School’s back from the summer
Students headed back to classes on Monday in the Polk School District for the start of the 2016-17 school year. Top: first grader Jaysean Vanzant, second grader Shyheim Channels, and new Kindergarten student Gibraham Padilla sit in front of a campsite setup inside of Northside Elementary School for the first day of school as part of their back to school theme. Right: Students get escorted down the hall by parents and teachers at Cherokee Elementary School as they head to the gym for a first day assembly.
The first day of school in Polk County has come and gone, and now students and teachers are getting back into the swing of learning for the fall semester.
However, there’s one thing both parents and educators should remember: traffic at certain schools has changed, or is in the process because of construction.
At Cedartown High School and Westside Elementary, here’s how traffic is working still:
Traffic from Highway 27 North will enter the existing drive then turn immediately to the left, and then will continue on the new drive to normal lanes in front of campus.
Traffic from the Rockmart Highway (Highway 278) side will continue up the hill, drop offs on the South side of the campus will continue. Should traffic continue in front of the campus, this traffic will exit onto Highway 27 North.
No loop or turnaround will be available for car traffic or buses.
Any students coming into Westside will still use their entrance from Highway 278 and turn left at the Cedartown High School field house, but they’ll have the opportunity to drop students off 10 minutes earlier, according to Polk School District Superintendent William Hunter.
Students who currently park where work is set to commence will be moved down to the lower parking lot, according to a letter sent to faculty and staff by principal Darrell Wetherington.
He said in the letter that staff will be on hand for the first days of the change after the start of school on Jan. 4, 2016, and that with the changes to the flow of cars and buses also comes changes to pickup and drop-off routines.
Students can still be dropped off at the front entrance as normal, but afternoon pickups will now be done in the high school’s south parking lot.
Traffic also changed at Eastside Elementary last year for new construction of classrooms, and Rockmart High School’s parking scheme changed because of construction on the new field house and gym entrance.