YORBA LINDA : New Bryant Ranch School Opens Doors

Nearly 900 students passed through the doors of the new Bryant Ranch Elementary School on Tuesday, marking the first day of classes at the long-awaited facility on Yorba Linda’s east side.

The school is the first to open in the Placentia/Yorba Linda Unified School District since 1987, when Travis Ranch Elementary School was finished.

“It has been wonderful,” said Principal Bonnie Drolet, who said there were no major glitches the first day. “The kids are really enthusiastic. The parents couldn’t believe that they would go through a school this beautiful.”

For the past year, 370 students were housed in portable classrooms at the site while the permanent facility was constructed. The new facility, at 24695 Paseo de Toronto, now houses 865 students, relieving enrollment at Woodsboro Elementary School.

The $6.8-million facility is believed to be the easternmost elementary school in North County, signifying the dramatic growth in population over the past five years in Yorba Linda. The school’s attendance boundaries extend to the Orange-Riverside county border.

“It’s just booming (out here),” Drolet said. “We’re about as far east as you can go.”

The school, on a 20-acre site landscaped with palms, has 27 classroom teachers and four music and physical education specialists. It is centrally located within new housing tracts, and most students can walk to school.

An official opening ceremony will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, when a helicopter will land to deliver a framed picture of the school logo.