Sabrina Boykins-Everett

THOMASVILLE, Ga. — The Thomasville City School System superintendent said activity at Thomasville city schools during the first days of school last week was no different than at most schools.

Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students experienced first-day jitters, and their anxious parents had separation anxiety as their children transitioned from home or day care into formal schooling, Superintendent Sabrina Boykins-Everett explained.

“Older students tend to be ready to come back to start planning for big events like prom, senior trips, homecoming, sports participation, and, of course, ramp up their socializing,” Boykins-Everett added.

In her visits to schools, Boykins-Everett spoke to middle school sixth-graders she said finally felt as though they had reached a new milestone by leaving elementary school. The same transitional milestone was felt by the rising ninth-graders at Thomasville High School, the superintendent said.

Expanded busing was new for the school system transportation department. A few glitches in the new city school offering took place, but students were safely picked up and dropped off from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade.

“The first 10 days of school, the city school system does a ‘warm body count,’ as opposed to an enrollment count. At the end of the 2015-16 school year, the enrollment of students equalled 2,942. On the first day of school for 2016-17, the enrollment number was 2,970. This equates to about a 1 percent increase,” Boykins-Everett said.

Before stabilizing, enrollment numbers change daily during the first month of school. The first month’s attendance report will provide the most accurate count by including withdrawals and transfers into and out of the school district.

Boykins-Everett said 683 non-resident students are enrolled in Thomasville city schools.

Said added, “These include students from outside of the City of Thomasville’s city limits. They come from Thomas, Grady, Brooks and other surrounding Georgia districts.”

The superintendent attributed the influx of out-of-district students to several factors.

“In some cases, the student’s parents may work in Thomasville or be employed by Thomasville City Schools. However, in most cases, the parents or guardians have decided that there are offerings available in Thomasville City Schools that they do not believe they can get elsewhere. It is a compliment to our system that we can be the system of choice for this significant number of students. They make up approximately 23 percent of our student body,” the superintendent said.

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820