Morning:

• Third – 8th grade morning carpool begins at 7:30 AM. Families can drop off in the north or south lots in the morning. Children may not be dropped off before 7:30 AM.
   
• Please remember, do not drop your child off on any streets connected to the STA property or directly across from STA. This includes the corner of the church at Kenwood and Alderson, Kenwood and Abrams Road, and anywhere along Alderson past the athletic field. It is very dangerous to have children crossing the street to the sidewalk during morning carpool.
   
• School starts promptly at 7:50 AM

Afternoon:

• All cars will enter the South parking lot at Gate #3 and ANNOUNCE on PikMyKid.
• Carpool tags must be displayed.
• Drivers will pull forward toward the field house and follow the path set and marked by cones. 
• Drivers will follow the guidance given by school personnel as needed.
• The carpool will end in the front parking lot.
• All students will be picked up in the front parking lot.
• When exiting onto Kenwood drivers must turn left. 

Important: There will be no walkers or bicycle riders during the first week of school at the Upper School. To ensure a safe and smooth dismissal as we adjust to new teachers, new students, and our incoming third graders, walkers and bicycle riders will be permitted beginning Monday, August 18th.

For the safety and supervision of all students, effective this school year, only those students who live within the boundary south of Mockingbird, east of Skillman St., north of Richmond Ave./Lakewood Blvd., and west of Williamson Rd./ W. Lawther Rd. and walk all the way home without being picked up in a car will be permitted to walk home at dismissal. Please consult the map below.

STA is introducing a new designated “walkers zone" for the 2025–2026 school year, based on a strategically mapped area within reasonable walking distance from campus. Supervision will continue to be provided for these students until they exit the school grounds. While we anticipate the return of our Kenwood/Abrams crossing guard, Johnny, we do not currently have a crossing guard at Kenwood/Alderson.

This update comes after several years of thoughtful planning and collaboration, including guidance from the City of Dallas Traffic Management, recommendations from the Dallas Police Department, input from STA’s Director of Security and administrative team, staff supervision logistics, feedback from a diverse group of parents, and consideration of our surrounding neighborhood community. This change aligns STA’s procedures with those of neighboring elementary schools and others within the Diocese of Dallas.

We appreciate your understanding and support as we implement this update. Please keep in mind that the first two weeks of school are a time of transition, and it’s not uncommon for dismissal procedures to take extra time as routines are established. To ensure a smooth start, no students will be dismissed as walkers during the first week of school. This allows staff to learn each student’s dismissal plan, fine-tune carpool operations, and ease into the school year with greater efficiency.

The designated walker zone will go into effect starting Monday, August 18, 2025. Thank you for your continued partnership.

If your child is in the approved walker zone, we ask that you talk with your child about being respectful to our neighbors’ yards and property.

The carpool lane is the safest and easiest way to pick up your child at school and is almost always finished about 10-15 minutes after school is dismissed.

Questions about walkers? Please contact Principal, Jen Watts.

Pikmykid: To maintain a secure and efficient dismissal process, we kindly ask that all families:

• Use the App Daily: Please check in through the Pikmykid app EVERY day to ensure the proper dismissal has been selected. 
   
• IMPORTANT: No changes to PikmyKid will be accepted after 2:30 PM on full school days and after 11:30 AM on half days. Please make any necessary updates before these cutoff times to ensure a smooth dismissal process.
   
• If your child's dismissal plans changes after 2:30 PM, students will be taken to a HOLD area, and parents will be contacted to arrange pick-up only AFTER all other students have been dismissed. 
   

• All drivers must “ANNOUNCE” using the Pikmykid App daily!
  To ensure a smooth and safe carpool process, all drivers must “ANNOUNCE” their arrival using the Pikmykid app upon entering the carpool lane.
  
  You can announce your child through the Pikmykid app by following these steps: On the assigned day, your child will appear under the “Pickup” tab. Simply select the green “Announce” button to confirm your arrival. Drivers who DO NOT use the app to announce their arrival will be directed to a designated holding area until the app has been used.

By using Pikmykid consistently, we can work together to create a safer and more organized dismissal process for all students. We appreciate your partnership in this important effort.

Our goal is always to get your child to you as safely and quickly as possible!

If you are uncomfortable using the Pikmykid app or still have questions about how to use the app, please contact Amanda Neinast at aneinast@staschool.org to set up a call.

More Information

During carpool, the safety of our students and teachers is our highest priority. Please follow the rules below at all times.

• Important: There will be no walkers or bicycle riders during the first week of school at the Upper School. To ensure a safe and smooth dismissal as we adjust to new teachers, new students, and our incoming third graders, walkers and bicycle riders will be permitted beginning Monday, August 18th. See new policy information above for walkers and bicycle riders at the Upper School.
• Do Not Speed Keep our neighborhood and families safe and drive slowly during carpool. 
• Stay in the Carpool Queue. Do not drop off your child at any other place on campus.
• Do not Attempt to Pass other Vehicles.
• Carpool Tags Tags must always be displayed in order to pick up children from school carpool. If you need extra tags, contact the receptionist.
• Stay in your Car Do not get out of your car during carpool. 
• Communicate any changes in afternoon carpool arrangements to your child and the school through Pikmykid. Please do not request that students be released after 2:30 PM.
• All drivers must “ANNOUNCE” using the Pikmykid App daily! To ensure a smooth and safe carpool process, all drivers must “ANNOUNCE” their arrival using the Pikmykid app upon entering the carpool lane.