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08/24/2018 01:26 PMWhen Branford's grade 5 – 8 public students go back to school on Tuesday, Sept. 4, new bus and parent drop-off areas and procedures will be in place to keep students safe during construction work, said Superintendent of Schools Hamlet Hernandez. When it comes to keeping students safe, "slow" is the operative word, and taking the bus instead of getting a private ride to school the best option, said Hernandez.
The new procedures and student drop off/pick up configurations are in place to accomodate Phase I construction underway at Walsh Intermediate School (WIS). Construction began in June on the $88.2 million WIS renovation/expansion project, of which $30 million will be reimbursed by the state. As of this month, a front corner of the building (known as the Industrial Arts area) has been "fully demolished" said Hernandez, with all rubble piles to be removed before students arrive. Construction is also slightly ahead of schedule, said Hernandez.
"I'm very relieved we're a little ahead of schedule. We'll start peeling back the floor, that process takes a little bit longer, as things are underground...it's a meticulous process we will be engaged in," Hernandez said on August 15, as part of his WIS update during the full Board of Education (BOE) meeting.
As for what students will find in the building when they return, the most notable change is the new reception area, which is fully established and secure, said Hernandez.
"We have cameras on (the front doors); they have essentially replicated what we used to have in the old entrance," he explained. "The new reception area has been re-designated from where it was to where the reception area is now. And that is important, because we now have direct line of site when someone comes into our building, and we can also augment that with [our] added additional security at Walsh Intermediate School."
A second security guard has been hired to work at WIS beginning with the new school year. The school added its first security guard position in 2016.
WIS begins its school day at 8:05 a.m. Parents were informed earlier this month of the school's new morning drop off time of no earlier than 7:30 a.m. Students will not be allowed in the building before 7:30 a.m. and will not be allowed to wait outside the building unsupervised. The change was made with student safety in mind due to the construction underway.
New Bus Loop
Hernandez said "extreme attention" has been paid to the school's new bus loop, which has been partially expanded by paving over the school's former front lawn at 185 Damascus Road, where parking has also been added. In addition, the district is working with police to bolster traffic safety around the school in the mornings and afternoons. On school property, gates and signage will be in use for additionally traffic safety.
A combination of eight vans and 23 school buses carry most of the school's 900 students to and from the building. Hernandez said buses will enter the new bus loop and "stack" side-by-side. During arrival, students will remain on buses until stacking is complete, based on arrivals.
"Buses will come in, they will shut down so they are not idling, and then there will be an orderly unloading of the buses, and then the students will come in," said Hernandez.
The loop can accommodate 25 vehicles at one time, but arrival times differ and so there will be "waves" of buses to be stacked, said Hernandez.
The district is also strongly recommending all students assigned to a bus use the bus system this year, instead of being dropped off and picked up by private vehicles. Branford's school bus transportation provider, First Student Inc., estimates WIS bus route pick-ups around town will begin at 7:25 a.m. daily.
"We encourage everyone to take the bus," said Hernandez. "And we know sometimes you'd prefer not to; but that's the best course. So this is my public service announcement to the community: we are strongly encouraging that parents put their children on the bus [so] that we reduce the private vehicle traffic."
In a letter to WIS parents earlier this month, WIS principal Raeanne Reynolds also asked parents to have their students use their assigned bus.
"We encourage bus students to take the bus in order to reduce the number of cars in the bus loop and drop off areas. This will help in minimizing the congestion and traffic during the start and end of the day," Reynolds noted.
The district will run a full bus drill on August 28 at WIS, said Hernandez. Buses will also be arriving on Thursday, August 30, to deliver and retrieve incoming fifth-graders who will be attending a brief orientation session at WIS. Then, on Friday, Aug. 31, the district is planning to give WIS families a demonstration to include use of the "parent loop" during arrival and dismissals, "...so we can demonstrate to them cars going in the parent loop, as well as buses," said Hernandez.
More information on the August 31 demonstration will be sent to WIS parents, said Hernandez.
Dismissal Differences
WIS dismissal begins at 2:50 p.m. daily and will be done "very differently" this year, said Hernandez. Bus dismissal at WIS will be carried out in three stages, he said.
"There's staging inside of the building, then there's loading, when the children get on the bus; and then there's releasing of the buses," he said. "Once all the buses have cleared, then parents can go into the parent loop and pick up their children."
Students who walk to school will be dismissed last, he added.
"That may be an inconvenience, but we don't want to necessarily dismiss walkers when there's high vehicle traffic of buses and cars," said Hernandez. "So I understand if somebody may want to let their child go a little bit earlier, I can appreciate that; but we want to make sure that our children are dismissed in a safe way."
In addition to coordinating with police and crossing guards to assist students, WIS staff will take on several roles to help ensure safe student arrivals and departures each day, said Hernandez.
"Our intention is to have a significant presence of staff throughout the year [and] we also will use metal gates that the staff can move, as well as signage, so that its well-marked," said Hernandez.
He noted additional signage will be installed once routes are synchronized and settled into a routine.
"We're paying a lot of attention that to you may seem a little bit like overkill, but I cannot think of any other more tenuous time than when we have 900 kids coming in -- between buses, vehicles and walkers -- to an area that is newly designed. So we need to go slow," said Hernandez. "Inconvenience is nothing compared to an accident. I just think we need to be mindful of that."
Branford Public School bus routes and times for the 2018-19 academic year are available online at http://www.branford.k12.ct.us under "Parents and Students" section on the homepage.