Road construction near W-K to impact pick up and drop off

Hello families, 

We want to let you know about a road construction project near Washington-Kosciusko that will alter drop off and pick up routines at the start of the school year.

High Forest Street, the street that runs alongside the playground behind the school, remains under construction. While the city had hoped to finish the project before the school year started, construction will not be completed until sometime the week of Sept. 16. 

For now, the plan will be to have school buses pick up and drop off along the school side of 7th Street/Wabasha Street and 8th Street/Sanborn Street. There will also be a small section on the school side of 8th Street/Sanborn Street for families with students in the Community Kids Preschool program to drop off their child. All students in the preschool program need to be dropped off with an adult from your child’s classroom. 

For students in Grades K-4, families are asked to park on the non-school side of 8th Street/Sanborn Street, or along the non-school side of 7th Street/Wabasha Street and walk their children across the street to the playground. Families can also park in front of the school on Mankato Avenue and walk their child to the playground. 

As a reminder, students in Grades K-4 can be dropped off as early as 7:15 a.m. Students can play on the playground or go to the cafeteria for breakfast until the school day begins. The first bell rings at 7:35 a.m. (Again, preschool students need to be handed off to an adult from the preschool program.) 

At the end of the day (2:15 p.m.), all students will be dismissed from the playground by their teacher to a family member, to the bus, or to Key Kids.

If you drop your child off and/or pick your child up after school, please make sure that you do not block crosswalks, alleyways, driveways, or park illegally. We know this can be difficult, especially with the construction, but we need to make sure everyone is safe. 

We apologize for the inconvenience that the construction delay has caused. It was out of our control, and we know that the city wants to finish the project as soon as it can in a safe and responsible way. 

We will provide additional updates as needed. 

Thank you again for your cooperation and your patience!

Justin Hanson
Principal
W-K Elementary