School begins, and world resumes rhythm

Wasn't it just day before yesterday that summer started? Yet here we are with school starting Monday.

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It's a good thing, too, that the current heat wave is predicted to break. After all, part of the rationale for the Aug. 13 start date was that starting the first week of August was too hot.

The reality around here is that the first week of August is hot. But so is the second. And the third. And the fourth. (Welcome to Georgia. Summer is hot.)

School officials, meanwhile, are hoping they're on a "hot" streak. As new School Superintendent Charles Nagle notes in his guest column today, Columbia County schools are one of only 51 systems in the state to meet "Adequate Yearly Progress" under the No Child Left Behind act.

That's plenty of reason to celebrate. And as encapsulated this year with the opening of the new Cedar Ridge Elementary School in Grovetown, a new school year itself is cause for celebation.

Our public education system is such a vital part of the community that summer vacation almost seems unnatural.

Helping the community regain its natural rhythm are a lot of firsts. Nagle is the first new superintendent in eight years, Cedar Ridge welcomes pupils for the first time, and a record seven schools have new principals.

It also shouldn't be overlooked that most of the system's top-notch staff came at some point through the county's human resources department, which also has a new leader now that veteran director Connie Davis has retired.

It takes a lot of such hard-working people, from bus drivers and lunchroom workers to teachers and principals, to make schools great. And it takes supportive parents working with those staff members to provide the best possible public school education.

Best of luck to all of them as another year begins.