RIGHT TURN ONLY: Keeping Winston Safe, Healthy, and Happy

Head's Message by Dr. Jenn Milam

It’s been a joy to see you and get to know each of you and your students during morning arrival and afternoon dismissal. Thank you for using your name cards, for your warm waves and smiles, and for helping us to move efficiently through our dismissal procedures at the end of the day. As a parent myself, I know how hurried and busy the afternoon can be as you juggle wrapping up your own work day, tasks and appointments, after-school errands, and home re-entry of your school-aged children. In fact, I used to dread the car line at dismissal so much that I would usually park across the street from my children’s school and meet them at the door and we’d walk back together. This familiar dread is what keeps me, as a school leader, working closely with our Winston team, to ensure that our procedures are as seamless, timely, and easy as they can be - we are grateful for your patience this first week as we iron out our wrinkles and perfect our practices.

Please read on to learn how you and your family can help us keep Winston safe, secure, and joyful for all. 

Having shared my own journey in the school transportation saga, I’d like to ask your help with a few items that will work toward ensuring that all members of our community are informed, engaged, and working together toward a shared goal - safe, healthy, and happy days at Winston. 

Thank you for wearing your Winston lanyard and name tag when you’re on campus - even if you’re just dropping something off! These name tags are immediate recognition of your membership in our community and, as an added bonus, help us to get to know each other. We do ask that whenever you are on campus for meetings, athletic events, parent-teacher conferences, or visiting for lunch, please have your Winston lanyard and name tag on your person. One of the easiest and most kind ways to keep our community safe, is to know each other and ensure that visitors are clearly identified and accounted for. 

NOTE: If you need a replacement name badge and lanyard, would like to request additional for members of the family (i.e., nanny, grandparent, etc.), please complete the Winston Name Tag Request Form. 

Please limit cell phone usage while in your car on campus; specifically, during morning arrival and afternoon dismissal. These are times when there is a lot of traffic, both on foot and by car. When you’re driving, it helps to keep everyone from our littlest learners to those directing traffic safe if you are alert to what is happening outside of the car. 

Leapfrogging in the carline is strictly frowned upon! If you are in the car lines at arrival and dismissal, we ask that you refrain from “leapfrogging” or pulling into the other lane to move around stopped traffic, unless you are motioned to directly do so. With small ones and many moving parts, we ask that you remain in your car and wait for the signal to proceed to the exit. Our staff is working hard to ensure the safety of our students and one another, and to move you through as expeditiously as we are able. 

The exit from the Winston School parking lot is now a RIGHT TURN ONLY at all times of day. As we prepare for fencing and gating around our campus, we all need to practice this protocol, especially during the rush hour times of arrival and dismissal. While there are moments when taking a left turn may save you time, turning right keeps the traffic flow on campus moving and, once gated, will allow the gate to close more quickly keeping campus more secure throughout the day. There are multiple spots where a quick U-turn is possible just down from the school should you need to turn back toward the Tollway. 

If you see something, say something. An important part of being a member of a community is caring for others. In this case, if you see something that needs our attention - a grounds or building issue, a maintenance need, something that doesn’t seem safe, or a person that looks unfamiliar and you are concerned, please reach out to a member of the leadership team so that we can ensure it is addressed. We also walk the building and facility regularly and are quite attuned to the campus, but you are always welcome to share if you feel there is a need. 

Finally, I’d like to acknowledge that, indeed, it can get really interesting to be a school located at the intersection of Royal Lane and the Dallas North Tollway. Oftentimes, as was the case on Wednesday, our campus finds itself the refuge for wayward vehicles, flat tires, and other overflow from the city. While it is not uncommon for these events to occur in a city, even parts of the city as beautiful as Preston Hollow, this is among the primary reasons we will be fencing and gating our campus in the coming weeks. And while our efforts will not immediately and forever make these events a thing of the past, it will lessen their frequency significantly, hopefully alongside their impact on our campus and school days. In the meantime, we appreciate your kindness and safe driving around these occurrences. We always work diligently with the city officials and local authorities to bring these incidents to resolution quickly and safely. 

As a school leader and parent, I have a process through which I move as I make decisions and determinations about the world around us - it goes something like this: “My job is to keep you safe, healthy, and happy. And the priority of those three items is in that order. If you ask me about something and you want my blessing, I’m going to run it through these three questions: 1.) Is it safe? 2.) Is it healthy (and that goes beyond physical health)? 3.) Will it make you happy? 

If the first two questions cannot be answered in the affirmative, then even if the answer to #3 is yes, it’s a no-go. As an example, we may want the Kona Ice truck here daily, but it’s probably not healthy. Or, we may want to turn left to save a little time, but it’s not really safe during high-traffic times based on our location. And, our teens may really want to go to that party where there are no adults and lots of loud music, but even if it makes them happy, it’s not safe or healthy. Give it a try - it works! 

And thank you, for helping to keep our campus SAFE, HEALTHY, and HAPPY!