By Brooklynn Wong
Though summer doesn’t officially end until late next month, most local students have already had to say goodbye to slumber parties, homework-free evenings and spending weekday afternoons at the water park.
Most students in the area went back to school this week. The Magnolia School District and Cypress College are two notable holdouts adhering to the ways of yore and not getting back in session until the last two weeks of August.
Local residents have mixed feelings, as an Independent poll taken on our website revealed that 50% are content with the time that area kids now go back to school, and 50% are not.
However the early start does mean that school will end by late May of 2019.
Is the attendance at local attractions impacted by this early back-to-school date? It’s a mixed bag.
A source at Disneyland says that the school year does not have much influence on attendance at the resort, because the multiple limited-time experiences that happen throughout the year—like Pixar Fest, which has run through most of the summer and will continue well past the start of the school year into September—still draw a crowd, regardless of when they happen. They also have highly-publicized and well-attended holiday events just around the corner after that, with Halloween, and then the “holiday season” events getting underway in early November.
Smaller regional attractions like Knott’s Berry Farm may be more impacted. A spokesperson at Knott’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Anaheim Union High School District (AUHSD) and Centralia Elementary School District were the earliest of nearby districts to start, with Aug. 8 as the first day.
On that day, AUHSD spokeswoman Patricia Karlak said, “We welcomed back 30,000 students today and everything seemed to have gone well. Students were excited and nervous about the new year, as were teachers. We have some construction taking place at four of our schools so that was a bit challenging during drop off and pick up, but everyone seemed to adjust and we appreciate their adaptability. It’s going to be a great year!”
Similarly, Cypress School District Superintendent Anne Silavs said, “We are eager to begin a new school year, and look forward to some exciting changes in 2018/19. This year, our teachers will implement a new reading/language arts curriculum, and we have expanded the district music program to include band. We know our students will benefit from these two priority initiatives, which will further enhance the high-quality educational program we proudly provide in the Cypress School District. It’s going to be a great year!”
Have a great school year, students, and remember that you can always contact us with your school news, academic accomplishments, or student-athlete stories, at newsroom@localnewspapers.org.
