MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Public Schools rolled out the red carpet for the first day of class at Maryland Avenue Montessori School.
However, classes were cut short Tuesday, because of the extreme heat.
“When looking at the heat index for today, we decided to pivot to an early dismissal to make sure we meet the safety needs of all of our consumers — which is our children, which is our staff, which is our community — and we will start it all over again tomorrow morning," said MPS Superintendent Keith Posley.
Gov. Tony Evers also joined MPS officials in welcoming back students.
Even with all of the heat-related challenges, Evers thanked everyone who made getting back to school possible.
“It is equally important that each year presents a new opportunity for educators and students alike to grow, to learn, to inspire and to create new connections,” said Evers.
Chankan Yang is a junior at Riverside University High School. He spent his morning at Maryland Avenue Montessori School helping get grade schoolers pumped up for the new year.
“We don’t have many people in our band this early in the morning, but I'm still looking forward to it," said Yang. "It’s going to be fun to hype up all of the students. It’s the first day of school for them.”
For Yang, this school year is about having fun in the moment and looking to the future.
“[I want to] to learn more music and get ready for college,” said Yang.
Dessa O’Shea is entering the fifth grade at Maryland Avenue Montessori School.
“I’m feeling kind of nervous and really excited to see my friends again,” said O'Shea.
O’Shea said she has a goal in mind for this school year.
“I’m going to try to get better at math because I’m not very good at it,” said O'Shea.
Tanya Price is a K3 teacher at the school. Price said for the first day of class, she is making sure kids have retained lessons from the prior school year
“My job is to prepare them for their next steps, so the children are with me for three years, so I really get to know them and their learning style and hopefully by the time they leave, they are reading, writing and doing some really good math work,” said Price.
While many were excited to get back to school, the early dismissal due to extreme heat put a slight damper on things.
Yang said he understands the decision but was a little disappointed.
“I was really looking forward to practice on the drumline tonight, because there was practice tonight,” said Yang.
However, Yang said he knows it’s just the first day of school and that there is a lot of time left.