Despite earlier concerns about congestion due to the loss of the gym lot—particularly during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up—the community has adjusted well to the new procedures, according to the Construction Response Team (CRT) and construction leaders who meet weekly to review progress and community feedback.
In the April 4 School bulletin, the CRT reminded parents not to use the May Hall lot as a turnaround, citing safety concerns for student drivers assigned to the area.
In addition, Head of School Judith Guild reminded parents to abstain from dropping off their students at the corners.
“I would like to see fewer people letting kids off at corners, as I see an occasional student dart across the street, and of course, that is very dangerous,” Guild said.
Still, the CRT reports having received “overwhelmingly positive feedback” regarding campus logistics, during its April 8 meeting to discuss safety measures for the construction site, including the installation of surveillance cameras, improved locks, and motion sensors.
At the recent meeting, members shared that the morning drop-off has proceeded smoothly. While traffic occasionally backs up before the turn onto Middlesex Road, most families are arriving on time and using the Lower School driveway efficiently.
Meeting participants, including Judy Guild, Upper School Head Joshua Neudel, Board of Trustees Chair Chris Chou, and Associate Head of School Carl Coombs, also took detailed notes and implemented various measures to ensure the construction proceeded as smoothly as possible—minimizing disruption for students, faculty, and neighbors.
Although students initially raised concerns about morning traffic and parking, those issues eased after the first weeks of implementation.
DJ Quarles ’26, who gets dropped off by their parents in the mornings, agrees that the drop-off status has been running steadily–exceeding their expectations.
“I thought it was going to be a lot harder to get to school in the morning,” Quarles said. “But I think they handled it well with the lower school building.”
Aryaa Mutha ’26, who used to drive to school and park on Dunster Road., is now getting dropped off as well.
“Initially, I thought that there would have been a lot of chaos in the morning,” Mutha said. “I was very surprised when I saw the police officers, administrators and staff that helped direct parents and students about where to go,” Mutha said, “which made everything much better.”
With parking on Dunster Road now limited, student drivers have begun arriving earlier to secure a spot amid growing competition.
Josef Porteleki ’26, who recently began driving to school, said that the parking spaces on Dunster Road seem shorter than they used to be.
“It’s a little bit busier on Dunster,” Porteleki said. “But that’s the only real change I saw apart from more seniors parking there.”
History Teacher David Cutler continues commuting from the satellite parking spot to School with his Segway 9-bot scooter.
Although a relatively shorter walk, Cutler says that the scooter offers him more versatility.
“The scooter’s been going really well,” Cutler said. “It took some time to get used to because it involves more coordination and situational awareness than I had previously thought.”
The scooter affords Cutler more flexibility during the day to get to a doctor’s office, to pick up his son, or to get to places during an emergency.
“To get there quickly and to get back to class earlier,” Cutler said, “any minute counts.”
Guild is grateful to the community for following the new guidelines.
“While it can be stressful at times, I can see how hard people are trying to keep our campus safe,” Guild said.
