Parking

Knowing where to park my car at a new building is always a bit of a challenge.  I get to the school and wonder should I park in visitor parking? Staff?  General?  All these questions while I'm just trying to get into the builiding on time.    I don't feel as a sub I should park in the staff parking because I would feel terrible taking another teacher's usual spot.  As for the other two, it depends on where I am.  Elementary schools generally do not have large parking lots, but in the morning there are many spaces in the general lot available.  Elementary school do often have many different portals of entry to parking lots and often have one area that is enter only and one area that is exit only. 

Junior High schools I have found to be the easiest to park at.  There usually aren't a lot of parents or other volunteers that come here, so parking is generally wide open.  High schools, however, are the strangest beasts to figure out parking.  At high schools, the students can all drive and are easily upset when someone parks in their lot.   Each high school seems to have their own way of parking control.  My very first day subbing I was at a high school and was very nearly late to class because they were very particular about their parking.  They prefer to have subs park in the assigned parking slot for the staff member they are subbing for.  Usually, though, for half-day subs, this option is not available.  In that case, I have to find the parking/traffic director so he can tell me where I am to park.  I've started at this school though in the afternoon where there is no parking director and no way of knowing where to park.  These days I just try to park far away where there are several open spots so as to try and appease the most people.  The problem with knowing the parking policy is that you never know what you are supposed to do until you get inside and look through the sub information for the school.  Either that or you do something wrong and get the parking police after you.  Either way, sometimes the hardest part of my sub day is just getting into the door.