Education Feature: Back in session

CNJ staff photo: Gabriel Monte Clovis High School freshman students wait for their parents to pick them up Wednesday after the first day of classes.

The first day of school went smoothly at the Clovis High School Freshman Campus, the newest addition to Clovis schools. And principals from Clovis schools are reporting the same.

About 600 ninth-graders walked through the halls Wednesday of the former Gattis Junior High School, according to Principal Diana Russell, about what was expected.

“I was at Marshall for 10 years and I can’t remember any day that was as smooth as we’ve had today on the first day of school,” she said. “So I think that’s very interesting.”

She credits the first day’s smooth run to an open house Monday that gave the high school freshmen an early look at their new school. Clovis freshmen attended one of the district’s three junior highs until this year.

“We felt that the students were well prepared and well informed, and they knew right where to go,” she said.

Freshman Delilah Rodriguez was surprised the transition to the new freshman-only campus was without incident.

“(The first day) went better than I expected,” said Rodriguez, who attended Gattis as a seventh- and eighth-grader. “It’s better than last year, or the year before that.”

Aaron Gardner, who attended what is now Marshall Middle School, was also wary of mixing ninth-graders from three junior high schools.

“I thought it would be a catastrophe,” said Gardner.

Russell said the students united under the high school’s colors.

“They blended into a beautiful shade of purple,” Russell said.

Attendance numbers for the school district were not available Wednesday, according to Clovis officials.

Yucca Middle School Principal Alan Dropps said the school is adjusting to the loss of ninth-graders. Yucca was the biggest school in the district with more than 750 students enrolled. Now the school houses about 560 students.

“We have less students than we’ve had in the past, which helps us concentrate a little easier on individual student needs,” he said.

The middle school is also implementing a mentoring system, in which eighth-graders helped seventh-graders find their way around the school. About 30 eighth-graders were selected as mentors.

“Sometimes students feel comfortable asking another student than they do an adult,” Dropps said.