Students late for school due to traffic along Good Luck Road
During the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, Parkdale students have been increasingly late due to the daily traffic that takes place on Good Luck Road in front of the school. Students of Parkdale may leave early; however, they are continuously late. As this problem persists, Parkdale still considers this an unexcused tardy.
Prince George’s County residents know Good Luck Road very well. It is shy of over seven miles long and merges into major intersections and lies in front of multiple schools. It is used quite frequently every day but most commonly on weekdays.
With many adults trying to get to their jobs or morning coffee, it shouldn’t be a question of why students are so late to school every day. Trying to drop off students, be it by bus or car, on an already congested road with no traffic lights or crossing guards is a recipe for disaster.
When asking for student feedback on the matter, the responses were mixed. An anonymous Parkdale junior felt that being late from the traffic was more of the student’s problem.
“I believe it is not an issue the school can solve,” the student said. “This is more like a student’s responsibility. It also shows how much students find school to be important.”
Some students feel differently about the school’s response.
“I don’t feel like this is right especially since we can’t control the traffic,” said senior Fedora Tettekpoe. “Most cars don’t stop and just keep going and this prevents the school buses and car riders from getting inside the school.”
With this mishandled morning traffic, students are being punished and missing valuable instructional time in class.
“I can’t recall the specific day but I know that I had my first cooking project for food and nutrition and because of the traffic I missed a few instructions so I had to cook the following class,” recalled Tettekpoe. Without passes, students will start getting an in-school suspension for constant tardies and may miss assignments like warm-ups, which most teachers won’t allow to be made up.
This traffic situation is damaging to Parkdale students’ grades and records. Every day, students are coming to class late due to the traffic along Good Luck Road. However, nothing much has changed since the start of the school year. During our interviews, suggestions were brought up on how to solve the problem, some suggesting hiring a traffic guard in the morning to separate school traffic and regular traffic. Others suggested a grace period for students late from traffic.
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Jacquelyn • Mar 28, 2023 at 10:14 pm
Traffic is what makes majority of the students late for school. I believe that should be an excuse because everyone is trying to get into the school but there are drivers that can be unfair which can make the students late. Every morning there’s always a long line into the school, no matter if you leave your house early there’s a chance you can be late for the traffic.
Alejandra • Mar 24, 2023 at 2:49 pm
As a student who drives, I think it is unnecessary for parents to drop their students all the way down the hill (unless they’re disabled). I think it would be a good idea if there was a spot where they could drop off their kids without causing bad traffic. Some parents stop in the middle of the road to drop off their kids, which is dangerous cause of the cars. We the students have to face consequences despite trying to get to school early but we end up in a 30 minute traffic because of this.
Davy • Nov 4, 2022 at 9:25 pm
I believe that traffic takes a major toll within both the case of a parent and a fellow student at Parkdale High School. First of all, there isn’t an exact drop-off location for those who work and have to have to rush to work and drop their kids at school, basically dropping your child off in the middle of the road so they walk to school before they go to work. I potentially think that a crossing guard working within a before and after school shift will do wonders for parents who are in a morning rush. Second of all, Students are often marked late when they come to school although it is a student’s responsibility to get ready on time before they are dropped off at school. Although in reality, there are alternative cases that could be set in mind such as a parent dropping them to school late. I think the school can change this by giving late passes to students who come tardy to school by car. Lastly, students aren’t able to catch up with school due to arriving at school late. They miss out on very much, and we can’t necessarily blame students for that if we don’t know what caused them to be late. It would mean a lot if teachers wouldn’t put pressure on their students, and somewhat be passionate in a way they can understand their students and help them with their courses.