When more than 700 students headed back to Pleasant Crossing Elementary School this week, they were greeted by a new friendly face offering them a high-five and words of encouragement.
For Abbie Oliver, the new principal at Pleasant Crossing, Thursday was also her first day at a new school.
She plans to spend the coming days in classrooms, getting to know her students, she said.
Clark-Pleasant was the first Johnson County school district to start classes this school year, with others following in the coming days.
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On Thursday, staff members fanned out around Pleasant Crossing, ready to direct students and parents to their classrooms, help lost little ones and give inspiration to the kids who just weren’t quite ready for school to start.
Oliver made her rounds throughout the building, greeting parents who had brought their students to school and then welcoming children in off the buses. When students were unsure of where to go, she directed them. When a child’s backpack spilled onto the ground, she helped him pick everything up.
And when timid kindergartners came off the buses, unsure of where to go, she grabbed their hand and walked them to meet their teacher.
Oliver came to Clark-Pleasant from Brown County schools earlier this summer, and said the excitement in the air hasn’t fizzled since she started.
The decision to come to a significantly larger school district was tough, since she enjoyed her work in Brown County, Oliver said. But for her, it was a new challenge after 19 years in the education field, she said.
“It was time to grow, that was the only reason,” she said.
For Oliver, the first day of school was filled with excitement, she said. She planned to spend the entire day away from her office, in classrooms and getting to know students.
The role of principal has changed so much from the past, when they were seen as the disciplinarian, she said. She wants to support teachers, students and their families, and she wants them to know she is there to do that, she said.
The best way to build those relationships is to be out in the school, meeting the students, she said.
“I want to get to know what makes them tick, what makes them anxious, and just get to know them better. That makes you seem much less threatening,” she said.
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Here is a look at when other local school districts head back to school:
Greenwood: Tuesday
Edinburgh: Wednesday
Center Grove: Thursday
Nineveh-Hensley-Jackson: Thursday
Franklin: Aug. 8
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