District 13 students ready to learn again

About 2,200 elementary school students went back to school in District 13 on Sept. 7. It was also the first day of school for Superintendent Dr. Adrienne Robb-Fund, who joined the district over the summer.

“There’s nothing like the first day of school,” she said. “It’s the best. It’s such an exciting time.”

At Howell Road School, parents of new kindergarten students brought their children out of the rain and into the gymnasium, where they waited for the teachers to come in and gather their classes. Claudio Ramirez said his son had mixed emotions leading up to the first day. “He was excited up until this very moment,” Ramirez said in a crowded gym with more than 100 parents, students and staff members. “Now he’s a little nervous.”

Ramirez said his son was most excited about buying a new pair of sneakers for school. For Daphny LaFrance, whose son Nash was starting kindergarten, it was all about the Spiderman backpack.

LaFrance said her son was excited for his first day, and looking forward to making new friends. “He doesn’t say kindergarten,” she said. “He says ‘I’m going to the big boys school.’”

And even though his mother offered to drop him off and pick him up from school every day, Nash refused. He wants to ride the bus.

Outside Howell Road School, Robb-Fund watched as music teachers Michael Rodgers and Louis Panacciulli greeted every child as they walked in the front doors. The superintendent said she loved the excitement of the teachers at all of the schools. “The people on duty seemed to know every kid’s name and greeted them with a smile,” she said. “They really have a good sense of community.”