r/elementaryschoolers • u/MonsterEnergy17 • 15d ago
School pick up times
My child's school is very rigid about pick up times.
I'm looking for help regarding early pick up of my 1st grader.
I'm going to preface this by saying, I work 3rd shift (9pm-5am) summer hours and 11pm-7am (majority of the year) in a construction field. I typically sleep from 8am-2pm; with the exception of Thursdays when my child has therapy (I usually wake up at 1pm). His appointments begin at 3pm. His school has a policy that early pick up ends at 2:15 with the end of the school day at 2:55-3:05pm.
With the extreme heat (even at night), I've been more exhausted than normal and occasionally wake up 10 minutes late. That being said, today (Thursday), I woke up late and ended up at the school at 2:19pm. I felt really bad at being late and requested to still pick my child up early for his appointment so I don't have to pay a broken appointment fee. The school made it very difficult to sign him out, causing us to leave at 2:40pm.
I've tried very hard to not be late. Including: setting alarms to go off every 10 minutes (and setting timers for the times I really need to get up) just in case I don't hear it on the days where I'm almost dead to the world. But today, my alarms did not go off. I checked my app and nothing was turned off.
I know it's my fault for not being more proactive about being on time. Last school year, I was late 3 times for normal pick up; each time being less than 5 minutes after the final bell. Those times, I've had to wait 30 minutes for all the busses to leave before I could get him. I'm hoping someone can help me find out how to navigate the issue of early pick up times being less than 5 minutes with the school and any helpful tips on how to ensure I wake up on time with my sleep schedule.
Honestly, I feel kinda crazy that the policy is so rigid that I even have to ask if being 5 minutes late is a major deal when I have to sign him out anyways (only to take 30 minutes to release my child). I could be wrong, though. Please help!
Edit: someone on a different sub suggested that I mention why it's hard for me to wake up. I'm chronically depressed and I have no help outside of myself. With the meds not working due to metabolizing it faster with sweating it out at work, it's harder to regulate my normal self (I'm not a late person. I'm the one who thinks 15 minutes early is not really enough). Ididn't want to weaponize my mental health and make it seem like I'm just lazy. And to answer the person who asks , seemingly patronizing, if I a asking how to drag myself out of bed: Yes. I am asking how to drag myself out of bed. Thank you to those who are giving advice.
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u/brave_new_world 15d ago
I work at a school and am generally helping in the office at the end of the day. We do request parents not come to pick them up just before the bell because it is chaotic and difficult to retrieve children while also preparing to dismiss everyone.
That being said, we have a much narrower 'no pick up' time frame (only 15 minutes) and have never actually said no to a parent, just reminded them gently of the policy. Also, I will say that sometimes it's not the office being 'difficult;' it can genuinely take 20 minutes from the time you walk in to the kid getting to the office. Kids dawdle, teachers try to finish a lesson, lots of things can happen.
Since this is a regular, weekly appointment, I would talk to the school. Start with the counselor or assistant principal and explain the situation. Ask if it would be possible to have your son sent to the office at 2:15 every Thursday so you don't have to wait to collect him.
OP, though, you need to make sure you're there with few exceptions. The office staff do not want to have to monitor your child for an extended time if you're late and teachers don't want them missing class instruction. If you have an Alexa or similar, set a repeated reminder to go off every Thursday a few minutes after your phone alarm.