@ Tantrums &Turf Wars: The School Car Line Is Chaos

[bugandbibs]

Apr 18, 2024 6:04:45 GMT -5 @villainv said:

[mention]minzy [/mention] we see kids walking to our neighborhood middle school, and not only are the backpacks huge (because apparently they built a school without lockers), but most of them also have large lunch boxes that don’t fit in their backpacks, and are carrying large musical instruments for band! It’s nuts. A kid could maybe bike or scooter with just the backpack, but with a lunchbox and instrument I don’t see how that would be possible.

This is why we pick up our middle schoolers. Between their backpack (with chrome book and food), sports bag, and musical instrument it's an overwhelming amount of stuff to carry.

Add to that with the schedule change it's dark and there are parts of the road with no sidewalks or street lights...

[bugandbibs]

Apr 18, 2024 15:24:25 GMT -5 mrsslocombe said:

Again, forgive the non-breeder asking dumb questions...

But...if you get on line at 2:30 for 3:30 dismissal, because otherwise the line is really long...

You are still waiting an hour. How long can it possibly take to distribute children? It can't take more than an hour? So aren't you just waiting even MORE time? In a car? When you could be at home where there is a couch and snacks?

I am never leaving Brooklyn.

When I pick up my kids after practice, I roll up 5 minutes after they were supposed to be done and go straight to my kids.  I do not understand the lining up so far ahead of time.  I'm still in line, but it's constantly moving when I get there and I don't have to wait.

[basilosaurus]

When you say kids don't have access to a locker, do you mean the schools don't have any? Or that there's too little time between classes to access them?

[Deleted]

Apr 20, 2024 3:42:26 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

When you say kids don't have access to a locker, do you mean the schools don't have any? Or that there's too little time between classes to access them?

The brand new (3-4 year old?) middle school in my neighborhood was built without lockers. We don’t have a kid there yet, but from what we understand there is a place for band students to store instruments during the day, but there are no lockers, and the hallways aren’t wide enough to accommodate lockers.

[minzy]

In our case it’s that there is little to no functional use of the lockers, but they do have them. They are just so far away and there is not enough time between classes to get between them.

[abs]

Apr 20, 2024 3:42:26 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

When you say kids don't have access to a locker, do you mean the schools don't have any? Or that there's too little time between classes to access them?

DD’s middle school removed them this year as part of a renovation. They weren’t being used because there are only 4 minutes between passing periods. No time.

She does have a place in the band hall for her instrument and she will keep things there sometimes.

[SusanBAnthony]

We got DD a burley on buy nothing to transport her large heavy instrument. Otherwise she can't bike. She could ride the bus but she wants the flexibility of biking. So there are ways to deal with it if you dont mind being weird.

Our middle and high schoolers also don't seem to use lockers because they "don't have enough time". I had the same amount of time and I used mine but what do I know. I would think part of it is they don't have textbooks anymore so they "can" carry everything.

[nsl]

Apr 19, 2024 4:43:40 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

If I lived near a school I'd be pissed at all these parents parking a couple blocks away, too. I can see why they'd do it, but surely there has to be some better way.

Bussing isn't an option in many locations, or it has issues like 6am pickups because of driver shortages.

I mean, if you're home at 3 pm on weekdays and live two blocks from a school (especially middle or high) you should expect to see some traffic around your house. It takes me 5 minutes max to pick up my kid. If the homeowners on that street have a problem with it then I'm sorry, but I also really don't care.

[penguingrrl]

Apr 20, 2024 3:42:26 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

When you say kids don't have access to a locker, do you mean the schools don't have any? Or that there's too little time between classes to access them?

In our middle school the lockers are in a space that used to be coat closets in the back of the room, so kids can only use them during home room and the end of the day because there isn’t time to go back to your home room in between classes. Putting lockers in was a retrofit to a 1930s building that happened in the early 2000s, when I was there we had no lockers at all, but the hallways were too narrow to add them in the halls.

IN the HS kids don’t use them because they often are nowhere near the classrooms the kids need and it would add 2-3 minutes between periods to even get near them if you wanted to. My oldest has never seen their locker and has no clue where it is, they never even looked for it.

[macmars45]

Apr 20, 2024 3:42:26 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

When you say kids don't have access to a locker, do you mean the schools don't have any? Or that there's too little time between classes to access them?

When I was in high school the sophomore lockers were in a building I never went in for classes. Between that and 4 minute passing periods it didn't make sense. So I carried all my books all day that year. Junior and senior years I only accessed my locker before school, at lunch and after. The halls were crowded and chaotic and there was only 4 minute between classes so there wasn't time anyway.

