Dickinson Back in School | Video

Alex Hagan | 8/23/2012

Summer vacation is over, and although these Dickinson students spent much of their first day outside playing, school teachers welcomed plenty of new faces to their classrooms.

"Our new students come from all over the country. I think already I`ve met new students from Wisconsin, and Louisiana, Minnesota," said Heart River Elementary School Counselor Barbara Danks.

And that means giving new students more time to adjust.

"We have new student groups, and I visit with new students four, five, six times at the beginning of the year, see if there`s any difficulties, help them get adjusted," said Danks.

Kindergarten through sixth grade is up about 140 students and seven through 12 rose by about 35. Administrators say the kindergarten class is the largest since the early 1990s.

"Right now, all of our buildings are pretty full," said Heart River Elementary School Prinicpal Sherry Libis.

And that can provide some challenges for teachers and students.

"Their educational background is a little bit different, and so especially if students have been moving a lot," said Libis.

Increasing enrollment forced school administrators to reassign students to different schools.

"Right now, classroom space is very comfortable for us and we don`t have any space issues," said Dickinson Superintendent Douglas Sullivan.

School leaders spent the summer hiring more teachers as well. Dickinson now has 36 new teachers and principals.

"It was an active hiring season, the most people that have been hired in recent memory, but we`re very fortunate to be able find what we think are a quality crew of new teachers and administrators," said Sullivan.

And that has everyone ready for what lies ahead.

"I think we`re proactive in really looking at the future," said Libis.

The booming economy may be impacting schools; however, school administrators will continue to look for ways to keep students in the classroom.

A new elementary school will open next school year to alleviate some expected overcrowding.

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