Morning Bell: Greenfield-Central students head back to class INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Students in Greenfield-Central schools will return to class Monday, and Superintendent Harold Olin says staff are ready to welcome them for the 2026-27 school year. Olin appeared on “Daybreak” Friday to d iscuss the upcoming year. He said staff and teachers just completed three days of preparation and are ready for students to fill the halls again. The new school year brings a major structural change as the district consolidates its two intermediate schools into Maxwell Intermediate School. While start times have not been drastically adjusted, some younger students may see schedule shifts of up to 10 minutes. Olin said teachers spent recent workdays preparing classrooms and meeting families during district events. “I’ve been walking the buildings, and our teachers are excited,” Olin said. “We’ve had our back-to-school nights. I think four of the schools have had them in the last two days.” The district also celebrated the opening of Amplify Hancock, a new career center that held a ribbon-cutting ceremony July 21. The facility, the first new career center in the area in nearly 50 years, will serve about 450 students countywide. Greenfield-Central will send about 160 students to the center, which also serves Eastern Hancock, New Palestine and Mt. Vernon. Olin said local dignitaries and elected officials, including Rep. Jefferson Shreve, attended the ribbon-cutting. Olin highlighted academic milestones from the previous year, including the corporation’s highest-ever graduation rate and a 95 percent passing rate on IREAD-3 reading scores. He said second-grade scores reached about 80 percent passing, which Olin described as a significant increase. “Certainly it’s a lot of dedication from staff,” Olin said. “They spend a lot of time with students, giving them many opportunities to demonstrate mastery.” A new state law passed by the General Assembly this spring will change cellphone rules during the school day. Students must store phones away for the entire day, including during lunch and passing periods. For high school students, phones will not be accessible from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. “We’ve not allowed much cellphone use during the school day, but students could access them during passing periods and at lunch,” Olin said. “That will change. Phones must be stored away all day.” While phones must remain in backpacks or lockers, parents can still reach children through the ParentSquare app. The district implemented the app to address parental concerns regarding communication and emergency contact during school hours. As families prepare for the start of classes Monday, Olin recommended focusing on rest and returning to academic routines over the weekend. “It’s simply getting back into routines, going to bed at a decent time here these last few days and just making sure that you’re rested and ready for those routines,” Olin said. This story was formatted for WISHTV.com using AI-assisted tools. Our editorial team reviews andedits all content published to ensure it meets our journalistic standards for accuracy and fairness. ...read more read less