Smiling kids and happy teachers and staff filled the hallways of Grant schools as students were welcomed back from summer break on Monday, Aug. 28.

Both Humbolt Elementary and Grant Union Junior/Senior High School saw upticks in enrollment and new staff on the first day of school. Humbolt Principal Janine Attlesperger said the school’s enrollment is 253, slightly higher than the 250 students the school normally sees.

Humbolt also has four new teachers. Andrea Ashley and Carrie Sullivan have joined the staff as fourth-grade teachers. Kindergarten duties are being shared with Bre Apostol, formerly of Seneca, teaching in the mornings and Karen Bromeling coming out of retirement to teach in the afternoons.

Grant Union High School has a new principal but a familiar face in Mark Witty, who previously worked in the district for 17 years before returning at the start of this school year. Witty also has been tapped to be the district’s superintendent following the resignation of Louis Dix, which went into effect on the first day of school.

Witty will fill both roles until another principal can be found for GUHS.

Witty couldn’t give hard enrollment numbers for GUHS yet, but he did say the school has had 14 or 15 students transfer in from other districts this year.

A number of new faces also greeted students at Grant Union on the first day of school.

Denise Blevins comes over from Burns to take over as the English teacher at GUHS for the 2023-24 school year. Grant Union graduate Sylvia Ross brings her knowledge as a registered nurse to the health sciences department.

Kailee Oliver comes to GUHS from Crane and takes over as the agriculture teacher for the upcoming school year.

“This is an ag community, so having a strong program is really important to me,” Witty said. “I’m the one who brought the program here maybe 20 years ago now.”

Marissa Smith will join the special education team for the upcoming school year. Finally, Amy Hunt, who is well known within the district, comes on as the academic adviser at GUHS.

For the first time, the district is providing school supplies for students. Attlesperger said the new policy has helped parents immensely.

Also starting classes on Monday was Long Creek School. Dayville and Monument schools both started the 2023-24 school year last week, and the first day of class at Prairie City School will be Sept. 5.

Happy to be back

Attlesperger is in her third year as the principal of Humbolt Elementary and comes back to the school following a busy summer.

“We had a lot of projects going on,” she said. “We had the security fence, which is still a work in progress. We have the HVAC system, which is also a work in progress. They have the units installed, but they won’t be hooked up until later in the fall.”

In addition, the gym and the school’s upper building underwent a seismic retrofit. Upgrades to the playgrounds, which Attlesperger hopes will begin over spring break, are currently in the works as well.

“We’re going to get brand-new play structures in both areas, and the bottom area will be fully (accessible),” she said.

Coming back for the first day of school is something Attlesperger always looks forward to.

“Summer is nice to have a little break, but seeing the kids walk in first thing in the morning is what rejuvenates me and keeps me going. I got more hugs from kids today than probably throughout the whole year,” she said.

“I think this is my 25th year and I wouldn’t do anything else.”

Witty returns to familiar role

Witty returns to the Grant School District from Baker City. While originally set to be the principal at GUHS, Witty now finds himself also being the presumed superintendent.

Witty takes the change in stride.

“We’re just focused on making sure we have a good start to the school year,” he said.

Students and faculty filling the school after a long summer break provide an inescapable energy, according to Witty.

“It’s exciting,” he said. “A building this size is meant to have kids in it and staff working and doing things. The building comes to life — you can see the kids smiling in the hallway.”

Witty’s first day back at Grant Union has been something of a nostalgia trip for the seasoned administrator.

“It’s deja vu,” he said.

“One of the things that’s just fascinating is I’m seeing a lot of kids of students when I was here. They have kids in this building now and I’m teaching their kids, so to speak. I’m part of that process, and that’s just been really fun to see that.”