Smooth sailing on Crane’s 1st day
Students return to area schools
The first day of the school year for the Crane School District went off without a hitch, according to Crane Superintendent Laurie Doering.
Additionally, the school year kickoff ended up being an early release day for students in the district. Doering, who visited some of the schools, noted that there was “a lot of great energy” going around for the first day and that many parents elected to drive their children to school for the start of the school year.
She added that while some schools saw more students than expected, only a few adjustments were needed to keep the day running smoothly.
“We had a few schools that ended up with a few more kids than we anticipated,” Doering said. “We
had more kids than we thought would show up at Centennial, Salida Del Sol, Rancho Viejo and H.L.S. (H.L. Suverkrup). But we had a good first day and we are excited.”
Overall, she said about 10 more students showed up for school than anticipated for the district as a whole. For certain schools, however, that number was higher, such as at Centennial Middle School.
“Today we had 651 students show up at Centennial, which is 40 more than expected,” she said.
Each school varies, she noted, adding that some schools were down in numbers from what was expected.
“Crane Middle School didn’t have as many students, as well as Gary Knox,” she said. “We compare it to last year on the same day and sometimes what they do is they look at the people that enroll and sometimes parents might enroll at two or three schools. Sometimes it’s kind of hard to anticipate based on who enrolls at the schools.”
Another factor to consider when looking at the numbers, she noted, is the fact that some families that have older and younger siblings will send all their children to school at the same time once the high schools begin their school season, which this year is a day later for some districts.
“We take a look at the kids that arrive the first two weeks of school to see if classes need to be adjusted,” she said. “We hope to get more kids if they are staying home. We hope that they come because the teachers and all those things that they do the first few days of school, as well as kids meeting friends and bonding, are really important. So we hope that if parents are waiting that they will get their kids to school.”
As far as teaching positions, Doering said there are currently two open jobs in the district that need to be filled: a music teacher at Ronald Reagan and a beginning band teacher at Rancho Viejo Elementary School.
For more information or for other job listings within the district, visit craneesd. tedk12.com/hire/Index. aspx
Schools within the Crane School District include Gary A. Knox Elementary School, Gowan Science Academy, H.L. Suverkrup Elementary School, Mesquite Elementary School, Pueblo Elementary School, Rancho Viejo Elementary School, Ronald Reagan Fundamental School, Salida Del Sol Elementary School, Valley Horizon Elementary School, Great Beginnings Preschool, Centennial Middle School and Crane Middle School.
Other students who began their school year Wednesday included those within the Somerton School District. The district was unable to be reached for comment at the time of publication.
Other school districts that will start their school year this week and next week include:
• Aztec High, Educational Opportunity Center Charter High School, Yuma Union High School District Thursday, Aug. 2
• District One, Gadsden Elementary, AmeriSchools (North & South)-Monday, Aug. 6
• Harvest Preparatory Academy (all campuses) Tuesday, Aug. 7