a.m. to allow time to prepare for their day.
Attendance is taken when classes begin at 8:30 a.m. Students are expected to be present and prepared for class at this time. Students not in class, even if they are on campus, will be counted tardy.
If a student arrives after 8:30 a.m., they must sign in at the Museum District Campus office. A parent must provide a written reason for the late arrival.
We consider more than five tardies for the year to be problematic. Advisors are expected to speak with parents directly about late arrivals. If there is no improvement, then advisors are expected to inform the administration when tardies are excessive. At that point, the division director will contact the parent and together they will discuss how to manage more timely arrivals. In some extreme cases, tardies may affect the decision to offer a student a re-enrollment contract for the following school year.
