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Palos Verdes Peninsula students head back to school with ‘amazing’ energy

The Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District opened its doors for 10,400 students on Wednesday, Aug. 23, for the first day of classes.

Devin Serrano, the district’s recently named superintendent, was on hand to greet students at Montemalaga Elementary School. She said the first day at all the schools was inspiring.

“Students, teachers, staff, and families were excited to return to school,” Serrano said. “I really feel the sense of community at each of the schools and am looking forward to a great year.”

Montemalaga principal Curtis Chin, who also greeted students in the morning, said the energy at his school was amazing on opening day.

“Kudos to our remarkable teachers and staff who worked around the clock preparing for this day,” Chin said. “Seeing our students’ smiling faces as they arrived made it all worthwhile.”

Chin also thanked Serrano for joining in on the first-day memories.

PVPUSD has adopted new curriculum in social studies, world language and science, Serrano said.

The Spanish Dual Immersion program, meanwhile, will begin this year with its first kindergarten class at Lunada Bay.

The school district is also partnering with Los Angeles Harbor College to offer Dual Enrollment Certificate Pathways in culinary arts, data analytics and business.

Over the summer, Serrano said, the district worked on facility upgrades to accommodate transitional kindergarten and ensure “routine maintenance, repairs, and safety enhancements continue to be a focus, as we have many aging facilities.”

The district has 10 elementary schools, three intermediate schools, two high schools, one continuation school and one distance learning academy, according to the PVPUSD website.