Visiting our School

We welcome parents and members of the community to visit our school. To ensure the safety of our students and staff, and to limit disruption of instruction, please contact the principal or an administrator to pre-arrange classroom visits. Visitors are expected to observe school rules and engage respectfully with all employees. Parents and guardians may not interact with any children other than their own unless given explicit permission to do so prior to the visit.

For safety reasons, state law requires schools to register all guests who enter school property. Visitors should park in designated areas when possible and check-in at the office to get a visitor’s pass. Unauthorized persons are prohibited from entering or remaining on school grounds. If court-issued restraining orders exist which limit a parent’s access to visiting their child or receiving information about their child, the custodial parent must provide the school principal with a copy of such an order. Only persons listed in a student’s record are permitted to pick up the student without specific parental permission.

The principal or designee may request that any individual who is causing a disruption, including exhibiting volatile, hostile, aggressive, or offensive behavior, immediately leave school grounds.

Office hours: Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Main Office: 408-535-6221
Attendance Line: 408-287-6368
Email: empiregardens@sjusd.org

Drop off and pick up safety procedures

In order to keep everyone safe and keep traffic flowing, please follow these procedures:

• Pull all the way forward to the front of the drop off/pick up loop rather than stopping when you see your child.
• If your child is not present by the time you reach the front of the line, you will need to circle around and come back through the line in order to keep traffic flowing.
• There is no parking in the drop off/pick up loop.  If your children are not there, you will need to drive around the block and come back.
• Drivers must remain in their cars.
• If you have students in both lower and upper grades, we recommend parking your car at Watson Park or in our parking lot and walking over to meet your children.
• Be aware of marked red zones; they are No Parking zones by law.
• The coned area in front of the school is for buses only and is not a drop off/pick up area.
• Keep the crosswalk clear of cars.
• Use the crosswalk when walking to the park rather than cutting across the drop off/pick up loop.
• Children need to exit and enter cars at the sidewalk at the front of the drop off/pick up loop rather than walking between cars or buses.
• Parking Compliance and/or Police may cite you if you violate these safety procedures.

Parking

The Empire Gardens campus is embedded in our community. For your own safety and out of respect for our neighbors, please:

• Do not double-park on the street or block neighborhood driveways;
• Do not park or idle in bus loading zones;
• Do not leave cars unattended when picking up or dropping off; and
• Do not park in areas where orange cones signify a dangerous area.