Classrooms Return To Life In Rockbridge

It was so quiet in the hallways last Wednesday morning at Natural Bridge Elementary School that it was hard to believe the school’s more than 200 students were back at all.

Inside the classrooms was another story. Students were eagerly taking in their first day back in classrooms that were decorated so uniquely that some were Pinterest-worthy. Teachers at NBES pick a theme and decorate their classes themselves, clearly pouring a lot of heart, money and sweat equity into creating the perfect learning environment.

Ryan Clifton’s kindergarten class felt like stepping straight into a Harry Potter movie, complete with every kind of ephemera from the movies imaginable, cubbies decorated to reflect Hogwarts houses, a sorting hat, “potions,” a castle-themed reading nook and even a life-sized Dobby seated at one table with students. Clifton himself wore a robe to add to the magic.

Clifton’s whimsical design sensibility was reflective of NBES’s new “house system” itself. Last year, administrators adopted a model designed by famed Atlanta-based educator Ron Clark based on sorting students into various houses with individual themes meant to boost character, build school spirit and foster a sense of family.

NBES students are randomly sorted into one of four houses: Ubuntu, Heshima, Kihuwa and Lumora. Each house has a different set of principles to guide students into becoming the best version of themselves. Ubuntu focuses on caring, Heshima on respect, Kihuwa on building trust and Lumora on responsibility.

“This year we’re just building upon it, so this year, we’re really excited about it,” Cynthia Sparks, NBES administrative intern, said.

The emphasis on personal character development seemed to be paying off on the first day of school in a sweet moment in the hallway. When a group of preschoolers straggled to take their places on a rope to guide them through the building, a group of fourth-grade boys stood in the doorway of their classroom, giving their tiny schoolmates high fives and some much-needed encouragement.

“Oh, they love the little ones,” Sparks said. Miles to the north, in Buena Vista, a different kind of grade-level intermingling was in process.

Parry McCluer High School and Parry McCluer Middle School combined into the same building this year but will operate as two separate schools. Students are kept separate throughout the day with different drop-off and pick-up lines, staggered lunches and gym times and different parts of campus.

The combined high and middle school will serve more than 450 students this year, 135 at Parry Mc-Cluer Middle School and 316 at Parry McCluer High School.

Buena Vista Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Heather Ault said that so far, the transition has gone “incredibly smoothly.”

“A move of this magnitude is incredibly intricate to plan and requires more time, coordination, problem-solving, and hard work than most people will ever see,” Ault said. “Our teachers, administrators, nutrition staff, custodians, transportation department, maintenance staff, technology staff, summer workers, and so many others didn’t simply make this transition happen — they made it happen better than we could have imagined.”

Middle-schoolers initially nervous about the transition said that surprisingly, the move has not been that bad.

“At first, I thought being around the high-schoolers would be weird, but it really hasn’t been. Everybody pretty much just does their own thing,” one seventh-grader said.

BVCPS also welcomed back a total of 167 students at Kling Elementary School and another 266 at Enderly Elementary School for a total of 884 students in the division, 10 fewer than last year.

Lexington City Schools welcomed 315 students back to Harrington Waddell Elementary School this year, and 185 to Lylburn Downing Middle School. That’s slightly lower than the amount of students last year, where HWES saw 319 students enrolled and LDMS had 190.

Superintendent Rebecca Walters said there were few hiccups during the first week aside from a bit of traffic confusion due to ongoing roadwork near LDMS.

“Very few tears were shed this morning, which is always very exciting. Lunchtime was smooth, the sun came out for recess, I mean, all the stars aligned,” Walters said of the first day at Waddell Elementary School.

Rockbridge County Public Schools welcomed a total of 2,297 students this year, with 438 at Central Elementary School, 245 at Fairfield Elementary School, 206 at Natural Bridge Elementary School, 132 at Mountain View Elementary School, 453 at Maury River Middle School and 824 at Rockbridge County High School.

Fairfield Elementary School Principal Michael Loret said the year started off without a hitch.

“The first week actually went very smoothly,” Loret said. “The students came and they quickly acclimated themselves to school. We had a lot of new students who came in but the teachers welcomed them with open arms.”

The only hiccup for Rockbridge County this year is an ongoing shortage of bus drivers. Chief Operations Officer Randy Walters said the division needs to hire three more full-time drivers, but in the meantime, they are using substitute drivers to cover the routes. Walters said that sometimes, when buses are being used for things like field trips and athletic events, kids may end up coming home a few minutes late as routes are adjusted.

“Because it’s the first week of school, parents do get a little worried when kids are late,” Walters said.

But there’s a solution coming soon: Walters said officials are developing a new app that will track bus routes and allow parents to see exactly when their kids will get home. He hopes it will be up and running in the next few months.

RCPS Superintendent Phillip Thompson said that like any new school year, there are always adjustments the first few days, but so far, so good.

“Overall, we are extremely pleased with how things have begun,” Thompson said. “Our students are engaged, our staff members are excited about the year ahead, and there is a strong sense of optimism throughout the division.”