Morning Arrival

Students may be dropped off at school no earlier than 9:10 a.m. Once at school, all students may eat breakfast. Those not eating breakfast will go to a designated area to wait and will be escorted to class by school staff at 9:40 a.m. School staff will monitor each area to ensure student safety.

Afternoon Dismissal

Afternoon dismissal will begin promptly at 4:20 p.m. each day. The order for dismissal will be as follows:

Bus Riders
Walkers
Car Riders

Once dismissal has begun, in order to ensure the safety of all students, parents will not be allowed to enter the building until 3:40 p.m. All students should be picked up no later than 4:40 p.m. each day.

It is important for parents to make sure the Enrollment Form, completed at the beginning of the year, is always up to date. School staff are not authorized to release a student to anyone not listed on the Enrollment Form. For safety reasons, anyone coming to pick up a child at school must be able to present a picture I.D. to verify his or her identity to school staff.

Transportation Changes

All transportation changes should be made as early in the day as possible, but they must be made by calling the office no later than 3:30 p.m. This allows the office staff time to alert the teachers and students of the changes prior to the beginning of afternoon dismissal. If a student is going home with another student—as a walker, car rider, or bus rider—notes must be sent from the parents of both students verifying the transportation change. Please include telephone numbers in case the need arises for school staff to verify the notes.

Child Enrichment Program (CEP)

For more information, visit the JCPS or YMCA websites or call the School-Age CEP offices at 637-1575.

Bus Riders

If your child will be a bus rider at any time during the year, please read this section carefully! Bus transportation is provided for all students who live more than one mile from school with a few exceptions. Students living within a one-mile radius of school will not be provided bus service unless unsafe walking conditions exist. Residential streets with a reduced speed limit (25 mph) will be considered walking areas. Bus stops will not be scheduled on dead-end streets. Students with a hardship transfer are not provided bus transportation.

During the first two weeks of school, your child may experience a 30- to 60-minute delay. This is to ensure that all students are assigned to and loaded on the appropriate buses. All students riding the bus will receive a backpack tag displaying bus information. This backpack tag must be placed and kept on the backpack for the duration of the school year.

Kindergarten Bus Riders

Kindergarten students use the same service provided for all elementary students, which involves being picked up at bus stops that may be several blocks from home. Kindergarten students must have an adult present at the bus stop before they will be released from the bus.

Bus Expectations

Riding a bus is a privilege that comes with responsibility for one’s safety. At the beginning of the school year, students receive a copy of the JCPS Bus Rules and Regulations from the bus driver and are fully expected to comply with the rules. Students must observe the following rules:

Remain seated in your assigned seat, and face forward at all times.
Keep the aisle clear.
Speak in a conversational tone of voice.
Keep hands, head, feet, and objects inside the bus at all times.
Respect and follow the directions of the bus driver at all times.
Do not eat, drink, or chew gum on the bus.
Use only positive words and language. No fighting or arguing is allowed.
Board and exit the bus in a safe manner.
Be at your bus stop on time.

Bus Misconduct

Bus drivers deal with misconduct on the bus in several ways prior to referring a student to the principal for disciplinary action. When a referral becomes necessary, the driver submits a special form to the principal. Each time your child is written up by the bus driver for misconduct, you should receive a copy of the bus referral form. Consequences for inappropriate behavior on the bus may vary depending on the severity and/or number of referrals that a student has received. Consequences may include the following:

The student has a conference with the principal, assistant principal, or counselor.
A parent is contacted, and/or a school conference is scheduled.
The student is given a constructive assignment to complete.
The student is suspended from the bus for one, two, or three days.
The student loses a privilege at school.

In the event a student is suspended from the bus, there are some things to consider:

When a student is suspended from the bus, he or she may not ride any public school bus for the duration of the suspension.
Parents are responsible for transporting the student to and from school.
Suspensions from the bus are not suspensions from school. If the student does not attend school during a bus suspension, the absence is unexcused.
If misconduct continues after a short bus suspension, the student will be suspended from the bus until the problem has been resolved.

Bus Compound Information

Specific information about bus routes is available through the JCPS website. You may also contact the bus compound directly. Bus Compound phone numbers are located on the JCPS website.

Morning Arrival of Car Riders and Walkers (front entrance)

Cars should enter the car rider entrance off Sacred Heart Lane and line up on the curb along the front of the building, pulling as far forward as possible. Do not block the crosswalk.
Walkers enter via the front door. Parents must drop their students off at the front entrance.
Starting at 9:40 a.m., staff members will greet students and supervise them as they enter the building. Students are not permitted to exit their cars until a staff member is present.
Cars must follow the traffic flow to exit. It is not permissible to pass other cars. Please drive slowly as you exit.
Parents must remain in their cars to keep the traffic flowing. Please do not leave your car parked or unattended in the car rider line.
Carpool ends promptly at 8:40 a.m. After that time, parents must park in the lot and walk their child into the building to sign in at the attendance desk. No student should be allowed to walk in unattended after 9:40 a.m.

Afternoon Dismissal of Car Riders (door #2)

In the afternoon, cars must enter by turning right off of Frankfort Ave onto Sacred Heart Lane. Cars may not turn left onto Sacred Heart Lane during afternoon dismissal as this creates a gridlock for emergency vehicles and TARC buses in the area.
Students classified as car riders will be assigned a car rider number. This number will be printed on a car rider tag. Please keep this tag displayed during the entire afternoon dismissal. These tags will be used by school staff to call students out during afternoon dismissal. For any car that does not have a tag displayed, the driver must be listed on the Student Enrollment Form and must present photo identification in order to pick up a student.
Car riders will not be dismissed to the back entrance of school where walkers are dismissed. If you are parked off school property and are not in the car rider line, you must wait until 4:45 p.m. to enter the school building and proceed to the office to pick up your child.
Once students exit the building, they must wait until they are signaled by school staff to walk safely to their cars.
Students should walk down the sidewalk and enter their cars on the sidewalk side if at all possible. If it is necessary for a student to enter the car on the driver’s side, a parent must meet the student at the sidewalk and assist him or her in loading safely.
Once loaded, all cars should wait patiently to be signaled by school staff to exit the carpool line.

Afternoon Dismissal of Walkers (door #8)

If your child will be a walker at any time during the year, please read this section carefully.

Students who live within safe walking distance of school are encouraged to walk to and from school each day.
All students who are classified as walkers must meet their parents at Exit 8 (in the back of the school by the picnic tables). Students are not allowed to walk home alone unless a permission slip is on file in the school office.
In case of inclement weather, parents may request that their child be sent to carpool that afternoon. Parents should alert the front office of the transportation change before 3:30 p.m.

Field Elementary