The construction zone surrounding Carson Middle School will force parents who want to drop off and pick up their kids to make major changes this year.
The remodeling and expansion has effectively eliminated the traditional places parents used.
The old curved driveway where buses have always loaded is closed off and will soon be ripped out to make way for the school's expansion. Richmond Avenue, where parents often picked up and dropped students off in past years, will be closed to all traffic except the buses from 7-8 a.m. and 1:30-2:30 p.m.
The school is surrounded by a maze of temporary chain-link fencing with numerous contractor and subcontractor vehicles occupying the traditional drop-off areas and parking lots.
And King Street isn't a good option either, according to Director of Operations Mike Mitchell, since the only space for drop-offs there is the tiny parking lot next to the district administration building.
"If you bring your kid to Carson Middle School, be prepared for a learning curve," he said.
But Mitchell has a solution that might not be obvious to many parents: Ormsby Boulevard along the western boundary of the school.
"They can be dropped off, go right on school property, across the football field and into the school," he said.
And, Mitchell said, there is plenty of room along Ormsby for both drop-offs and pick-ups.
"We'd really prefer not to have any parent drop off on campus. The best place is Ormsby Boulevard," said Principal Sam Santillo. "They can come right on to campus."
And, he said, there will be school personnel at the entrance to school grounds on Ormsby to keep an eye on things.