Adherence to the following guidelines is required for all drop-off and pick-up operations to maintain safety and efficiency.

Drop Off and Pick Up Times

      • Drop Off: 7:20-7:50am
      • Full Day Pick Up: 3:30-4:10pm
      • Early-Release Friday Pick Up: 1:30-2:10pm

After 7:50am, students will need to be signed in at the front desk. Please park in an available spot  on the east end of the parking lot and walk your student to the front office to be checked in. Students are tardy at 7:55am. Students not picked up by 4:10pm on full days and 2:10pm on early-release Fridays will be sent to the front desk where they will need to be signed out.

If your child has an afternoon doctor’s appointment and needs to leave school early, please sign them out at the front desk before 3pm on full days and before 1pm on early-release Fridays. After these times students may only be picked up in the carline for the safety of all.

Carline Rules and Procedures

      • Everyone is expected to drive safely and show good manners to their fellow drivers at all times. We know that carline can be a stressful time of day; a smile and wave can go a long way toward helping everyone remain patient and kind.
      • Drivers must not use their cell phones while in carline. It is exceedingly dangerous.
      • Help us be good neighbors by not utilizing the parking lots of private businesses near our schools. This interferes with their operations and reflects poorly on Great Hearts Irving.
      • Please remain in your vehicle at all times. Getting out to help your child into the car or for any other reason is dangerous and holds up the line. Over time, your children will learn to get in the car on their own quickly. If possible, please position your child’s car seat on the side of the vehicle they will need to enter so that they don’t have to go around.
      • Our teachers and staff are present to ensure everything is running as safely and efficiently as possible. Thank you in advance for listening to and following their directions with a smile.
      • Please help your child to know the type and color of vehicle that will be picking them up and describe it to our teachers. They help us get them in the right cars by raising their hands high when they see their car in the pick up zone.
      • Please pull all the way forward in line. Closing the gap as much as possible between you and the car in front of you helps get as many cars as possible off the street and into our parking lot.

Additional Carline Rules and Procedures

      • Please plan to be in line prior to 4:10pm on full days and 2:10pm on early-release Fridays. Attempting to hurriedly join the line at the last possible moment is dangerous and causes pick up to extend past our target end time.
      • During pick up, please continue to display your placards even after your child’s number has been entered. This helps us to match students to the right cars as quickly as possible.
      • Please do not wave to your children as you are approaching the pick up zone. Waving can be a signal to children to run to your car instead of waiting to be escorted safely by a teacher.
      • In the event a line becomes backed up, teachers may direct cars to a different location. It is vital to the safety and efficiency of carline that drivers follow all teacher directives.

CurbSmart

For afternoon pick up we use a digital dismissal system called CurbSmart. CurbSmart allows us to enter students’ names which then pop up on a screen in their classroom letting them know it is time to head outside. You may see teachers who appear to be on their cell phones during pick up. Please know that these teachers are using their phones to access CurbSmart and help pick-up run smoothly.

CurbSmart also allows us to dismiss students to the correct line (Blue or Green) whichever one you go to. When the student’s name pops up on the screen, it also says which door they should head to based on which teacher entered their name outside. We ask that vehicles with students in Kindergarten through 3rd Grade use the Green Line (on the west side of the campus), and vehicles with students in 4th and 5th Grade use the Blue Line (on the east side of the campus), and families with students in both groups should use the Blue Line. CurbSmart does allow us to make both lines available to any family both morning and afternoon should any particular line by too lengthy. We will make sure your children get to the right door to meet your car.

Lane Assignments

Families should use their assigned carline:

      • West (Green) Carline: For students exclusively in grades K-2 or late pick up/drop off.
      • East (Blue) Carline: For students in grades 3-5, including any younger siblings.

