Teachers and staff returned to the East Greenbush Central School District on Monday morning for the first Superintendent’s Conference Day and the start of the 2022-23 school year.
For the first time since 2019, due to the elimination of social distancing requirements, all employees were able to gather at Columbia High School for the Opening Day presentations. It marks another sign of what will hopefully be a normal school year.
During his welcome address, Superintendent Jeff Simons discussed the challenges that teachers and staff faced last year and expressed his gratitude for their dedication. Despite staffing shortages and the constant navigation of COVID-19, no East Greenbush schools were forced to close or switch to remote learning and students made great strides academically.
Mr. Simons also detailed areas for improvement for the coming school year, including student attendance, addressing student behavior issues, health and safety topics and more emphasis on social emotional learning.
“We often learn the most about ourselves and each other through challenging times,” Mr. Simons said. “Our teachers and staff stepped up last year despite enormous stressors on our education system. This is a new year with high aspirations for students and staff alike. We plan to provide high levels of support and normalize school routines as much as possible for our students, our faculty and staff, and our community.”
Following the morning program, which also included a review of school district policies and a safety presentation led by the East Greenbush Police Department, teachers and staff returned to their schools for meetings and to set up classrooms.
Staff will engage in professional development for the rest of this week.
The first day of school for students is Tuesday, September 6.