BULLITT COUNTY, Ky. (WDRB) -- Bullitt County Schools welcomed students back to class Wednesday.

The county cut 100 bus routes down to 85 to help combat the driver shortage. Director of Transportation David Phelps said drivers will be carrying more students on the bus to do so and he'd like to hire up to 20 drivers.

Bullitt Central High School started its day at 7:10 a.m. School Principal Joe Pat Lee said it's always an exciting time on the first day.

It's also back to mask-optional in Bullitt County.

"We're just excited to get back to our consistency and normalcy of just being ready to go and letting kids enjoy high school," Lee said.

Angela Zorn, a U.S. History teacher at the high school, is going on her 24th year teaching.

"It's a little strange, because you've gotten kind of used to that idea of the mask," Zorn said. "But it's a whole lot easier to to get to know kids when I can see their faces."

Fellow teacher Tiphanie Peake agreed.

"Not seeing faces was hard and then not seeing our faces was probably even harder going through the day and not seeing one teacher smile at them ever, even though we were smiling behind the mask," Peake said.

Both educators were happy to get back in the routine of what they do best teach.

"Goals for this year is to get kids excited about history, to get them to start digging into all of those things that make us who we are, to get them to think, to get them to to really enjoy the time that we spend together," Zorn said.

Over in the "ag shop" with Peak, her class is no stranger to animals with plenty of little eyes looking on.

"Just to be able to hold that cat, or chinchilla, ferret — I have so many in my room — you know, it just brings that sense of belonging and that they are caring for something, and it really helps," she said.

Going on its second year, students in her class can also help facilitate adoptions of cats and kittens in a partnership with the Nelson County Humane Society.

Even with new activities, Peake said some things never change.

"I've seen lots of the education chains move and change, but there's two things that will always stay the same, and that's my love for teaching and the kids love of learning," Peake said.

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