LEXINGTON, Ky. — Nearly 41,000 students in Fayette County went back to school this morning with some sense of normalcy. 

What You Need To Know

  • Garrett Morgan Elementary School welcomed nearly 800 students on Wednesday

  • Fayette County Public Schools has made masks optional for the 2022-2023 school year

  • Students and guardians were excited for the first day of school

  • This is the first year since the COVID-19 pandemic began that the school year has some sort of normalcy

This day, Principal Sarah Woodford said, is the day she looks forward to all summer. 

“You really cannot replicate or even describe the level of excitement that we all get from watching children come into the start of a fresh new school year with their smile,” Woodford said. 

Woodford welcomed nearly 800 students and staff members back inside Garrett Morgan Elementary School on Wednesday.

“It’s the first time in several years that we’ve been able to welcome students back and see their smiling faces as they come in the door without masks. So that’s been really exciting. There’s a whole lot of energy,” Woodford said.

And Woodford wasn’t the only one full of emotions today. 

“We’re so excited. We’ve been excited basically all summer. My daughter really loves school, so it’s a great transition,” Amanda Allen, a parent said. 

And on top of her daughter’s love for school, Allen says this year also has a special significance to it as well. 

“She started her very first day of public school on a computer and last year we were able to come to school but we were in masks and we couldn’t have visitors or activities so this is the first year of true normalcy,” Allen said.

Both Allen and Woodford are excited about the sense of normalcy, and look forward to a new school year in Lexington. 

The school district says because they have already integrated many COVID-19 protocols, the district will no longer have daily data reports or weekly covid updates. 

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