More students return to school in North Texas

MANSFIELD, Texas - It’s the first day of school for 36 more districts in North Texas. Denton and Mansfield are the biggest.

FOX 4’s Saul Garza visited Erma Nash Elementary in Mansfield to get a look at what’s new this year. For the first kindergarten teachers will participate in a two-way dual language program.

“We are having a 50/50 program where we place English speakers with Spanish speakers in one classroom. It’s a really neat setting. They learn from each other. They learn both languages, both English and Spanish, and we’re really excited because we’ve been wanting this for a while and it’s actually here,” said Magaly Erves, a kindergarten teacher at Nash Elementary.

Erves said despite concerns that the program will slow students down, studies show they actually excel and have higher test scores.

Students in Anna, Athens, Commerce, Kennedale, Prosper and Rice have already returned to class. Dozens of other districts will be back on Monday. Then Dallas and some other districts will start a week later.

Law enforcement officials warn people to watch for school zones now that the summer is over.

We’d love to see your first day of school pictures. Post them on the FOX 4 News Facebook page or on Twitter using #Ready4School.