Muleshoe ISD started its first day of classes Aug. 16. For some it was their first day in a new school and for others, their last first day before middle, high school or college. Either way, parents were out and about dropping their children off and making sure to grab photos of their first day outfits. Teachers and principals were available at the entrances of the schools to greet the children as they entered and prepared to embark on a new school year.

“The first day was so exciting with parents bringing their students to school,” Superintendent R.L. Richards said. “Our enrollment looks strong this year and we’re excited and the teachers were all excited about the kids coming back so everything looks like it’s in good shape this year.”

The Muleshoe school district has several new faces in the classroom this year as over 20 teachers were hired on for this school year. Richards said that the district was working hard to make sure all the classrooms were filled come first day.

“We went through some professional development with the teachers and we were excited,” he said. “We had some motivational speakers, we did ‘stop the bleed’, we did active shooter training and a lot of other safety training this year along with some instructional training.”

While the district went through a bevy of training prior to school’s start, Richards noted that many of the teachers hired on carry years of their own experience.

“We have a good group of new teachers,” Richards said. “Most of them are experienced teachers so that that makes us feel real good to be able to have a teacher in every classroom.”