By Randy Foster and Nicole Wright
Cherokee County was a hive of activity Monday, traffic from summertime tourists replaced by the sounds of school bus hydraulic brakes and the aroma of diesel exhaust marking the start of the 2024-25 school year.
Many with fresh school clothes, new school supplies and sunny dispositions – “Katie! I drove to school!” one Murphy High School student said while greeting a friend – around 3,100 children ages 4-17 (a few even older) converged on Cherokee County’s 13 public schools, traveling by bus, private car and, in one case, a sheriff’s office patrol car.
(It’s not what you might think. The deputy was merely giving a student a ride.)
Traffic backed up in the usual places around 7:30 a.m. as parents and children adjusted to new routines following the summer break. For many, the new routine included changes followed decisions by the Cherokee County Board of Education in February:
- Hiwassee Dam traded its elementary school for a middle school, incorporating new students from Ranger.
- Martins Creek and Ranger closed middle schools, though Ranger gained elementary school students from Hiwassee Dam.
- Murphy Middle School expanded to accommodate students from Martins Creek.
The added bus routes to accommodate the changes meant longer bus rides for many students in western Cherokee County. Cherokee County Schools was still looking for bus drivers on its website Monday.
The only middle school unaffected by redistricting changes was in Andrews.
At Andrew High School, class schedules, homeroom assignments and teacher’s
greetings were the order of the first day of school Monday.
New Principal Sheryl Rogers was at the doors, greeting students by name and recalling details – such as which students are from out of state or from smaller schools, a task Rogers relishes as she began her new role overseeing a school of about 230 students.
“After years of working at the elementary level, I never thought I’d be working with high schoolers, but I am and I do enjoy talking with these kids,” she said. “I enjoy learning what they want to achieve in their high school careers, what they hope to accomplish afterward, and how we can help them work toward and achieve their goals.”
Rogers is a veteran of Cherokee County Schools, having served as assistant principal at Murphy High School and also in the Tampa, Fla., school system, before beginning her North Carolina career at Nantahala School in Macon County.
Also on hand to greet students were administrative assistant Larissa Dooley and athletic director Frank Maennle, offering high-fives to students as they passed through the doors. They greeted first-year freshman to seasoned seniors starting their final year.
Maennle retired in 2013 but, after a series of other gigs including “driving a limousine for the casino,” he came back in 2017 “to encourage these kids to do their best.”
Dooley also made a few young men erupt with whoops of elation when she informed them as they entered and obediently took off their ball caps that they were indeed allowed to don the headwear in the hallways, but to show “good manners in the cafeteria and if any teacher asked them to keep those same good manners in their classrooms.”
An early arrival, junior Jade Hartness, gave a quote of inspiration, saying, “The hardest decision requires the strongest will.” Her grandmother Gwen Tomlin agreed and wished her a great first day.
Chattering filled the hallways and cafeteria as students dug into breakfast before class time while asking the age-old question, “How was your summer?”
Details: View two videos from Andrews High School on Monday morning via the Cherokee Scout’s Facebook page.