Smooth sailing on first day of school

Published 4:54 pm Tuesday, August 4, 2015

THOMASVILLE — Considering that more than 8,000 local children returned to school Monday, the situation was ripe for any number of catastrophes.

However, heads of Thomasville City and Thomas County school systems reported smooth sailing.

Some 5,609 students reported to Thomas County schools Monday, an increase from 5,457 a year ago.

“We had a great start to the new school year Monday morning. We had a few normal first-of-the-year traffic backups, but for the most part, traffic kept moving, and I am not aware of any lengthy delays,” said Dr. Dusty Kornegay, county school superintendent.

Thomas County Sheriff’s Office and the Thomasville Post 12 Georgia State Patrol helped keep traffic moving around campuses.

Said Kornegay, “Members of the central office staff were assigned to report to our various schools to assist with first-day arrival procedures. I visited every school Monday morning and was very pleased with how things seemed to be going.”

The superintendent said the only “hiccup” he is aware of is a few children missing getting on the correct bus, but school staff made sure every student was either safely delivered home or picked up by their parents.

“It is always a good feeling to get the news that all buses have reported in safely and that all campuses are clear,” Kornegay said.

Even though enrollment numbers typically fluctuate the first few days of the school year, Kornegay said the county system appears will have about 100 more students this year as compared to last year.

“That represents enrollment growth of about 2 percent, which is a very healthy rate of growth. It is enough growth to allow the system to continue to expand opportunities for students but not so much as to overwhelm our resources,” Kornegay explained.

Thomasville City system schools saw 2, 857 students show up the first day of the new school year. The system had an enrollment of 2,918 in May at the end of the 2014-2015 school year.

The system is tracking down 61 withdrawals, said Superintendent Sabrina Boykins-Everett. Some withdrawals are the result of formal requests to attend another school system, while some others are informal parent notifications.

Both superintendents said some students have not reported for the new school year.

Traffic congestion at Jerger Elementary and MacIntyre Park Middle schools is the norm, particularly the first day of school. Traffic on Monday “went well” at the school, Boykins-Everett explained.

The city system’s nutrition program will offer new and exciting food again this year, she added.

Children seemed ready to get back to rituals and routines on the first day of school.

“The air-conditioning worked. Everybody was cool and comfortable,” Boykins-Everett said.

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820.