The Bell Rings

You might not be abe to tell by the temperature outside, but for many  girls and boys, summer has come to an end.

Monday marked the beginning of a new routine for thousands of children as area schools reopened and teachers welcomed them back after a three month-long break.

Roadways and parking lots around several elementary schools Monday morning were choked with emotional moms and dads, as they walked their children to class and said good-bye one last time before heading off to work.

Sydney Staley, on the other hand, took the day in stride as she walked confidently into her first day of public school as a kindergartener at .

“This morning she quickly got dressed and was very cooperative,” said Camille Staley, Sydney's mom. “There were no tears, no complaints. She was ready for the experience, even though she gave me a very different impression going into it...When I waved goodbye, I could see she had a smile on her face.”

So far, 12,789 students have enrolled in Clarke County public schools – up slightly from the spring semester, when 12,224 students were enrolled, according to figures from the state Department of Education. Enrollment is expected to continue to increase, as new students continue to register for school, according to a school district spokeswoman.

Overall, school administrators reported few issues on day one – with most classes starting on time, Superintendent Philip Lanoue said.

“Instruction started for the most part as soon as they walked in the door,” Lanoue said.

There was only one slight mishap this morning when a school bus broke down while on a route. Transportation department workers were there prepared to send out a replacement in no time, said Cathy Benson, Transportation Director.

“The whole transportation staff was here to make sure we headed off anything that came our way, and we made sure to head off anything that came up,” Benson said.

Across the district, students have nearly 150 bus routes to choose from, all of which can be found here.

Many school administrators and maintenance staff worked through the summer to make sure buildings were in good shape, paying special attention to cooling systems to get them up and running, Lanoue said.

“We've had an excellent opening," Lanoue said. "Kids came to school on time, they were there safely, their teachers were very well-prepared, so the teachers were really upbeat and ready.”

Over the summer, Principal Adam Kurtz and other members of his school staff made home visits with students. They held an ice cream social the week before school started to better prepare students and parents for the task ahead, he said. An attendance zone change three years ago has also helped the school retain the same students year after year so they are more familiar with their surroundings, Kurtz said.

“It's nice to have a fairly stable group that we've known for a long time,” Kurtz said. “Fortunately, I've not had a lot of kids who were worried because they were seperated from their parents...I haven't really run into that today. I think the sadest guy I saw today was too young to go to class, he saw his big brother come to class and he didn't want to leave.”