AUGUST 10, 2026 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kevin Christian, APR, CPRC, Director of Public Relations

352.671.7734 w ◊ 352.840.3265 c

[email protected]

WHAT WENT RIGHT

The following is adapted for Marion County Public Schools with NSPRA permission from David Luther, retired Public Relations Officer for Jefferson City Public Schools in Missouri.

We humans often have a bad habit. We sometimes focus on the negative things in our lives and fail to recognize the positives. Media and social media do not help much in this regard. Bad news and misinformation are typically more likely to get published, broadcasted, and shared, and as much as we might not want to admit it, we hear, read, watch, and share these stories. Reporters and editors will sometimes use the terms “soft” or “fluff” for positive stories. That’s a shame, because some of these stories are the most remarkable.

Today was the first day of the traditional school year for 40,072 students in Marion County Public Schools and things ran pretty smoothly. Other descriptors included “best first day ever,” “calm,” and “welcoming.” However, some students were not registered. Others never showed up. Some buses ran considerably late. Some students had medical conditions requiring immediate attention. Carlines were crowded, and traffic crawled in some areas. One school even started the day with no air conditioning. No doubt almost every student, parent, teacher, and employee had something go wrong. But what about the other side of the story? What went right?

• 40,072 students showed up for face-to-face learning – roughly 86% of the 46,697 we anticipate. Enrollment will grow steadily in coming days and weeks.
• Nearly 22,000 students had a safe bus ride to and from school. Most of our buses showed up on time, with Transportation teams quickly addressing route adjustments and delays that naturally occur the first few days of any new school year. Those riding the bus enjoyed dependable service with a smile. Our 251 buses cover an average of 31,763 miles every day. Our district is a big one – 1,650 square miles, larger than the state of Rhode Island. Our bus drivers, aides, and Transportation folks do tremendous work. Before day’s end, Transportation workers even gained support and appreciation for how organized buses were on opening day. Families called the Transportation Hotline (352.671.7050) 1,669 times as of 3:30 p.m.
• Thanks to multiple immunization events and reminders, the number of seventh-grade students unable to attend due to missing state-required Tdap immunizations decreased by 11% compared to last year. Even so, 152 students arrived without the required documentation.
• Staggered-start Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) and kindergarten programs allow one-third of these students to attend and adjust to their new classroom environment in a smaller setting. This provides additional one-on-one time for these young learners and their teachers. Today’s session brought 2,882 VPK and kindergarten students into new learning environments before all classes come together Thursday for the first time.
• More than 3,000 children and their parents benefited from Marion Afterschool Programs (MAP). At this time, several of MAP’s 40 sites are filled to capacity and using waiting lists to serve additional students in the future.
• Our 400+ cafeteria workers served 11,170breakfasts and 24,425 lunches today in our school cafeterias –  35,595 total meals. All 56 serving sites provided healthy food choices (although more than a few super doughnuts and cookies were eaten, too). About 56% of our students are eligible for free and reduced meals. For some students, these were the best meals of their day. For some students, these were the only meals of their day. Our Food Service workers are amazing! Last year, they served 9.7 million meals to students.
• Over 3,300 teachers, principals, and other instructional and support staff greeted students, helped them find their classes, began the teaching process and in general did an exceptional job. This includes more than 120 teachers brand new to Marion County Public Schools. This did not happen by accident. Most teachers and school personnel spent much of their summer preparing for the new school year so things started right. While recruiting talented educators continues, only 63 teaching positions remained open as of today.
• Schools were clean and grounds were presentable. Our maintenance and technical service workers and 338 custodians spent the summer:
  • installing playgrounds and shade canopies at 4 schools serving 2,393 students
  • repairing broken water mains at 3 schools
  • replacing hundreds of door locks on 3 school campuses
  • putting down new flooring and new aluminum walkways to portable classrooms or prepping portables to be returned to the manufacturer at 4 schools serving 3,334 students
  • cleaning and servicing every cooling tower and chiller in the district (for air conditioning purposes), and trimming, edging, and mowing more than 1,750 acres of school grounds
  • deep cleaning over 7.6 million square feet of property in 623 buildings including waxing floors and cleaning or replacing carpets
  • cleaning and maintaining over 4,500 HVAC units and 41 emergency generators
  • completing 3,021 work orders for things like mulch, utility issues, mowing needs, and last-minute repairs
  • putting finishing touches on a brand new high school that opened its doors for the first time today to 1,706 students plus staff members
• Students at one elementary school are already in their fourth week of learning and reached 94% attendance on several days. This school operates on a modified calendar commonly referred to as year-round and requires parent/family support to succeed.
• Secretaries, receptionists, and other office staff greeted students, and we all know as the year goes along, they handle thousands of jobs, and virtually every one of these jobs impacts students in some way.
• Our Payroll Department is delivering paychecks to more than 4,250 teachers, non-instructional staff, administrators, Transportation, Food Service, and district support personnel this first week of school.
• District administrators, principals, and School Board members spent much of their time making sure the district remained focused on doing what is right for students and supporting every student’s pathway to success.
• The coordination of 46,697 expected students, over 6,500 full- and part-time employees, 406 portable classrooms, and 54 schools does not happen by accident, and it won’t happen at all if someone doesn’t mind the switch.
• Even many car lines were surprisingly efficient on the first day of school – something parents and administrators rarely say!
• This summer, 147 third graders advanced to fourth grade thanks to their summer reading camp learning. As well, more than 100 students completed driver’s education courses, and 28 students finished credit recovery classes and graduated from high school. Along the way, Food Service workers served 99,492 meals during summer school, thanks in large part to weekly family take-home kits.
• Our new Apptegy communications platform is reaching over 95% of our community based on email and phone message analytics. Text messaging success rates are strong at 85%-90%. An upcoming mobile app and “Rooms” feature will offer two-way communications between teachers and students, parents, and guardians.

I believe this will be yet another fantastic year for MCPS.  Look, I’m a Public Relations guy, so I know people will say, “Well, he’s paid to put a positive take on everything.” True confession: my day was stressful, too. I drove 111 miles and visited 13 schools, spoke with multiple media outlets, coordinated several media campus visits, took dozens of pictures, spoke with curious parents and others, and participated in a late-afternoon wrap-up meeting before sharing the day’s success with more than 75 local media representatives.

 Here’s what I discovered once again: this is a wonderful community in which we live, and despite letter grade ratings, changing requirements, and challenges beyond our control, we have great schools, great teachers, and great students! Are there problems? Absolutely. Are they insurmountable? Absolutely not! (Though some are tougher to solve than others.) The main thing we must do is keep our eyes on the target, and for MCPS this means always doing what is right -- for students. Every minute of learning matters now more than ever.

What went right is simple: on opening day, thousands of employees, families, and community members came together to do what is right for students. This demonstrates once again that we are truly “One Team, One Mission,” moving “Forward Together.”

Please share your own “what went right” perspective with others from time to time. When teachers and other staff do a great job -- tell them (this goes for all of us: parents, families, colleagues, bosses, etc.). When your kids experience success -- celebrate!  When you see something that needs to be improved – tell those involved and be part of the solution, not the problem.

Here’s to a wonderful 2026-2027 school year!