For many Levittown parents, getting children to school in the morning is a race against the clock, with crowded roads, tight schedules and the pressure of getting children to school before heading off to work.
A new national survey has now put the Levittown school district’s commute among the most stressful in the country, ranking it No. 5.
The survey, conducted by A Mission for Michael (AMFM), a mental health treatment provider, surveyed 3,044 parents to identify the areas with the most stressful school runs. This survey examined the factors that make school drop-off and pickup stressful, including traffic congestion, fear of being late, unsafe driving, parking difficulties and the pressure of getting to work afterward.
Levittown was one of three New York locations to make the national top 10, joining Park Slope in Brooklyn at No. 1 and the Upper East Side at No. 2. But for Levittown Superintendent Todd Winch, the ranking is not difficult to understand.
“The area by MacArthur and Salk is probably the most congested area in the district during arrival and dismissal,” Winch said. “But all the schools do see increased congestion. We just have a lot of parents that pick up and drop off their kids, and so it’s obviously going to be increased vehicular traffic during those times.”
The intersection of Salk Middle School and General Douglas MacArthur High School, along Old Jerusalem Road, is a particular trouble spot for the district.
Salk Middle School’s drop-off instructions warn families that traffic can back up onto Old Jerusalem Road and instruct parents not to double- or triple-park, in part because emergency vehicles need to maintain access.
Winch said the district has protocols for arrival and dismissal at all of its schools and adds personnel during the busiest periods to help keep traffic moving and students safe.
“Typically during that time period, we will have additional district security aides in our parking lots directing traffic,” Winch said. “We’ll have administration out there.”
At Salk and MacArthur, that can include the principals themselves stepping into the roadway to help direct traffic. “It’s basically about developing the protocols, communicating the protocols to the parents, and then having extra hands outside to help to facilitate the flow of traffic,” Winch said.
The congestion, however, can sometimes lead parents to make unsafe decisions.
The superintendent said parents have occasionally dropped children off on the opposite side of Old Jerusalem Road, forcing them to cross the street, while others double-park along the roadway.
“It does get so congested that parents sometimes make poor choices in regards to where they drop their kids off,” Winch said. “Definitely things that we don’t want anyone doing because it puts student safety in jeopardy.”
The district has crossing guards stationed in the area, including near Wantagh Avenue and Old Jerusalem Road, as well as near the schools, according to Winch. The district also works with Nassau County police when additional assistance is needed.
Winch said the department’s Police Officer Problem-Oriented Policing, or POP, Unit has assisted with traffic around Salk and MacArthur at various points throughout the school year. The area can become particularly problematic when vehicles waiting to pick up students occupy the right lane of Old Jerusalem Road, creating a larger traffic backup.
The national survey suggests Levittown’s experience reflects a broader frustration among parents. Nearly four in 10 parents surveyed said the school run leaves them feeling stressed or overwhelmed every day or several times a week. Seventy-one percent said they had dreaded the school run before even leaving home.
Traffic congestion was the most commonly cited source of stress, with 39 percent of parents naming it their biggest concern. Fear of being late followed at 16 percent, while 13 percent cited unsafe driving by other parents and 12 percent cited finding somewhere to park.
The survey also found that 74 percent of parents had witnessed dangerous or inconsiderate driving during school drop-off or pickup in the previous year. Speeding was the most common behavior reported, followed by cellphone use while driving.
Anand Meta, executive director of AMFM, said the combination of traffic, time pressure, work responsibilities and getting children ready can make school mornings particularly stressful for parents.
“None of those things may seem overwhelming in isolation, but when they happen repeatedly, five mornings a week, the stress can accumulate,” Meta said.
Winch said the pressures of modern family life can contribute to parents making unsafe decisions when they are running behind.
“We live in an area that, there's a tremendous amount of responsibilities that we all have, jobs, children to take care of, all those things, and so I think we're always kind of rushed for time,” Winch said. “So sometimes, when that occurs, we don't always make the best choices.”
His advice to parents is simple: slow down.
“Our goal is really to just slow everybody down,” Winch said. “Always try to prioritize student safety and follow the protocols that we put in place and the adults that we have outside directing traffic.”
For a community ranked among the most stressful school runs in the country, the solution may begin with giving parents a little more time and giving students a little more space to get to school safely.
As of press time, the Nassau County Police Department did not return a request for comment.
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