It’s not uncommon for kids to bring a book or two to school. But at the Banning Lewis Ranch Academy, the new charter school that opened in September, it’s the parents who are bringing the books – for themselves. It’s a way to pass the time while they wait in line to pick up their children after school.Cydney Ryon reads a book or catches up on office paperwork while she waits for her daughter to be released from school. “Victory goes to school at 7:40 a.m. and doesn’t get out until 3:40 p.m.,” Ryon said. “I usually show up around 3 p.m. to pick her up. That way I can get to the front of the line, and then I just wait. If I go any later than that, I end up way at the end of the line.”Ryon said, for the most part, she is not overly frustrated with the situation. “It is discouraging, but then I tend to be more patient with things like this than most people,” she said. “I just try and overlook it.”But other parents find the BLRA’s pick-up process annoying because it is inefficient. One parent, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “Picking up students after school has been somewhat of a hassle because the students are dismissed individually by number, and volunteers have to see the child’s car in front of the school before the students are allowed to leave the front area of the school.” She added that many times students are escorted to the car. “This gets to be very time consuming when you consider there are about 500 students that have to go through this process every day.”Another BLRA parent agreed. Melani Thompson, who shares carpool duties with her neighbor, Connie Reulecke, thought they could save time by picking up their children at the same time while alternating pick-up duty. Thompson’s son, Spencer, is in the seventh grade, while Reulecke’s son, Colten, is in kindergarten. “It worked out great at the beginning of the year because Spencer was released early so he could be paired up with one of the kindergartners and then they would come out to the pick up line at the same time,” Thompson said. “But now I have to try to either find a parking spot, which is near impossible, or park my car in line, get out, go up to the school, show them my I.D. and then go to the kindergarten classroom to get Colten. Then I have to get back to the car and wait another 20 to 30 minutes before Spencer comes out.” Thompson said she is more frustrated about the constant changing of the rules and the lack of communication than the long pick up line.Although she has not received an official explanation from the school on why the pick-up policy for kindergartners has changed, Thompson speculated that school officials are attempting stricter security measures because of the recent run of school shootings.The woman who remained anonymous wondered how long the situation will continue.”I understand there are challenges when a new school opens, and there is a period of adjustment to get the kinks out of the system,” she said. “What I hope is that this is not going to be the norm, and school officials are looking at other alternatives for the pick-up system.”Principal Kim Davis and school board members were contacted for their comments. The NFH received one response in the form of an e-mail from Steve Tolle, board member. The following is an excerpt from his e-mail.”Thanks for your interest in Banning Lewis Ranch Academy. At this point in time our Chief Administrative Officer (or principal), Kim Davis, is out on extended leave. She is the best person to describe the school, our culture, active and planned programs, security measures (and unfortunate consequences like long pick up lines) and how to plant and grow a charter school in the middle of the Colorado high prairie. With our CAO away from the office you can imagine a busy school gets that much busier.”Editor’s note: When Kim Davis returns, the NFH will follow up and find out why the busy parents have to wait in long pick-up lines.
