Back To Class For New York City Public School Students
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- So long, summer!
Thursday marked the first day of class for students in the New York City public school system.
While some students were excited to get back to the books, others were experiencing first-day jitters.
"My stomach is churning," Ranaldo Munez told CBS 2's Alex Denis.
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But students weren't the only ones feeling nervous.
"As I was walking down the street with the Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott towards the cameras he asked me to hold his hand, he was so nervous because of the first day. For the record, I declined," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
1010 WINS' Steve Sandberg reports
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The two visited the newly-constructed New Settlement Campus in the Bronx to welcome back children and staff.
The $100 million facility doubles as a community center and is complete with an indoor pool, dance center and rooftop garden.
It houses three schools including Mount Eden Elementary School, one of 55 new schools opening this fall.
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"The good news is we keep building schools, the better news is that the demand for seats in our school system goes up even faster, people understand that this school system is dramatically better than it was in the past," Bloomberg said.
"By every measure, New York City's students have made incredible gains, and we're going to push even harder to prepare more students to graduate ready for college or their careers," said Walcott.
The New York City public school system is the largest in the country with more than 1.1 million students enrolled city-wide taught by 75,000 teachers.
WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reports
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"It is a new year, and a new chance to build on the enormous progress that we've made over the last several years," Bloomberg said.
For the new school year, the Department of Education has developed a mobile texting program to keep parents better-informed about what's happening in the schools.
The mobile updates include the school calendar, information on how to enroll in school programs, breakfast and lunch menus and tips on how to access school resources.
Parents can enroll by texting "nycschools" to 877-877.
