Monday meant back to school for the students, teachers, staff and administrators of Pilot Point ISD.
The year kicked off with enthusiasm, Superintendent Dr. Shannon Fuller said on Tuesday.
“We had a great first day with lots of new kids, teachers,” she said. “We had a million kids smiling with their new backpacks from the Back to School Bash. They proudly walked in with them on. It was super cute to see.”
She added that there were some logistics to work through, as is typically the case on a first day.
“Traffic is always our opportunity,” Fuller said. “We’ve already seen an improvement from yesterday morning to the second morning, so that will only continue to get better as more kids get into their routine with parent drop off and buses and all of that.”
Fuller added that internally, the school day ran smoothly at each campus.
Growth has made an appearance at PPISD, with several of the elementary grades needing to add sections to keep stu- dent-to-teacher ratios in the right window, which the district will continue to monitor.
“We have three sections that are pretty close, but we’re waiting to see kids coming in and all of that,” Fuller said.
There were a few emotional goodbyes at the Early Childhood Center as families brought in their pre-K and kindergarten kids.
Kindergarten teacher Dominique Gauthier welcomed her students and their parents with warmth as they walked through the door.
Gauthier, who was in Tioga previously, said she is excited for the start in her new district.
“This is where I needed to be,” she said.
One of the friends in her class, Henry Johnson, was celebrating not just the first day of school, but also his fifth birthday.
Down the pre-K hallway, Ryann Balentine was working on helping her young students focus on playing with Play-Doh at their tables as the parents peeled away.
“I’m back with my kiddos, and I’m happy that I can be the first step in their education,” she said about school being back in session. “It’s just home to me, and I want to make them feel safe and at home, too.”
Alicia Bonnett, the executive director of curriculum and instruction, also said it felt good to have the students back in their classrooms.
“It means joy,” she said about having kids return to school. “We prepare all summer for that, and so watching the smiling faces coming in really brings excitement and enthusiasm, and we’re ready.”
At Pilot Point High School, Principal Marzia Infante loves being around her students again.
“I’ve been wanting this since probably about June,” she said. “It’s really lonely up here without them. Seeing their smiling faces, being able to talk to them, being able to connect with them and what they did over the summer is just amazing.”
Donna Krouskup, who is teaching three subjects— principles of law, honors anatomy and physiology, and forensics— loves to test her students’ power of observation on the first day with an investigate the teacher exercise as a way to get to know them and to see how best to approach working with them.
“Once they find three things, then we discuss what they think they know about me,” she said. “It’s kind of a good start without really getting into the content, because some schedules could change.”
Overall, Fuller said, the administration, faculty and staff want to see the students in Pilot Point ISD thrive.
“We’re really planning for the future, planning for growth,” Fuller said. “We’re making sure the kids have what they need and really just continuing to improve. We want to continue to get better every single day so we can be the best … for our community.”
