The school bell rang to start the 2026-27 year Tuesday morning, with more than 10,500 students finding their way through 14 of the Liberty County School System’s campuses.

The system is continuing its emphasis on attendance

“Our theme this year is ‘Rise up, Show up and Level up,’” said Superintendent Debra Frazier. “We are promoting attendance all day, every day. We want our scholars to be present and accounted for every day so we can improve instruction.”

Frazier greeted students at Bradwell Institute on Tuesday morning and noted the clear backpack mandate was in effect.

“It is for security reasons, so we are grateful to our community and to our parents for coming through and supporting our new policy,” she said.

For more, see Thursday's edition of the Courier.