[mrspez07]

Our MS has lockers but they don’t assign them or use them. They found that using lockers was creating more conflict in the hallways and leading to tardiness between classes. This has been going on for a few years now and the kids seem pretty used to it. They carry their chrome books and stuff to write with. The most annoying part to me is coats. My boys were hesitant to wear heavy coats to school during the winter because they’d have to carry them all day.
Instruments are stored near or in the band/orchestra room.

[noodleoo]

Apr 20, 2024 5:44:50 GMT -5 @villainv said:

Apr 20, 2024 3:42:26 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

When you say kids don't have access to a locker, do you mean the schools don't have any? Or that there's too little time between classes to access them?

The brand new (3-4 year old?) middle school in my neighborhood was built without lockers. We don’t have a kid there yet, but from what we understand there is a place for band students to store instruments during the day, but there are no lockers, and the hallways aren’t wide enough to accommodate lockers.

Do you live in a warm climate? Where do kids put their coats? I live in NE and in the winter my locker was stuffed with a giant jacket, my lunch and my trumpet. And books, I had time to get to it at lunch so I’d only carry morning books or afternoon books in my bag. I can’t imagine not having a locker at all!

[abs]

Apr 20, 2024 9:52:37 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Apr 20, 2024 5:44:50 GMT -5 @villainv said:

The brand new (3-4 year old?) middle school in my neighborhood was built without lockers. We don’t have a kid there yet, but from what we understand there is a place for band students to store instruments during the day, but there are no lockers, and the hallways aren’t wide enough to accommodate lockers.

Do you live in a warm climate? Where do kids put their coats? I like in NE and in the winter my locker was stuffed with a giant jacket, my lunch and my trumpet. And books, I had time to get to it at lunch so I’d only carry morning books or afternoon books in my bag. I can’t imagine not having a locker at all!

Well. My 13 year old in Texas doesn’t even own anything heavier than a hoodie. Coats are definitely not a concern in the south. I wish they were though because it’s already sweaty season.

[Deleted]

Apr 20, 2024 9:52:37 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Apr 20, 2024 5:44:50 GMT -5 @villainv said:

The brand new (3-4 year old?) middle school in my neighborhood was built without lockers. We don’t have a kid there yet, but from what we understand there is a place for band students to store instruments during the day, but there are no lockers, and the hallways aren’t wide enough to accommodate lockers.

Do you live in a warm climate? Where do kids put their coats? I like in NE and in the winter my locker was stuffed with a giant jacket, my lunch and my trumpet. And books, I had time to get to it at lunch so I’d only carry morning books or afternoon books in my bag. I can’t imagine not having a locker at all!

Fairly warm, I guess? NC. Even when it’s cold enough, kids here don’t wear coats. Just hoodies.

Not having lockers feels very strange to me, since I had (and used!) them in both middle and HS. I think I mostly carried my books for my morning classes, then swapped at lunch time for my afternoon stuff? In HS we had open campus at lunch so it was easy to swing by my locker. In MS we just made it work (but it also wasn’t a big deal to be a minute “late” to lunch period).

[eport]

Apr 20, 2024 9:52:37 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Apr 20, 2024 5:44:50 GMT -5 @villainv said:

The brand new (3-4 year old?) middle school in my neighborhood was built without lockers. We don’t have a kid there yet, but from what we understand there is a place for band students to store instruments during the day, but there are no lockers, and the hallways aren’t wide enough to accommodate lockers.

Do you live in a warm climate? Where do kids put their coats? I live in NE and in the winter my locker was stuffed with a giant jacket, my lunch and my trumpet. And books, I had time to get to it at lunch so I’d only carry morning books or afternoon books in my bag. I can’t imagine not having a locker at all!

Chicago suburbs here and I'm part of a mothers club that has an annual coat drive. We give to schools and a local nonprofit. The high school has told us the past few years that they do not need coats as "none of the kids will wear them anyway". Hoodies were asked for and accepted though. The counselor explained that they don't want to carry them and don't really have enough time to go to lockers between class so they are cold waiting for the bus but once in school don't need to be outside until they leave at the end if the day

[penguingrrl]

Apr 20, 2024 9:52:37 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Apr 20, 2024 5:44:50 GMT -5 @villainv said:

The brand new (3-4 year old?) middle school in my neighborhood was built without lockers. We don’t have a kid there yet, but from what we understand there is a place for band students to store instruments during the day, but there are no lockers, and the hallways aren’t wide enough to accommodate lockers.

Do you live in a warm climate? Where do kids put their coats? I live in NE and in the winter my locker was stuffed with a giant jacket, my lunch and my trumpet. And books, I had time to get to it at lunch so I’d only carry morning books or afternoon books in my bag. I can’t imagine not having a locker at all!

