Superintendents talk about the 2022-23 year to come
By Christopher Harris
The 2022-23 school year is one that most people have been looking forward to for a long , long time .
If all goes to plan , it will be the first since 2018-19 that won ’ t be significantly impacted by COVID-19 . There will still be some remnants of that era left over in the way local schools operate , but , short of another major outbreak , the school year and schedule should progress in a way much the same as it did before anyone had ever heard of the virus .
Unfortunately , schools face other challenges that make headlines , and that includes making sure classrooms are secure places for students to learn and teachers to teach . School shootings are something every superintendent must consider in 2022 , but fortunately , their job isn ’ t all about the bad things -- they also get to celebrate what their school does well , academically and culturally .
As students in Pulaski County prepare to go back to school for the fall , Southeast Kentucky Magazine interviewed the superintendents of all three local public school districts — Patrick Richardson of the largest in the area , Pulaski County Schools ; Jimmy Dyehouse of the singlefacility Science Hill School district ; and Kyle Lively of the city district , Somerset Independent Schools — to get their takes on these issues and how they ’ re looking forward to the start of a new school year .
1 . This is the first more or less “ normal ” back to school time since COVID . How does it feel to be back to this point ?
Patrick Richardson : I am cautiously optimistic about where we are in regards to returning to “ normal ”. Students will be returning to in school instruction in the fall and that is where they need to be . Covid is still popping up but the new strands appear to be less harmful and
August 2022 SEKY - Life in Southeast Kentucky • 7