The Bulldogs got a special welcome on their first day back at Bridgeport Exempted Village School District on Aug. 21. Superintendent Brent Ripley announced this school year meals would be free as a show of appreciation.
“We’re continuing with free breakfasts, but for this school year we are also going to be offering free lunches to all students in the Bridgeport school district,” he said.
“It’s just a way of saying thank you to everyone that brings their kid to Bridgeport,” he said. “For the community and parents’ support of our renewal levy. It’s up in November, but our community and parents have always supported that levy and we’re just thankful for it, and the district’s in a spot right now where we can help families out, and why not help all families out by feeding every child free breakfast and free lunch for the school year?”
Ripley added that the district is asking every family to fill out the free and reduced lunch application, regardless of income.
“With those applications that we have from this year, it can help us qualify in subsequent years,” he said.
“Just doing that form helps the district so we can continue to offer it. The state looks for that data on what our percentage of free and reduced lunch eaters is, and presently that’s at about 70 percent of our student population qualify,” he said. “We want to keep this going for as long as we can for families.”
Students who want extra snack or drink items must pay cash, or parents may load money onto the students’ accounts.
Ripley said this follows the district philosophy of helping provide resources to the community, with the most notable example being a 28,5000-square-foot multipurpose facility to be erected in the next two years using $13.8 million of state funding.
The halls were buzzing with activity. High School Principal Jack Fisher said the students’ first day got off to a great start, beginning with a greeting in the gymnasium.
“We actually call the high school back into the gymnasium by class. We start with seniors and staff who are available,” he said. “We welcome the seniors back.”
Seniors and staff then welcome the juniors, who join in welcoming the sophomores.
“The entire school welcomes in the freshmen coming to high school because that’s a big day,” Fisher said. “It’s a time for us to collectively say: ‘Welcome. Welcome to Bridgeport High School.’”
Fisher said the practice began last school year and will continue. He said the student population is rising.
“We have the biggest freshman class we have had in a long time,” he said. “It’s exciting. We have a lot of new faces and it’s a lot of energy that comes with more students.”
He said there are nearly 30 new students coming into the district through open enrollment, but though the number of students is rising, Fisher said the district maintains a close, family atmosphere.
“We know everybody’s name. We know the faces, we know the people, we know the parents really well,” he said.
Fisher said students are reminded to be kind and take care of each other for the next four years.
“Take care of the person to your left and your right. Be good to people and they’ll be good to you,” Fisher said. “I’m excited to hear from the kids how their first day went.”
The district campus is located at 55781 National Road. The website is www.bridgeportschools.net.
