BOONE COUNTY, Ky — The wheels on the bus went 'round and 'round again in Boone County as Northern Kentucky's largest school district bid farewell to summer and hello to a new school year.
With nearly 20,000 students enrolled in its 27 schools and programs, BCS is also the third largest school district in the Bluegrass state.
"We’re just happy to see the kids come back," Superintendent Matt Turner said. "When they come back there's a certain energy and that's why we're here. To make sure we serve our students and help our students grow and be successful."
Turner stopped by Cooper High School as the first of nearly 1,400 students shuffled in for their first day back.
@Boone_County is #BackToSchool! The first bell rings at 7:40 a.m. for students at Cooper High School in Union. The roughly 1,400 students are just a fraction of the nearly 20,000 enrolled in the district. Largest in NKY, it’s the third largest in the Commonwealth. @WCPO pic.twitter.com/ePo3o4UztW
— Valerie Lyons (@VLyonsTV) August 17, 2023
He said with his district being the largest, he's also focusing on making it the best in the region. That's where BCS's 5-year strategic plans comes in, he said.
"Certainly we want to make sure that we have a great education for all of our students, that means some specific work with certain groups of student groups. We want to make sure that we're working together with our 27 schools and programs," Turner said.
One major focus moving forward is what Turner calls Student Defensive Learning.
"They have to sit down and maybe they have a panel — might be some teachers, might be some parents, might be other students or other adults as well — where students sit down and talk about their learning and present that to the group," he said.
Turner said future expansion is also a possibility. Projections are showing the county's population will continue to grow, he said, and that will likely mean schools will need to grow with it.
“We have some long term plans in how we may have to adjust with adding on to some of our schools, having some new schools built here around the county," he said.
Like every district in the Tri-State, Turner said BCS is not immune to the national bus driver shortage, but he said it's not enough of a strain to keep them from getting students to and from school timely and safely.
“We have probably about 20 unfilled positions at this point in time but our team does a great job," he said. "We may have some double runs but we'll work through that."
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