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Amherst schools report smooth opening days; new high-school cell-phone policy drew mixed first-day reactions
Summary
Superintendent reported successful opening activities, staff recognition events and mostly positive feedback on a new high-school policy requiring phones to be powered off and stored; the district also noted bus-tracking app glitches that staff expect to resolve.
During the superintendent's report, district leadership reviewed opening-week logistics across the Amherst Central School District and said faculty returned for professional development on Aug. 27-28 to prepare classrooms while three buildings were under construction.
The superintendent listed multiple staff members honored for long service across buildings and said administrators prioritized classroom setup and orientation events, citing a "popsicles with the principals" event at Windermere and leadership activities at the high school. "It was a great start to our school year," the superintendent said.
The district implemented a new high-school policy requiring students to power off and store phones during the school day. The superintendent described locker magnets and posters used to promote compliance and said staff reported positive signs: fewer earbuds and more student interaction. He relayed that a student, Olivia, described her first day as "horrible" but then clarified and found the change ultimately positive.
Transportation staff and board members also discussed issues with the bus-tracking app on the first day: a reload caused some students to disappear from the app temporarily, and families were notified the app would be fixed the following day. The superintendent said buses ran "fairly on time" despite a few glitches.
Next steps: the district will monitor implementation of the cell-phone rule and the bus-tracking app performance and report back to the board as needed.
