NEW BERLIN – Unadilla Valley Central School District will start the new school year next week with changes, including new staff members and a different designated drop-off area for the elementary side of the school.

The back-to-school night event will be from 5:15 to 6:45 p.m. on September 3, and the new school year begins the following morning.

According to Unadilla Valley Central School District Superintendent Robert Mackey, this year is marked with a variety of changes, including different leadership, growing opportunities for higher education, and new staff members.

"To me, one of the greatest parts of being at Unadilla Valley is working with staff that consistently look at themselves as students," said Mackey. "They're in a continuous state of learning, which is an excellent model for their students."

He said this year there are several positions that have been filled, including two special education positions, a first-grade teacher position, and school's aide and clerical positions.

"We still have a couple of openings to fill, but a special education position seems to be the big one we're missing," said Mackey. "Hiring is proving to be a challenge for private sector and public sector as well."

He said the new hires come after a very successful summer, where students could choose from five different college courses offered with professors from local colleges.

"We hired professors right from Morrisville and Tompkins Community College to teach college-level courses at the school over the summer," said Mackey. "The kids loved it and so did the staff."

"We’re hoping to open some of these college opportunities up to the community and local businesses that might want to have access to some of these programs but don’t want to face long travel times."

He said among the new changes there will also be a designated area where the school wants parents to park when picking up and dropping off students.

"We can’t have people parking by the elementary entrance anymore," said Mackey. "Really the only people that should be parking in the circle are emergency responders."

"To improve safety, the district will be implementing a number of changes in parking and traffic flow before the start of the new school year."

He said currently the changes are still being finalized, but the school can say with certainty that there will be new signage and new designated parking, including 15-minute visitor parking spots.

"While most of the changes will affect the elementary side of the building, we have examined parking and traffic flow throughout the campus," said Mackey. "The district will release additional information as it becomes available to help make the start of the school year run as smoothly as possible."

He said the school will be adding videos on their website to explain the changes throughout this week. He added that for parents who still need to purchase school supplies, lists are currently available on the school's website.

"As soon as the JT Closet opens up in the school, there will be school supplies available there for people too," said Mackey. "All of those supplies are made possible thanks to donations from several generous businesses."

Those who are interested in checking for additional information may visit uvstorm.org.