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Students return to Santa Clara School
STORY TOOLS 
More from Education: K-12Only a few tears fell when the Santa Clara Elementary School District's eight new kindergartners started school Thursday.
The one-school district between Santa Paula and Fillmore decided to start classes late in the week to make the transition easier for its 52 students. Principal Kari Skidmore said her newest and youngest students were all smiles from recess on.
"The kids seemed happy to return," she said, and "the teachers did a great job."
The tiny school district has three teachers, including Skidmore, who teaches a K-1 class. Two other classrooms are split into and 4-6 combinations.
Staff members at the school, also called the Little Red Schoolhouse, have to wear many hats. But the small size has advantages, including allowing Skidmore to know all her students and their families before opening day.
"We carefully craft the classes," she said. The school has about seven or eight students at each grade level.
Santa Clara also has a waiting list of about 30 students this year, whom Skidmore said she would love to enroll. But the campus is small, with only one permanent classroom.
With the multi-grade classrooms, parents also play a big role at the school. On Thursday morning, Skidmore said, the Parent Teacher Organization held a coffee for families to get to know one another.
Inside the classrooms, students settled in to writing assessments and math games. "It's an exciting day," Skidmore said.
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