Back to school: Flagler Schools leaders tour district's schools on the first day of the new school year

Superintendent LaShakia Moore and other district leaders assisted in car rider lines, visited classrooms and helped new and older students making transitions.

  • Palm Coast Observer
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The first day of school on Monday, Aug. 10, began before 5 a.m. for Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore and district department leaders. The group visited transportation before the first buses and vans pulled out to pick up students.

Before the day was over on Day 1 of the school year, the group visited all nine district schools; plus charter school Imagine School at Town Center; and the programs at the district’s Engagement Center at the old county courthouse.

Moore, Human Resources Chief Joshua Walker, Chief of Operational Services Lauren Johnston, Special Projects Coordinator Marcus Sanfilippo, Communications Coordinator Don Foley and all four School Board members manned car rider and bus rider lines and toured classrooms. They assisted kindergartners who were eating lunch in the cafeteria for the first time, helped sixth graders who were walking the halls and changing classes for the first time and assisted middle and high school kids navigating their new schedules.

As the day wound down with their second to last stop at Rymfire Elementary School, Moore said it had been a “great” first day.


Our school leaders feel confident about the year ahead. Our students have been happy and smiling.
— LASHAKIA MOORE, Flagler Schools superintendent

“Our school leaders feel confident about the year ahead,” she said. “Our students have been happy and smiling. And typically on the first day you see some tears in kinder or VPK, but we have not seen that, and so I think families had some great conversations with their child about them coming back for them at the end of the day.”

One of their last stops at Rymfire was a blended volunteer prekindergarten classroom led by Deia Schermerhorn.

“It’s blended learning with some students with disabilities,” Rymfire Principal Travis Lee explained. “A goal for our district is to be inclusive. We want to make sure all of our students get the same education. It may be presented a little different, but it’s the same standard.”

Moore said a highlight of the day was visiting students with disabilities, ages 18-22, in the TRAIL transition program.

“To hear their excitement about finding employment at the end of the year,” Moore said. “That was very nice to to hear them talk about the things that they like, and things that they enjoy doing, but also what they're looking forward to as we move throughout the year.”

At kindergarten lunch at Belle Terre Elementary School, Walker visited with his old kindergarten and first grade teacher, Robyn McAnany, who is beginning her 28th year with Flagler Schools and her 21st year at BTES.

As Flagler Schools tries to repeat its A district rating in 2026-27, Moore said the district is focused on consistency.

“I think what we've been building up to is putting some great processes in place both academically and procedurally,” Moore said. ”And so for us this year, we are focused on just refining and realigning ourselves to the great procedures and things that we've already put into place. So, it's not really a focus on something new or something different, our focus is consistency.”

 

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