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Arrival
The school does not have supervision prior to 8:45 a.m. For safety reasons, no students should arrive to school before 8:45 a.m. Families are asked to make sure children are not dropped off at school earlier than this time without supervision. Families needing to drop off students prior to this time MUST apply to our PrimeTime program or ICES programs. Applications are available in the front office or the cafeteria.
Supervision begins when the front gate opens at 8:45 a.m. Breakfast in the cafeteria begins at 8:45 a.m. Buses arrive at 8:45 a.m. also. Staff members will be present to check students off the bus and escort them to the campus grounds. Students arriving to campus at this time will be able to eat breakfast, wait in the lunch arbor or attend Running Club on the field.
Student Drop-Off
Adults delivering children to school for the regular school day should bring them to Campus Avenue in front of school, at the Campus Avenue gate. For before- and after-school programs (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), drop-off and pick-up occurs at the cafeteria door.
| Preschool |
Parents may drop off students at the classrooms through the side gate accessing the kinder yard between the hours of 9:00 and 9:30. For the preschool program, parents must sign their student in and out. Following drop-off, parents should leave campus. If you have to drop off or pick up your student when the gate is not open, you may access the school through the main office. Please sign in at the office in the visitor handbook. |
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Grades
K-5:
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All students should be dropped off in the front of the school on Campus Avenue. The gate is open between 8:45-9:15 a.m. During this time, all students go directly to the cafeteria area for breakfast or to the Running Club on the field. Students should not go to their classrooms for any reason. Supervision is provided in the cafeteria area, the blacktop area, and the field. Once the gate closes at 9:15 a.m., any child arriving late to school must be brought in by an adult to receive a tardy slip from the office. |
Parking
Parking at drop-off and dismissal times is highly impacted. The front curb is a 3-minute loading zone where vehicles should not be left unattended. If you wish to accompany your child into school, it is advised that you find street parking, or you may park in the corner parking lot of the Fellowship Church of San Diego during drop-off and dismissal times. It is a short walk to the Birney front gate and kindergarten dismissal gate.
Bicycles
The San Diego Police Department requests that only students in grades four and above ride bicycles to school. Although the school has a designated area by the parking lot for students to park bicycles, the San Diego Unified School District is not responsible for theft, damage, or loss of use to any bicycle, equipment or article left in or around this area. All such risk is assumed by the student. Students must walk their bike on school grounds.
All bicycles should have locks and licenses. Students are urged to secure their bicycles in an appropriate manner by using a quality lock and chain or other devices.
Helmets are required by California law. Students not wearing helmets may lose the privilege of parking a bike on school grounds. As defined in Vehicle Code Section 21212, any person under 18 years of age must wear a properly fitted and fastened helmet when riding a bicycle, scooter, skateboard, or when wearing in-line or roller skates. Helmets must also meet the standards of either the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) or the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
Dismissal
Students are dismissed promptly at 3:35 p.m. (1:30 p.m. on Wednesdays) and should leave campus immediately upon dismissal. Students who ride the bus to and from school will be escorted to and from the bus by a staff member. Bus students will be checked on and off the bus. If a parent needs to pick up their student during the day, please request that the bus roster be marked appropriately.
Student Pick Up
Please meet your child at a designated spot near the front entrance. The front curb is painted white for 3-minute stopping. Signs are posted to assist you. Cars should not enter the parking lot at any time between 6:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Please ensure the safety of all students by not parking in the bus loading area and asking your child(ren) to cross the street. The school's main concern is the health and safety of your children.
Specific dismissal procedures vary by grade level, as indicated below:
| Kindergarten: |
For utmost security reasons, kindergarten students are dismissed from the classroom area by their teacher upon seeing a responsible, familiar adult or older sibling. Older siblings must come to the kindergarten room to pick up younger siblings. |
| Grades 1-3: |
Teachers walk all students to the front entrance of school. All students must be picked up at the front entrance whether they walk home with an older sibling or are picked up by an adult. |
| Grades 4-5: |
Teachers dismiss students from the classroom and they are to leave campus via the front entrance immediately. If they are responsible for a younger student, they must go to the front of school or the kindergarten yard to pick them up and then promptly head home. |
PrimeTime
Students: |
All PrimeTime program students are dismissed from their classroom or near the front of school and sent to the lunch arbor for check in. Kindergarten students are picked up at their classrooms by a PrimeTime staff member. |
Bus
Students: |
All buses park in the loading/unloading zone along the fence on Campus or Meade Avenue . All bus students will line up on the inside of the fence by their route sign and wait to be called to their bus by a staff member. Staff members will have check-in and -out rosters to monitor bus attendance. Staff members supervise the students while loading and unloading the bus. |
If you are more than 10 minutes late to pick up a student, please go to the front office. You may be asked to provide identification. Please review the Visitors Policy page for additional information.