Parents navigate through school pickups
Mastering the carpool line is truly an art.
Getting students dropped off at school on time takes careful planning and dedication. No matter how much planning goes into the “carpool shuffle,” there are bound to be some hiccups along the way.
The Forum spoke with a few types of parents to get a perspective on local carpooling in Shreveport-Bossier City. Here are a few types of carpooling parents:
The Road Hazard Parent
All of a sudden, the carpool line stops and parents are leaning out of their windows to see what is holding up traffic. This is the parent that is blocking traffic.
“I’m always the late one,” Jennifer Knighten Burk said. “We are that car where I’m tying shoes, zipping back packs, brushing hair, getting honked at by the other late moms. ‘Oh, come back, you forgot your lunch.’ Yeah, I’m that mom.”
Blanche Akana recalled a funny story about this type of parent. “I was in the carpool line, and my car battery died,” Akana said. “I had to get my son to school before the bell rang. There we were walking with the umbrella. It was raining cats and dogs. The roads were flooded. It looked like a river at one of the roads we had to cross. My husband had to bring new clothes for both of us to school.”
The Totally Prepared, On-time, Get-Your-Stuff and Go Parent
This mom is totally organized and prepared for everything. This is the car that has afternoon snacks prepared and bagged with little bows ready for the ride home.
“I am the organized mom with five kids at five different places this year. We are on-time people. Totally boring,” Jenny Martinez said. “My kids pack and are responsible for their own lunches. However, I’m also the mom that refuses to leave the line for anything. Carpool, is blood, sweat, tears and urine. Yep. If you need to go, you have to deal because I ain’t moving. We have napped and had full meals while in line. We don’t ever leave the line once we are in it. Carpool – it’s a dogeat-dog world.”
Busy Parent with a ‘Look’ that Should Part Traffic
These parents have multiple carpools and are on a tight schedule.
Stephanie McCrary laughed and explained, “I am agitated if someone takes too long to get their kids in the car. Also, I really want to honk my horn when people stop to visit. I have 5,000 things to do after school, and I don’t want to have to wait on other people. I am very impatient!”
Super Parent
Don’t think that dads just sneak in at the end of the carpool. Some local fathers keep the carpool cool and collected offering a friendly wave.
“Carpool is cool; what is not to like?” Jim Taliaferro said. “Unless you get there early, it’s always exciting figuring out your best option for positioning for pickup. I really wanted an aerial view to understand the logistics of the traffic pattern, but it just works.”
First Time Frenzy Parent
This parent does not know that there is a certain way that traffic flows at the carpool lane. They do not know to put their car in park between the two obviously marked signs to allow their child to exit the vehicle. They think they can drop their child off across the street. We have all been there.
“I parked and got out of the car. It was heartbreaking to be only 10 feet away from my son and not able to get him,” Cyndi Owen, a parent, said.
“The school said I had to get back in my car and pick him up through the carpool lane.”
– Brittney Trahan
