It was a sea of smiling faces with the latest backpacks and newest fashions as the first day of the school year began today (8.12.19) for 1,800+ students in the Lakeland School System (LSS).
Principals and staff at both Lakeland schools welcomed students as they entered their schools for the 2019-10 school year on a sunny, 80s morning.
LSS Enrollment from Aug. 9th registration
LES (Lakeland Elementary School) K-4
LES projected: 920
LES Actual: 970
134 new students enrolled on registration night (includes 44 new kindergarteners)
LMPS (Lakeland Middle Preparatory School) 5-8
LMPS projected: 830
LMPS Actual: 866
66 new students enrolled on registration night
Total students for LSS as the school year begins: 1,836. Last’s year’s number at the end of the 2018-19 year was 1,738.
Dr. Ted Horrell, superintendent for LSS, said LMPS was staffed to adequately absorb the new students, so no additional hires will be made. “LES hired two new teachers to accommodate the growth in kindergarten and 1st grades.”
Google album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/JGM3sGP8VNsR8fHo8
There are nine new staff members at LMPS this year, as well as some new additions on the athletic fields: bleacher seating for 1,000, a press box with crow’s nest and PA system in the press box. The school, going into its third year, serves grades 5-8.
At LES, 12 new classrooms were completed along with a mini-classroom, a mini suite of offices and more capacity in the cafeteria. The K-4 school has a new assistant principal, Laurie Waycaster, and 13 other new hires including two teachers hired after Aug. 9th registration.
High school students in Lakeland attend Arlington High School (AHS) via an interlocal between the two cities until a high school is built in Lakeland. Plans are on the table to finance the first high school in the City and open to 9th graders estimated by August 2022. Cost would be $40 million to add grades 9-12 behind the current middle school if a USDA loan is approved for the school.
Tyler Hill, communications coordinator for Arlington Community Schools, said enrollment this year at AHS is 1,971. He said a more accurate number will be available after the first 20 days and enrollment is reported to the state. In addition, he said he would have the breakdown by numbers for Arlington, Lakeland and non-residents at the 20-day mark.
Dr. Horrell said 10 of the 12 new classrooms at LES are in use this school year for first grade classes. They are in the “red hall” which joins the existing halls of green, yellow, blue and purple. The mini suite of offices houses five Central Office staff members.
He said the classrooms are much the same as in the original school but have the latest interactive projectors. He said window shades were changed in the entire school, replacing blinds in the original building. And the school has a new master clock system.
To the west side of the cafeteria is an expansion which holds about 100 children in a four-lunch daily schedule.
Improvements to the landscaping in the front of the school were part of the project work along with concrete around the flagpole and irrigation.
The work at LES was funded with $3 million set aside in the City budget to upgrade the school and provide more space for students. Additions at the LMPS athletic fields were funded with money remaining in the budget for the middle school which opened in August 2017.
… Photos by Jim Willis, Lakeland Currents
