From the kids eagerly waiting for buses in neighborhoods around the community, to the students trying out their first free breakfasts and lunches, all went well Tuesday during the first day of classes at Bradford Area School District.
“It was a wonderful first day and it went very smooth,” said Katharine Pude, superintendent of the school district. “Across the district everyone was so well prepared. We had some transition activities with some of our very young kids and it made it easier for them to come” to school. Principals at the district’s four campuses could not be reached for comment during the busy first day of classes.
Pude noted additional staff were called in to help children at the two elementary campuses to ensure a successful day.
“I saw very, very few kids with tears this morning,” Pude continued, noting she had visited all of the campuses in the district. “Our ninth-graders and sixth-graders came early so they could tour the schools. It was a very smooth transition … and it was a spirited kind of day.”
Pude said the four schools in the district have 2,553 students enrolled for a preliminary figure.
“We had some new kids enroll today, so I don’t know what the total is,” she added.
Pude said she had heard the free breakfast and lunch programs also were off to a good start on the first day of the 2017-18 school year.
“Again, the planning that went (into the program) and the school year I think definitely pays off,” Pude stated. “The breakfast program went very smoothly in every building. I was very pleased with that.”
As has been the case in past years, some children arrived at school hungry.
“First thing in the morning (some) of the students were hungry, and we said ‘OK, we’ll take care of that,’” she remarked.
The free meals will be available over the next four years through a federally funded Community Eligibility Provision program due to the poverty level in district. Students do not need documentation to participate.
At School Street Elementary School, fourth-grade teacher Karen Roulo had a cooler filled with milk, applesauce, banana bread and juice waiting for her students when they arrived.
“If they don’t eat it now, they can eat it later for a snack,” Roulo said of the breakfast items. “And like I told (the students), I get grumpy if I’m hungry” if breakfast is missed.
Roulo explained that some students, as well as her own son, likely skip breakfast because they don’t get hungry until they arrive at school.
Parents who commented on the first day of school included Amy DeGolier who accompanied her son, Nicky, to School Street.
DeGolier said she thought the meal program was helpful, especially for parents who can’t afford it.
“I think it’s amazing to have breakfast and lunch, especially in an area where this is so much poverty,” DeGolier said. “As a working mother, that’s one expense I don’t have to worry about.”
Parents Judy and Samuel Long were at the school with their son, Jeremiah. They, too, were pleased with the meal program.
“We appreciate it. We don’t know how it happened, but we’re glad it did,” Samuel Long said of the program.
