August 23, 2019

Dear Parents

Welcome back to school! As you are aware, transitioning from our previous buildings to one PK-12 campus has been a big change for us all, especially when it comes to drop-off and pick-up and traffic flow on campus. We wish to thank you for patience as we work together to find the most effective and efficient way to safely navigate the movement of vehicles during high traffic times (morning and afternoon drop-off and pick-up).

I hope this letter finds you in pleasant agreement that we have made significant improvements to our traffic patterns here on campus. The administrative team, teachers and I have been watching for opportunities to improve the flow of our traffic and we have worked hard to pass those improvements off to you.

While we still have a few areas we would like to improve upon, I am happy to report some of the big improvements we have noticed. We hope you have noticed them, too. By the time of this letter, the morning drop-off at the K-8 building has concluded by 7:52 AM. The afternoon pick-up has concluded by 3:16 PM. Combined with your efforts, we have been able to move 250 cars, safely, through drop off at the K-8 building in 30 minutes. These drop-off and pick-up times are a great improvement since day one of the school year, and we thank you for your efforts and patience in helping us get to this point.

One area that we are continuing to monitor is the intersection by the high school auditorium. This appears to be an area that has been confusing for drivers on campus. We are reviewing this area and the options that we have to improve the flow of traffic at this intersection. Please continue to watch for updates as we work together to see improvement at this location on campus.

Another area where we are working to improve traffic flow is the entrance off of Monroe Ext. We are aware that traffic has backed up out of our drive onto Monroe Ext. creating difficulties for the traffic on Monroe Ext. If the drive is full of cars at this entrance, we are asking you to please use one of the other entrances on campus (Ogg Street, US 224 or Stadium Drive). Cars are not permitted to stop and wait in line on Monroe Ext. If you would please help us in this manner, as we continue to improve traffic flow by continuing to another entrance, we would greatly appreciate your understanding.

That said, I have been in contact with INDOT concerning the timing of the stop light at US 224. The district and INDOT are working to come up with a solution to add some additional seconds to the green light during the morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up at that US 224 entrance. We hope to see improvement in this area, as well, in the near future. 

As I close, I wish to commend our Bellmont staff. They have been diligent in keeping safety first and I appreciate all of the extra efforts they have given, here, at the beginning of this year. Many of you have also shared kind words with them, in recent days, as we have worked to improve the traffic flow process, and your positive words have been an encouragement to them. Thank you for your continued support.

Together in Education and Excellence,

Brent Lehman
Superintendent, North Adams Community Schools