Even Lakeside High School’s principal gets butterflies on 1st day of school

SAYBROOK TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WOIO) - It’s a true return to normal for districts like Ashtabula Area City Schools, according to principal Dr. Markiel Perkins. He said last year, the first year of post-remote learning, students or scholars sometimes lacked continuity.

“When COVID happens and surges happen and it’s still here, and sometimes we don’t have that consistency,” said Dr. Perkins. “That was one of the biggest thing. The scholars said, ‘We just can’t seem to get into a groove,’ and hopefully, we’ll do that.”

The approximately 900 students at Lakeside High School, the merger of Ashtabula and Harbor High Schools in 2001 and since 2006, in a new building, returned at 8:35 a.m. on Wednesday, reporting to homeroom and getting their schedules.

For the entire district, from students to parents, from teachers to administrators, the first day of class in the district of more than 3,100 students is an exciting time for everyone.

“If you don’t have those butterflies inside, then you’re not alive as an educator, so we all have them,” said Perkins. “The night before is usually a rough night to sleep; I think I got about four hours. The kids and parents have those butterflies. We have them too. We’re human.”

The Lakeside Dragons will play the Brush Arcs this Friday in high school football, another sign school is back in session.

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