New School Year Approaches in Huntington

The new school year is quickly approaching in the Huntington UFSD. About 4,200 students are expected to walk through the doors of the eight buildings on Tuesday, September 3 after a typically busy summer for the district.

Building and department leaders will be back on the job on Monday. They are set to participate in two consecutive days of administrative workshops covering curriculum and instruction, security, violence prevention, special education, behavior intervention practices, business office and technology updates, NARCAN training and HR and staffing.

Teachers new to the district will participate in a two-day orientation program covering all aspects of Huntington UFSD operations related to their positions. There will even be a bus tour of the district led by Chairman of Humanities, 7-12 Joseph Leavy.

Teachers have been seen slowly filtering into schools and organizing their classrooms to insure that everything will be in place when the bell rings to start the year.

All teachers will participate in conference days on Wednesday and Thursday, August 28-29. There will be a series of training workshops along with faculty and department meetings.

As district officials continue to pursue their goal of improving academic performance, administrators and teachers will be more determined than ever. Dozens of faculty members used the summer to complete graduate level courses. Many others pursued curriculum projects while even more participated in one of the district’s summer classroom programs.

Buildings and grounds staff thoroughly cleaned every school building during July and August, scrubbing desks and walls and polishing floors. Numerous facility related projects were completed over the summer.

The transportation office has been working with Huntington Coach Corp. to iron out wrinkles in bus routes prior to the opening of the new school year. The district’s technicians have been busy installing various pieces of equipment for teacher and student use. Huntington will continued incorporating greater use of technology into teaching and learning.

Equipment and supplies have been delivered to each of the district’s eight buildings and the items are being placed in classrooms. All of Huntington UFSD’s programs will be fully up and running on the first day of classes.

This will mark the first full year for newly appointed Superintendent of Schools Beth M. McCoy. Her central office cabinet team includes Deputy Superintendent Christopher Hender, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Management Services Dr. Rubie Harris and Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Brenden Cusack.

Varsity and JV football practices begin on Monday, August 19. All other fall sports will begin on Monday, August 26. Athletes must be cleared by the nurse prior to participation. The Huntington Highsteppers dance team was seen working out earlier this week on Alumni Field (the new turf field).

Since the first day of public education in Huntington on February 11,1657 with teacher Jonas Holdsworth, the community has been providing its young people with the finest classroom experience possible. That same tradition will continue in 2024/25.