'I still get butterflies': Flurry of nerves, joy as Coachella Valley Unified starts new year

A kindergartener — decked out in an oversized Spider-Man backpack — smiled and strutted from the parking lot curb to the schoolhouse gates on his first day of school Thursday. Moments later, he dashed back into his father’s arms as the reality of separation sank in.

So began one family’s experience this week as the new school year started at Coachella Valley Unified School District — a day filled with anticipation, anxiety and joy for students of all ages and the staff supporting them.

CVUSD is the final K-12 school district in the valley to welcome its students — more than 16,000 of them, to be specific — back to school. The largely rural district stretches from Indio, Coachella, Thermal, Mecca and Oasis to the shores of the Salton Sea.

Desert Sands Unified School District began two days prior to CVUSD on Aug. 20, while Palm Springs Unified School District started on Aug. 7.

"I still get butterflies in my stomach," said Bernadette Miramontes of the first day of school.

Miramontes, a teacher at Mountain Vista Elementary School in Indio, felt the nervous excitement felt by many as she enters her 40th year at CVUSD. "I'm a great-great-great-teacher," she said, noting her history of teaching multiple generations of families. The night before, a former student from her first class, now in her 40s, shared photos of her children.

"I'm just excited for a brand new year," Miramontes said while taking photos for the yearbook. "We have great things coming."

The 2024-25 year will bring new beginnings and challenges: The school district is restructuring its educational services department to implement a districtwide multi-tiered support system instructional framework, as well as a new superintendent — who will soon embark on a listening and learning tour at each school site during her first 100 days.

But on Thursday, it was mostly smiles at the schoolhouse gates.

Students and parents began trickling in near the front gates as early as 7 a.m., well before they opened. While waiting, students took turns posting for photos in front of a few star-shaped balloons in various shades of blue, and by a window displaying the school’s mascot, a Bobcat.

Principal Valerie Perez and her staff, dressed in matching black and turquoise T-shirts from the Booster Club, greeted students with hugs and, perhaps, extra enthusiasm. After all, it's Perez's last school year as a Bobcat — she's retiring at the end of this school year after 34 years with the district. Before becoming an administrator at the school, she taught at Mountain Vista Elementary when it opened in 2000.

"I'm excited and sad," she said. "The other day, I was leaving (the school) and I sat in my car and thought, 'Is this really what I want to do?'"

Perez, however, remained focused and spent the balmy morning wishing her students and their parents a great school year while sharing laughs with her colleagues. ( Superintendent Frances Esparza danced just a few feet away to KidzBop tunes, while Bea Gonzalez, the district's director of expanded learning and a board trustee at College of the Desert , was overheard telling the principal she can’t "bust those kinds of moves anymore.")

Nearby, fourth grader Ileana Castro, sporting iridescent Converse shoes, sat next to her grandmother as they watched other students arrive on campus. The school is "great," Castro said, adding that she loves everything about it — her class, her friends, “and the learning,” her grandmother chimed in with a laugh.

She especially enjoys math, with reading as a close second. Her favorite books are all about princesses, particularly Pixar's "Frozen." As she thinks about her favorite characters — Princesses Elsa and Anna of Arendelle, of course — her eyes lit up when she spotted a friend who rushed over to greet her. "That's Christopher! You're in third grade, right?" she asked. "Yeah, I'm almost going to be 9 years old," he replied, darting away as quickly as he arrived.

Fellow third grader Naya Ceceña stayed close to her mom but kept her eyes on the lookout for her friends. "I'm happy to be here with her," Melanie Anaya said. "There's no work today, so I'm splurging it with her."

The mother-daughter duo have a close-knit bond, both wearing matching pendants featuring a portrait of them together: Ceceña wears hers as a necklace, while Anaya keeps hers on a keychain.

Anaya said she cherishes this time in her daughter’s life before she starts middle school in a few years, noting her growing emotional maturity while still being young enough to enjoy playing with dolls. "She still wants me here, holding her hand," she said. "We talk about breakfast and apple juice and orange juice instead of her, you know, copping an attitude of, 'Are you going to go already?' It's heavenly."

Cradling a sparkly Hello Kitty water canteen, Jolene Lapeña said she's excited to work on division in the fifth grade, but if she were the teacher, the first day of school would be all about fun for the kids.

"You know how on Fridays, the teachers do something fun? We'd probably watch a movie or something like that," Lapeña said, later adding it'd likely be "SpongeBob" and that she's already seen the newest movie on Netflix. (She recommends it.)

As parents Melissa Mexia and Isaac Araujo walked toward the school entrance with their son and daughter, dad revealed that while the kids slept soundly the night before, mom was up all night. It's a day full of nerves and happiness — "because summer is over," Mexia said, laughing. "But mostly nerves because it's the first day. I don't know how they're going to react."

Her kindergartener — who was in transitional kindergarten the last few years — has eagerly anticipated the return to school for nearly two weeks, but her first grader hasn’t quite had the same enthusiasm. (Though he was later spotted briefly wiggling around to the music playing.)

"I've been kind of hyping him up for the first day, telling him 'You're going to do amazing this year, you're going to love your teacher,'" she said. "I just hope they have an amazing, wonderful and blessed year."

Sixth grader Ismayla Rodriguez, who has been at Mountain Vista Elementary her entire education, offered some words of wisdom to students who may be feeling anxious about the new school year. "Don't give up with anything. If you're struggling, actually ask for help," she said. "Actually have hope. Don't give yourself bad thoughts."

Though she has some reservations about starting middle school next year, for now, she plans to embrace the surprises sixth grade will bring. "I love that people here are not afraid to be themselves," Rodriguez said. "They're very energetic, kind of weird and crazy."

Her mom, Vannessa, said her daughter has recently kept to herself, observing that she's growing into her teenage years. "She doesn't always talk to me, so to hear her positiveness, at least I know what she's thinking," she said. "I'm scared, too. She's not going to be a little girl anymore."

About 10 minutes before the first bell, two parents are walking back to their respective vehicles in the parking lot after dropping off their kids. One dad playfully teased the other, telling him not to cry. "That's why I'm going to my car," the other dad said.

Jennifer Cortez covers education in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at jennifer.cortez@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: 'I still get butterflies': Flurry of nerves, joy as Coachella Valley Unified starts new year