Bus, Drop off & Pick up
One of the advantages of having a neighborhood school like Rockland is that almost all students are within walking distance of the school. We encourage all students and parents to walk or bicycle to school when feasible.
Busing
Busing is provided by Lakeside Transportation free of charge to students who live further than 1.5 miles from school or must cross a street that the state has identified as hazardous. Busing routes are posted in student PowerSchool accounts shortly before the school year begins.
Students who do not qualify for free busing may purchase busing for the year, payable in advance. Information on the Pay-To-Ride Program can be found on the Student Form page or here.
If you have questions regarding busing, please contact the school office.
Late Arrival, Tardiness
Students who arrive later than 8:05 a.m. should enter through the front office doors. A student is considered tardy if he/she arrives after the bell at 8:15 a.m. Students who are tardy should be signed in for the day by an adult in the school office. Optimally, all students are in the classroom, with coats and backpacks put away, sitting at their desk and beginning their morning work by 8:15 a.m. Students miss important information when they are tardy.
Drop-Off
Drop off begins at 7:45. On days when it is 10 degrees or above with a windchill above zero, students will play on the playground until the first bell rings at 8:05. On days that are below these temperatures or rainy days, students will enter the building through the main entrance or Door 5 on the playground.
Students can walk, ride their assigned bus, or be dropped off by a parent or guardian. If you are dropping your child off in the main parking lot also known as the circle drive, please make sure your child is ready to exit the car without assistance before pulling in. We want to minimize stopping in the circle drive. Students may exit their cars anywhere along the sidewalk. Parents should use extreme caution when driving in the circle drive. Lastly, there is no left turn out of the circle drive during drop off or pick up.
Students should never be dropped off in the parking lot unless the parent has parked in a spot and is walking their child(ren) to the entrance. Parents should not double park in the parking lot to drop students off.
If you would like to park and walk your child to the playground, please use the main lot or street parking along Rockland Rd. or Stewart Ave.
Parking is never allowed in the bus lane in front of the building and students should not be dropped off in the bus lane after 8:00. If you are in the bus lane and the bus arrives, please move immediately to another area.
Please do not pull into the staff lot for any reason during drop off or pick up. If students are walking, they should use the sidewalk around the staff lot and should not cut through it to get to the playground.
Students riding bikes should lock their bike up in an open section of the bike rack. Bikes should not be left on the sidewalk or grass.
Pick-Up
At dismissal time, students riding the bus will go to the library to board the bus as a group, students picked-up via car in the at the circle drive will go to the gym, students attending Champions Child Care will go to the cafeteria, and all other students exit through their classroom's assigned door.
All classrooms have an assigned entrance and exit. This information is listed in the Rockland Full Day Handbook. Students meet their parents at their exit door, on the playground, or go to the gym to be picked up in the circle drive to be picked up by parents waiting in their cars (please do not leave your car unattended during drop off (7:45 – 8:15) or pick up times (2:30 – 3:00). If you will be picking your student up in the circle drive, you will need to complete the sign up form which will be shared in August. It helps to have a predetermined spot so your students know where to meet you. This alleviates confusion or worry. We often have students come to the office asking to call home because they are unsure of where they are going after school. Having a plan ahead of time will benefit everyone. If you need to make an adjustment to your pick-up, please notify the office before noon. We understand that emergencies happen and notifying us prior to noon isn’t always possible. Phone calls at 2:30 PM to change arrangements that are not emergency related are discouraged. We are all preparing for dismissal and it is a very busy time. If you email the teacher regarding a dismissal change, again, please do this prior to noon and please include the school secretary on your email.
If you have to pick-up your student for an appointment during the day, please email your teacher and the school secretary letting them know what time you will be coming into the office to pick them up. Please also let them know if your student will be returning to school. Students will not be called down from the classroom until a parent or designated person arrives.
Many of the Rockland families live within walking distance. There are crossing guards at the corner of Rockland and Stewart. Our circle drive is full of cars and Rockland Road is backed up because of this. If at all possible, please park on Rockland or Stewart, meet your student on the playground or another location, or just simply have your student walk or ride their bike home.
Parking During School Hours
Parking is available in Rockland’s main lot located at the front of the school. Parking on the circle is permitted for short time periods, but not during morning arrival (8:00 – 8:15) or afternoon dismissal (2:30 – 3:00). The West lot is a staff parking lot only (please do not use that lot for drop off or pick up). Parents are encouraged to park on Rockland Road (outside of the reserved busing area) or on Stewart Avenue. The Plaza strip mall across the street and the physician’s offices next door are no parking zones. They will tow. Specific drop off/pick up directions for our parking lot can be found on the website under the “Parents” tab and then “Transportation, drop-off.” Please be on time for pick up. Dismissal is at 2:45 PM. When exiting the circle drive, you may NOT turn LEFT (east). You may ONLY turn RIGHT (west).