Lower School Carline Maps

Please refer to our area carline map and our campus carline map for visual representation of these directives. Carline is safer and more efficient when everyone knows and complies with the expectations. Please take special note of the following:

      • During pick-up and drop-off, left turn lanes into the school from Story Road are closed.
      • All vehicles must turn right onto Story Road from the TX-161 Frontage Road, then immediately turn right to enter the school parking lot.
      • To maintain continuous traffic flow on Story Road and prevent congestion, all vehicles must exit left out of the school parking lot onto Story Road.
      • Vehicles are not to use the emergency exit on the TX-161 Frontage Road.

Area Map

Campus Map

Navigating Early Arrivals or Missed Turns:

If you arrive before your scheduled wave time or pass Story Road while traveling northbound on the TX-161 Frontage Road, use one of these re-entry routes:

      • Walnut Hill Loop (Red Dotted Arrows on Area Map): Use the turnaround to proceed southbound on the TX-161 Frontage Road. Turn left onto Walnut Hill Lane, then turn left again to head back northbound on the TX-161 Frontage Road.
      • Beltline Road Loop (Black Lines with Red Dotted Arrows on Area Map): Turn right onto Beltline Road. Pass Story Road, then turn right onto Walnut Hill Lane. This route will bring you back northbound on the TX-161 Frontage Road.

If approaching the school from north or east during carline, such as heading southbound on Beltline or eastbound on Story Road, do not attempt to turn onto Story Road and make a left into the school lot, as left turns are prohibited from this direction by the traffic officers, who are trying to keep vehicles moving on Story Rd. Instead, use Walnut Hill Lane to loop around the block and approach the school via the TX-161 Frontage Road.

Essential Safety Regulations

      • Do not use unmarked side roads, private business properties, or nearby neighborhoods as
        shortcuts or turnarounds. These areas are not part of the school’s approved traffic plan and
        must be respected.
      • Using a cell phone while driving is illegal in Texas, including within school lots.
      • U-turns on Story Road and Beltline Road are dangerous and illegal.
      • Vehicles must not be left unattended during pick-up and drop-off. Drivers must remain
        inside their vehicles.
      • All instructions from traffic attendants and law enforcement officers must be followed without
        exception

Car Placards

Each student will receive a car placard with a unique CurbSmart family number. Please display the
placard on your dashboard where it’s easily visible from outside your vehicle. These placards help traffic
captains quickly identify cars and students, especially those with siblings or in carpools. Vehicles not
displaying a valid carline placard will not be permitted to pick up students in carline and will be directed
to the front office to present identification and sign them out.

Our unique placards are the primary method by which we ensure students are being dismissed to
authorized persons during carline. Families should take care that placards are only shared with persons
whose names are on file with the front office as having authorization to pick up their children. Families
must NEVER modify or attempt to make copies of their carline placards. Additional placards may be
requested from the front office or via email at GHILSInfo@greatheartstxschools.org.

Wave Times and Why They Matter:

GHILS has over 900 students and following your assigned wave time is crucial to prevent traffic backups onto the 161 Frontage Road. Wave times are designed to reduce your wait time and spread-out arrival so as not to create a bottleneck and back up on the frontage road or nearby stoplights.

If you’re coming directly from home or work, you should not turn onto the 161 Frontage Road prior to
your wave time. Students with later wave times will be supervised with an opportunity to read, listen to a story, or work on homework. If you arrive before your assigned wave time, you will be asked to leave the lot and re-queue, which means you’ll have to drive around the block.

Drop Off

Drop off will run from 7:20-7:50AM. Please do not arrive or queue in the lot before 7:15AM so that
faculty may enter the lot unrestricted. Do not unload until the traffic captain is present and gives the
direction to unload. Vehicles should not leave until directed to do so and all students are clear.

Wave                     Wave Start Time                     Student Priority
First Wave                        7:20AM                                                             Working Parents, tutoring assigned by teacher
Second Wave                  7:30AM                                                             General student body

Drop off will conclude at 7:50AM to give students time to transition to their class. Families arriving
after 7:50AM will need to park in the Lower School Lot and sign in with their children at the front
desk. The lower school will begin the pledges and morning announcements promptly at 7:55AM.
Students who are not in their seat when the bell rings will be considered tardy. There will be a two-week
grace period at the beginning of the year as we anticipate it will take time before everyone (faculty,
parents, and students) is operating efficiently.