I’m in Jersey and the kids just don’t wear coats. My oldest is a junior and said wearing a coat would be “embarrassing.” They pointed out that they’re inside all day anyway, so it’s too inconvenient. They have a varsity jacket but don’t wear it to/from school because of the inconvenience and because nobody else does.

[frlcb]

Lockers are becoming obsolete. Between less textbooks and less time between classes they just aren't used anymore.

[Patsy Baloney]

Yikes, my kid’s instrument got stolen from the “very safe” band room storage this year. I wouldn’t be ok with a no locker scenario.

Why don’t we give kids more time in between? Bizarre. Schools are so rigid any more.

[sent]

Apr 20, 2024 11:35:49 GMT -5 penguingrrl said:

Apr 20, 2024 9:52:37 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Do you live in a warm climate? Where do kids put their coats? I live in NE and in the winter my locker was stuffed with a giant jacket, my lunch and my trumpet. And books, I had time to get to it at lunch so I’d only carry morning books or afternoon books in my bag. I can’t imagine not having a locker at all!

I’m in Jersey and the kids just don’t wear coats. My oldest is a junior and said wearing a coat would be “embarrassing.” They pointed out that they’re inside all day anyway, so it’s too inconvenient. They have a varsity jacket but don’t wear it to/from school because of the inconvenience and because nobody else does.

Same here in NJ for us. Lots of moms lamenting their middle and HS kids don't wear coats anymore. Boy moms say their sons pair a hoodie with shorts no matter how cold it is. 

[Deleted]

Apr 20, 2024 12:00:38 GMT -5 Patsy Baloney said:

Yikes, my kid’s instrument got stolen from the “very safe” band room storage this year. I wouldn’t be ok with a no locker scenario.

Why don’t we give kids more time in between? Bizarre. Schools are so rigid any more.

From what I understand, it’s a safety concern. Allowing kids to spend more time in the halls between classes allows for more conflict/bullying/fights. This was 100% not a thing when I was in MS/HS, so it’s kind of hard for me to envision, but I guess it’s a thing.

[abs]

Apr 20, 2024 12:00:38 GMT -5 Patsy Baloney said:

Yikes, my kid’s instrument got stolen from the “very safe” band room storage this year. I wouldn’t be ok with a no locker scenario.

Why don’t we give kids more time in between? Bizarre. Schools are so rigid any more.

It’s a safety thing. Schools are just so overcrowded. They want you in the hallways as little as possible. Honestly the shortened passing periods help. There is less vaping/restroom shenanigans. Fights are still happening way too often but they’ve been reduced. With 2,000 kids in the middle school they just don’t have great choices. With text books becoming obsolete getting rid of lockers as a means to help control the crowd becomes an easy choice. Less places to store weapons, too. Hate to think that way but we have to.

[waverly]

DS has a locker and it’s cold enough that kids still wear coats but they only have 3 minutes between classes so they are only supposed to go to the locker in the morning, before lunch, after lunch and after school.

[bunnies]

Apr 20, 2024 8:23:25 GMT -5 nsl said:

Apr 19, 2024 4:43:40 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

If I lived near a school I'd be pissed at all these parents parking a couple blocks away, too. I can see why they'd do it, but surely there has to be some better way.

Bussing isn't an option in many locations, or it has issues like 6am pickups because of driver shortages.

I mean, if you're home at 3 pm on weekdays and live two blocks from a school (especially middle or high) you should expect to see some traffic around your house. It takes me 5 minutes max to pick up my kid. If the homeowners on that street have a problem with it then I'm sorry, but I also really don't care.

I'm a homeowner across the street from a middle school. Parents park up and down our street at pickup time - that's fine. It's the kids walking to parent's cars littering trash in people's yards that piss me off.

[penguingrrl]

Apr 20, 2024 12:00:38 GMT -5 Patsy Baloney said:

Yikes, my kid’s instrument got stolen from the “very safe” band room storage this year. I wouldn’t be ok with a no locker scenario.

Why don’t we give kids more time in between? Bizarre. Schools are so rigid any more.

Is it really a change, though? My kid is at the same HS I went to and the passing time is exactly the same at 4 minutes. We never had time to go to lockers other than before and after school unless you were a unicorn and had a locker near your classes (which almost nobody did).

[Patsy Baloney]

Apr 20, 2024 13:46:07 GMT -5 penguingrrl said:

Apr 20, 2024 12:00:38 GMT -5 Patsy Baloney said:

Yikes, my kid’s instrument got stolen from the “very safe” band room storage this year. I wouldn’t be ok with a no locker scenario.

