Howard Elementary was originally opened as York School in 1946, as a five-room school house. The streets around the school at this time were unpaved and the neighborhood was only just developing. Since that time, our school and the neighborhood we serve have developed tremendously. We now house roughly 420 students in 20 classrooms. With this growth has come challenges as neighborhood schools built and located for students who used to walk have become commuter schools where parents are driving students in. The sheer volume that is expected to be handled by school traffic daunting. While the dismissal traffic is cleared consistently in 8 minutes, the school has heard your concerns over the arrival and dismissal traffic. Through coordination with parents and the police department, we have devised a plan that we hope will alleviate your concerns while decreasing driver frustrations and increase the safety of our students around the school; which has been my overwhelming worry. The link below will take you to the guidelines of this first phase plan which we will be enforcing starting Wednesday, January 9, 2019. A map is also depicted after the listed guidelines. We hope that the first phase will be resolve most issues so as to avoid more drastic changes. A printed copy of this plan and additional information will be coming home with your students tomorrow. I cannot express to you enough the importance of traffic safety and following traffic ordinances. Driving is a great responsibility and trying to squeeze through traffic or park too close “just today” may not seem like too big of a deal but when student safety is concerned, every little detail is important.
The staff and students at Howard Elementary thank you in advance for your cooperation in following the traffic guidelines. We appreciate your dedication to the safety of the students, and your contribution to improving convenience for all through more efficient traffic flow around the school for our families. Mostly, we appreciate your demonstration of respect to school rules and school staff, you are setting a great example for the students and serving as role models to them by exhibiting commitment to our Core Value of the common good. By following these guidelines, you are confirming your fidelity to the best interest of the students at Howard Elementary and for that we give you our deepest gratitude.