Pick Up

Pick up will run from 3:30PM – 4:10PM in both lanes (1:25PM – 2:05PM on early release days).

Traffic will be monitored by our officers and entrance will be restricted starting at 3pm. All appointment
pickup and volunteers need to leave before 3pm. Anyone arriving after this time will be asked to wait and join the regular pick-up process.

Please note your wave time arrival and when we will dismiss students. Families should not be entering
the lot early. Your family’s wave time is determined by the grade of your oldest child.

Lower School                          Wave Arrival (ER)                Release                Grades
Orange Wave – Green Line                3:20PM(1:15PM)                                     3:25PM                           Kindergarten Only (no siblings)
Red Wave – Green Line                         3:25PM(1:20PM)                                     3:30PM                          1st – 2nd Grade (and younger siblings)
White Wave – Blue Line                       3:25PM(1:20PM)                                     3:30PM                          3rd – 4th Grade (and younger siblings)
Blue Wave – Blue Line                            3:35PM(1:30PM)                                     3:40PM                          5th Grade (and younger siblings)

All students MUST be picked up by 4:10PM (2:05PM on early release days) unless they are enrolled in
an after-school activity (please be aware clubs will not begin until September).

After 4:10PM (2:05PM on early release days), students will be monitored by Athenaeum and a
charge of $1 per minute will be incurred. Parents arriving after 4:10PM (2:05PM early release) will need to park and sign their child out at the front desk. A grace period will be extended for morning tardiness and for the pickup cut off time for the first two weeks of the school year to give families and faculty time to become familiar with the new routines.

More information will be forthcoming and available at Back to School/Meet the Teacher Night on August 8th. Please email Charles.brogan@greatheartstxschools.org with any questions and feedback that you may have.

Full Traffic Guidelines with Student Walkers and Pick-up Permission Policy

 

Area Carline Map

Campus Carline Map

 

Consider Carpooling

Every time families carpool it reduces the number of cars that have to go through carline. If you need help finding a family that lives nearby you might be able to carpool with, please reach out to ghilspso@greatheartstxschools.org.

Lower School Drop Off and Pick Up in Severe Weather

Delayed Drop Off or Pick Up

To keep our students and teachers safe during a storm, it may be necessary to delay drop off or pick up, in which case we would notify you at the earliest opportunity via text message and email of the delay and the expected time drop off or pick up will begin.

If a storm arrives or lightning is detected in the area while drop off or pick up is already in progress, we will suspend faculty-assisted carline and ask all teachers to return inside. Parents will be notified via text message and email of the need to suspend carline as well.

Alternative Drop Off

If the weather prevents us from running faculty-assisted drop off as usual, we will notify parents and hang large, red flags outside each entrance to indicate we are shifting to the alternative drop off plan. We will keep all exterior doors open and monitored to allow parents to park anywhere in the parking lot and walk with students to the closest door when they determine it is safe to do so. Students will not be counted tardy.

Alternative Dismissal Plan

If the weather makes it unsafe for us to run faculty-assisted pick up, parents will also be notified and red flags hung outside each door. Parents will be permitted to park and walk into the building with their child(ren)’s placards when they deem it safe. Upon entering a monitored door, a teacher will escort each parent in turn to their child(ren)’s classroom(s) to pick them up.

We recognize that these alternative drop off and pick up procedures will take longer. They are in place as a way to keep everyone as safe as possible. Thank you in advance to all our parents and teachers for their additional patience, generosity, and goodwill should it be necessary to implement one of these options.

For questions or concerns about Lower School Carline, please reach out to Headmaster Brogan at charles.brogan@greatheartstxschools.org or our Director of Campus Operations at anne.bremer@greatheartstxschools.org.