School Dismissal Manager
Click here to make daily changes to your child's dismissal plans
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is School Dismissal Manager?
The Bedford Central School District elementary schools use an online dismissal system, called School Dismissal Manager, to help manage our after-school dismissal routine. An account will be set up for you by the Bedford Central School District. You will use this account on a daily basis to maintain your child’s dismissal plans, as well as absences, starting on the first day of school. Your child’s default dismissal plan will be his/her regular bus. If you need to make a daily or recurring change to this plan, called an exception, please follow the directions in School Dismissal Manager (SDM). Here are some frequently asked questions that will help you navigate the SDM system:
Where is my username and password?
The District will set up your family’s School Dismissal Manager account over the summer, as an independent account. You will receive an introductory email letter from School Dismissal Manager in August before the new school year starts. Inside the email is your family username and password. Look carefully, as it is easy to overlook. If you cannot find this introductory email, please contact the school’s main office (764-8133) and we can resend your welcome email letter. If you’ve used the system during the previous school year, returning parents can use the same username and password. If you forgot your password, you can click on “Forgot Password” next to the login fields at the top of the screen.
Making Daily Changes
Securely login to School Dismissal Manager (www.schooldismissalmanager.com) when there’s something different in your child’s normal dismissal routine and click to change. It's that simple. You can find a link to the SDM website on our PRES website. From our homepage, choose School Dismissal Manager from the dropdown menu under Our School. You can also download the app for Apple and Android phones.
An “exception” is anytime you are changing your child’s dismissal plan on a specific day (doctor’s appointment, playdate, change to pick-up, etc.). Once logged into SDM, you will see your child(ren)’s dismissal calendar 2 weeks at a time. Click on the date you’d like to change. Click the drop down menu under “Dismissal Options” next to your child’s name to choose the exception for that day. Enter all required fields. If your Dismissal Option is Pick-up at Dismissal, please be sure to indicate who will be picking up your child. Make sure to click “Update Schedule Changes” before clicking “done” to ensure your dismissal change is saved. You will receive an email confirmation. If you want to make an exception to a future date, beyond the 2 week window, choose “Click to Set Dismissal Instructions for a Future Date” at the bottom of the screen.
Enter the daily dismissal plan for your child (known as the exception dismissal plan). Any daily dismissal changes must be made by 1:30 PM. No dismissal changes, unless it is an emergency, will be accepted after the 1:30 PM cut-off time. Any time a dismissal change is made a confirmation email is sent to all parents of record for that child…safety is the number one priority.
Daily Dismissal
Each day, after 1:30 p.m., School Dismissal Manager will automatically send an up-to-the-minute dismissal report to your child’s school. The school will communicate to bus drivers, classroom teachers, and pick-up staff any dismissal changes for the day.
Early Dismissal Days
On days when PRES has an early dismissal day, the cutoff time to enter an exception to your student's dismissal plan is 10:30am.
What if my child’s default dismissal plan is incorrect?
Your child’s default dismissal plan will be set up as his/her regularly assigned bus home. The default dismissal plan is what your child does after school three or more days a week. This is set up by the District and can only be changed by the school office staff. The parent can only enter exceptions into the system in order to make a daily or recurring dismissal change. If you need to change your child’s default dismissal plan (Monday-Friday), please contact the main office (914-764-8133).
What if my child will be an early pick-up and will be returning to school?
NEW FEATURE! Parents can now report that they are picking up their child early and then returning them to school to finish out the day without affecting their actual dismissal. You will find a Leaving Early button in the same screen where you set exceptions for your child. If your child is leaving early and coming back to school that day, please follow the prompts to select Coming Back from the drop-down menu.
How do I schedule a recurring exception?
In order to set up a permanent dismissal plan for your child, in other words, if your child has the same dismissal plan on the same day each week, it can be easily entered into School Dismissal Manager. Click on recurring dismissal instructions which is located at the top of the page in blue writing within the tool bar. Follow the prompts which include the dismissal instruction, the frequency, and a start and stop date. Please remember... if an activity is cancelled, or you child will not be attending on a particular day of the recurring exception, please go into SDM for that day to indicate how your child should be dismissed for that particular day. When a recurring exception for an after school activity ends, please make sure to check SDM in order to ensure your child’s dismissal plan is accurate.
Is there a particular way to enter a playdate?
If your child is going on a playdate, and riding his/her friend’s bus, please choose the bus number from the drop down menu and indicate the friend’s name in the “notes” box. If your child is going on a playdate and being picked up, choose “pick up at dismissal” from the drop down menu and indicate who will be picking up your child in the “notes” box.
Do I need to enter an exception in School Dismissal Manager if my child is attending a playdate/activity on his/her regular bus but is getting off at a different stop?
YES, even if your child is riding his or her regular bus, you will need to enter the change in School Dismissal Manager to give us permission to have your child get off the bus at a different stop. Remember to choose the bus # (even though it is the same as his/her regular bus) from dropdown menu and then indicate the name of the friend in the “notes” field.
What if my child takes a bus to a regular activity (ie.. childcare)?
If your child is going to an after school activity, please choose the bus number first from the drop down menu and then indicate the activity your child is attending in the “notes” field. Follow the directions for “recurring exceptions” above if this will take place on the same day each week over a period of several weeks.
What if I receive a confirmation email and it’s incorrect?
Contact the main office and we will correct the dismissal plan. You will then receive an updated email confirmation.
Is there a cut-off time to enter a change in my child’s dismissal plans?
Yes, the cut-off time for entering daily dismissal changes in SDM is 1:00 PM. In order for us to effectively communicate dismissal changes to each child’s teacher and to your child, it is imperative that we have this information before 1:00 PM. After 1:00 PM, no additional changes will be made unless it is an emergency. On Early Dismissal Days the cut-off time is 10:00AM.
If my child will be absent, do I enter this information into School Dismissal Manager?
Yes, we encourage you to enter your child’s absence in SDM. This helps us to communicate with your child’s bus driver, as well as the teachers, who receive the SDM reports.
Visit the School Dismissal Manager website (www.schooldismissalmanager.com) and click on “view online demo” to learn more about the program.
Thank you for using our online dismissal system. We hope you find it easy to use and helpful in ensuring that each child arrives safely to his or her appropriate destination. If you have any questions that were not answered above, please contact the PRES main office.