Summer's Over: A Half Million Students Return To School In Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, CA — It was back to school Tuesday for the nation's second- largest school district, as doors opened at Los Angeles Unified campuses and its more than half a million students returned to class.

With classes back in session, school buses were back on Southland streets along with a host of parents delivering their children to and from campus, adding a little more congestion to the morning and mid-afternoon traffic.

LAUSD administrators and school board members visited various campuses throughout the day, with a celebratory theme marking the opening of the last of 131 campuses that were built to "increase access to neighborhood schools and eliminate the need for year-round calendars."

The beginning of the school year also marked another renewal of an annual district goal -- increasing the graduation rate.

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"We are reaching new heights and we will accelerate our pace toward 100 percent graduation," Superintendent Michelle King said in her state-of-the- district speech earlier this month.

King said the district is committed to engaging students with tools such as dual-language pilots in 10 early education programs, research-themed magnet schools, more science and technology offerings and greater access to Advanced Placement classes.

"We must nurture our students -- who are full of hope, wonder and excitement -- about the journey that lies before them," King said. Those steps are all part of an effort to "ensure that all students are in school every day and receiving quality instruction."

King was among the LAUSD officials making the rounds of campuses on the first day of school, including Maywood Center for Enriched Studies, Griffith STEAM Magnet Middle School, Millikan Middle School and Performing Arts Magnet and Boys Academic Leadership Academy.

Members of the LAUSD school board also spent the day visiting students.

"This year is going to be transformative," board president Ref Rodriguez said. "L.A. Unified is becoming closer and more unified in our shared commitment to cultivate high-quality schools and place kids in all of the work that we do. The opening of Maywood Center for Enriched Studies, the last of the 131 schools promised to the people, highlights the fact that through unity and collaboration, we will build bridges across communities and divides to ensure that every school in Los Angeles is a beacon of opportunity."

City News Service; (U.S. Air Force photo/ Airman Anthony Jennings)