Gary MoskowitzWilson Middle School history teacher Jeff...

Gary Moskowitz

Wilson Middle School history teacher Jeff Severa plans to start the

school year by messing up the room he spent all day Tuesday cleaning.

Glendale Unified School District middle and high schools begin the

2003-04 school year today. Year-round elementary schools began in

July and August, and traditional-calendar elementary schools begin

the new school year Thursday.

Severa, and teachers throughout the district, spent Tuesday

attending teacher-training sessions and preparing their classrooms

for the first day of school.

First thing this morning, Severa will ask his students to write

three things about themselves on a piece of paper, crumple the paper

up and toss it across the room. Another student will pick up the

piece of paper and take turns reading about the other students.

“Today, we will be a little rowdy, but with a purpose,” Severa

joked. “Going from sixth to seventh grade is one of the toughest

transitions. They are going from one teacher to six, and they’re not

used to juggling classes, having lockers or getting around a new

campus.”

Miranda Morgan is dreading -- and looking forward to -- her

eighth-grade year at Wilson.

“I’m not looking forward to getting up at 6 a.m. every day,” said

Miranda, 13. “But I’m looking forward to seeing my friends every day.

This is a good year, because you’re at the top in eighth grade.”

Hoover High School Co-principal Kevin Welsh compared beginning a

new school year to getting through an important athletic competition.

“We’re kind of like football coaches right now,” Welsh joked. “To

win, we need to focus on what is important right now. And, we’re also

having fun just getting everybody situated.”

District officials predict that about 430 fewer students will be

enrolled in the district than last year at this time. Glendale

schools had 29,795 students enrolled in the 2002-03 school year,

according to district reports. Officials predict an enrollment this

year of 29,365 students.

District officials said that a drop in birth rates, as well as a

growing number of families with children moving from Glendale and a

rising cost of living in parts of Glendale, could be the cause of a

decline in enrollment, specifically in south Glendale.

The district will receive about $2 million less this year from the

state in student attendance funds, based on enrollment projections,

officials said.