In Aug. 9 issue, Russell County News
By Derek Aaron
Russell County News Editor

With children waiting at bus stops and more traffic visible of a morning and afternoon on U.S. 127 it means only one thing, Russell County schools are back in session.

School now begins each morning at 7:45 a.m., 35 minutes later than it did last year, according to Superintendent Scott Pierce.

Pierce said each school in the county reported a higher enrollment with the total number of students nearing the 3,000 range countywide.

Pierce said the school district’s general fund had seen a loss over the past few months but said he wanted to remind the public that the district’s building fund was completely separate from the general fund.

In essence, money can’t be diverted from one fund to the other.

One concern around the community is the construction of the new natatorium / auditorium in front of the Russell County Middle School and that it would hinder bus and other traffic going into and departing the high and middle school’s campus.

All things appeared to go smoothly as buses departed from the grounds on Wednesday afternoon, the first day of school. The buses used the newly paved middle entrance of the campus, directly beside the new natatorium to depart for Russell Springs, Salem, Jamestown and Union Chapel.

In other school news, all of the county’s six public schools met federal No Child Left Behind goals last school year, according to data released this week by the Kentucky Department of Education.

Russell County High School met all 11 of its goals and Jamestown Elementary School met its 12 goals to make adequate yearly progress.

Russell County Middle School, Russell Springs Elementary, Union Chapel Elementary and Salem Elementary each met 10 goals each to make adequate yearly progress.

Superintendent Scott Pierce said he had been making rounds and talking with teachers and administrators as school began Wednesday.

“School is off to a good start,” he said. Pierce said he was “extremely excited” about having met all NCLB goals and said the credit goes to the teachers, principals and students that made it happen.

“They worked very hard toward achieving these goals,” he said. “This was done under tough economic conditions and a loss of state and federal funds.”

Each individual school made overall progress as well as progress in mathematics and reading.

The No Child Left Behind law uses test scores from the Kentucky Core Content Test to determine whether all groups of students are reaching required levels of performance.

Russell County’s school district remains in the second tier of consequences Tier 2 which means administrators must notify parents, continue the school choice option, revise the school plan and offer supplemental educational services to students, if necessary.