Why don’t we give kids more time in between? Bizarre. Schools are so rigid any more.

Is it really a change, though? My kid is at the same HS I went to and the passing time is exactly the same at 4 minutes. We never had time to go to lockers other than before and after school unless you were a unicorn and had a locker near your classes (which almost nobody did).

So, I had the pre-Columbine/post-columbine school experience - I’m sure a lot of people here did as well. We went from having 5 minute passing periods/full period (60+ minute)lunches/could carry bags to 4 minute passing periods/25 minute lunches/could not carry bags. I was still able to go to my locker a few times per day to switch out books, grab a tampon, etc. We had 1200-1300 in our school, I know there were fights and smoking. I don’t know how it was handled because it wasn’t my scene.

I don’t know. I genuinely feel bad for kids. We’re not doing a great job.

[penguingrrl]

Apr 20, 2024 13:53:45 GMT -5 Patsy Baloney said:

Apr 20, 2024 13:46:07 GMT -5 penguingrrl said:

Is it really a change, though? My kid is at the same HS I went to and the passing time is exactly the same at 4 minutes. We never had time to go to lockers other than before and after school unless you were a unicorn and had a locker near your classes (which almost nobody did).

So, I had the pre-Columbine/post-columbine school experience - I’m sure a lot of people here did as well. We went from having 5 minute passing periods/full period (60+ minute)lunches/could carry bags to 4 minute passing periods/25 minute lunches/could not carry bags. I was still able to go to my locker a few times per day to switch out books, grab a tampon, etc. We had 1200-1300 in our school, I know there were fights and smoking. I don’t know how it was handled because it wasn’t my scene.

I don’t know. I genuinely feel bad for kids. We’re not doing a great job.

Ah, that is a huge change. Columbine happened my senior year of HS and the single change my school implemented was (no joke) banning trench coats. I was in an identically sized school and have heard there were fights but almost never saw them or was aware of them.

[sent]

Apr 19, 2024 4:43:40 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

If I lived near a school I'd be pissed at all these parents parking a couple blocks away, too. I can see why they'd do it, but surely there has to be some better way.

Bussing isn't an option in many locations, or it has issues like 6am pickups because of driver shortages.

This is how our elementary school does it. There is no pickup line in the afternoon. You have to street park in the neighborhood and walk to the school to retrieve your kid. They won't release the grades 1 - 4 kids without a parent. My kid always took the bus but the few times I had to pick her up, I dreaded it. I wasn't ever going to get there early enough to get the closest street spots so I was going to have no choice but to park further away and walk several blocks. Which is fine but if I wasn't in the sea of parents within 5 minutes of the dismissal bell, I would get the panicked phone call reminding me to come retrieve my kid. I was usually huffing it on the sidewalk trying to get to the door to retrieve her. 

[cmeon]

I bet most of the school campuses look so different than the typical FL secondary campus. My kids' HS has near 4,000 kids and they are not at full campus capacity. The campus is about 3/4 of a mile wide/deep. It's just really, really spread out. These kids sprint from class to class (with those heavy backpacks), there isn't time to stop at a locker. And why would they? They don't have books. There's nothing to offload between classes.

They did adjust time in between classes down after COVID in order to reduce fights- and it definitely helped. We had some terrible ones when my 11th grader was a freshman. But yeah- these kids get a workout.

[erbear]

We have lockers (middle school) — they don’t lock though. Most kids use them but we have a schedule with time built in (two classes, break, two classes, lunch, two classes) so kids bring their stuff for two classes then hit their lockers. They don’t wear coats though bc they don’t have room in their lockers.

[wawa]

Apr 18, 2024 19:54:49 GMT -5 plutosmoon said:

Apr 18, 2024 19:12:23 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

These are entirely different pots of money coming from different taxes and often governances. They don't relate to each other at all.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. My point was when we don't get funding for these specific items. 

For example, we have been trying to build a bike path for over 10 years, there has been a ton of funding from various sources, and I am thrilled with this path and am excited for it to finally be built. There are a lot of reasons it is taking forever, but from my understanding part is funding. Once we finally build it, we need to also make sure there is a steady stream of funding from outside sources to maintain it, otherwise it could fall to our city budget. I know municipalities in the area have sued to the state for broken funding promises related to transportation, so people around here get nervous the support funds will be cut. It also seems to take a really really long time to get these various fundings. Our crosswalk requests had to wait years for funding to do a traffic study. Maybe my city just sucks at the funding requests?

Yeah sounds like it.

Feel free to pm me if you want to talk about it in more detail, but this sounds like more than the typical levels of govt dysfunction