EVEN WITH NEW SCHOOLS, JACKSON'S OPENING SMOOTH

JACKSON -- Administrators were met with no unpleasant surprises during the first day of Jackson school classes Wednesday.

Enrollment continued its four-year climb when 4,332 students reported for classes. Administrators had anticipated a slight dip in enrollment based on the number of students preregistered for classes.

Fred Jones, assistant superintendent of curriculum and personnel, said elementary enrollment figures remained stable, but many more secondary students registered on opening day than expected. An official enrollment figure won't be recorded until the last Wednesday in September, when Missouri administrators are required to count every student enrolled in their districts.

Jones said students' return to classes went smoothly throughout the district. Several potential opportunities for mayhem were minimized because parents were notified very early of policy and other changes that might affect their children, he said.

"Right now everything's going smooth," Jones said Wednesday afternoon. "I think by us getting the information out in front of parents early, they were able to get used to the changes in plenty of time."

Jones said the traffic flow around the district's newest elementary school was closely monitored by administrators to ensure student safety. Flashers were installed along Highway 25 last month to alert traffic of the new presence of South Elementary School, but administrators worried that some drivers would still not be prepared for the increased traffic caused by school buses and parents delivering and picking up children, he said.

Although traffic had increased, the direction of the traffic flow and increased awareness of drivers appeared to dispel any worries administrators had, said Jones.

Schools superintendent Dr. Howard Jones "went down to look at traffic this morning, and it was a little hectic, but it's not the problem we thought it would be," he said. "Not as many people were turning left from the south, so there were no major traffic flow problems."

Jones said students and parents also seemed to adjust well to the school district's neighborhood schools concept. Districting lines were developed last year to assign students to each of the district's seven elementary school buildings based on their home address. Grade levels were also shifted at several buildings to accommodate the new attendance centers, a move that might have been very confusing for parents trying to enroll students.

"We had several last-minute transfers because of one reason or another, but things got sorted out," he said. "It's normal for that kind of confusion to happen, but generally within the first day or two we get all of the students to their right spots."

The addition of the new Science and Math Building was the biggest change for high school students. Neither students nor teachers had any complaints about the spacious building, central air conditioning, and new science labs and equipment, said Jones.

"Everybody's so happy with the space and the new facilities," he said. "Air conditioning helps, too, especially on a day like today."

Overall, Jones said the lack of technical disasters and confusion resulting from the opening of two new buildings was unusual but not unwelcome. "It's just been a really good day for everyone. I'll take it," he said.