Pencils sharpened and backpacks on, students filed into the Cassville building and classrooms on Aug. 23 for the first day of school.

Merlyn Johnson, Cassville superintendent, said the school welcomed 1,916 students district-wide.

This is an increase of 27 students from the 2021-2022 school year.

There were 456 students from pre-K to second grade, 384 students in third through fifth, 434, one of which is virtual in sixth through eighth, and 642, 14 who are virtual in ninth through twelfth grade.

Jake Kloss, Cassville director of transportation, said the district strives to make very minimal changes to our bus routes.

“We have route numbers and not bus numbers so when we move buses around, we change the number to correspond with the route number,” he said. “This has reduced much confusion with students and parents as well as teachers getting the little ones on the buses.

“We transport 1,100 students on 19 routes. New students and new stops are always a challenge in regard to finding their houses and pickup and drop-off times. We really appreciate our drivers for the excellent jobs they do putting the safety of our students first and their patience with adding new stops and finding where each student belongs. We give our drivers all the credit for a good start to a great year.”

One unique aspect to the Cassville student population is the students who decide to come to Cassville from the Shell Knob school district.

Shell Knob has a school for students in pre-K to eighth grade. Once those students get to high school, they have the option to attend Cassville or Blue Eye.

Johnson said there are 21 new staff members for the 2022-2023 school year, bit there are no changes from last year’s programs and classes.

“[There are] 5 new teachers in high school and 1 assistant principal,” he said. “Middle school has 7 teachers and 1 counselor; intermediate has 5 teachers; and primary has 2 teachers.”

For the first few days of school, Cassville focused on welcoming all students and teachers back to school.

“The first few days are informational as students discover new routines and learn instructional expectations from their teachers,” Johnson said. “We are most excited about providing the best possible learning opportunities for all of our students. We appreciate the community of Cassville and our families for their support as we begin a new school year.”