Townsend Schools Open August 30
 | Author:
Nancy Marks
Nancy Marks: MT43 News Secretary and News Editor |
The learning curve has been high for teachers, administrators, and now for students and parents. Townsend Elementary School is brand new. It has a new address, new ways to drop off students and new places for everyone to park.
Elementary School principal, Christina Hartmann, said Tuesday K-8th grade is ready for the 350 students signed up for the school year, along with 186 students registered in the Middle School. The state fire marshal and Broadwater County’s Sheriff’s office will walk through the safety inspection to check the school’s evacuation plan and to check new entrance procedures. All outside doors have buzzers which will allow visitors to enter the building.
Mrs. Hartmann said safety was the reason for closing Second Street in front of the school. “We ended up with four lanes of traffic, some going one way and some going the other. More than once we had cars nearly miss hitting a child, or someone pulling a child out of danger,” she explained. She said the new system will prevent accidents and make dropping off children a smoother activity.
She said the plan allows for parents who enter the drop-off driveway to pull in the right lane only. Cars that pull in the left lane must wait until a spot opens in the right lane to let off students.
“We have encouraged parents to use three drop-off places to eliminate the traffic jams we had before,” she said. Children may be dropped off in front of the future playground, in front of the high school or parents can drive into the staff parking lot to the south of the school. From there, children can cross at the crosswalk to enter the building. In the next few months, until the renovation is complete, the best place to drop off children will be in the rear of the high school or football field parking lot on Cedar Street, she said.
Buses will be in their former parking space on Pine Street, which is now the front of Townsend Elementary School. The large parking space is now on school land instead of being in the street boulevard. The space is large enough to accommodate visiting team buses as well.
As we walked around the new school to the new kitchen entrance, Mrs. Hartmann pointed out another 15-minute parking lot to be used for food delivery and short-term parking.
She said phase two of the $18 million project will include completion of the common (lunch) room, a music room, storage, bathrooms and a hallway connecting the school to the library. That work should be completed in late October or early November. “If we have some money left over, the school board plans to complete two more classrooms,” she concluded.
Townsend Schools will host an Ice Cream Social for parents and students Monday, August 29 beginning at 5:30 p.m. so everyone can learn where to go for their new classrooms. School starts on August 30.
