By Nicole Thomas
Henderson Ward Stewart is making some significant changes to carpool, especially during the morning drop-off, in an effort to alleviate traffic congestion.
1. Beginning Thursday, August 11, 4th grade morning carpool ONLY is MOVING to the bottom of the Hill along HWY 182 in front of the Henderson building. The parallel parking spaces are being converted into a carpool lane. Parents must enter using the west bound lane of HWY 182 and exit using the west bound lane. NO UTURNS will be allowed entering or exiting carpool. Please plan your morning route accordingly*. Cars should pull all the way forward to allow students to exit the vehicle. Students will walk up the steps in front of the school to enter the Henderson building through the gate entrance next to the gym. PLEASE DO NOT allow your child exit your vehicle and cross two lanes of traffic on HWY 182 to the HWS campus. THIS IS DANGEROUS!
*4th Grade Parents: If you normally travel from the east, and you do not want to change your morning route to enter from the west, you may continue to turn left at the light onto School Street to enter the carpool lane that currently runs in front of the school’s main entrance to drop off your child. Our goal is to offer more options and more convenient access to parents. We know the mornings are hectic, and we know most parents have multiple drop offs to make. We are not trying to make your morning routine more difficult.
2. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY HWS Walkers – Students who walk to school should use crosswalk located at the intersection of Highway 182 and Earnest Jones Drive and the sidewalks located on the north side of 182 in front of the HWS campus. Students should enter through the Henderson gated entrance located at the top of the steps next to the gym.
3. 3rd graders and 2nd graders will continue to use their designated carpool routes for morning drop-off. Cars should pull all the way forward in their designated lanes to allow students to exit the vehicle. Please pull all the way forward, past the main entrance toward the gym area, in the carpool lane in front of the main entrance area of the HWS campus. This is critical to our efforts to expedite the wait time in carpool. Students may exit the vehicle by themselves without assistance from an adult. Please make sure your child has their backpack, etc., ready to exit the vehicle as quickly as possible once you have pulled all the way forward and stopped. Students may enter the school building via the nearest entrance when they exit the vehicle. Please remind them to walk along the sidewalk. Please do not park in the parking lot in front of the school’s main entrance and walk your child to the sidewalk in an effort to avoid sitting in the carpool line. You are walking across oncoming traffic and holding up carpool for those parents who are patiently waiting in carpool.
Starkville Police are currently assisting with traffic flow at the entrance to the HWS campus, and only right hand turns are allowed when exiting campus from School Street onto Highway 182. We appreciate the assistance from SPD to keep traffic moving along HWY 182. We anticipate the right-turn only when exiting HWS from School Street onto 182 is temporary. However, we do encourage you to plan accordingly as this is currently a possibility in the morning.
4. If you have students in multiple grades, pick the carpool route that is most convenient for you and your children.
5. Afternoon carpool will remain the same for all grades. Pick up for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades will remain at the main entrance to the HWS campus on School Street. Pickup locations: 4th grade – Henderson Building; 3rd grade – main HWS covered office entrance area with benches; 2nd grade – Child Nutrition entrance. If you have students in multiple grades, you may pick up in one location. Older students should wait with the younger students for pick-up. Please send a note to your child’s teacher.
We realize this may sound like a lot of rules and guidelines, but our ultimate goal is for your child to be transported to and from school safely. Thank you again for your support of our efforts to improve the efficiency of the carpool route and traffic flow.
An updated carpool map is attached for your convenience.