GOSHEN COUNTY – Students and teachers returned to classrooms countywide Tuesday, and Goshen County School District No. 1 Superintendent Jean Chrostoski said the first day went as well as could be expected, despite a few minor hiccups.
“I think considering all of the excitement we had on Monday (with the total solar eclipse), I’m definitely glad we started school on the 22nd,” Chrostoski said. “The traffic would have made it almost impossible to transport all of the students.”
The district’s transportation department often faces first-day issues – without an extra 500,000 vehicles to worry about – and this year was no different.
“I just admire the transportation director and transportation department,” Chrostoski said. “I listen to (their) radio in my office, and there’s all kinds of things that pop up on the first day, (including) people who may have been missed or who thought they could ride the bus.”

New students who are not properly registered are also common on day one.
“Bussing, enrollments – a lot of things happen that first day,” Chrostoski said. “Sometimes we may not have the answer for them (right away), but we will take care of everyone that walks into our offices. It was actually quite busy at all the offices (Tuesday).”
Chrostoski did not have estimated enrollment numbers available due to the district’s Internet being down on the second day of school.
“But I’ve heard some very positive things about new students,” she said. “We’re surviving today without internet for lunch … we’re internet-based, so when something like this happens, we go to ‘plan B’
very quickly.”
In the face of these challenges, however, Chrostoski is confident GCSD No. 1 is looking at another successful year.
“I think building principals worked very hard to make the first day of school exciting, based on the schedules I’ve seen,” she said. “Overall, I think it went very well. We have all the hiccups taken care of, and we’re excited to start the school year.”