Scott County Schools focuses on ‘normal’ as students return to class

SCOTT COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - It’s the first day of class in eight Central Kentucky school districts.

During the pandemic, Scott County was one of the first districts in Central Kentucky to push for a return in personal learning and, now, they’re one of many hoping for a return to normal.

Officials are saying, that while COVID-19 may not be gone, the days of fearing COVID need to be. Wednesday morning, the 2022 school year kicked off for Scott County Schools and “normal” was the word of the day.

“When you talk about normalcy, I could see nothing more normal than what I’ve been seeing this morning. As we go around to our schools and see every classroom, they’re talking about rules and procedures. They’re doing those first-day-of-school activities that you would see any other year,” said Superintendent Billy Parker.

“Normal” is something Scott County Schools has been pushing for years.

After the pandemic broke out, the first goal was always to get students back in the classroom and promote in-person learning. Now, the goal is to create an environment in the classroom that takes student engagement to the next level.

“Our mission here has been to provide meaningful opportunities for our students, for our staff, and for our families. So, we’re really trying to focus on that,” said Parker. “Kids will walk in and they will see that not only are we talking the talk that it’s going to be normal, but they’re seeing us walk that walk in everything that we’re doing.”

Superintendent Parker wanted to emphasize how the entirety of Scott County has come together as one team to start this school year. Everyone from community donors supplying food and transportation officials ensuring that rolling bus cancelations that we saw last year, stay in last year.