Crane Elementary School District and Salome Consolidated Elementary District are kicking off back-to-school season for Yuma and La Paz counties this Monday, July 28.
Over 30 K-12 schools in both counties primarily begin that week and the weeks of Aug. 4 and 11.
Yuma School District One, the largest elementary district in the region, starts on Monday, Aug. 4, with a new superintendent, Denis Ponder.
Ponder's excited for the year to start and shared with KAWC what he's looking forward to.
“Always, always fun to see new faces, fresh faces and familiar faces coming into campus — both from our staff as well as our students," he said. "A lot of opportunity to grow and learn for everyone, a lot of opportunity to have an impact on the lives of, you know, 9,000 students in our community and just as many, if not more, families in our community. So it's a huge role we play.
"We're very excited to continue to be a part of the community and to be an integral part of the education system in Yuma County and looking forward to building from where we are and continuing to improve in every area that we can.”
Lisa Jameson, superintendent and principal at Wellton Elementary School District, is especially looking forward to "a new school year, new beginnings. And then we always have a brand new set of kids who are coming in to kinder, and they're always so cute!"
For parents of young children, Jameson advises talking to them beforehand to prepare them for the new routine.
"The most important thing is, especially for kinder, that parents to prepare those children for kinder, you know: ‘Yes. I'm going to drop you off. Of course, I will always come and pick you up. And yes, it will be fun, but it's also work. You'll learn how to read' and all that," she said.
At Wellton, Jameson shared there's a lot planned this year.
"The little kids are always so excited and, like, we haven't had a librarian," she said. "We didn't have one last year, so this year I will be doing the library classes because library is so important and the kids love that.
"We have a lot of things planned — during the winter months, we have RV parks out here, and the ladies there will come in and teach a class of sewing to our older kids, who are very excited about that. They're practically professionals, so, well, we know that our students will be in good hands. We're really looking forward to this year. We put aside the money part, the people who are here — we'll make it. We'll make it work. It will be a successful year. "
Ponder and Jameson's excitement is shared by many. A quick perusal of other districts' social media pages alone will reveal the preparation schools are undergoing as teachers report back and staff get ready for the new year.
First Day of School dates for Yuma and La Paz:
Monday, July 28
Crane Elementary School District
Salome Consolidated Elementary District
Tuesday, July 29
Menta Academy
Somerton School District
Southwest Technical Education District of Yuma
Wellton Elementary School District
YPIC EOC Charter High School
Yuma Union High School District
Wednesday, July 30
Desert View Academy (Kindergarten)
Desert View Middle School (6th grade)
Parker Unified School District
PPEP TEC High Schools
Thursday, July 31
AmeriSchools
Desert View Academy (1st - 5th grade)
Desert View Middle School (7th-8th grade)
Monday, Aug. 4
Bicentennial Union High School District
Bouse Elementary School District
Freedom Christian Academy
Mohawk Valley Elementary School District
Quartzsite Elementary School District
Yuma School District One
Tuesday, Aug. 5
Hyder Elementary School District
Southwestern Christian School
Wednesday, Aug. 6
Antelope Union High School District
Gadsden Elementary School District
Harvest Preparatory Academy
Monday, Aug. 11
Immaculate Conception School
San Pasqual Valley Unified School District
Wenden Elementary School District
Yuma Adventist Christian School
Tuesday, Aug. 12
Education Options High School (Quartzsite Learning Center)
Friday, Aug. 15
Parker Apostolic Christian Academy
Monday, Aug. 18
Western Arizona Vocational District #50 (La Paz start date)
Monday, Aug. 25
Yuma Christian Academy
Higher Education Fall Term Start Dates:
Arizona Western College - Monday, Aug. 18
Arizona State University - Monday, Aug. 21
Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona - Monday, Aug. 25
This reporting is supported by a grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation.
