When Do Bay Area Kids Head Back to School?

By Bay City News Service:

Sharpen those pencils and pack those lunchboxes -- Bay Area students are heading back to school.

Students in the San Jose Unified School District were already back in their seats as of Wednesday, as were students to the north in the Napa Valley Unified School District.

In San Francisco, public schools open their doors on Monday.

“It’s going to be a great year,” said San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Richard Carranza in a message to families posted on the district’s website.

San Francisco police officers will be providing extra enforcement of 15 mile-per-hour zones around schools during the first week of instruction, as well as continued enforcement during the school year, according to Walk San Francisco, a pedestrian safety advocacy group.

San Francisco became the first city in California to install 15-mile-per-hour school zones citywide two years ago, as a way to decrease speeding and encourage families to walk and bike to school, according to Walk San Francisco.

Parochial schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco have their first day of school on Aug. 25.

In Marin County, Novato public school students head back to school on Wednesday, as do students in the Tamalpais Union High School District.

On the Peninsula, high school students in the Palo Alto Unified School District go back to school on Monday, while younger students get an extra day of vacation and don’t start school until Tuesday.

Students in the San Mateo-Foster City School District get a longer reprieve still, with school starting on Aug. 27.

In the East Bay, Berkeley public school students start classes on Aug. 27, and students in the Pleasanton Unified School District head back to school on Aug. 25.

(IMAGE VIA SHUTTERSTOCK)