“It’s been a breeze, and enrollment has been a breeze,” said Highland Elementary school parent Sara Lewis after she dropped off her daughter for her first day of classes.
Lewis said she moved her children to Hamilton from Cincinnati Public Schools in part because of the city’s smaller school system, and so far, she is impressed.
“At first, it was a little scary moving here, but it (enrolling her children) was probably the easiest thing I’ve ever done,” Lewis said.
Tuesday was the second of Hamilton’s two-day opening with children divided alphabetically by last name determining when they start classes.
Through the rest of the month, more Butler County public and private schools will be kicking off the 2025-2026 school year.
Fairfield Schools are also now open and Lakota Schools, and its 17,000 students, will begin opening Thursday. Middletown Schools will begin classes on Monday, Aug. 18, and Hamilton-based Badin High School, the county’s only Catholic high school, will open for all grades of students on Aug. 20.
Hamilton Schools’ first-year Superintendent Andrea Blevins said the new school year is “a fresh chapter for students and presents countless opportunities inside and outside the classroom for our students to get involved and pursue their passions.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Blevin’s administration recently announced the district will continue to offer free and reduced-price school breakfast and lunch meals for eligible students.
The program “allows Hamilton Schools to provide breakfast and lunch to all children at no charge and eliminates the collection of meal applications for free, reduced-price and paid student meals. This approach reduces burdens for both families and school administrators and helps ensure that students receive nutritious meals,” she said.
And like at other Ohio public schools, students and their parents are having to adjust for the first time to new state law restricting student access to cell phones during the school day.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Blevins said all school families have been notified about the new law but pointed out “students in all buildings are eligible to keep their devices on their person, but the device has to remain off and out of sight.”
Failure to follow the new rules “can result in consequences as determined by the (student) code of conduct,” she said.
Highland school parent Stephen Smith said he welcomes the new cell phone law, saying it allows for better learning in the classroom.
“It’s important that students are in the moment and paying attention. There are so many distractions already that my generation didn’t have to deal with. The fact that they have to hold off using their phones and focus on learning makes it a great idea,” said Smith.
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