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Thunder And Smiles

Jamestown Public Schools welcomes students back for new school year

By Sara Holthouse 3 min read

The 2026-2027 school year may have begun for students of Jamestown Public Schools with the sound of thunder and flashes of lightning, but thunderstorms did nothing to dampen students' spirits as schools across the city opened their doors to students for the first day of school.

The district's 4,000 students were welcomed back for the first day of the school year on Wednesday, and Dr. Kevin Whitaker, JPS superintendent, helped with the welcoming by spending his morning at Bush Elementary School on Jamestown's south side.

"We had a wonderful morning at Bush Elementary School welcoming our students and families back to school," Whitaker said. "There is nothing better than seeing our buildings filled with students again, and we're incredibly excited about the year ahead."

Staff members of JPS have been back for a few days, returning on August 31 for two opening days filled with professional learning and preparation for the arrival of students. The program included a presentation from the United Way of Chautauqua County, along with time for staff to meet, collaborate, and prepare their classrooms.

Whitaker also expressed his gratitude towards the maintenance and facilities staff across the district for readying the buildings for student activity. This especially goes for staff at Jamestown High School, Persell Middle School and Lincoln Elementary School, all of which had significant capital and structural improvements done to them over the summer with a few areas of that construction still underway. Work at Persell includes improvements such as a new roof, renovated bathrooms, updated mechanical and plumbing systems, enhanced lighting and window security, and extensive parking lot work. At Lincoln, crews are repairing exterior ramps and stairs and completing improvements to flooring, lighting, windows, roofing, and security.

At Jamestown High School, the renovated old gym is expected to reopen in September and work will continue in the auditorium with completion anticipated by the end of the calendar year. Construction also continues in a non-student area behind the kitchen, where contractors discovered a deteriorated sanitary sewer line beneath the floor.

"A tremendous amount of work goes into preparing our schools, especially with major construction underway at JHS, Persell, and Lincoln," Whitaker said. "We are incredibly grateful to our maintenance and facilities teams for the long hours they put in to ensure our buildings were clean, welcoming, and ready for students. We also thank our partners at Turner Construction and Young and Wright Architectural for working closely with the district to complete as much work as possible before the start of school and minimize disruptions to our students and staff."

Kate Benson, Bush Elementary School's principal, also echoed Whitaker's excitement for the beginning of a new school year.

"We loved welcoming back our Twisters to Bush School on Wednesday," Benson said. "Our staff is excited about the school year ahead and have been hard at work over the summer and during the first two staff days preparing for a dynamic school year where we look to see every child learning every day."

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