Students at Southview Elementary were welcomed back to class with cheers and high-fives Wednesday morning. Athletes and cheerleaders from Southwest Minnesota State University waited at the school doors to wish kids a happy first day. Marshall High School students returned to class on Tuesday, while elementary and middle school students started the school year on Wednesday.

MARSHALL — Wednesday was a big day in Marshall public schools, as students at Park Side Elementary, Southview Elementary and Marshall Middle School returned to class. Students at Southview got an energetic welcome not only from teachers, but from the SMSU Mustang soccer team and cheerleaders.

Students got high-fives and cheers from the athletes as they came in the school doors, and at the start of a morning assembly in the gym.

Preparation for the start of the school year started well before the first day of class, MPS administrators said this week.

“It’s been a busy couple of weeks around here,” MPS Superintendent Jeremy Williams said Tuesday. “Kids are starting today, but the past two weeks have been really busy just getting ready for today with staff.”

Marshall High School students were the first to return to class on Tuesday, with elementary and middle school students starting Wednesday.

At Tuesday’s school board meeting, board members were introduced to new teachers in the district, and heard updates on the new school year.

Williams and Beth Ritter, director of teaching and learning at MPS, said there would be a lot of new faces at Marshall schools this fall. District-wide there are 21 new licensed staff members and 29 new non-certified staff members this year.

“We have people from every building that make up our new teachers this year,” Ritter said. “We have some Marshall graduates, which is exciting as well.”

Southview Elementary also welcomed a new assistant principal, Nicolle Johnston, Williams said.

Williams said some of the “new” faces at MPS are staff moving into different jobs.

“We had 26 people that shifted positions within the district, so a lot of shuffling this year, people just trying something new,” he said.

Williams said preparations for this school year included an orientation week for new teachers, as well as a workshop week for all staff. This year, school staff will be focusing on working together to maximize the difference they make for student learning, he said.

“Last year, we talked about ‘The Power of Why,’ and really digging into why we do what we do. This year we’re taking that next step and saying, how do we amplify the impact we have? Knowing that everyone in the district, regardless of their role, has an impact on our students, how do we each look at that impact we have and make the most of our interactions with kids?” he said.

Communication and construction

This year, MPS is also seeing progress in some ongoing projects, Williams said. Over the summer, the school district went live with a redesign of its website, which Williams said should be easier to use and better for communication with families.

“The communications plan in general has been a big project to get kicked off. That’s going well this fall,” he said. Williams said he’s gotten some positive feedback on the website so far. “The idea is it should be very simple to find what you’re looking for.”

MPS was working on improving communications in other ways too, he said. The school district now has a mobile phone app that families can use to keep track of school events, notifications and even lunch menus.

“It should be very simple for families to use,” Williams said.

In addition, Williams said MPS was streamlining its social media feeds. Instead of separate school buildings having their own social media, MPS would have one common feed on each social media site.

The district is continuing with some key construction projects as well, like the Career and Technical Institute on U.S. Highway 59 in Marshall. Williams said sheetrock was finished at the CTI, and the district has started to receive furniture, tools and supplies for the institute. The CTI will open later this fall as the site for welding, automotive, and Certified Nursing Assistant courses.

Williams said plans to convert a building on the campus of Southwest Minnesota State University into an alternative learning center are also making progress. The ALC plans will go out for bid this this month, he said. MPS is anticipating the project consultant and architect will make a formal update to the school board in October.