Central Unified starts school year with new superintendent

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- There was a lot of excitement on Wednesday in Fresno as thousands of students headed back to school at Central Unified. The district also has a new superintendent leading the district this year.

Wearing new school clothes and backpacks, students headed to the first day of school at River Bluff Elementary in Central Unified. It was an exciting day for Sapphire Tylor. "I'm going into 6th grade, and I'm looking forward to seeing my teacher," she said.

It was a picture-perfect day, but also emotional for her mom. "I'm about to cry today too. I'm so proud of her," Karea Tylor said.

Students said goodbye to summer and hello to the new school year on Wednesday. New this year, the district will be led by Superintendent Mark Sutton, who was on hand to welcome students and parents on the first day. He said, "I still get butterflies after 34 years of education, so it's a special time of year, and just to see the enthusiasm and the energy is really invigorating."

Sutton says he wants to lead the district in the right direction. He said, "We still want to really focus on our technology efforts, and we still want to really make sure our kids are experiencing good quality instruction in the classroom so they can be prepared for the next levels and upon graduation do what they really want to do."

It was also a busy morning at Central High's East Campus, as hundreds of students and parents headed to school early to get their schedules. "My daughter is a freshman, and I'm nervous, and she's nervous," parent Patricia Flores said.

The two campuses will be led by new Principal Robert Perez. "Central Unified is always going to be with our Ag department and our career tech; we're getting that going. We're going to focus on literacy this year and what it looks like across all content areas," said Perez.

More than 15,000 students will be attending school in Central Unified this year.

With the new school year on the books, students, teachers and parents say they're looking forward to what the new school year will bring.

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