Students across the county return to school this week to begin another year as they embark on new pathways and strive for academic success.

As to be expected things generally went smoothly at most of the counties six high schools and two middle schools along with various other grade schools.

“BCHS had a very smooth first day of school,” Principal Joe Sheffer said of Brownstown Central High School.

“We started the day with a brief convocation, introduced our new teachers, reviewed some changes in our student handbook and reviewed our attendance policy. Students were then dismissed to classes and all went well.”

Sheffer said Brownstown Central has several new programs and is continually working to add pathways to help students graduate.

“Mr. Randy Greene is teaching radio broadcasting classes,” he said. “Our students are very excited to have the opportunity to work on making and editing videos. Radio Broadcasting is also a pathway to help students graduate.”

Sheffer said Luke Cobb is teaching a third-year Project Lead the Way class called civil engineering and architecture.

“This will also allow students to complete a PLTW pathway for graduation,” he said. “We also have one student working on aviation and have partnered with Equus Flight Academy.

“We are continuing with our second year of offering students the opportunity to earn a CDL license, to take our transportation and construction class and to learn how to fly drones. Our students are really excited about the new classes and new pathway options.”

For Seymour High School, students walk the halls this year in some newly constructed spaces.

“We have had a wonderful start to our school year at SHS,” Principal Steve Bush said of Seymour High School. “Our staff and students are very excited to settle into our new spaces recently completed in our construction project.”

Staff are gearing up for a big announcement which will open their doors for highly anticipated community guided tours in the future.

“Our number one focus as a staff and student body is to cultivate a positive school culture to help enhance student belonging, purpose and relationships leading to increased attendance,” Bush said. “Our goals are to continue growing our strong graduation rate, nurture our culture of college and career readiness, while improving test score in both the SAT and measures for multilingual students.”

At SHE, the largest high school in the county, 92.7% or 345 out of 370 seniors graduated this past year, higher than the state average of 89%.

Bush said counselors, teachers and administration have worked diligently to increase the number of dual credit course offerings to help students accumulate more college credits than ever before.

“We look forward to our students taking full advantage of the chance to walk into post-secondary schools as college sophomore by taking advantage of our robust, high-level courses in accordance with the Indiana College Core Initiative.”

SHS added an abundance of course offerings and new education pathways the previous school year including culinary and education profession capstones and are partnering with Brownstown Central High School to offer students a CDL course.

This school year also marks the start of another year for the Edgenuity Program, a platform used for Owl Teach to aid students in fifth through 12th grades in credit recovery and flexibility to take classes outside of normal school hours.

Students can take all of the graduation requirement classes in some form through the program at the Jackson County Learning Center. Evening classes are set up from 4 to7 p.m. Monday through Thursday for those students who cannot come during the day or only have a few credits to make up for graduation.

“There are times that students work during the school day for a variety of reasons and are not able to attend traditional school, by offering the evening option students can continue their education,” said Joy Stuckwisch, assistant director of secondary special programs.

The program is self-paced and students can listen to items being read for them and retake quizzes and tests if they do not believe they have mastered a certain skill. If a student prefers a particular class or pathway, they could possibly attend the SHS main building to fulfill the requirement.

“Teachers are able to work with a small group of students and support them in a less structured environment which can eliminate the stress and anxiety of attending a class with approximately 25 other students,” Stuckwisch said.

Starting her first year as building principal at Seymour-Redding Elementary School, Ashley Stahl said there are many things she is looking forward to this school year.

“The theme this year is “Bring Your Value,”” she said. “It represents everyone at Redding as every student has value to bring. We are focusing on bringing that value every day and to everything that makes us grow this school year.”

Each month, Redding will honor students on morning announcements that bring their V.A.L.U.E: Valiant, Authentic, Luminous, Unwavering and Empowering.

“It is a great way for us to honor students and to share about the great things they are doing that make Redding a great place for students,” she said.

Stahl added Redding will continue to invest in areas of Universal Design for Learning and Science of Reading.

“UDL removes barriers for all students to access instruction,” she said. “Our focus will be building background knowledge for students and optimizing relevance, value and authenticity. For SOR we will focus on vocabulary, comprehension and fluency.”

Building relationships with students and staff, sharing successes with stakeholders and continuing to meet the vision at Redding are just a few of many goals for Stahl to accomplish this year.

Marty Young, principal of Brownstown Elementary School, said the first few days of school have been really exciting and full of energy.

“Even with construction wrapping up right before the first day, our students have settled in great, and teachers are already creating positive spaces for learning,” he said. “We’ve been focusing on building relationships and getting off to a strong start for the year. You can really feel the excitement from both students and staff, and everyone’s ready to dive into learning. We’re also looking forward to our Back to School Night on Aug. 12, where we’ll connect with families and share our plans for the year.”

He said one of the big challenges at the school is meeting the diverse learning needs of the students, especially as we work to close any gaps that might have widened over the past few years.

“We’re focused on tailoring our teaching so that every student gets the support and challenge they need,” Young said. “We’re also making sure technology is used effectively and that students have the tools they need to succeed. Keeping students engaged and motivated is super important, too. Another area we’re focusing on is improving student attendance because being in school regularly is key to learning and growing.

“We’re thrilled to offer several new opportunities this year that will really benefit our students. We’re increasing our focus on the science of reading approach, ensuring our literacy instruction is research-based and effective. To support this, we’ve added a literacy coach to help both students and teachers, and our teachers are continuing to attend professional development to better support our students.

He said the staff also has dedicated more time during the school day, specifically for writing, giving students the chance to develop their skills and express themselves more confidently.

“One of our standout initiatives this year is to emphasize the importance of being role models,” Young said. “Both adults and students at BES are encouraged to lead by example, fostering a school culture of respect, responsibility, and kindness. These initiatives are all about helping our students grow academically and personally, setting them up for future success.”

Trinity Lutheran High School kicked off their new school year with a message based on Colossians 2:6-7 — “Rooted. Grow deep. Live tall.”

New staff joining the TLHS team include Shane Fallis and Scott Miller in the social studies department, Scott McKay in science, RaeAnne Mellencamp in health and physical education and Sarah Brown in the athletic department.

“God has blessed us and enrollment is at a new record high at TLHS and we foresee continued growth in the years ahead,” said Clayton Darlage, principal of Trinity Lutheran High School.

Thanks to their growing student body and additional staff, their agriculture, English, science, social studies and health science departments have expanded as well, such as introducing gymnastics and swimming for students to compete in.