Schools

School Board Says Dismissals Going Well Despite Complaints

Members of the Centennial School Board discussed dismissal time at two of the district's elementary schools Tuesday evening.

Several members of the Centennial School Board said they were contacted by phone and via email following a

"Some people would read these articles... and use many choice words about our school directors and how we really don't care," said School Board Member Jane Schrader Lynch. "Nothing is perfect in this world, but there is a lot of effort to make sure things work well."

Board Member Michael Hartline said he took a few hours off of work to attend Tuesday afternoon's dismissal and investigate the situation.

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At Tuesday evening's school board meeting, Hartline reported the following:

"I arrived at the school at 2:55 p.m. There were nine cars waiting to pick children up at that time. By 3:10 there was 22 cars, and by dismissal time there were 36 cars. I watched them process 54 cars and dismiss about 75-100 students in 15 minutes."

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Hartline said he didn't know if the school could get through the process much faster. He quipped that he wished the exit from Phillies games could be as efficient. 

Board Member Mark Miller reported similar successes at Davis Elementary School.

Miller said he also made a site visit on Tuesday, and gave the following statistics regarding dismissal at Davis:

"Within eight minutes all of the buses were on the road, within 12 minutes all of the walkers were on their way and by 3:42 p.m. the entire dismissal process was complete."

Centennial's Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jennifer Cressman said she realizes that, but the entire staff has been working extremely hard to make sure the process runs smoothly. 

Cressman said by all accounts the staff at each of the schools is doing a wonderful job.

The board agreed to continually monitor the situation as the school year progresses.


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