It was two times the hustle and bustle that comes with the first
day of school at P.A. Walsh Elementary School Tuesday as the staff
there welcomed more than 300 new students.
It was two times the hustle and bustle that comes with the first day of school at P.A. Walsh Elementary School Tuesday as the staff there welcomed more than 300 new students.
Parents hurried their children to classrooms, students reunited with friends they’ve missed over the summer months and more than 730 students and teachers gathered in the field to start the first day together by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
Walsh’s student body swelled from 365 to 735 this year, after budget cuts over the past 18 months caused the Morgan Hill Board of Education to vote to close Burnett Elementary School and send its students to Walsh this year. Burnett’s closure saves the district almost half a million dollars a year.
Walsh’s 10-acre campus was outfitted with nine new portables, for a total of 14; a new portable restroom facility; seven new staff parking spaces; and five or six new buses. Last year, Walsh had no buses, Principal Natalie Gioco said.
The transition has been “surprisingly and exceedingly smooth,” Deputy Superintendent Bonnie Tognazzini said.
Gioco attributed the successful first day to her staff.
“We had our nine new classrooms that came in that needed cabinetry and countertops, things of that nature, and we had a volunteer crew of 31 come in one Saturday over the summer and install everything,” Gioco said. “We had a huge outpouring of assistance and help.”
Walsh will likely have the largest student body of any of the district’s eight elementary schools. Last year, Nordstrom was the largest school, with 690 pupils.
“Everyone seems to be working really well together,” Walsh Home and School Club President Paula Scotney-Castle said. “It’s not Walsh or Burnett, it’s a combination school.”
Students relished in the large population.
“I made some new friends today,” first grader Brianna Mandujano, who attended Burnett last year, said after school Tuesday.
Her brother, fifth grader Ernesto Mandujano, said he liked his new school.
“I thought it was going to be smaller, but the fields are bigger, they’re better,” Ernesto said.
Second grader Elijah Viramontes attended Walsh last year.
“It’s fun having a lot of kids coming to P.A. Walsh,” he said. “There are more kids to play with.”
Some parents, however, weren’t quite as thrilled.
“I had to park five blocks down, over by (Galvan) park,” Brianna and Ernesto’s father Ricardo Mandujano lamented as they began the trek after school let out.
Traffic crept along West Main Avenue Tuesday afternoon as School Resource officer Gary Cupps directed motorists. Walsh lets out at 2:30 p.m. Nearby Britton Middle School then lets out at 2:50 p.m., making for a harried afternoon hour for West Main.
Last year, Walsh let out at 1:55 p.m. But that had to change to accommodate the new bus schedule, Gioco said.
“Were doing a lot of direct enforcement just to slow people down,” school resource officer Mike Nelson said. “Walsh has been impacted greatly, with limited parking and access, and it’s in a residential neighborhood.”
But, there have been no accidents or incidents there or elsewhere in the district, he said.
The district’s other seven elementary schools, two middle schools and three high schools also welcomed students Tuesday. The Charter School of Morgan Hill opened Thursday.
Last year, about 9,300 students were enrolled in Morgan Hill schools. District officials were not available for comment on the estimated enrollment this year.
Just one new principal joined Morgan Hill’s leadership this year, Phil Duncan at Paradise Valley Elementary School. San Martin/Gwinn Elementary School will be led by former Burnett principal Barbara Neal.
