Hastings School is committed to ensuring a safe arrival and dismissal for each student. To that end, we have developed the following guidelines. Parents should be familiar with these expectations. The goal of dismissal is safety, not expediency. Please plan accordingly, especially in the opening days of school and during inclement weather.
The Hastings School Arrival and Dismissal Plan is a product of the collaboration of the Lexington Public Schools, the Lexington Police Department, the Lexington School Committee, the Hastings School administration and the Transportation Safety Group.
Click here for the complete Lexington School Committee Traffic and Safety Mitigation Policy.
GENERAL GUIDELINES
- Morning arrival is from 8:30 – 9:00 a.m.
- Dismissal is from 3:30 – 3:45 p.m., and 12:30 – 12:45 p.m. on Fridays
- As a LEED-certified school, Hastings encourages alternative modes of transportation, including walking, riding a bike or scooter, carpooling or taking a school bus
- Crosby Road is the main entrance to Hastings School, and the only entrance for vehicles
- Drivers, walkers, bicyclists and scooter riders must follow all posted traffic and parking signs as well as the crossing guard’s, school staff’s and police’s direction at all times
- Students must walk on sidewalks where possible and cross only at crosswalks
- Drive slowly
- Seatbelts must be worn at all times when vehicle is in motion
- Refrain from cell phone use
- Yield to pedestrians in crosswalks
- Idling, U-turns, and horn honking are prohibited
- Dogs are not permitted on school property
MORNING ARRIVAL
Arrival is from 8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Hastings staff is present to supervise and assist students during the entirety of morning arrival. Students can arrive beginning at 8:30 a.m. Students are not allowed to arrive prior to 8:30 a.m. School staff must be present outside of the school before any student may be dropped-off.
From 8:30-8:45, all students line up in their class’s designated location. At 8:45 a.m., students proceed indoors, led by our staff. Students arriving after 8:45 a.m. proceed directly to their classrooms. In inclement weather and during winter months, students will line up in the gymnasium. Instruction begins at 9:00 a.m. Students not in their classroom by the 9:00 a.m. bell will be marked as tardy. All parents/visitors not scheduled for volunteering or meetings at that time must depart the school/grounds.
WALKING AND BICYCLING TO AND FROM SCHOOL
Only students in Grades 2-5 may walk/bike/scooter to school independently. At dismissal, parents who meet and walk home with students can meet their children on the front patio.
Bicyclists/scooter riders must:
- practice the route with their parents prior to taking it independently
- wear helmets
- walk their bicycles/scooters on the school property
- remain on the sidewalks at all times and walk/cross at crosswalks
- use bicycle racks located in front of the school and on the playground side of the school
We highly recommend students walk or bike to school. Adults who are meeting walkers and bike riders will meet students near the ramp close to the nurse’s office entrance. Walkers will walk up the ramp to Crosby Road, are required to cross at a crosswalk, and use the sidewalk. Bike riders will walk on the sidewalk around the traffic circle to get to the bike racks, and then exit carefully through the parking lot.
Here are some resources from Safe Routes to School to support you in making a plan to bike or walk to school.
Walking School Bus and Bicycle Trains
Walking and Biking Routes to Hastings School
LIVE DROP-OFF & PICK UP (INDIVIDUAL CARS & CARPOOLS)
Arrival by car is a LIVE DROP-OFF/PICK-UP SYSTEM. Students who arrive by car are dropped off in the live drop off lane along the field, and picked up at the same location. Traveling in the middle lane, drivers pull up to the first loading/unloading cone and students enter/exit. Students are only permitted to enter/exit from the passenger side of the car. Parents are not permitted to exit the vehicle during live drop-off to assist with children or retrieve/load items from the trunk.
Vehicles are not allowed to line up before 3:15 p.m. (M, T, W, F) and 12:15 on Friday.
Please take note, any parent/guardian lining up in the school driveway for pick-up before 3:15 p.m. may be directed to move. It is recommended that parents/guardians picking up their child(ren) in a vehicle arrive after 3:30 p.m. (12:30 p.m. on Fridays).
Parents should have signage posted on their passenger side window like the example shown here. Staff will call your child(ren) forward to meet you and your vehicle.
If any staff member does not recognize the parent or designated pick-up caregiver, he/she may direct the driver to park their vehicle and proceed to the school office to be properly identified before we dismiss the student. Adults must be able to produce photo identification.
TAKING THE SCHOOL BUS
Bus transportation is available through the Lexington Public Schools Transportation Department. Buses are given precedence ahead of other vehicles when they arrive or depart school. Staff members meet bus riders upon arrival and supervise their entry to school, as well as escort riders to their buses at dismissal. More information on Lexington school buses is available here.
PARKING
As a LEED-certified school, Hastings encourages alternative means of transportation to and from school. Accordingly, there is limited access to parking on school grounds. There is no entrance to the parking lot between 8:30 – 9:00 a.m. or 3:15 – 3:45 p.m. Access is limited to staff, those with scheduled meetings/appointments or medical emergencies and those authorized to use handicapped parking. Parking is available on school days in the parking lot and in designated spaces along Crosby Road and the driveway loop before arrival, after dismissal and between 9:00 a.m. and 2:45 p.m.
Parents should not park their car to accompany their children through this process. If parents have specific concerns, please contact your child’s teacher and/or the main office.
Parking is prohibited in the driveway loop, fire lanes, the Methodist Church parking lot and the fire lane around the school building, enforced by the Lexington Police Department. Parking is also prohibited in handicapped parking spaces without a placard, and low emission spaces unless the vehicle meets that standard.
NO STOPPING RESTRICTION ON MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE
Per the Lexington Police Department, there is no stopping on Massachusetts Ave. Vehicles that stop (defined as pausing, idling, waiting, lining up, building up, crawling forward and queuing) on Mass. Ave. will be directed to proceed past the Hastings School driveway. Once the drop off line builds to the bottom of Crosby Road driveway, vehicles will be directed to proceed past the school driveway and loop around the neighborhood. Mass. Ave. is a single lane road each way. There is no bypassing the traffic line for any reason.
MAKING A CHANGE IN YOUR CHILD’S DISMISSAL PLAN
Advance notice is required for a change in a student’s dismissal plan. When changing your child’s dismissal plan, including dismissing a child to another parent, please send a note of written permission to the school, and the office will change your child’s plan accordingly. Please do not make dismissal changes after 2:00 p.m. or via telephone unless there is an emergency. Dismissal changes sent via email are not accepted.
AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
Parents of Lextended Day students or those participating in after-school activities must park in the parking lot and enter the school to pick-up their child(ren).