Forks Principal Excited to Start School

Josephine Galloway has the same reaction toward starting the school year as anyone else.

"I have jitters every year," Galloway said Tuesday, on the school's second day.

Galloway is the principal of in Forks Township. And while her job is year-round, she still enjoys when the new school year comes around.

"It's an exciting time, to see the faces of kindergarten students who are having their first experience with school," she said. "I like the feeling, the excitement, of children getting off the buses. It's a unique experience. It never gets old."

Like most schools in the , Galloway suffered some staffing losses. The district cut about 100 teachers and 50 staff personnel over the summer to help close a budget deficit.

"There was a moving and reorganizing of staffing," she said. "The administration works as a team. We're equipped to handle the changes and maintain our normal routine."

Throughout the summer, Galloway said, staff planned new classes and schedules, ordered supplies, adjusted to a new school budget and got the facilities in shape.

"We cleaned up," she said. "We moved furniture, cleaned the classrooms, waxed the floors and gave the school a good scrubbing."

Staffers returned last week so the school could host a Newcomers Night, kindergarten orientation and an open house.

"Everyone gets itchy to come back," she said.

So far, Galloway said the first two days have been "very smooth" as the half-days have allowed children to ease into their routines with new teachers and such.

"It helps with the transition," she said of the half-days. "It calms the jitters with busing and transportation. This acclimates the children."

Galloway is excited that the school year has started.

"It provides a fresh start for everyone," she said. "The students are re-energized and recharged from summer. I like the opportunity to start fresh and clean. It's a time to make new friendships and build new relationships."