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For Area Students, It's Time to Hit the Books; on the First Day of the School Year, Officials Report Smooth Sailing

Posted on: Friday, 9 September 2005, 06:00 CDT

It was a calm opening day for Richmond-area school systems that began classes yesterday.

Area officials reported few, if any, problems. As Hanover County schools Superintendent Stewart D. Roberson put it, "The first day went as well as the weather -- no glitches to report."

Some school administrators, teachers and students had a new wrinkle to deal with -- how to welcome and place students from the Gulf Coast who have settled in the area after their schools were shut down indefinitely by Hurricane Katrina.

Here is a quick count of Katrina-affected students enrolled for the first day of classes, according to officials of the area's four largest school systems:

*Chesterfield County: four students.

*Hanover County: four students, with the possibility that number may quadruple in the next few days.

*Henrico County: at least a dozen students with the possibility of more to come.

*Richmond: no Gulf Coast students so far, though the system has had calls from people from the stricken area inquiring about registering.

In Chesterfield, school system spokeswoman Debra Q. Marlow said the day was uneventful. She said buses were on time and no problems were reported at schools.

"It's been so quiet I can't believe it's the first day of school," she said.

In Hanover, superintendent Roberson made his annual rounds of county schools. Since 1995, the superintendent has visited every Hanover school on the first day back to class.

In 1995 the tour took in 17 schools. Yesterday, he went to 22, including an elementary school that will open next fall. He started at 6:45 a.m. and got to the last school at 3 p.m.

As Hanover grows and more schools are built, Roberson said, he may not be able to continue his every-school-in-a-day visits. But he will for as long as he can, he said, because it is "valuable to be in the thick of things on the first day."

In Henrico, Superintendent Fred Morton IV spent the morning visiting at least one school in each magisterial district.

Henrico school district spokesman Mychael Dickerson said buses made their rounds as scheduled and "everything ran smoothly considering it's the first day of school."

In Richmond, school district spokeswoman Treeda R. Smith said things were going smoothly on the first day, with no glitches in bus transportation.

Source: Richmond Times - Dispatch

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