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School districts reported no glitches Monday on the first day of school for many in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
The big news in DeKalb County was the opening of Peachcrest Elementary, a state-of-the-art space designed with technology and security enhancements. The school is built around an amphitheater and is 100 percent wireless, with two large computer labs, readily available laptops and classrooms designed for different types of instruction, including special-needs classes.
New Superintendent Steve Green was at the school Monday morning welcoming students, teachers and parents back for the new year. Student enrollment for the district is expected to rise from about 101,000 to nearly 103,000 when the tally is officially taken in the fall. He said the school serves as more than just a place for children to get an education.
“This is the role DeKalb County Schools can play in urban revitalization,” he said Monday afternoon while visiting Tucker High School. For a neighborhood, “It can help bring that comeback.”
The school is one of seven prototypes that will appear across the district by the end of the 2017-2018 school year.
Schools also opened in Gwinnett, Fulton and Clayton counties as hundreds of thousands of students bid farewell to their summer vacations.
Fulton County officials did not return calls seeking comment.
Five new schools opened in Gwinnett County, spokeswoman Sloan Roach said Monday.
Bus routes on the first day, she said, always will take longer than normal as drivers figure out routes.
“Overall, it’s gone pretty well,” Roach said.
While the day was mostly uneventful in Clayton County, there were problems with some parents who did not register their children for school, as well as some students getting confused about where to go.
“We’re just hoping for a great school year,” spokeswoman Jada Dawkins said Monday.
Superintendent Luvenia Jackson started the day visiting several schools and greeting parents, staff and students. She also encouraged others in the district’s main office to attend first-day activities and hand out school supplies as the day went on.
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