Hours / Carpool / Delayed / Start /Parking / Weather

Delayed Start

If it's been announced that BFA is on a 90-Minute Delayed Start, following is the schedule:

• BASE: Before school care opens at 8:15 a.m. Please do not drop off your child earlier than 8:15 a.m. for before care, as no one will be at BFA to supervise your child.
• Carpool: Carpool on a delayed start day begins at 9:15 a.m.
• School: School starts at 9:45 a.m.
• Half-Day Kindergarten: Morning kindergarten starts at 9:45 a.m. and ends at the normal time. Afternoon kindergarten times do not change - normal start/end times apply.
• Preschool: BFA preschool will open at 9:40 a.m. and dismiss at the normal time. Afternoon times do not change - normal start/end times apply.

***You always have the option of keeping your child home if you feel that the roads are unsafe - even if BFA is open. This will be listed as an excused absence.

School Closure Due to Weather

Severe Weather - Afternoon Pick-up Delay

When the weather conditions prohibit a normal release of students during carpool, we will initiate a severe weather dismissal for carpool and will not allow students outside until the weather conditions are safe. During severe weather dismissal, your options are:

1. Park your car in the parking lot and physically come into the school with your dismissal app to sign your child(ren) out. Please do not leave your car while in the carpool line.
2. Enter, stay, and move with the carpool line until your child(ren) are released directly to you at the front of the school.
3. Wait it out wherever you are until the weather passes and students are released.

Please understand that while this procedure will take longer than a regular dismissal, it will ensure the overall safety of our students. Thank you in advance for your support and understanding in the event of a severe weather dismissal.

• A decision to do a “Severe Weather Dismissal” won’t be made until 3:25 p.m. This gives us as much time as possible to see if the severe weather passes.
• Severe weather includes: lightning in the area; heavy rain, hail or snow; or tornado-like conditions.
• We will halt all carpool operations when lightning is within 6 miles of the school, in accordance with DCSD procedures. 
• Please do not make a call to your child’s cell phone asking him/her to exit the building. Your physical presence or that of another approved adult friend/family member, in the building or in carpool is required to release your child.

We will communicate to parents that a severe weather dismissal is in effect. We will try to do this between 3:25 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Please make sure that the school, as well as your student's homeroom teacher, has your current contact information.

• Please talk to your child about a contingency plan that will come into play if and when a severe weather dismissal occurs.
• Please know that your child will always be safe by waiting at school until you arrive.

Please be patient during weather delays. We know that they are inconvenient and that many families have other places to be after school. Your child’s safety is our priority and we will always exercise caution.

Student Drop-Off and Pickup

BFA is committed to managing traffic and parking in a safe and effective manner for the benefit of its students and the community. Thus, BFA has prepared a Traffic and Parking Management Plan and Procedures. Click here to view these procedures; click here to view the parking map. If you would like to allow someone else to pick up your student, you can designate that person in the app or email traffic@bfacademy.org to let the office know. Please note, you can designate how individual students are picked up using the dismissal app. 

As a matter of school policy, please limit the use of electronic devices of any kind, including Bluetooth or other hands-free devices in the areas designated in BFA’s Traffic and Parking Management Plan and Procedures. Further, to ensure the safety of all, a vehicle may not exceed 10 mph on school property at any time for any reason. Parents should not get out of their cars during carpool; if there is an issue, please let a staff member or volunteer know. 

BFA will have two designated loading zones (A and B) for kindergarten through eighth grade student use during pickup at the dismissal of school. BFA also will maintain a separate area designated for pre-kindergarten loading and unloading. Traffic Carpool Map.