Arlyn Day School

I went to Highland Park today to help a resident who wanted old items gone from her house. The resident lives directly across from Arlyn School.

Due to the configuration of the street and the blindspots on the resident’s driveway, I pulled into the almost completely empty lot of Arlyn School.

The moment I pulled in and got out of my car a woman, with a group of kids following behind her, started walking toward me and began calling at me in a combative tone. She asked me what was wrong with my car and I told her I was picking up supplies from the house across the street. I told her it was a front porch pickup and I’d be gone in under two minutes. The house was no more than 40 ft directly across from us.

Then a second woman came over and told the first woman to go away. I again explained my situation. She told me I needed to leave and I’d have to go directly to the resident’s house. It was clear there was no safe way to do that, considering there was already a car in the resident’s driveway and we were on a main road.

Despite explaining the situation multiple times, it was insisted I leave. The staff were incredibly rude and abrasive with me for no reason. I would’ve understood if it was a small or full lot and my parking created interference for them. But that just wasn’t the case. I’m also a 5’ 4” female and was clearly no threat to anybody there.

To have staff be so unkind at a school, for absolutely no palpable reason, speaks volumes about the tone of people working there. To also be so unworried about the safety of people in the surrounding area is just wrong.

I’m glad no one I know was ever a student here, especially considering it’s a school for special needs kids who definitely deserve teachers who don’t set an example through irrationality and yelling.