'The most fun day of the school year': Volusia students welcome 2023-24 school year

PORT ORANGE — The first rays of sunshine illuminated the front gates of Horizon Elementary School early Monday morning as school buses and parents waited for them to open.

“Good morning, Eagle family!” cried the school’s speakers as students and parents greeted school staff. “Welcome to your first day of school.”

The approximately 800 students at the Port Orange school joined more than 61,000 others across the 92 Volusia County schools to begin the 2023-24 school year.

“This is absolutely the most fun day of the school year,” Horizon Elementary Principal Melani Johnson said.

“All the kids are excited about coming back to school,” Johnson said. “They want to see their new teachers, they want to see their friends, they want to see what their new classroom looks like, they are in a whole new grade … Our job is to make sure these kids keep that same energy and positivity all throughout the year.”

'They enjoy coming to school'

As the first school bus arrived just after 7 a.m., students were greeted with hugs and high-fives from the school’s eagle mascot.

Inside the costume was former Horizon Elementary student Collynns, and eighth-grader and daughter of Ginny Carpenter, whose son, Cole, is a fourth-grader at the school.

“She loves it,” Carpenter said. “And it has been really great for her to be able to volunteer since she had such a great experience at Horizon.”

As a parent, Carpenter said one of the best parts of the first day of school is the guarantee that her kids are going to wake up on time.

“They enjoy coming to school,” Carpenter said. “Horizon is a really great community – the teachers are all loving. They just enjoy coming back to see the new everything that has been going over the summer and being able to see friends and teachers.”

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Hope for a 'successful' year

Johnson said she has “great expectations” for the new school year after a wonderful 2022-23.

“Our goal is to be one of the top schools in Port Orange,” Johnson said. “Our kids are happy, so happy kids, happy parents, happy parents, happy teachers, and happy teachers, happy me.”

She said that Horizon’s approximately 70 teachers have also spent time learning safety procedures, which is a priority for the school.

“Our expectation is to make sure all of our children, our ESSA students, African-American students, students with disabilities, students who have attendance issues, we are going to meet them where their needs are and make sure they are successful this year,” Johnson said.

As other parents dropped off their kids, green and white balloons and graffiti messages on the floor welcomed families into the gates.

Some parents accompanied their children to the school’s cafeteria, where students waited for the first bell to ring at 7:45 a.m.

On their way out, Johnson heard from a parent, “Best first day ever,” while others thanked her and school staff for watching over their kids.

Margaret Naidoo brought her second-grade granddaughter, Vanna, to start her second year at the school.

“She loves her school – the teachers, the faculty, her friends, everything,” Naidoo said.

She said the best part of the first day is seeing her granddaughter meet new teachers and “to see if she has any of her friends from her previous school here.”

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“She said she saw three children she already knew,” Naidoo said.

Superintendent welcomes new year, talks challenges

Earlier in the day, as school staff and students were preparing for classes, district officials met at the bus transportation center to officially welcome in the new year.

“We want to welcome all of our students and their families as they are returning to Volusia County public schools,” Superintendent Carmen Balgobin said at a press conference Monday morning.

She and other officials greeted some of the 159 school bus drivers as they prepared to head out to their stops.

Balgobin reinforced the district’s priorities of “school safety” and “quality learning,” while also addressing some issues and challenges ahead.

“Last year at this point we were looking at 256 classroom vacancies; at this point (this year) we are at 97,” she said. “However, I want to remind our parents that every single classroom is covered by a certified teacher.”

She said the district’s Student Intern Teacher Apprentice program, in partnership with Daytona State College, helps with the issue. The program provides paid internship opportunities for students as they complete their student teaching internships.

“Upon completion of that program, we hire those interns,” Balgobin said. “We hired 55 interns this year and are looking to hire many, many more.”

She also touched on the issue of student cellphone use at school. A recent change in the student code of conduct prohibits elementary and middle-schoolers from using cellphones and electronic devices during instructional hours.

“We want to ensure that when our students come to the classroom, they have the ability to really engage in the learning process, and sometimes when you have devices out and being partially distracted, that gets in the way,” Balgobin said.

With the high-temperature weather posing another challenge for students and staff, the district has also ensured spot cooling units at schools are working while also keeping a few extra on hand just in case.

“Remain inside as much as possible, let’s make sure we are monitoring the heat waves and don’t put yourself at risk,” Balgobin said. “This are extreme conditions, and we need to be safe.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia County students, teachers begin new 2023-24 school year