Sonia Sotomayor Elementary School

Arrival

School begins at 8:00 AM daily. Students should not arrive on campus earlier than 7:30 AM unless they are participating in the breakfast program or Safety Patrol. Students participating in the breakfast program should enter through the gate door on the south side of the school (Santa Liza Ave) by the cafeteria. Students who are not  eating breakfast are to line up on the blacktop in their teacher’s number. Student drop-off and pick-up will occur off Santa Christina Avenue Parking Lot. Parking Lot off Santa Carolina Avenue is for school staff and buses only. Students taking the bus arrive via the bus drop off area in back of the school and are escorted to the cafeteria and/or blacktop. All students must line up in their teacher’s number on the blacktop by 7:55 AM. Teachers will pick their students up from the blacktop and walk them to class by 8:00 AM. For safety purposes, all Transitional Kindergarten (TK)/Kindergarten students should be supervised by an adult until students are picked up by the teacher.

Late Arrivals/Tardies

Under California Law, parents and guardians are charged with the responsibility of keeping their student in regular attendance and on time at school. (Ed. Code 48200) Class begins promptly at 8:00 AM. 

If your child enters school any time after 8:00 AM, they are considered TARDY. Students who arrive to school late need to go to the health office to receive a tardy slip. The amount of time students attend class correlates highly with how much they are able to learn. School attendance is critical for learning.

Dismissal

Dismissal for students in grades 1st-6th grade is at 2:30 PM Monday – Thursday and 1:05 PM on Fridays and minimum days. TK and Kindergarten dismissal is at 2:15 PM Monday – Thursday and 12:50 PM on Fridays and minimum days. Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten students are required to be picked up by a parent/guardian or designated emergency contact and will be dismissed from the north gate door of the school. However, students in grades 1st through 6th are not required to be escorted off campus by an adult. First through third grade students will exit campus through the Main Office entrance and 4th-6th grade students will exit the campus through the Multipurpose Room entrance. Please ensure that your child knows where to meet designated adults and which adults have permission to pick them up.

Please do not leave your student unattended before or after school as there is limited school supervision. If you need before or after school care for your child please consider enrolling them in LEAD, YMCA, or private childcare programs. Unless they participate in LEAD or YMCA, students are to be picked up within 15 minutes of dismissal or walk/bike home immediately. Students who are not promptly picked up after dismissal are kept waiting in the main office until the individual student has been picked up and signed out by an authorized parent, guardian, and/or emergency contact. Parent conferences with the principal will take place when students are chronically picked up late from school. The office staff cannot be responsible for students after school hours.

Bus Transportation

Please directly contact the district’s transportation department with questions and inquiries about bus transportation. More information can be found at the district’s website here: https://www.cvesd.org/parents/transportation-department

If your child is required to attend Sonia Sotomayor in order to receive district services through their IEP, your child may qualify for free transportation services. Please contact the school psychologist to request Special Education transportation services. Note that this service is subject to availability and may take several weeks to implement.

Parent Drop Off and Pick Up

Please follow all traffic laws and rules when dropping off and picking up your child from school. Here are some helpful traffic and safety reminders:

• Please do not block driveways, use driveways of homes, or park in red zones. Do not park in spaces designated for staff.
• Do not use staff parking spots to drop off and pick up your child.
• For the safety of all, do not stop in the street in front of the school to drop off and pick up your child.

The traffic loop is in front of the main school building on the east side of our campus. Please do not block the bus lanes or traffic loop. All parent drop off and pick up should be via the traffic loop in front of the main school building and then cars exit the traffic loop heading south on Santa Christina Avenue. Please do not park in the loop or leave your car unattended. Follow directions from staff, safety patrol officers, and law enforcement. 

For everyone’s safety and to help the flow of traffic, we respectfully insist that ALL parents/guardians and family members who drive students to and from school follow these rules:

1. ALWAYS drop students off and pick up students using the traffic loop in front of the main office building. The BUS LOOP is for school buses only.
2. Drive SLOWLY and CAUTIOUSLY.
3. DO NOT PARK in the bus loop and do not park in spaces designated for staff. We are fortunate to have a large parking lot in front of the main school building for your convenience, off Santa Christina Avenue. Additional street parking spots are available along Santa Liza Avenue and along Meadow Park on both Santa Carolina Avenue and Santa Christina Avenue.
4. NEVER DOUBLE PARK and NEVER LEAVE YOUR CAR UNATTENDED IN THE TRAFFIC LOOP. If you will be getting out of your car, please park in a marked visitor space in front of the main school building.
5. BE POLITE to other drivers, our parent volunteers, and THE STUDENT SAFETY PATROL. Our students learn from the positive behaviors that we model.
6. STUDENTS MUST BE PICKED UP WITHIN 10 MINUTES OF DISMISSAL. Please do not leave your children unattended on the school grounds as there is no after-school supervision. Parents may enroll students in LEAD and Character Builders for after school programs. Children may not linger on campus at the playgrounds, blacktop, or lunch tables.
7. PLEASE encourage your child to come directly home once school ends if they walk home. Children often get into conflicts at the local parks when unsupervised.

If you need after-school care for your child, please consider the LEAD or YMCA Character Builders childcare program. The school office can give you further information.