Flint, MI — The lobby of Doyle-Ryder Elementary teemed with smiling students, parents and staff the morning of Aug. 9, 2023, the first day of Flint Community Schools’ (FCS) new school year.
Dr. Natoya Coleman, the school’s principal, said she was excited to see students back in the newly-renovated building and grateful that concerns over the space’s former issues — and transportation to Potter Elementary during its construction — were behind her and the Doyle-Ryder Dragons family.
“We’re just excited to be closer to our school community,” she said. “It was quite a task bussing our walkers and car riders over to Potter and making sure that we were able to accommodate their needs.”
Coleman said she would be working with students and staff to acclimate to the space and the year’s new curriculum, but she was thrilled to be doing so with “all the resources we need” in the upgraded school building.
For her part, Bailey Caver, age 7, said she was also excited to be back at Doyle-Ryder.
Bailey, who wore a light pink unicorn t-shirt and multi-colored tulle skirt for her first day of second grade, told Flint Beat she was most looking forward to “math class,” and added that she hopes to one day be a teacher.
Bailey and dozens of other students were greeted on Aug. 9 with a pep-rally welcome from the elementary’s staff and FCS Board of Education members, including Board Vice President Dr. Joyce Ellis-McNeal, Trustee Claudia Perkins and Board President Michael Clack.
“I’m looking forward to all positivity,” Clack told Flint Beat of the coming school year. “Change, new attitude, growth: we’re gonna go from here.”
Taking a survey of the first day back across the district, FCS Superintendent Kevelin Jones told Flint Beat, “We had a really good day today.”
He said the temporary setup at Southwestern Classical Academy, which serves as home base for some Holmes STEM Academy students during renovations to their building this year, seemed to have worked well.
The superintendent noted that while he shares others’ excitement for the “momentum” created by the district’s many renovation projects and new programming, he’s most excited about retaining and serving the district’s roughly 3,000 students.
“Those that are doing studies state that we should be down to about 2,200 scholars,” Jones told Flint Beat after the day’s dismissal. “Well, we have been able to hold at 3,000, and we’re excited to serve that many scholars in our city.”
Jones added that while the district does “want that number higher” eventually, to be able to serve so many Flint students remains an honor.
“We’re most excited about that,” he said.
Check out more pictures of the first day of school below.
