Elkhart community schools start their first day of class

 

ELKHART, Ind -- Elkhart community schools officially kickoff their first day of the new school year after experiencing delays due to last week's storms causing power outages.

Students, teachers, and faculty all looking forward to the challenges of returning to school with the option to wear masks.

However, Elkhart's new freshman division high school, will also face the adjustment of being a freshman only school.

"I mean it’s different to be in a high school building but I think it’s good, you know all the freshmen are together, no upperclassmen and stuff," said freshman Quinn Rost.

The freshman division is new to the Elkhart community and its purpose is to assist freshman in their transition from middle school to high school, while providing their skills before joining the upperclassman.

"A lot of times the freshman students aren’t as ready or as prepared to move in with that ten, eleven, twelve, that actual high school piece so we are going to give them an opportunity to learn leadership transition better into high school," said the Elkhart High School Freshman Division Principal JeNeva Adams.

In the midst of that transition, the teachers are taking it upon themselves to also be a big part of the students improvements.

However, they also believe it will be tough on them only having freshmen in the school.

"The biggest change is going to be not seeing the kids again. Only having them for one year. Not having them back in third year Spanish. I’m really going to miss seeing the growth, you know, seeing how they change," said Elkhart High School Freshman Division teacher Melissa Short.

Although the school year will be a transition for everyone involved, the general consensus is that everyone is happy to be back in the flesh.

"It was definitely different. It was an adjustment. I think for some kids it was good because they could work from home but some kids working at home was kind of a struggle. So, they needed to just be able work at school so, it’s good to back," freshman Quinn Rost.