Carpool Initiative 2026-2027

ARRIVAL

Regular Arrival: 7:45 am – 8:20 am
The Head of the Early Childhood Division, administrators, and teachers are on duty at the Church Courtyard entrance until 8:20 am.

Parents can assist the faculty and staff on duty at both arrival and dismissal times by placing their child’s car seat on the passenger side of the vehicle. 

Parents of PK3 and PK4 children who arrive at school before 7:45 am, perhaps with a younger child in the Infant-Toddler Center or an older child in the Lower School, should drop older students in the regular carpool flow, proceed to the top of the driveway, and await the arrival of a faculty member providing PK3 and PK4 arrival supervision. Under absolutely no circumstances should an ITC, PK3, or PK4 child be left unattended in the driveway.

Late Arrival: PK3 and PK4 children arriving after 8:20 am must be escorted to the Early Childhood Division by parents after signing in with the receptionist at the main Day School entrance. Parents and caregivers should not ask members of the Advancement Office, located off the Church Courtyard, to provide entrance to the Early Childhood Division. 

DISMISSAL

Dismissal for PK3 and PK4 students occurs at 2:50 pm. Cars displaying designated PK3 and PK4 carpool placards will be allowed to enter the driveway first, beginning at 2:40 pm or sooner if directed by a school staff member or administrator. 

Early Childhood teachers will help children into their cars and buckle them into their car seats.  Early Childhood teachers will not put a child into a car without a car seat or booster seat.

ARRIVAL

Arrival: 7:30 – 8:10 am in the driveway, supervised by administrators and faculty.

Students are welcome in supervised areas beginning at 7:30 am. Students will report to homerooms at 8:00 am. 

Homeroom classes in Grades 4 and 5 begin at 8:05 am, and students arriving in their classrooms after that time are marked tardy.

Homeroom classes in Kindergarten to Grade 3 begin at 8:15 am, and students arriving in classrooms after that time are marked tardy.

DISMISSAL

All dismissals occur through the carpool line in the driveway, with students accessing the driveway via the main school door.

In order to stress the school’s commitment to carpooling, St. Patrick’s has established the following preferential dismissal times, based on the number of students in a carpool. Cars arriving earlier than these times will be directed to leave Whitehaven Parkway and return at the proper time.         

2:45 pm – Cars retrieving three or more Kindergarten - Grade 5 students and/or cars retrieving PK3 and PK4 students. (Arrive beginning at 2:45 pm.)

3:00 pm – Cars retrieving at least two students.

After 3:15 pm – Cars retrieving one student.

Late Pick-up Parents and other authorized drivers are expected to be on time to pick up children at regular dismissal time and from all after-school sports, activities, and classes. In the event that a parent or authorized driver is unavoidably detained, they should notify the School Office. 

Children who have not been picked up by 3:40 pm (12:30 pm on Fridays for PK3 and PK4 children) at regular dismissal will be taken to Extended Day and charged the “Drop-In” fee.  Children who have not been picked up by 4:30 pm from After-School Clubs will be taken to Extended Day and charged the “Drop-In” fee.

Students should be instructed to come to the front desk immediately if their carpool is not on time.  Do not ask your child to wait outside for you. Students may not be left unattended or unsupervised in any part of the school building or on school grounds between the end of dismissal or the end of after-school sports, activities, or classes and when they are picked up.

All students must have written permission from their parents to walk home from school. These students must leave campus upon being dismissed at the day’s end.  Once they leave school at that time, they may not return to campus.

Middle School students may arrive each morning either directly at the MacArthur Campus or at the Whitehaven Campus, for shuttling to the MacArthur Campus. Students may be dropped off at the MacArthur Campus beginning at 7:30 am—and only according to the guidelines stated below. Students arriving at the Whitehaven Campus must do so by 7:50 am in order to take the 7:50 am shuttle to the other campus. Students may, of course, walk, bike, or take a bus to the MacArthur Campus, but they should plan to arrive no earlier than 7:30 am. D94 Metrobuses stop near the building. Classes on the MacArthur Campus begin promptly at 8:00 am.

The school will closely monitor compliance with arrival and dismissal provisions. Failure to observe these procedures—designed to limit our impact on the neighborhood—will jeopardize a student’s place at St. Patrick’s.

For students being dropped off directly at the MacArthur Campus, vehicles must observe the following procedures:

• Parents and other caregivers dropping off students must approach the campus from the west along MacArthur Boulevard. You should drive past the building, turn right into the public alley adjacent to it (there is no right turn permitted on Elliott Place from MacArthur Boulevard during arrival time), and then turn right again into the parking lot behind the building. There is an entrance to the building in the parking lot, which students will use at arrival time unless they are arriving by bus, bike, or foot. Bike racks are provided at the front of the building.
• If a queue has formed, please join the queue and continue to follow these procedures. Please do not block Elliott Place if your vehicle is in the queue.
• Once you have dropped off a student, please continue through the parking lot toward Elliott Place, turn right on Elliott, and proceed toward MacArthur Boulevard. Vehicles may not depart from the MacArthur Campus through the neighborhood via the public alley, Elliott Place, Greene Place, Clark Place, Q Street, or Potomac Avenue.
• Vehicles departing the MacArthur Campus during morning drop-off should follow the directions of the Metropolitan Police Department officer at the intersection of Elliott Place and MacArthur Boulevard. In the absence of the officer, vehicles must turn right on MacArthur Boulevard from Elliott Place. If you do not intend to continue east on MacArthur Boulevard, you should then turn left onto Q Street toward Foxhall Road.
• At all times, parents and other caregivers should follow the directions of St. Patrick’s personnel and Metropolitan Police Department officers who are supervising arrival and dismissal.

Arrival: 7:30-7:50 am at the Whitehaven Campus. A 7:50 am shuttle bus will take students to the MacArthur Campus. Students arriving after the shuttle bus has departed must be dropped off directly at the MacArthur Campus.

DISMISSAL
•    When students end their day in after-school athletics, please pick up your child at the location of the sports team practice (the Whitehaven Campus Gymnasium & Performance Center or the Foxhall Campus athletic field). 
•    When students end their day at the MacArthur Campus, parents and other caregivers must follow the procedures described above for arrival.
•    Students not participating in athletics (other than PE) should be picked up at the MacArthur Campus beginning at 3:15 pm.  All students not picked up by 3:45 pm will take a shuttle bus to the Whitehaven Campus for Extended Day.

Middle School students who have written permission from their parents to walk from school must leave campus upon being dismissed at day’s end.  Once they leave school at that time, they may not return to campus.