TCES Arrival and Dismissal

We look forward to welcoming all of our PK-5 Cougars back through our doors for another fantastic year of learning! Our goal is to promote a safe and efficient drop-off and pick-up procedure for our scholars, families, and staff. Please refer to the map below for a general overview of traffic flow and read the guidelines to ensure the safety of scholars, staff, and visitors.

Dismissal (Beginning at 2:10)

Dismissal by Car:

Each family will receive two parent pick up car passes with your assigned family number.  

When arriving in the afternoons for parent pick up, place your car pass on your dashboard so it can be easily read by the staff member on duty. If the person picking up your child does not have the appropriate car pass displayed, the staff member on duty will ask for photo ID to verify permission to pick up your child(ren). This may cause a delay with our parent pick up procedure, so please make every effort to have the pass used on a daily basis.

As a reminder, if someone other than a parent or guardian is picking up your child, you must send in a written note giving permission. The person picking up will be required to show ID to the staff member on duty.  

Parents will enter the parking lot and follow the car line (arrows on map) to the designated pick up location. A staff member will be on duty reading car pass numbers.

As the staff member reads your number, your child will be dismissed to the parent pick up line. We ask that you wait patiently in your vehicle and an adult on duty will ensure that your child is safely brought to your  vehicle each afternoon.

Once your child enters your car, you should remain in line to exit the parking lot. For the safety of all students, staff, and families, you should not pass cars in line or exit the line to cut through the parking lot to exit.

• Parents can drop their children off in the car loop (loop around the parking lot stopping at the green designated area on map) each morning beginning at 7:20 am. Do not allow your child to exit the vehicle prior to a Three Chopt staff member arriving at the car loop to supervise our morning drop-off.
• When entering the parking lot, please follow the designated route (marked on the map above) to proceed to the parent drop-off loop. Please pull all the way around the loop to stop at the green X (designated on map above).  
• Students may be dropped off at the designated location between 7:20am and 7:40am. Students will proceed through the weapons scanner and into the cafeteria so that they may go directly to their classroom. The tardy bell rings at 7:40 am, at which point you will need to park your car in the lot and escort your child to the front entrance of the building to receive a tardy pass.
• Please have your child ready to exit the car (backpack ready, goodbyes said, unbuckled from car seat, etc.) when you reach the drop-off location so that students may exit the car quickly.
• Your child will need to exit through a door on the passenger side, so that he or she will not have to cross in front of cars.
• Drivers should not exit the car in the parent drop-off line. If your child needs assistance opening the door, one of the staff members on duty will assist your child. Please do not pull into or through the parking area to drop your child off.
• Cars will unload between the sidewalk and the yellow poles (5-6 cars at a time).
• At 7:40 am, the staff member on duty will close the door at the parent drop-off. Students may not be dropped off in the car loop after 7:40 am.
• If your student arrives after 7:40 am, you must park in the parking lot and walk your child to the front entrance of the school.
  • Please ring the bell and a staff member will let you and your child come into the clinic to sign your child in to get a tardy pass.
• Staff will be on duty throughout the building to assist students with getting to their classroom each morning.
   

Our afternoon procedures will mimic our morning drop-off. Parents will not be able to park and come inside to sign-out their child. Each family will receive two parent pick-up dash placards with your assigned family number. The placards will be distributed during our Open House with your youngest child. When arriving in the afternoons for parent pick-up, please have the placard in your dashboard or clipped on your sun visor so that the number can be easily read by the staff member on duty. Your child(ren) will also need to know their assigned family number. This will allow for us to precisely and quickly match students to parents for parent pick-up. If you have a family member or neighbor who will pick up your child(ren), please be sure to give them one of your pick-up tags to use the day that they are picking up.

• Parents may enter the car loop beginning at 1:45pm. Dismissal begins at 2:05pm, so please do not arrive prior to 1:45pm.
• Parents will enter the parking lot and follow the car line into the loop (red arrows on map) to the designated pick-up location.  A staff member will be on duty to read the car tag numbers.
• As the staff member reads your number, your child will be dismissed to the parent pick-up line. We ask that you wait, patiently, inside your vehicle and an adult on duty will ensure that your child is safely loaded into your vehicle each afternoon.
• Your child will need to be loaded through a door on the passenger side, so that he or she will not have to cross in front of cars.
• Drivers should not exit the car in the parent pick-up line. If your child needs assistance opening the door, one of the staff members on duty will assist your child. Please do not pull into or through the parking area to pick your child up.
• Each family will only be issued two parent pick-up dash placards. If the person picking up your child does not have the appropriate dash placard displayed, the staff member on duty will ask for photo ID to verify permission to pick-up your child(ren). This may cause a delay with our parent pick-up procedure, so please make every effort to have the placard used on a daily basis.
• Once your child enters your car, you should remain in the line to exit the parking lot. For the safety of all students, staff, and families, you should not pass cars in the pick-up line or exit the line or cut through the parking lot to exit.

Students in grades 3 - 5 may walk or ride a bike  to and from school with parent permission on file. (Please send a note to the principal granting permission for your child to walk or ride their bike). Students in grades K - 2 may walk or ride their bike with a parent or guardian, but not with an older sibling. If you indicate that your child is a biker/walker, this will be their daily plan for the afternoon transportation. If you plan to pick your child up in a car, you would need to send a note to indicate the change in afternoon transportation that morning with your child (and follow the procedures above for parent pick-up).

• Permission will not be granted for any child to cross Nuckols Road or Springfield Road without a parent/guardian.
• Walkers and bikers will use the front sidewalk along the bus loop to exit. The crossing guard at the intersection of the Three Chopt bus loop and Frazee Road will indicate when it is safe for students to cross the road. Walkers and bikers may arrive between 7:20 am and 7:40 am daily.
• Walkers and bikers will be dismissed immediately AFTER buses. If your child is in grades K - 2, a parent or guardian will need to be present at the end of the bus loop at dismissal.
• Parents/guardians are responsible for determining the best and safest routes for their child when riding to and from school. You are encouraged to ride or walk the route with your child prior to their first day of school.

• If you need to alter your child’s typical dismissal plan (change from bus or daycare, biker or walker to Parent Pick-Up), please send a note to your child’s teacher in the morning. Changes to afternoon transportation can not be taken over the phone.
• All students picked up at the end of the day will be picked up in the parent pick-up line and not from the office or a parked car.
• If your child has a medical appointment that requires early dismissal, please send in a note to make your child’s teacher and our office staff aware.  Parents who wish to pick their child(ren) up prior to our regular dismissal (2:05 pm) should plan to pick up their child before 1:30 pm.  Please be prepared to state your name and child’s name at the doorbell and the office staff will assist you with signing-out your child. You will need a photo identification.
• Requests for early dismissals after 1:30 pm will not be honored so that the focus can be on the normal dismissal process.
• Please note that if someone other than the parent/legal guardian is picking a child up early, we must have a note stating that the individual will be picking the child up early that day (even if the person is on the emergency contact/pick-up list).  Again, transportation changes can not be taken over the phone.
• If you are sending an e-mail regarding transportation changes, you must send the e-mail to the teacher and to the front office (sarichmond@henrico.k12.va.us). In case of a staff absence, we want to ensure that at least one person has received your email communication.
   

If you have any questions about our transportation procedures, please contact the office at (804) 673-3755. Thank you for your support. We look forward to a safe and successful school year!

Rev 8/2026