Students Return to Class in District 742

(KNSI) – Parents in the St. Cloud Area School District sent their little ones off for the start of class on Wednesday.

Dennis Mendoza was dropping his 5th grader, 3rd grader and kindergartener off at Madison Elementary and says he’s happy for the school year to begin and is hoping for a typical year.

“It is just exciting. Another school year. Hopefully this school year is going to be normal.”

Mendoza says they chose to send their kids to Madison to take advantage of its Chinese immersion program.

“It’s a very good school. We do the Mandarin Chinese immersion. So it’s a nice little cohort of parents as well as a cohort of students that are buddies and friends. They stick together throughout the program so it’s very attractive.”

It’s also the first year for new Madison Elementary Principal Becky Estrada. She says they’re ready and can’t wait to get started.

“It might look like chaos from the outside but, in here, it’s about excitement. We’ve been planning, we’ve been prepping, we’re excited for the kids to come back. They are the whole reason that we’re here and so when they come back, their excitement and our excitement is kind of like combusting energy.”

While most of Minnesota’s 870,000 students went back to class on Tuesday, District 742 and the Sauk Rapids-Rice School District begin classes for all students Wednesday.

The Sartell St. Stephen School District is open for middle and high school students on Wednesday, with elementary kids starting on Thursday.

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