The following information is meant to provide parents with support on Morning arrival and Afternoon dismissal at SPARK.  Due to Covid19 and our desire to keep all students and staff safe, many of our common procedures have changed.  Please read through this information thoroughly as we do our best to inform you of those changes. 

We encourage all parents to avoid having multiple modes of transportation for a child throughout the week.  If possible, please choose your main mode of transportation and continue that all week.  It will help SPARK out tremendously! 

Bus Rider - Morning Arrival Information

• SPARK has total of 9 buses that will go throughout the community to pick up students. Please keep in mind that SPARK can not guarantee social distancing on the buses.  Students are not required to wear masks while on the bus in the morning and in the afternoon. 
• The bus numbers are:
  • Bus 16-809
  • Bus 19-923
  • Bus 20-969
  • Bus 20-970
  • Bus 635
  • Bus 670
  • Bus 692 - New SPARK Bus Route! Driven by Ms. Fransene on Bus 692. Initially called Route 719.
  • Bus 719 - Began 2022-23 as Route 692. Driven by Mr. Trigger on Bus 610.
  • Bus 738 - Recently became Route 21-004 (still with Ms Stokes)
• To determine what bus your child will ride, please use the Bus STOP Locator. The bus stop locator will show you the bus number your child will ride as well as what time the bus will arrive in the morning and afternoon. Parents are encouraged to show up at the bus stop 5 minutes or more prior to the bus arriving to pick up or drop off students.
• Bus arrival times in the morning and afternoon vary depending on the route. To review the entire bus route for your bus, click here. SPARK Bus Routes
• Please be sure to let your child’s teacher know if you plan on having them ride the bus. Teachers will need to know the bus number that the child rides so we can plan for afternoon dismissal.

• All buses will stop at the Kindergarten Center to drop off Kindergarten students first in the morning. Once all kindergarten students have been dropped off, the buses will make their way to SPARK Main campus. 
• Once students arrive at the K center, they will be supported by our teachers and staff to ensure they make it to their teacher’s classroom. We will continue to practice this with our kids as we build their confidence during our morning routines.
• At main campus, students will be unloaded from the bus and walk down the side of the building to their grade level main entrance. We will have teachers and staff placed throughout the campus to support students in getting to their classrooms.
• We have created videos for grade level students to show them what they will do as they exit the bus.

Carpool Morning Arrival Information

• Families may pull up in our carpool lane at any time before 7:15am but please do NOT let your child out of the car until it is 7:15am. We want to make sure that your child is safe at all times, teachers are assigned morning duties at 7:15am precisely.  If you let your child out before 7:15am, we will not have appropriate supervision in place. 
• Carpool drop off starts at 7:15 a.m. and ends at 7:45 a.m. To help with the anticipated increase in morning carpool families, we ask that you do your best to drop students off at the times listed below.
• If you are a parent that has children on both SPARK campuses, we ask that you drop your children off at the SPARK Main campus first and then take a right out of the parking area to drop off your Kindergarten student at the K Center. Remember, only RIGHT turns are permitted when exiting the SPARK Main Campus parking area.

•  For K Center car pool drop off and pick up, turn from Briarcliff into the second driveway for Metro Life Church (in between the Springdale Park sign and big green flag).  See the map below. 

• Please say goodbyes and have children ready to exit in the morning. This is not the time to review homework, have children eat breakfast, sign permission slips, fix hair or open the trunk or back hatch, etc. Please remember that carpool is not a parent/teacher conference time. If you need to speak to a teacher, please schedule an appointment.
• Please unlock doors and have children start to unbuckle their seatbelts as you enter the carpool area. At dismissal, children may buckle seatbelts by stopping at the end of the drive before entering Briarcliff Road. Remember, only RIGHT turns are permitted.
• Children may only depart and enter the vehicle on the passenger side. Please make appropriate accommodations if you have car seats. Parents must stay inside the car in the carpool line. If you need to get out of your vehicle, please park your car in a parking spot. Under no circumstances should parents park in the carpool lane. 
• Please be alert and follow the instructions of the carpool assistants. If someone asks you to move to improve the flow, please oblige. Opening and closing the doors is a courtesy and may not always be available. Again, please remember to have your doors unlocked.
• NO cell phone use in the carpool lane during arrival or departure from carpool. We need you to be alert and prepared to stop/go quickly. Please abide by this rule as a common courtesy and safety protocol.

• Be a follower: Follow the car ahead of you as we are filling up the carpool lane. When one car breaks the routine, others follow, chaos ensues, and you get out later, not sooner.
• We also love our furry family members, but please keep pets in vehicles. Pets are not allowed on the school property. Please do not let any pets out of the car or hang out the vehicle windows. There are children, staff and parents who are uncomfortable around animals and who have allergies. This also poses a safety risk. You are liable for any accidents or injuries.
• Once a student exits your car in the morning, the student will walk down the side of the building to enter through their grade level assigned entrance.  Before entering the building, students will have their temperature checked. 
• Parents will not be allowed to walk their children to their grade level entrance.  We need students to focus on our staff and to pay attention to our procedures.  We will begin this on day one.  Please review the arrival information for your grade level student.  We encourage families to review the video with their children so they have a better understanding of what is expected of them.

