By Claudia Puente from everythinglubbock.com
Many students started their first day of school across the three major districts in Lubbock and Lubbock-Cooper Independent School District welcomed the new year with changes they are expecting.
“Today has been a great first day of school. We welcomed almost 8000 students today and are excited to have them back,” said Keith Bryant, Superintendent for Lubbock-Cooper ISD, “We have worked really hard this summer to prepare for the school year, we have been a district that has put student safety at the forefront forever,”
Lubbock-Cooper ISD has been working all summer to stay up to date on safety procedures while also focusing on the mental health of students. All campuses have been patrolled by a police officer for the past 15 years hoping it serves as an extra level of security.
“We followed all the state requirements by checking all of our doors, all of our hardware, making sure our hardening was in good shape,” said Bryant, “We spent some time really working on how to how to meet the needs of kids who are struggling, who are dealing with things beyond the school day, you know, family situations, difficult environmental situations, to make sure that they feel safe and heard while they’re at school.”
Lubbock-Cooper ISD has also put a focus on staying ahead of the nationwide teacher shortage.
“The thing that we try to focus on here in our district is our family culture of family,
We want everyone that comes in these doors to feel like they’re part of a family. When you do that you feel the support, you feel the concern, you feel the ability to ask questions, to offer suggestions, and those sorts of things that make our employees happy to be here,” said Bryant.
The expansion to Lubbock-Cooper High School is expected to be completed in December.