On March 12, school administrators held a town hall meeting for parents of Crossroads Elementary School students to present information about the new school and answer questions from those in attendance.

Crossroads Principal Donna Kacmarski, Assistant Principal Tracy Fairfax and District Superintendent Michael Gould shared the floor and each made remarks about the new school and the flow of school operations. Approximately 80 parents were in attendance.

Parents were reminded that the last day in the current schools will be March 26, and the first day in the new school will be April 13.

A farewell ceremony was held Wednesday at Ashurst Elementary School, another will be held today at Burrows Elementary School at 1:30 p.m., and Friday at Russell Elementary School at 6 p.m.

In addition to the two town hall meetings held prior to this one, there will be two more parent informational meetings before the new school opens.

The next will be today at Ashurst at 1 p.m., and on March 26 at Russell at 6 p.m. Parents from any of the schools are allowed to attend any of the meetings.

Kacmarski said the students are excited about touring the school on March 23.

The Russell students will walk across the street with their teachers for their tour, and the students from Burrows and Ashurst will be bused over. The tour will offer the opportunity for familiarization with the layout of the building before the potential chaos of the first day. Because the new building is so large, once school is in session, no students will be allowed to walk around unattended; they will have an adult with them at all times.

Parent tours will be offered March 24 at 5 p.m.

Both Gould and Kacmarski discussed the transportation schedules and plans and answered numerous questions from parents. Many students who previously walked to school due to their proximity to the school buildings will now ride the bus. All students in the Thomason Park neighborhood, which is adjacent to Crossroads, will walk, with the exception of pre-kindergarten students, who will be bused.

Families that currently have special transportation arrangements arranged by the school district because of special needs will continue to have the same arrangements.

Gould said the bus drivers will conduct dry runs of the routes on March 27 and April 10 and advised parents to go outside to the bus stops at the scheduled time to view the dry runs and ensure the schedules are accurate.

[Editor’s note: The new bus schedules will be published in the March 26 edition of the Quantico Sentry.]

Some Thomason Park residents expressed concern about traffic on Courtney Road and the inevitability that students would end up walking in the road to bypass slower-moving individuals and groups on the sidewalk.

Parents inquired about various traffic calming measures, such as repainted crosswalks, the installation of large speed bumps known as speed tables, a temporary closure of Courtney Road during school transit times and widening of the sidewalks.

Col. Allen Broughton, Marine Corps Base Quantico chief of staff, who was also in attendance at the meeting, said he would look into the various options and work with base staff and school administrators to provide an update before the first day in the new school.

On Monday, Broughton said the crosswalks are scheduled to be repainted this week, and speed zone and school zone signs will be installed before the first day of school. The other measures are still being discussed.

Some parents also expressed concerns about the age range of children riding the bus, in that kindergarteners would be riding with fifth graders. Gould reminded everyone that was the standard practice for most off-base elementary schools, but if children experienced trouble, the parents should report it immediately to the school.

Both Gould and Kacmarski asked for everyone’s patience over the first few weeks of school as students, teachers, administrators and other staff get used to the new routines.

— Writer: ebaker@quanticosentryonline.com