School Bells Cause Jitters on the 1st Day

Looking more than a little nervous as he took his seat next to his classmates at Santa Paula’s Little Red Schoolhouse, 5-year-old Wyatt Beckman held tight to his mother’s arm.

But Wyatt was not the only one suffering from a bad case of the jitters.

“It’s hard to let go,” said Natalie Beckman, as she tried to comfort her son. “I was fine until a second ago, and then I started crying.”

Beckman was one of several parents who found it hard to part with their children. Students from Wyatt’s school, officially known as Santa Clara School, and the nearby Briggs Elementary School District in Santa Paula returned to class Tuesday from their summer break.

First-day enrollment at Santa Clara School, the county’s only one-room schoolhouse, was 34, up six from last year, said Ruth Metcalf, the school’s principal and one of its two teachers.

Metcalf said the school is not equipped to handle many more students.

“We only have one more desk,” she said. Parents who want their children to attend the school will be referred to schools in Fillmore and Santa Paula, she said.

Enrollment at the two-school Briggs district was 331, an increase of 10 students over the previous year, said Carol Vines, principal at Briggs School.

“We had a real smooth start,” Vines said. “The children came in and didn’t have any trouble finding their classes. It was like they had never been away.”

The Santa Clara Elementary School District and Briggs were the only districts in Ventura County on a regular classroom schedule to kick off the new school year Tuesday.

The Simi Valley Unified School District, the largest district in the county with 18,000 students, will open its doors today.

Countywide, more than 80,000 students are scheduled to return to class over the next two weeks.

At Santa Clara School on Tuesday, several parents of newly enrolled students brought cameras and video equipment to record their children’s first day in the classroom.

“We’re all nervous,” said Cindy Largey as she snapped pictures of her daughter Jessica, 6, who is starting the first grade, and her son Ashley, 7, who is entering the third grade. Largey said she was particularly concerned about Jessica, who sat quietly at the back of the room clutching a pencil.

“She had to leave her security blanket at home today,” Largey said. “That was a big step for her.”

Across the room, Joyce Casey beamed with pride as her grandson Lance, 7, checked out his new desk. Casey said her son and two daughters also attended Santa Clara School more than 20 years ago.

She said the school is unique because students in kindergarten through the sixth grade are taught together in one classroom.

“It’s a great school,” Casey said. “All the kids get special attention and the older kids help the younger ones.”

Meanwhile, Rachel Nelson, 10, and Hillary Risher, 9, were discussing the pros and cons of returning to school.

“I’m glad because I’m out of the house,” Rachel said.

“Why?” Hillary asked.

“Because I won’t have to do any work,” Rachel said.

“But we have to do more work here,” Hillary said. “Why are you happy about that?”

Although many districts have had to eliminate teaching positions or cut special programs because of budget constraints, neither Briggs nor Santa Clara had to make budget cuts this year, officials said.

“It has not really affected us,” Metcalf said. “We don’t have a lot of administrative costs.”

Vines said her school had to eliminate its music program last year, but so far this year has not had to make any additional cuts.

“We think we’re going to be OK,” she said. “It all depends on what the state Legislature decides to do with the budget.”

The Legislature has been locked in a fight over a state budget package. One of the areas that lawmakers have disagreed on is whether to reduce education spending this year, or to postpone any cuts until next year.