Back-to-School Season is Here

August means back to school for thousands of students attending public schools in Orange County. 

All but one of the 28 public school districts in O.C. will start the 2024-25 school year this month. Only the Huntington Beach City School District will welcome its students back on its eight campuses after the Labor Day holiday. 

Unlike in past years, the Ocean View School District will begin the school year before September. Students in OVSD will start classes on August 28.

With a vote in January, the OVSD Board of Trustees shifted the school year’s start date to one week earlier than in past years to align with the calendar of the Huntington Beach Union High School District and to resolve “the year-end scheduling conflict related to the Juneteenth holiday,” according to the OVSD website. And the district will have one fewer campus open after voting to close Spring View Middle School due to declining enrollment.

Students in a few districts have already said goodbye to summer with classes starting the first week of August. 

Centralia School District had the earliest start date in O.C. with students returning from summer break on August 6. FOX 11 was at Dysinger Elementary School in Buena Park to capture the mood as students and families started the new academic year. 

“We are excited,” one mother and grandmother of a Dysinger 2nd grader said about school being back in session.

At the Cypress School District’s six elementary schools, teachers and students spent their first day in class on August 8. That was also the first day of classes in the the Anaheim Elementary School District, with its new superintendent, Jesus
"Jesse" Chavarria. 

“Our theme is ‘Growing Stronger Every Day,” Chavarria told KCAL news about the district’s goal for the school year. “The goal is for us to kind of just take a look at everything that we do, and we understand we can't go from zero to 60 overnight, but if we can just focus on those small gains every day, you know, get 1% stronger, as they say, we believe that bringing everything together at the end of the year will show some great success.”

The Santa Ana Unified School District and the Garden Grove Unified School District are both hosting photo contests to mark the first day of classes on August 12. Students and parents are encouraged to post photos on social media of the first day of school with hashtags or submit them to the district. Students in Santa Ana could win a Target gift card, and in Garden Grove, they could score some swag from the district.

"We look forward to seeing our scholars back in class, ready for the start of a successful new school year!" reads a post on Santa Ana USD's Instagram account.

How are you feeling about the start of the school year? Does your campus have first day traditions that you want to share?

Send us thoughts by emailing hello@spotlightschools.com.