DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. – Duval County students are now back in the classroom. That includes the roughly 1,500 students enrolled at Ribault High School in Northwest Jacksonville.
Aiyana Jennings, Miss Ribault High School 2022-2023, stood out on Monday. As Miss Ribault, Aiyana told News4JAX her goal was to help the new students.
“I know what it feels like to feel alone and to come from a middle school to a high school, you feel like you don’t know nobody,” Jennings said. “But everybody’s cool and they’ll be able to open up to you.”
Jennings and her fellow seniors shared their goals and ambitions as they started the new school year.
“I’m just excited to go through and get to college,” Narryah Wingfield, a senior at Ribault said. “That’s been my dream since middle school. I want to go into psychology because I want to be an art therapist.”
It seems college is at the front of the mind for a lot of high school seniors.
“I’m looking at a college, take some more visits,” John Nunn, a senior at Ribault, said. “I’ve already taken some, hoping to get into some higher classes and get myself to college.”
School safety is also front and center this year. Students at Ribault can only carry clear or mesh backpacks. Extras were there for students who needed them.
“Not really liking that everyone can see what you have, but it’s a safety mechanism,” Nunn said. “So, I’m pretty cool with that.”
And like many schools in the district, Ribault is starting the year with teacher vacancies. But students and staff remain optimistic.
