Verona Students Return to School Today

Students have had all summer to prepare for today.

With their pencils sharpened and backpacks zipped, the Verona School District opens the term this morning.

There are 2,180 students attending school throughout the district this year, said Superintendent Steven Forte.

“We are all very excited about the new school year," Forte said. "The Technology and Buildings and Grounds Departments have been working hard over the summer to get the buildings ready for students and staff," he said “We also welcome 23 new staff members to the district this year who are all excited to get started working with Verona students.”

The district will be welcoming new teachers this year as well. On Aug. 30, the district held a for all new hires, where officials discussed topics such as the district's strategic plans and what it means to be an effective teacher.

“One of the greatest assets of new teachers is that they bring a new perspective to the district,” said Director of Curriculum Liz Jewett. “This is a very diverse group with a wide array of talents.”

The schools have been undergoing routine and are finally ready for students to file into classrooms.

Verona High School also has a new computer lab up and running for the first day of school. Three computer labs, which were all directly next to each other, were spread out to create a better learning environment. The way they were configured caused a problem when two teachers were teaching in the labs at the same time, said Forte. 

“The students will benefit because it will be more accessible and another place where students and teachers can go to use more machines,” he said.

The district has also added new electives in Visual and Performing Arts as well as in  

“The new electives will expose our students to careers in the 21st century with growth potential,” said Forte. “This is the first year we have a dual enrollment program in the school. This program will allow a large number of students to earn college credit while in high school.”

Verona students will have off on Monday, September 17, for Rosh Hashanah.

In general, there is a lot of information to know, but don’t worry, there is no test. It is all right here on Patch.

Everything you need to know to about the first day of school:

• District Calendar
• General District Information
• Verona High School Student Information Packet
• Verona High School Athletic Calendar
• Lunch Menu's
• H.B. Whitehorn Middle School Student Handbook
• H.B. Whitehorn Middle School Club Schedules