HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – The Harrisburg School District is getting ready to start the new school year and big changes are already happening.

40 new teachers have been hired and the entire staff will gather for an opening convocation on Monday, a rare occurrence as the district spokesperson says one hasn’t been held in years.

Nearly 1,000 Harrisburg school district employees will converge at Harrisburg High School John Harris campus.

Jody Barksdale is getting ready to start her 21st year teaching in Harrisburg School District, but she says this year feels like a new beginning.

“We only have up to go right? We can only improve things. Everybody is extremely excited about the start of the school year,” says Barksdale, adding, “We’re going to have the materials we need to do the jobs we need to do. We’re going to be able to meet the needs of all the kids.”

The credit for that is being given to the new leadership with the new hires and administrative changes that have been implemented.

The excitement is palpable for the community and faculty as there have been years prior when district buildings were not fully ready to open at this time of year and students arrived back at school regardless, without class schedules.

With this many changes, this start looks dramatically different than years past.

Barksdale says that people are much more excited about this coming school year than in years past.