Safety Policies

Front Gate

The front gate to our school should remain closed during school hours. Visitors and parent volunteers must sign in and out at the office. If you see the front gate open during school hours, please close it. Having the gate closed will encourage visitors and parent volunteers to walk through the office. This is a safety issue.

Bicycle Rollerblades, Roller skates. Skateboards. and Scooters - SAFETY FIRST!

This is a friendly safety reminder to please walk your bike on the sidewalks in front of the district office and on campus. In addition. rollerblades. roller skates, skateboards, and scooters are not to be ridden on campus between 8:00 am and 3:00 pm on weekdays. The purpose of this rule is to ensure all students, siblings, parents, and staff members are safe on campus.

Parking Lot Procedures

Please note that there is NO PARKING for parents in the parking lots. The parking lots are reserved for Stevenson staff, District Office Staff, and District visitors. This year all Stevenson staff members will have a parking permit visible on the car dash. Stevenson parents are asked to park on the street and walk your child to campus, or use the drop-off lane in front of school.

The MVPD reminds parents that all schools will be heavily monitored during drop-off and pick-up times. Police will be monitoring for complete stops at stop signs, illegal u-turns, stopping for crosswalks, and of course for maintaining the speed limits.

Please give yourselves extra time in the morning and after school to ensure our students' safety! The following suggestions will also help:

  1. Come 5 minutes earlier! The easiest way to avoid the congestion, the rushing, and a potential accident is to arrive to school a few minutes earlier each day. The majority of cars arrive a minute or two before class starts. Students need to be on campus by 8:25 am and in class by 8:30 am. If your child is not with his/her teacher by 8:30 am, they are tardy.
  2. No left turns into the parking lot between 8:15 — 8:30 am. This is causing traffic to back-up and does not allow for traffic to flow through. Try to drive around the block and enter the parking lot using a right turn (coming from the Theuerkauf side of the lot).
  3. Have all supplies (backpack, lunch, etc) in the back seat of the car ready to go. It backs up traffic when kids have to get out, open another door or the trunk to retrieve their things.
  4. Once in the drop-off lane, have your child get out of the car on the curb side (passenger side of the vehicle) instead of into parking lot traffic. Allowing students out of the driver side of the car puts them into moving traffic and is very dangerous.
  5. Say your goodbyes at home. Getting out of the car to help your child and to hug goodbye takes quite a while and prevents traffic flow. We have a teacher on duty in the morning to assist students with car doors. If you intend to get out of the car, please park on the street and walk your child to campus. If you come early, you will have plenty of time to say goodbye!
  6. Use the sidewalks. If you park on the street, please be sure to use the sidewalks to get to the school instead of cutting across the parking lot, which is not safe.

I know mornings are a rush for families. It is difficult to get everyone out the door on time, however it will reduce your morning stress to arrive a few minutes earlier and not have to rush. It will also decrease the chance of your child being tardy, which is on the rise at our school. Please consider making small changes to keep your child and others safe.

 

Pedestrian Safety

PACT families should cross the street only at the crosswalk, and use the sidewalks instead of cutting through the parking lot.

School Site Council discussed this topic at our first meeting in September. Our principal is working with our district administration to address community concerns. While school staff alone is not equipped to enforce traffic laws and safety rules, we can work together to provide more supervision and crossing guards during drop-off and pick-up.

Parking Lot Rules

  1. Never park in the dropoff/pickup zone during dropoff/pickup hours (7:30-9am, 1:30-3:30pm).  If there are parked cars in this space, students walking between the cars become "invisible" to moving vehicles.
  2. If you have heavy items to unload, you may park in the lot briefly, then move your car to street parking.  It is best to do loading/unloading outside of dropoff/pickup hours.

No Dogs On Campus

This policy is to ensure the health and safety of all students and adults on campus.  The only dogs allowed are work dogs that have been pre-approved.  Bringing your dog along for the walk to school is enjoyable but your pet may not enter the campus for the safety and health of all students at our school.