Montgomery Public Schools reports a successful first day back for students
Montgomery Public Schools opened the doors of all 51 of its elementary, middle and high schools on Thursday, welcoming over 25,000 students back to school.
While some kids yearned for just a few more days of summer break, many were itching with excitement to see their friends and kick off the year. At Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, parent Audrey Harper said her kids had been awake and eager to get there since around 5 a.m.
“I’m excited, and they’re excited. They’ve been looking forward to today for the past two weeks,” Harper said. “We’re ready to be seeing what they learn, seeing how advanced they are, seeing the friends they make and things like that.”
Harper is an MPS graduate herself, and this year she has one son starting kindergarten and one son in pre-K. Their principal, Booker McMillian, was at school bright and early to welcome them and the other students.
Thursday marked the start of McMillian’s 16th year as principal at King Elementary, and he said he’s optimistic about what this year will bring.
“We have a big turnover this year, as far as staff is concerned, so we’re having to get new people in place. But with the people we have in place, we're excited, just knowing that we know what to do,” McMillian said. “We prepare for the children, keeping that first and foremost, and we're just going to make it happen.”
Like most educators, his goals for the students this year center on making sure they get the best education possible and improving overall test scores.
At the end of the 2022-2023 school year, about 45% of MPS third-graders were not reading on grade level, and elementary schools across the district want to increase their reading proficiency rates this year.
Meanwhile, to get math proficiency rates up, this is the first year that every public elementary school in Alabama will have at least one designated math coach to support students who need more individualized learning. K-5 schools with more than 800 students will have two math coaches.
“As you know, we're struggling in math,” McMillian said. “That's more support, not only for students, but for the teachers it’s a way to get them up to par with the new changes and the way we provide instruction for students. That's the biggest piece that we have this year.”
On the other side of town from King Elementary, MPS Superintendent Melvin Brown gave warm welcomes to a crowd of students at McKee Middle School.
Before the start of the day, Brown took to social media to announce how happy he is that school is back in session.
“In just a few hours, I get to see the reason why I do this work,” he wrote. “My MPS kids!”
After Brown arrived at McKee, hundreds of sixth, seventh and eighth-graders shuffled their way into the building, all carrying clear or mesh backpacks.
This year, MPS is not allowing middle or high school students to carry regular, opaque bags onto campus. It is one of several new security measures that the district is implementing.
Across the changes in policy and leadership, at least one thing remained the same this year: MPS teachers and administrators were eager as always to welcome students back.
Hadley Hitson covers children's health, education and welfare for the Montgomery Advertiser. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to the Advertiser.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Montgomery Public Schools welcomes students back to class
