photo by: Shelley Hanson

John Marshall High School students arrive for their first day of the 2025-26 school year on a foggy Tuesday morning.

GLEN DALE — Ready or not, Marshall County Schools’ students kicked off their 2025-26 school year by showing up for their first day of the new school year on Tuesday.

At John Marshall High School, hundreds of students exited big yellow buses and filed their way into the main doors of the building to begin their day at 8 a.m. Armed with backpacks full of new supplies, some students wore smiles on their faces, while others appeared to be concentrated on the task at hand.

On her way into the building, one student mentioned she was feeling nervous because she was new to the school district. Another student riding his skateboard to school, Ross Durig, said that he had a great summer break.

Principal Jason Marling said he was looking forward to having a great school year. JMHS has 1,050 students enrolled this year.

“We’re really excited to start the year. It’s a new year and a fresh start for everybody,” he said. “Our teachers are excited to get started. We have a lot of good plans for the year and a lot of positive changes happening.”

Marling noted a new policy for students to follow this year involves cellphone use in school. Students are now required to keep their cell phones in their lockers and not bring them into classrooms. He said the policy was enacted by state officials.

“We are actually in full support of this change. It’s a change mandated by the state. … We think the cell phones being out of kids’ hands during instruction will be a positive change and a needed change and something that will have really good effects down the road for kids,” Marling said.

He added that students are allowed to use their cell phones at lunch time, but after lunch the phones have to be placed back in their lockers.

“If we see them, we’re taking them,” he added. “They legislated this change and we’re going to do our best to act on it and enforce it. The kids all have iPads, so they are able to have access to email and electronics. Parents can always email them to let them know something or they can call the office, just like we did when we were kids as well.”

JM also has a new assistant principal this year, Tim Jones, who said he is excited about the new school and helping students learn. Jones, a Class of 1999 JMHS graduate, said he also taught geometry at the high school for two years before taking his new position.

“I’m proud to be a part of the administrative team. … This is my alma mater. I feel at home here,” Jones said. “There are a lot of responsibilities to the job and I’m happy to be moving all day and tackling different tasks. We’re all here for the kids. That’s the main reason we’re here. “Let’s keep moving in a positive direction that we have been at John Marshall.”

The last day of school is slated to be May 22.