Arrival and Dismissal

Arrival Procedures

School begins promptly at 8 am.

• PreK students line up by the PreK classroom doors on the courtyard.
• K – 4 students line up in the courtyard based on their homeroom (check for your child’s number assignment). At 8 am, students enter and go to their classrooms through the stairwell entrance by the main office.
• Grades 5 – 8 students line up on Eastern Avenue and Linwood Avenue near the stairwell entrance at Eastern and Linwood.

Dismissal Procedures

School ends at 2:40 pm each day.

• PreK students are picked up at the PreK doors.
• K – 3 students will be picked up inside the Newstead Gym. Parents will not enter the gym until all K – 3 students are in the gym. This will be by 2:42 pm at the latest. Families will enter through the gym lobby doors, pick up their child in the gym and exit through the courtyard doors. Entering and exiting the gym during dismissal is a one-way route. We expect this procedure will keep all kids and teachers safe.
• Grade 4 students are dismissed from the stairwell by the front entrance. Please arrange for your 4th grade student to meet you at a designated place or to walk directly home.
• Grade 5 – 8 students are dismissed directly outside from the Linwood Avenue door nearest Eastern Avenue.

Please make certain your child knows where and when he/she will be picked up after school. If your child walks, he/she should go directly home at dismissal. Please note that unless there is an emergency, the office will not sign out students from 2:20 pm until 2:40 pm. Parents arriving early for pickup should let their children finish the school day.

Delayed Opening/Early Closing

When schools open on a delayed schedule, such as one-hour late or two-hours late, breakfast is not provided for the children at HHA. This is BCPSS policy. When an announcement is made on television or the radio stating, “Baltimore City Schools will open (1 or 2) hour(s) late with no morning Pre-Kindergarten and/or Kindergarten,” that means schools are opening late with no breakfast program. HHA Prek and kindergarten students DO report to school because we have all day Prek and kindergarten. Remember, if school is open, we are teaching and students are learning.

Schools will open only if the BCPSS believes students and staff will be able to travel safely to their destinations. If weather conditions worsen during the school day, the BCPSS may announce an early dismissal. The early dismissal of schools requires that schools close two and one-half hours earlier than the regularly scheduled dismissal time. All extended-day and after-school programs, including inter-scholastic athletic events, will be cancelled. Lunch must be served in all schools. Any decision to dismiss schools early will be announced by 10 am to the news.

If you have a child that attend FF&G, please visit this link for details on delayed openings and early closings.