The new reality of life for Monongalia County’s three public high schools kicked in Tuesday morning for the first day of the fall term.
Or rather, queued up – for the first day of the fall term.
That’s because high-tech weapons detectors are now in place at Morgantown High, University High and Clay-Battelle.
The district purchased the devices earlier this year in response to school shootings in Michigan and Texas.
Tuesday was the first day they were deployed on such a scale at the trio of schools across Morgantown and Mon.
Which meant lines that weren’t there before, as students took their turn on the approach to the main hallway.
The district did test runs in the spring and those most recently enrolled in summer school at Morgantown High passed through them also.
Some bottlenecks were present Tuesday morning and lines did snake around MHS at one point.
Other than that, the flow of students was generally steady as everyone filed in, Deputy Superintendent Donna Talerico said.
“We anticipated that things were going to be a little slower this morning,” she said.
That was particularly true at MHS and UHS, which are both sprawling facilities with multiple entrances, the deputy superintendent said.
“We allotted an extra half-hour for each building,” she said. “By next week we’ll have it down.”
What the district did have down already was the simple, fundamental first day of school – particularly in the younger grades.
Some of the teachers and staff at elementary schools across the district sported capes, costumes and other accessories for fun as they welcomed the arrival of their charges for another academic year.
Still others dressed as the mascot of their respective schools.
Sarah Kane was old-school at her new school. Kane is a longtime teacher and administrator in the district who also had her first day as principal at Brookhaven Elementary School.
She was positioned at the bus drop-off that morning to greet every student with a smile and a hello.
“We’ve been looking forward to this,” she said.
“We have lots of exciting things planned for our kids and we can’t wait to get started. It’s going to be a great year.”
The best way to have a great year, Colin Street told The Dominion Post previously, is by being an active participant in school life.
Colin, who is going into his senior year at MHS, spent his summer representing his school at Mountaineer Boys State, the civics summer camp at WVU Jackson’s Mill in Weston, Lewis County.
Weeks later, he carried the mantle of the Mountain State at the annual American Legion Boys Nation gathering in Washington, D.C.
At MHS, he’s on the drumline of the school’s Red and Blue Marching Band, while taking part in robotics, the National Honor Society and other school and community causes.
“Join that club,” he said. “Put yourself out there. If you don’t, you’ll never know.”
In the meantime, Talerico said, 15 students between Monday and Tuesday rejoined the club of Monongalia County Schools, as it were – in another series of steps reflecting that new reality for the year.
The students had left the district earlier to enroll in charter schools, Talerico said. Those institutions of learning are also in their inaugural days of operation across West Virginia.
“We got them re-enrolled,” she said.
TWEET@DominionPostWV
