School Bell Rings In the Rite of Passage

VENTURA —  Clutching a bright red lunch box and riding a full head of steam, 5-year-old Madeline Dana marched toward her kindergarten classroom with all the confidence of a veteran school kid.

She had waited all summer for the opening bell. Not a week went by without her asking how soon she would be able start her elementary school exploration, her parents said.

And as the weeks turned into days, she began a countdown that ended Tuesday morning at the threshold of the kindergarten complex at Lincoln School in downtown Ventura.

That is where Madeline, brave for so long, finally had enough.

She froze in her tracks, putting on the kind of long face guaranteed to break a parent’s heart. She refused to smile, not interested that her mom and dad had brought along a disposable camera to document her first day in the classroom.

It was as if the weight of this new adventure had suddenly come crashing down, as if she realized that the first day of school was a launching pad for a long stretch of homework and report cards and pop quizzes.

“This is like the beginning of everything for her,” said Jennifer Dana, who managed to coax her daughter into the classroom where she easily made friends and adjusted to her new routine.

“This is the start of open houses and back-to-school nights and fund-raisers and school plays,” Dana added. “It’s a once in a lifetime thing.”

While several school districts have been in session since last month, most Ventura County students return to the classroom this week.

Students in the Moorpark and Camarillo school districts return to class today, while those in Thousand Oaks and Oak Park head back Thursday.

In the Ventura Unified School District, nearly 17,000 students answered the opening bell Tuesday.

Some students, such as Madeline, found themselves in smaller classes, thanks to a statewide push to reduce the number of youngsters in primary grades to 20 or fewer.

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Others, such as 11-year-old sixth-grader Jake Jones at Balboa Middle School, found themselves on campuses bursting at the seams. A record 445 sixth-graders showed up for the first day at the east Ventura school.

“So far it’s cool,” said Jake, who moved from Moorpark to Ventura over the summer. “I was worried about being in class with no one I knew. And I was a little worried going to a school with so many other kids.”

While the search for classroom space continues, the 250-student Lincoln School managed to reduce class size for all students this school year in kindergarten through second grade.

Outside Lincoln’s kindergarten classroom, class-size reduction meant fewer parents having a hard time letting go.

“It’s more traumatic for the parents than for the children,” said teacher Carol Grenfell, who teaches the afternoon kindergarten class at Lincoln. “It’s a big milestone. It means their children are embarking on 12 or more years of education.”

But parents on Tuesday said it’s more than that. The first day of school is a rite of passage, parents said, a time when children develop a spirit of independence.

And from this vantage point, some parents said they can see way down the road to a time when their sons and daughters will be all grown up and ready to leave the nest.

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“This is it, it’s the real thing,” said Paige Petrides, who dropped off her 5-year-old twins--Ethan and Taylor--in matching Hawaiian shirts Tuesday morning.

“It’s so hard for me to drop off my kids and let go,” she added. “The next thing you know they’re going to be moving out of the house.”

It doesn’t get any easier down the road. Just ask the parents of this year’s sixth-graders at Balboa Middle School.

Following a student orientation Tuesday, attended by the new sixth-graders, dozens of parents met with school officials to discuss some of their concerns.

One mother asked about school security. Another asked whether students were required to shower after gym class. And yet another asked whether Balboa’s dress code would be strictly enforced this year.

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Ventura mother Shelly Kusy said her 12-year-old son, Shane, was nervous about starting the sixth grade. It’s a whole new world at Balboa, she said, far different than anything he experienced at Junipero Serra Elementary.

“He’s in shock,” Kusy said. “He’s never seen anything this big before. And he’s worried that nobody is going to like him and that everyone is going to be mean.”

Parents and students weren’t the only ones feeling anxious Tuesday morning.

Jennifer Marksberry launched her teaching career at Balboa on Tuesday, taking over a sixth-grade class at Ventura’s largest middle school. At 23, she is the youngest member of the Balboa staff.

She is fresh out of college and has spent nearly every day over the past three weeks putting up bulletin boards and adding other touches to get her room ready for her kids.

“It’s been kind of nerve-racking, but the staff has been so supportive,” Marksberry said. “The thing about these kids, is that it’s their first time in middle school and they are petrified. I just want to make it as easy for them as possible. I figure if we can get through this day, we will all be OK.”

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Back to School

While some school districts have been in session for weeks, the vast majority of Ventura County students return to the classroom this week. The following is a list of school districts and when they open their doors.

Today:

Moorpark Unified

Ocean View Elementary

Pleasant Valley Elementary

Santa Clara Elementary

Santa Paula Elementary

Santa Paula Union High School

Thursday:

Conejo Valley Unified

Mupu (Santa Paula)

Oak Park Unified

Monday:

Simi Valley Unified

Source: Ventura County school districts