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STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. — Stafford County welcomed back 27,186 to class on Tuesday, marking an end to summer recess and the start of the 2013-14 school year.
The new school year brings some changes to the school division. Students who attend Grafton Village Elementary School are now being taught at Stafford Middle School while renovations are made to Grafton.
A renovation to Stafford Elementary School is complete and students were moved back into classrooms there after attending classes last year at Stafford Middle School.
Summer also marked the start of construction of a new Stafford Senior High School. County officials approved the school last spring, and it will replace the current building that dates back to 1971.
Also new this year is a Bring Your Own Technology initiative, said schools spokeswoman Valerie Cottongim. Students, with their teacher’s permission, to carry with devices like iPads and tablet computers.
Stafford schools hired 229 new teachers over the summer to work in the division’s 30 school buildings and Head Start program.
A total of 197 school buses were on the roads in Stafford County ferrying students to and from school on Tuesday, said Cottongim.
