School Policies & Procedures

Breakfast

All students may eat breakfast at school for FREE. Our school breakfast is served in the cafeteria from 7:15am to 7:30am.

Playground

School supervision of students on the playground begins at 7:15am.

ECE

A parent or guardian should accompany ECE students until they are signed into their classrooms at 7:30am.

Kindergarten to 5th grade

Students should be dropped off at their classroom’s exterior door by 7:30am. Late students arriving after 7:30am may not enter through their classroom doors and should be dropped off at our front door.

Parking / Kiss-and-Go

Families who drive to school may use our kiss-and-go system (drop off your child at the curb in the front of our building and they will be greeted by school staff) or park in the neighborhood if you prefer to escort your child onto the playground.

Due to the fire lane, no parking areas, and congestion on Grant Street, we cannot accommodate parking in the north lot before school. Dropping off students or parking in the staff parking lots (west lot and alleyway lot) is prohibited.

Dismissal

Students must be picked up from their classroom’s exterior door at 2:30pm unless they’re participating in our Discovery Link program or an after-school enrichment class. There is no after-school playground supervision. Students who are not picked up by 2:35pm will be brought to our main office and their families will be contacted.

ECE & Kindergarten

A parent or guardian must sign their student out in their classrooms unless they are attending our Discovery Link program or an after-school enrichment.

The Discovery Link program provides on-site after-school care for families from 2:30pm to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday. Visit the Discovery Link website for registration information and cost.

• Do not park in our bus loading area (located on Logan Street), in the west staff parking lot, or the alleyway staff parking lot.
• During drop-off or pick-up times, please park on the neighborhood streets around the building, Louisiana Avenue, or Logan Street.
• During the school day, please park in our north lot (outside of the front entrance). Please note that this is a public City of Denver lot and is not part of McKinley-Thatcher property.
• Cars parked in ADA spaces, the fire lane, and designated no parking areas are subject to ticketing by the Denver Police Department.

When DPS schools are on a “late start” due to winter weather, McKinley-Thatcher will operate on a two-hour delay, opening at 9:30am, with drop-off beginning at 9:15am.

When it is 20 degrees or lower, we will have indoor recess in our gym.

Please dress your child in warm winter gear, as we only call indoor recess when it is extremely cold. Otherwise, you can assume your child will be outside playing in the fresh air! They will need coats, gloves, hats and any other outdoor winter clothing you see fit.

The decision to keep schools open or to close them during winter weather conditions is not a simple one, but it is made with one overriding factor in mind: the well-being of our students, their families and staff. It is a good idea to decide in advance how to best keep up with the changes, what childcare arrangements are needed, and how to adjust if schools are closed due to inclement weather.

• If the decision is made to close school, the DPS Communications Office will immediately notify local television and radio stations, which will broadcast regular announcements of school closures or delays.
• Emergency school closures will be posted on the district’s homepage, Weather at dpsk12.org, and the district’s Facebook page.
• School bus delays and information is posted on the DPS Transportation Facebook page and Twitter.
• A message about the closure or late start will be on the district’s closure hotline at (720) 423-3200 and the DPS Transportation hotline at (720) 423-4699.

Problem inside the school.
School administration places a building hold, clears hallways, and asks students and staff to remain in their classrooms. Our school will go on hold if there is a minor problem inside our building, typically a student behavior situation.

• NO class transitions or bathroom use.
• School business and classroom activities continue as normal.

Threat is definitely away from the school. 
School administration secures the building and safely shelters all students, staff, and visitors INSIDE the school. Our school will go on secure if a threat is in our neighborhood but does not pose immediate danger to the occupants of the school.

• NO person is allowed to enter or leave the building.
• School business and classroom activities continue as normal.

When a threat is inside or very close to the school.
School administration secures the building and safely shelters all students, staff and visitors INSIDE the school. Our school will go on lockdown if a threat is in the building or neighborhood and endangers the occupants of the school.

• NO person is allowed to enter or leave the building.
• School business and classroom activities cease.
• Staff ensure all exterior doors are locked.
• Staff lock all interior classroom/work area doors.
• Staff, students, and visitors are DOWN, QUIET, and OUT OF SIGHT.

Lockdown drill: parents/guardians will receive an email notification that a lockdown drill has taken place.

Lockdown: parents/guardians will receive an email and/or phone communication from the school as soon as feasibly possible at the end of a lockdown.

Severe weather is any weather condition that may cause injury to students and staff or damage to structures. Different types of weather call for different actions. Schools will go into shelter-in-place if the threat of severe weather is in the area. Examples of severe weather are:

• High winds
• Thunder & lightning storms
• Hail
• Tornadoes

School administration will monitor National Weather Service announcements and notify staff and students to move away from rooms on the perimeter and shelter in our designated “Inside Safe Assembly Location” (our lower hallway) as necessary. Site administration will direct students and staff to take a protective kneeling position.

If it is unsafe for students, staff, and visitors to remain inside our building, they will evacuate to designated evacuation locations either on-campus or off-site. The most common evacuation is a fire drill.

• All students and staff will exit the school and go to designated evacuation locations.
• Everyone will remain outside until the “all clear” message is given.
• If students and staff need to leave school grounds, we will walk to our designated off-site evacuation locations (see below).
• Students will be released to parents/guardians who are listed on their emergency contact list and have valid government identification.

McKinley-Thatcher’s two off-site emergency evacuation locations are:

• Decker Branch Library, 1501 S. Logan St., (720) 865-0220
• Grant Beacon Middle School, 1751 S. Washington St., (720) 423-9360