First day of class a success for middle and high schools

Nearly 4,500 students spent the day Tuesday finding their new classes, meeting their new teachers and getting ready for one more year of school.

"It was an outstanding opening day," said Glen Adair, principal of Carson High School. "We're real excited about having the kids back."

Adair said the school opened with 2,468 students on the main campus and about 190 at alternative high school sites. With more students scheduled to register, Adair estimates an enrollment of nearly 3,000 students.

"We're going to be OK, but the inn is full," he said.

Carson Middle School is facing a similar increase in students.

Last year, the school housed 1,079 students. This year, Principal Tom Badillo estimates an enrollment of about 1,200.

Badillo said the school will be able to accommodate the growth.

"It's not as if you have a choice," he said. "If you need to, you pull a desk out of storage and put it in someone's classroom."

He is optimistic about the adjustments.

"We feel really good about it," he said. "The teachers work really well together. When everyone cooperates, things generally can be solved."

Eagle Valley Middle School started the year with a new principal and fewer students than last year.

The first day of school last year turned out 839 students, while this year 757 showed up for the first day of school.

Ferd Mariani, the school's new principal, said his first day went well.

"It was very exciting," he said. "All the kids were very excited to find out who their new teachers were and where their classes were."

Mariani served as the vice principal of Carson Middle School for four years and taught at the middle school level. He spent last year serving as principal of Empire Elementary School.

"I'm looking forward, once again, to working with kids while they're at a crossroads in their lives," he said. "I've always felt confident in helping students make what I think are positive decisions about what to do with their lives."

Carson City elementary schools are back in session today. Elementary school teachers used Tuesday as a preparation day for the beginning of school.