Drop-Off & Pick-Up at CHS
Below is information about parent drop-off and pick-up in the morning as well as where buses unload in the morning at Chelmsford High School.
Traffic on our campus is congested. When CHS was built on our campus in the early ’70s, it was not built to handle today’s traffic. Therefore, traffic on campus and getting to campus is unavoidable. Please keep this in mind if you plan on transporting your child to and from school.
Students Riding the Bus: Buses drop students off on the driveway that faces Richardson Road. In the afternoon, buses park in the front of the building. Students riding a bus home will get their bus in front of the building.
PLEASE remind your child to know their bus number, know their street address and know their Plus Block Room number. This will help them find their bus at the end of the day. Admin and security will be outside assisting students.
Drop-Off in the Morning:
Rear Drop-Off at CHS
Back of the Building Drop-off: Ideally, we would like Juniors and Seniors to be dropped off at the back of the building.
If you drop off in the back of the building, you may enter the back by the Richardson Road entrance, located next to the Harrington School, or enter the campus via the Graniteville Road entrance. If you enter by the Graniteville entrance, you will take the first right using the access road behind our Performing Art Center.
All cars dropping off in the back of the building will drop off students in front of the Gym. For your child’s safety and the safety of others, DO NOT drop off at the four-way stop sign out back. Drop off ONLY in front of the gym. Follow the traffic arrows that are painted on the ground. Please refer to the attachment for a visual.
Front Drop-Off at CHS
Front of the Building Drop-off: Ideally, we would like Freshmen and Sophomores to be dropped off in the front of the building.
Parent/Caretaker’s Cars: If you drop students off in front of CHS, you can enter our campus using the Graniteville Road entrance. DO NOT use the Richardson Road entrance. All cars trying to enter via Richardson Road will be directed to the Graniteville entrance. Buses drop off students on the Richardson Rd driveway. You will not be able to get by the buses.
Parent cars will drop off at the curb in front of the building. If there are no cars in front of you, please pull up as far as possible along the sidewalk up to the ORANGE CONE. Stopping directly on the walkway in front of the school and not pulling forward will cause traffic to back up even more.
Parents will exit using the same driveway (The driveway facing Graniteville Road) as they enter the CHS campus. Following this flow keeps buses and parents’ cars separated since buses will drop off and exit the Richardson Road driveway.
Buses: Buses park along the Richardson Road driveway. This is where buses will drop off students. Buses will then exit via the Richardson Road driveway.
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Pick-up in the Afternoon (1:51 dismissal time):
Dismissal has more congestion than morning drop-off. We have three entrances/exits. Most drivers travel in the same direction (toward Graniteville Road) during dismissal, regardless of which exit is used. Each year, the number of cars on our campus increases. There is not enough space in the afternoon for both buses and cars to be in the same area.
Therefore, ONLY buses will pick up students in the front of the building. After 2pm, parents/caretakers can use the front to pick up. Please note that if you plan on picking your child up from school, you WILL be in traffic.
Back of the Building Pick-up: Parents will pick up in front of the Gym/PAC. You may enter the campus either by our Richardson Road entrance next to Harrington or the Graniteville entrance using the access road by the PAC. Follow the painted arrows on the pavement for directions.
Front of the Building Pick-up: There is not enough room to safely load students on buses simultaneously as parents pick their children up. Therefore, we must keep both groups separated—buses line up along the Graniteville and Richardson Road driveways. There is no room for cars.
If you want to pick up your child in the front of the building, you may do so, but not until 2 pm. After buses depart at 1:58 pm, cars may enter the front of the building. Ask your child to wait on the front walkway until 2 pm until vehicles can access the front to pick them up.
I am sorry about the bold and underlined text above. We need everyone to follow the traffic patterns and drop-off/pick-up locations to ensure everyone’s safety.
Best regards,
Steve Murray, Principal
