School leaders and teachers in Clinton are excited to have kids back in the buildings as Wednesday marks the first day of school.

Most students are back today while everyone will return Thursday. Wednesday morning on the WHOW Morning Show, Superintendent Curt Nettles told Regional Radio News they have been preparing for the several months for the return of students to class.

According to Nettles, the shutdown was dramatic and to a degree traumatic. He is very pleased with the work his administration and staff have put in and the optimistic way they are approaching having kids back.

While some districts have gone to exclusive remote learning for the first quarter or first semester and some in the community may not agree with returning to school, Nettles has received overwhelmingly positive comments about getting kids back to the school building.

As the Illinois Department of Public Health continued to pass down further guidance on returning to school, Nettles points out the message from the Illinois State Board of Education never changed from their original goal of getting kids back to school.