An elementary school PTA group in Ohio made morning drop-off lines bearable — by entertaining parents.
On Aug. 29, parents who drove to Austintown Elementary School in Youngstown for the first day of classes were greeted by a pop culture flashback: Traffic signs inspired by beloved celebrities.
“Can’t park here!” read a sign with an image of rapper MC Hammer in his “U Can’t Touch This” era.
“Tell the kids Bye, Bye, Bye” was printed on a second sign showing former boy band NSYNC, referencing their 2000 hit song.
“Hey girl, move your car all the way up,” stated a sign bearing actor Ryan Gosling representing his popular “Hey Girl” meme.
A sign with members of the girl group TLC read, “Don’t go blocking drop off lanes,” spoofing the 1994 hit song “Waterfalls.”
Another sign featured actor David Schwimmer’s “Friends” character Ross Geller holding a couch. “PIVOT!! Out of the drop off line!” it read. The joke is from a February 1999 episode in which Ross and his friends struggle to move a couch into his apartment.
The last sign showed a car wrapped in Saran plastic wrap along with the phrase, “Please stay in your vehicle.”
Jessica Lippillo, the president of the Austintown Elementary PTA, told TODAY Parents she was inspired by an Arizona school district that posted creative drop-off signs. Lippillo said she wanted to make parents smile too.
“Drop-off lines are hard,” she said. “Ours usually runs smoothly but this year, some of our kids are attending school for the first time ever because of COVID. Students and parents are feeling anxious and I wanted to alleviate their stress.”
The signs are for the parents’ enjoyment, clarified Lippillo, not the younger students, who probably won’t recognize the celebrities.
“My older kid knows about NSYNC because I listen to ’90s boy band music,” she joked, adding that amused parents have posted comments on Facebook like, “These aren’t for the kids — they’re for us!”
Lippillo had a second motive for posting the signs: “I wanted parents to see that the PTA has a sense of humor.”
The signs will stay put for another week, then will be removed to preserve them.
Lippillo, who is already thinking ahead to different end-of-year signs, said PTA members from all over the country have called her to ask about the signs. “That’s nice to see.”
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