General Information
Drop-off and Pick-up: The Anchorage School District does not provide bus service for the Montessori program. You are responsible for getting your child both to and from school. Parking can be a problem; please be aware of safety issues and watch for other children. Arrive early if you can, and obey all traffic laws.
Student safety is of paramount importance, and drop-off and pick-up occur in congested areas. To keep everyone’s child safe, please follow all traffic laws when dropping off or picking up your child.
Parking Lot Guidelines: Our parking lot is a concern. Moving 430 children in approximately 10-15 minutes into and out of the school is a challenging endeavor in the best of circumstances. Please remember to breathe through our morning and afternoon arrival and dismissal. Remember the car next to you is also facing the same stress.
Please pre-arrange with your child where you will be picking him/her up after school. Teachers will be taking their classes out to the playground.
All children will return to the office at 3:45 if not picked up before.
Parking Lot Protocol: We will have staff out to help your child out of and into your car. Do not park in the parking lot. Please pull up to the red curb, leaving the access walkway in front of the entrance clear. If your child is not outside waiting in covered area, move around and come back. It is vital that this lot is not backed up. An adult must escort children to the car in the parking lot. It is dangerous for children to walk between cars. They are often unseen.
10th Street Protocol: We will have staff out to help your child to your car. If you are parked on the south side of the street, please come onto the playground and pick your child up. Please stay in your car on the north side of 10th Street. Children will need to enter your car from the curbside. It is dangerous for children to walk between cars. Please keep the corners clear to maintain visual safety for traffic.
Parking A-Plenty: Parking is available just a block south on 11th Street. Parents report that there is generally always parking for those able to walk just a bit. Please keep our parking lot for staff, volunteer parents, and visitors.
Please contact Ruth Dene, principal Denali Montessor, 742-4500, dene_ruth@asdk12.org, if you have any questions or concerns. We continue to work together to keep our children safe and our 15-minute arrivals and dismissals as calm and courteous as possible.
The first bell rings at 8:50 am, and the tardy bell rings at 9:00 a.m. Please be prompt; when your child is late, he/she misses valuable instruction on the up-coming day’s work.
There is no before or after-school supervision for students; please don’t drop your student off early and make arrangements for your child(ren) to be supervised or walk home at 3:30 each day when school is dismissed. Parents who are picking up students should wait on the playground for their child(ren) to be dismissed. For your child’s safety, please do not ask him/her to meet you at the parking lot.
Visiting the School: We welcome parents in the school at all times and encourage you to volunteer in your child’s classroom or other area of the school. Please use 0n-street parking and make sure that your first stop is always in the office to sign in. To ensure child safety, every visitor to the school must sign in at the front office and wear a visitor or a volunteer button.
Before & After School Programs: There is a breakfast program at Denali that starts at 8:30am. The PTA sponsors Denali Community School Activities, the CampFire program offers before and after school care at Denali. Boys and Girls Club, Chanp Tae Kwon Do, and Anchorage Gymnastics provide drop-off and/or pickup service for before and after school care. See Before & After School Programs.
Carpool: The Montessori telephone directory is a good tool for locating Denali attendees who live in your area for carpooling purposes. More carpool information is available at the open house in September each year.
School Supplies: Each teacher makes a list of school supplies needed at the beginning of the year; it is available at the Back-To-School Picnic the week before school starts. You should check with your teacher occasionally during the year to see if other supplies or materials are needed. Your child will need a large backpack without wheels or a bookbag to carry things to and from home each day. Please clearly mark your child’s name on his or her belongings such as coats, hats, mittens and boots with a bold marker. The Lost and Found is near the door to the playground in the main hallway by the office.
Meetings: Held each fall, the Denali Open House allows parents to meet their child(ren)’s teachers and the school principal. Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled the first and third quarter. General membership meetings on the third Thursday of each month allow parents to participate in both the PTA and the Montessori Advisory Committee. These meetings are well attended by school staff. However, if you have a concern or a word of appreciation, don’t wait for these times: Call or visit the person you need to talk to. Making an appointment assures you of uninterrupted time.
School Communications: A great deal of school/parent communication happens on paper or via this website. Most of the paperwork will come home with your child each Thursday in a manila envelope known as the Thursday Folder. Please send it back on Friday. In it, you will find official School District communications, Paw Prints (a letter from the principal generated every two weeks), letters from your child’s teacher, and PTA and Montessori Advisory Committee information. Ask your child for the folder every week. Returning the folder and necessary paperwork promptly is considered a homework responsibility for your child. Please do your part to help them accomplish this.
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