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Rockbridge County and Lexington school officials say everything went well as students headed back to school last Wednesday.
For Rockbridge County schools, the start of the year has been “full of excitement and positive energy,” according to Superintendent Phillip Thompson.
“We love having our students and staff back for another wonderful school year in Rockbridge County,” he said.
First-day enrollment numbers in Rockbridge County were mixed this year, with elementary schools experiencing a slight uptick in total students and the middle and high schools seeing fewer students overall.
Mountain View Elementary School had 152 students, compared with 139 last year. Natural Bridge Elementary reported 224 students, up from 215. Fairfield Elementary had 232, close to 2023’s enrollment of 234, and Central Elementary added 30 students to last year’s number (422) for a total of 452 students.
At Maury River Middle School, 473 students were in attendance, compared to 494 students enrolled on the first day of the 2023-2024 school year.
Rockbridge County High School had the biggest change in enrollment numbers for county schools this year, with 880 students enrolled, down from last year’s 974 students.
As RCHS students returned to school last week, they also returned to the construction that is continuing for the Rockbridge Innovation Center, formerly known as the Floyd S. Kay Vocational Center. The renovation work is on schedule and due to be completed in December, just in time for the beginning of next semester.
Across the street from the high school, the new transportation office has been completed and is now open.
Lexington City Schools have also gotten off to a great start, according to Superintendent Rebecca Walters.
“The first three days of school this week have gone smoothly as our teachers and staff have worked diligently to establish classroom and school routines and build relationships with students,” she said.
Both Waddell Elementary School and Lylburn Downing Middle School continue to experience marginal growth in enrollment. Waddell had 340 students enrolled at the start of the year, up from 327 last year. And Lylburn Downing had 185 enrolled, compared with 178 in 2023.
With an increased number of students comes a greater emphasis on communication. Walters was eager to highlight some new technology that aims to improve communication among staff, parents and students.
“ParentSquare is our new district communication app,” she told The News-Gazette. “This online platform will be used by teachers and district staff to send messages, announcements, and alert notifications. The program syncs with our student information system, making access to notifications easy for families.”