• We have created videos for grade level students to show them what they will do as they exit the car.

Morning Arrival for Walkers and Bike Riders

• For families who are walking or biking with their children to school in the morning please adhere to the following rules. 
• Families may arrive at any time between 7:15 and 7:45am.  Please use the crosswalks where there is an APS Crossing Guard so you and your children can safely cross over Briarcliff road or Ponce De Leon Avenue. 

• For K Center Walkers or Bike Riders, we’re asking that you follow the same route as the car riders with walkers staying on the sidewalk and bikers continuing in the car pool lane. 

• For families who walk from the Ponce De Leon avenue side of the school, you may walk your child to the gate.  Please do not come onto campus or wait in the cafeteria courtyard area. 
• For families entering on the Briarcliff side, you may walk your child to the Gym side gate only.  Past the gate is a student and staff only area.  We are asking parents to make this as easy on us as possible by abiding by these rules. 
• Once students pass the gate, they will proceed down the side of the building to reach their grade level entrance. Before entering the building, students will have their temperature checked.   Teachers and staff will be placed throughout the campus to assist our kids in getting to their classrooms safely.
• We have created videos for grade level students to show them what they will do as they enter the gym side gate. 

Bus Rider - Afternoon Dismissal

• Bus Rider – SPARK would like to encourage families to place their children on the bus.  It reduces the total amount of traffic in the morning and afternoon tremendously and it is "green". 
• Be reminded that traffic in the Springdale Park zone is heavy at times and we assure you that bus drivers will do their best to arrive on time in the morning and afternoon each day. 
• All buses will pick up from the SPARK Kindergarten Center first in the afternoon.  Kindergarten students will be loaded on the buses at 2:30pm each day.  It will leave the Kindergarten center, take a right onto Briarcliff Rd, a left on to “The ByWay”, a right on Springdale Rd and then a right onto Ponce De Leon where they will then enter the SPARK Main Campus bus loop by 2:45pm.   
• Once the buses arrive, we will begin loading all grade levels on Main campus. 
• School buses will leave the SPARK main campus by 2:50-2:55 each day. Pick-up and drop-off times will be available via the district transportation portal.  Bus pick-up and drop-off times are approximate.  Route times are affected by changes in traffic patterns and ridership.  All bus schedules are subject to change during the school year.  Bus routes are updated each Friday; updates will take affect the following Monday.  Please check your student’s bus route weekly for updates.  You can check bus routes by visiting the APS Transportation page or by clicking here. SPARK Bus Routes
• Parents are not allowed to pull students from the bus lane, bus pick-up area, hallways or directly from the classroom.  This is to ensure the safety and security of all students.

Afternoon Carpool Dismissal

• We want our carpool to be as efficient and orderly as possible. We anticipate delays as we begin the first few weeks of in-person learning so please be patient.  We originally planned on using the “PikMyKid” app to support us in carpool, but after further deliberation, we decided to try and keep things as simple as possible for parents and students for the time being. 

• For K Center Afternoon Carpool, it’s important the parents do NOT line up for afternoon carpool until at least 2:45 pm.  The driveway into the church is narrow and we need to ensure that all buses are able to get in, load and depart for Main Campus before we begin carpool.  If you arrive prior to 2:30, and buses still need to get through, we will have to ask you to make another loop around the K Center. 

• To make it easier to accommodate all grade levels in carpool, we suggest the following carpool pick up times. 
  
  • 1st & 2nd Grade students in carpool –2:45 - 2:55
  • 3rd Grade Students – 2:55 - 3:10
  • 4th & 5th Grade Students – 3:10 - 3:20
• For Main campus, and for the safety of our students and their families, we will only have one carpool lane.
• Each year carpool parents are given two (2) carpool hang tags. The hang tags have a visible carpool number listed. 
• Each student at SPARK will be assigned a carpool hang tag. These hang tags will go home with students on their first day of school.  Siblings will have the same carpool hang tag number.
• Your child’s teacher will provide you with your child’s carpool number prior to the first day of school. Carpool hang tags are used to match students up to the correct car.
• For the first day of school on August 1st for all grade levels, parents will need to create a sign that they will place on the passenger side dashboard.  The sign will only have your child’s carpool number.  Please be sure to write the carpool number large enough so we can see it clearly.  The number needs to be visible so we can move as quickly and efficiently as possible.  Here are two examples. 

