Anderson County schools preparing for first day back

ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – Teachers and students in Anderson County head back to class on Tuesday.

Classrooms may be empty leading up to the first day of school, but come Tuesday morning, rooms will be filled with students starting their school year in Anderson School District One.

School officials said they’ve spent months preparing for this moment.

“We’re super excited about tomorrow. We’ve put a lot of time and effort into planning,” said Caroline Dalton, a 9th grade counselor at Palmetto High.

Palmetto High School’s faculty is ready.

“All summer, I’ve been reading, researching, updating my notes, updating my activities, and things like that,” said chemistry teacher Jill Ford.

They’re going the extra mile to set up your child for success.

“It is absolutely not uncommon for educators to come in on days they’re not necessarily getting paid for. But, just because, we really are passionate about doing a really good job,” said Dalton.

“I treat them like they’re my own and when they’re in our care, you know that we’re looking out for them,” said Ford.

Superintendent Robbie Binnicker said District One is seeing tremendous growth.

“12,000 is more students than we’ve ever had. We were right at 11,600 – a little more than that – last year,” said Binnicker.

No matter how prepared they feel, Binnicker said the first day always has a wrinkle or two.

“Buses are always an issue. But, we have a lot of new drivers, and with that, sometimes brings some confusion,” he said.

That’s true for families, as well.

“It’ll be a little rough the first couple of days, but they’re pretty good about getting everything ironed out. Like, transportation issues,” said parent Melissa Hanna.

“I’m really excited to have new friends and meet and get to know my teacher more,” said third grader, Brenton Bellorin.

The superintendent says it can sometimes take up a week for everyone to get into the flow of things. He says their number one priority, as always, is the safety of students and staff. He says they have a lot of procedures in place to ensure that.