First-School-Day Dismissal
Posted by Diane Badden on 17 Aug 2012 | Posted in: Classroom Management, Classroom Routines, Drawings and Giveaways, Meet the Mailbox®, Teachers and Teaching
I’m wondering what tips you have for easing in and out of dismissal on that first day of school. Sure, school situations and classrooms vary, yet I’m guessing most teachers face similar concerns. Who is authorized to 
pick up whom? Which students are permitted to walk home? Which kids are in afterschool programs? Are bus riders getting on the correct buses? Gosh, my palms are beginning to sweat!
Tell us how you prepare for first-day departure, and we’ll enter your name in our current giveaway for a new book from The Mailbox and some school supplies from me! (If you already responded to Giveaway Number 2!, this gives you a second chance to win!) Just be sure to post your tip before midnight EDT Monday, August 20.
Thoughtfully,
Diane
Congratulations to Patti! She’s the winner of our second giveaway!
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48 Responses to “First-School-Day Dismissal”
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More Comments Pages: [1] 2 3 4 » Show All Comments
This year I plan on taking a picture with the student and the parent/person that will be their main pick-up person. Before the end of the day I will print have keep on chart by the door…
I welcome parents and students to my classroom on the first day of school and before the parents leave they complete important information about their child.The last question I ask is how will Susie be going home today and place that symbol on their nametag for example a (car, bus,walker). We do not leave the building until all students have arrived home safely.
I teach preschool for Head Start. We are required during our home visits to have parents name adults including themselves who their child may be released to on a written form . Most of our children are bused to and from school, so ID may be required if teachers or bus monitor are not familiar with the adult who the child is being released to. Phone numbers are also required .
With 5th graders, the first day dismissal is pretty smooth. After all students are packed and ready to go, I quickly ask each student how are you getting home today? Then, I dismiss bussers (If you’re getting on the bus, you’re dismissed, please walk up this sidewalk to the gate, and be a safe bus rider). Next, I dismiss pick-ups (if you’re parent is picking you up, please walk across the field to the far gate, don’t cross the street without a parent, etc) and finally walkers and bikers with directions. It’s pretty smooth and everyone gets home safely.
To make dismissal go smoother, at the beginning of the day I check with my students to be sure that they know how they are getting home. That way if there is a problem, it isn’t being handled at such a crazy time of day.
I like to have my students stack and pack early enough so we can play a get to know you game while dismissal begins. I have also had my students sit on the rug while we just chat about the day and what is to come.
At orientation we explain to the parents about dismissal and if any plans change they need a note sent into school. For the first week of school we have labels for each Kindergarten Bus students saying where their stop is. We also have an aide ride the bus with the Kindergarten students for the first week. In the classroom I put up a dismissal poster as to wear everyone goes at the end of the day.
We make sure that parents sign the kids out of the school if they are being picked up and then the kids are allowed to pick up their cell phones at the office and be on their way. A list is posted of those kids who will be picked up and who will ride the bus home.
I asked all of my parents at open house the night before. I also had them move a wheel on the SMART Board to the correct spot of how their child would be going home the next day. There were papers they could fill out that evening as well and I asked the secretary for a bus list the first day of school. For the first two days of school I made dismissal necklaces for each child to wear which stated how they would be going home in case they were unsure.
At open house i have parents fill out a form
That says on the first day of school
My child will go home by_______ every other day they will go home by _______. I follow up with a phone call the night before and then have my list ready 1st thing in the morning. That way at dismissal all i have to do is call them
By group and check them
Off as they leave
I have the children sit on the carpet and I open the classroom door wide open. I invite the parents in and re-greet them again since I met them in the morning.
It’s amazing to see how much their face lights up when they see their family member picking them up. It depresses me as well, because I don’t get to see my little boy who started kinder this year reaction of excitement when my hubby picks him up. He tells me the details, but what I wouldn’t give to surprise him one day, and pick him up from Kindergarten. okay, so know I am going to cry:( need to pick him up next week!!
For a smooth first day dismissal, I write everything down on a class list sheet. When a parent drops off their child, I make sure to ask how they are getting home. By lunchtime the busing lists are usually available. I add the buses to my class list and give each bus child a bus tag to go on their bookbag.
At my school, we have Meet the Teacher the week before school starts. The parents are expected to bring a yellow form that was mailed home to them that includes their child’s transportation method for the school year. All student’s are expected to have a written note that gets turned in to the office if their transportation changes (even if it’s just for a specific day). The form has the student’s bus number on it, then as teachers, we are given a list with the bus numbers and a color that corresponds to the bus number. The students are only expected to know their bus color (designated by a colored sign in the bus window). That way if bus #50, let’s say, breaks down and they have to send bus #20, the students (mostly the primary kiddos) don’t have to worry about the fact that they can’t find their bus. And it’s easier for them to remember a color than a 3-digit bus number.
As the students arrive to school on the first day, they are given a little square piece of construction paper that is the color of their bus. They hand it to their teacher to collect. I am not sure how individual teachers handle it from there, but I write the child’s name on the little square then they get that square back at the end of the day so they can remember their bus color. This is only done during the first, possibly second week of school. We have a lot of buses so some of the colors are magenta or lime green. Also, I believe the piece of paper is only for the primary grades since the older students can remember their color, hopefully! First through fifth grade students walk out to their buses on their own when their color is announced. During the first month of school, kindergarten teachers collect their classes out at the buses and walk them in. After the first month, kindergarteners come in on their own like all the other students. However, throughout the entire year, the kindergarten teachers walk their students out to their buses at the end of the day.
It sounds like it a really complicated system, but it’s actually really easy to follow. Even for teachers, it’s easier to remember the bus color than a number. We also have silent dismissal. Each classroom has a TV and as the buses arrive, they put the color up on the screen and those students head out to their bus. It’s a lot better than having someone come on the PA system every few minutes and announce “Bus colors pink, orange, or blue are now dismissed.” This silent dismissal system allows me to read a story to the students while they are waiting for their bus or replay a content related video on the Promethean board that we have watched during the day. And because after the first month or two of school, first graders know their bus color and know when it’s going to appear on the TV screen, it allows me some time to gather things for the next day or help some students do end-of-the-day jobs without having to make sure each student remembers their bus color and leaves.