Back to school for thousands of Santa Rosa students

Families trickled onto campus Tuesday from all directions, arriving early to snap pictures of their kids by their classrooms and under the school sign for the first day of instruction at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts.

Emotions ran high, but it wasn’t just first-day jitters. Students were excited and nervous to be on a brand-new campus.

After the completion of a two-year renovation project, the arts-centered school returned to its original site on Humboldt Street, just north of College Avenue, after operating at the Lewis Opportunity School.

Michelle Diaz, 9, in her new gold-colored Converse high-tops, clutched her father’s hand as she made her way to her fourth-grade class on the second floor of a new building on campus, the former Fremont Elementary School.

“I’m going to have a lot of new people in my class,” she said.

Santa Rosa City Schools welcomed back 16,400 students Tuesday to its 25 campuses, including the charter school, where 400 students are enrolled.

West Sonoma County High and Waugh school districts also resumed classes Tuesday, while Rincon Valley, Roseland and Sonoma Valley students returned to school Monday.

The majority of the county’s 40 districts start school today. By Aug. 28, when the last district returns, 71,000 students will be back in class.

Back to school is an emotional time for both students and parents. Isabel Tiemann wanted to remain close to her foster daughter as she lined up for class at Santa Rosa Charter for the Arts as children scurried along the K-8 campus.

“She has a lot of separation anxiety,” Tiemann said about the girl, whom she did not want to identify. “I know she’s excited, though. She loves art. That’s why I moved her to this school.”

Kristen Vogel, the school’s new principal, welcomed Tiemann’s daughter and other students who gathered on the blacktop, waiting to enter their new classrooms.

“Everybody is super positive and excited to be at this campus,” Vogel said before giving students a brief tour of the playground and discussing safety. They (students) are bright and shiny, ready to embark on a new adventure.”

District officials initially hoped to complete the school renovation this past year. Rick Edson, chief technology and bond officer for the district, said the project was delayed after the district decided to also upgrade existing classrooms. The $12 million project, paid for in part by a state charter facilities matching-fund grant, also faced delays from weather and worker shortages, he said.

Vogel said students are excited about the new digs, which includes a large dance studio, music room and theater space.

“I have my own space. It’s exciting,” said Andrew Ravani, the drama teacher who now has a black box theater in which to teach his middle and elementary school students.

At the old campus, he had to bounce around from classroom to classroom during teachers’ prep periods to teach. He and his students would move all the desks and chairs out of the way before each lesson and then move them back afterward.

“All of us who teach the arts are grateful to be able to teach at a state-of-the-art place like this,” Ravani said. “It’s pretty special.”