Gary Moskowitz
SOUTH SAN FERNANDO DISTRICT -- The first day of school in Burbank was
business as usual Tuesday.
Parents rushed to get their little ones in classrooms on time, older
students stood in long lines and educators simply took it all in stride.
Atique and Mahboba Azizi were pleasantly surprised at their daughter
Zam Zama's excitement at going to school for the first time in her life.
"At 7 a.m., she got up right away, was laughing and ready to go," said
Mahboba Azizi, mother of 5-year-old Zam Zama, a student at Miller
Kindergarten School. "We got her a new dress and socks, notebooks, pens
and crayons, anything she wanted or needed for school today."
Alphabetized lists of students' names attached to a fence outside
Miller Kindergarten School awaited parents, directing them where to take
their children.
After the first day, parents are to say goodbye at the fence, which
isn't always easy for them, said Andrea Canady, director of elementary
education for the school district.
"Last week, we discussed with parents ways to say goodbye so that they
wouldn't cry," Canady said. "In the past, we have had kids running,
screaming, yelling and getting a little upset on their first day, but
today has been great."
