Credit: BTSD
A new system is helping calm the once-chaotic dismissal process at the Bristol Township School District’s three elementary schools.
Brookwood, Keystone and Mill Creek elementary schools have all started PikMyKid, an automated dismissal system created by a Florida company.
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The new system was implemented at the elementary schools shortly after the hybrid staggered start model began.
The school district said that the pandemic led to more students being picked up from the schools by parents in family vehicles instead of riding the bus.
Credit: BTSD
Before the pandemic, students who were driven to school in family vehicles were dismissed at the same time. The mass exodus of students led to slow car lines and headaches for teachers overseeing dismissal.
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The school district explains the PikMyKid system below:
Once a parent arrives at an elementary school, a teacher who is the car coordinator enters the child’s student ID number on an iPad. The student’s name and ID number are displayed on the car’s dashboard.
After the ID number is entered, the PikMyKid online dashboard notifies the teacher that the student’s parent arrived and dismisses the student. By the time the parent drives up to the school’s loop, the child is there and ready to go. This allows children to be dismissed incrementally and avoids crowded hallways.
Megan Repko, a reading specialist at Brookwood Elementary School and the car coordinator for PikMyKid, said that with student IDs on the cars’ dashboards, parents can keep their windows closed and they do not have to come in close contact with her while she enters their information into the app on the iPad.
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Repko heads to the dismissal area around 3:30 p.m. every school day. Within 20 minutes or so, dismissal is finished and students are safely on their way home.
“It’s definitely a team effort,” said Repko. “Two teachers line up the students in the order of the cars, two teachers lead the lines outside to the cars and a security guard is outside too. It’s pretty seamless.”
“For such a big school, it definitely makes dismissal smoother and the flow is working,” said Jenny Folz, learning support teacher at Mill Creek Elementary School. “It’s great for social distancing because the kids don’t come out all at once.”
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Parents have also approved of the PikMyKid system.
“It’s very fast and organized,” said parent Autumn Emenhizer.
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Emenhizer said she is often among the last cars in line, but the process is quick and easy, and her daughter is always dismissed on time.
Credit: BTSD
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