| Updated: 8/21/2012 8:49 am |
Published: 8/20/2012 8:39 pm
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40,000 Tulsa Public School students headed back to the classroom on Monday.
Teachers, parents and law enforcement all played a role to make sure the first day back to school went smoothly.
"It's been pretty crazy," one parent told FOX23, after waiting a half-hour in traffic to pick up a student after the bell rang.
Monday wasn't easy on parents and guardians who had to battle the lines and traffic to drop children to and from school.
"I was stuck in one spot for 40 minutes," said the parent of a freshman Edison High School student.
Keeping students safe is the number one priority for Tulsa Public Schools Police Chief Gary Rudick. Rudick said he, campus police and school administrators were thoroughly prepared to handle the first day back.
"I'm very pleased and I think things went much better this year," said Chief Rudick.
Chief Rudick said that he only received about three or four complaints about children who ventured to the wrong school bus stop or school. Rudick said that any problem they encountered was sorted out quickly.
"I think that that is phenomenal considering that we have 40,000 students" Rudick said.
Parents said one of the issues on the road was drivers who were disregarding the law and making their own rules to intercept their children from school.
"People just don't get that they just can’t stop out on the road and what for their kids to get into the car while the rest of us wait," said Leeanne Greer of Tulsa.
Campus officers were on school grounds to help direct traffic and answer questions about parking and drop-off areas.
The Tulsa Police Department and the Tulsa Fire Department teamed up with local schools to enforce safety at cross walks.
"It's a safety thing, if there is someone in the cross walk you have to stop," said Stan May with the Tulsa Fire Department.
Chief Rudick said that the early morning drop-offs were more congested than the after-school pick ups.
"Early in the morning and elementary schools are the worst because you have more parents that are taking their kids to school and then in a rush to get to work," Rudick said, "We just hope that people will be patient."
Chief Rudick said that Harvard, Yale and 11th street will be the busiest streets during the school year.
