School got off to a fine, if oddly hectic, start Wednesday for the new Twin Rivers Unified School District, according to district officials.
"It was kind of a quirky first day," Trinette Marquis, Twin Rivers' director of communications, reported as the historic day came to an end. The district was created July 1 when four school districts in the northern areas of Sacramento County merged.
Many families registered at the last minute at a number of Twin Rivers schools, Marquis said. It left lobbies packed, registrars and principals scrambling, and cafeterias with students trying to get matched up with schedules.
One elementary charter school, Creative Connections Arts Academy, had to shut down a kindergarten classroom because of a pipe leak.
At another school, Noralto Elementary, children and staff went into lockdown mode for 10 minutes for what turned out to be a non-emergency. The nearby adult program at Las Palmas Center also was under the lockdown. A staff member at Las Palmas, who had been followed by a suspicious vehicle Tuesday, reported seeing a similar vehicle in the vicinity Wednesday after lunch, prompting the precautionary measures. Police investigated and found it was not the same vehicle, Marquis said.
Rio Linda Junior High and Rio Linda High School opened classes with a handful of protesters outside each campus. The protesters were upset that the California Teachers Association had donated $250,000 to a "No on 8" campaign. The campaign is being waged against Proposition 8, a November ballot measure that would ban same-sex marriage.
All in all though, opening day went well, Marquis said. The district won't know the overall tally of students enrolled for another week or so. But somewhere between 26,000 and 30,000 students in grades kindergarten through 12 said goodbye to summer and hello to a brand-new school system on Wednesday.
Call The Bee's Deb Kollars, (916) 321-1090.
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