Don’t forget, your child will have the carpool hang tags assigned to them in their backpacks.  Please be sure to get the hang tag  from your child and place it on your rear view mirror with number facing out for easy visibility for the remainder of the school year.   For carpool, walkers and bike riders, we are asking parents to also include their child’s name on the white paper for the first week as it often takes Kindergarteners some time to learn their carpool numbers.  Please practice at home! 

Here is an example of what the carpool hangtag will look like.

Afternoon Walker/Biker Dismissal

• We want our walker/biker lines to be as efficient and orderly as possible.  We anticipate delays as we begin the first few weeks of in-person learning so please be patient.
• Students will remain in their homeroom teacher's classrooms until they are called to come out and meet parents in the gym.  We will be training students on how to do this, so anticipate delays.  Be patient.
• Walker and Biker parents will be given two (2) carpool hangtags.  The hangtags have a visible number listed.  Each F2F student at SPARK will be assigned a hangtag.  These hang tags will go home with students on their first day of F2F school.  We will do our best to make sure that siblings will have the same walker/biker hang tag numbers. Your child’s teacher will share with you your child’s walker/biker number prior to the first day of school.  Hang tags are used to match students up to the correct parent/guardian that is picking them up. 
• The walker/biker hangtags are the same as the Carpool hangtags.
• Parents will retrieve their kids from the gymnasium.  Please stay socially distant as you wait outside for your children. 
• For the first day of afternoon pickup for all students, parents will need to create a sign that they will hold indicating to us that you are there to pick up a student as a walker.  The sign will only have your child’s walker/biker number.  Please be sure to write the number large enough so we can see it clearly.
• Once we match your child up with you, your child will be able to give you the Walker/Biker hangtag.  You will need this hangtag each day for afternoon dismissal at SPARK. Please do your best to not forget it!
• Bike Racks are located at the front of the school and at the cafeteria courtyard if you plan on leaving your child’s bike locked up throughout the school day.

• Please remember, we need to build your child’s self-confidence and independence by allowing him/her to walk to class by themselves in the morning. There are staff members located throughout the building to help guide children to their classes.  Please help us with this goal by reviewing the arrival videos created for each grade level.

Onsite Afterschool Daycare – “SPAS - SPARK After School”

• For parents who registered their child with “SPAS” afterschool, students will report to the cafeteria where afterschool daycare will take place.

• SPAS for Kindergarten will occur at Main Campus.  All SPAS Kindergartners will ride a designated bus to the Main campus with a SPAS or SPARK employee.  The students will exit the bus at Main campus and will report to SPAS in the Cafeteria.  Students will be with an adult at all times. 

• For all students at main campus, a staff member from “SPAS"” will walk around the building and collect students who will be in afterschool daycare.
• Parents may pick students up from by walking down the side of the building and checking students out at the cafeteria entrance. Please be reminded that parents are NOT allowed to enter the building.
• Due to district protocols and guidelines for COVID19 mitigation strategies, we will not be offering daily clubs or extracurricular activities at SPARK. We are only allowed to offer afterschool daycare.
• For more information about “SPAS” After School Daycare, please check out their website. SPAS Afterschool Daycare

 Afterschool Van Riders – Off Site Daycare

• Many parents may opt to have their child in an off-site daycare program. Many of these programs will pick students up from SPARK and take them to their off site facility.
• Please let our teachers know if your child will be riding an afterschool Van for off site daycare.
• Afterschool Van Riders are loaded once all SPARK school buses have left the bus loop.

Early Dismissal

• Early dismissal must occur before 2:00.  We ask that parents do their best to not pick students up between 1:45 and 2:30.  This is to ensure the safety and dismissal procedures for all students within our building.  After 2:30 PM students will be dismissed via their regular transportation dismissal.

Late Drop-Off/Late Pick-Up

• If a student is not in their homeroom class by 7:45AM they are considered tardy.   Students will receive a tardy slip to indicate the day and time of the tardy.  Teachers will mark all tardies in our database for attendance purposes.
• For students who arrive to school after 7:45, parents/guardians will need to park and walk their children into the school to sign them in.  Under no circumstances should parents drop their students off in the parking lot or at the front door.  Parents will need to walk inside of the building with their child. This ensures that all students make it into the building in a safe and secure manner. 
• School begins dismissal by 2:45 each day.  All carpool/walkers/biker students must be picked up by 3:00pm daily.  If there is a possibility that you will be late picking up your child, please call the school immediately to let us know.  School staff will not be able to attend to students in the afternoon past 3:30.  Please be sure to make arrangements for another parent/guardian or emergency contact listed on the student’s registration is able to pick your child up in the event of late pick-up. If you miss afternoon carpool due to traffic or an unplanned conflict, your child(ren) will be taken to our After School Daycare Provide – “The Club”). When you arrive, park at the front of the school on Briarcliff Road and proceed to the cafeteria to pick them up at ASC. Please be aware there is a charge for unexpected drop-ins.