At Wilson Elementary, a mix of excitement, sorrow

Jessica Garrison

COSTA MESA--It was a bittersweet two days for Wilson Elementary School,

which opened Thursday, a full three weeks before any other school in the

Newport-Mesa district.

There was the tremendous excitement of the first day of school, but many

teachers and parents felt a tremendous loss when they walked through the

school gate.

Last spring, the school lost two teachers. Kindergarten teacher Edie

Datler died of cancer, and preschool teacher Jesse Valenzuela died of a

heart attack.

“Parents and teachers remember, but for little children, it’s gone,” said

Principal Pam Coughlin, who was a quick-moving blur this week, sweeping

across the campus from classrooms to utility closets to offices. “But the

kids come, and you move on.”

Move was the right word.

From every corner of the school came the shouts and laughs, in English

and Spanish, of hundreds of children decked out in blue and white

uniforms.

The main reason Wilson starts earlier than all other district schools is

to make sure primarily Spanish-speaking students don’t go too long

without speaking English.

Teachers found that some students who left for three months forgot much

of the English they had painstakingly learned during the year. Now, the

school starts earlier, ends later and schedules a longer winter break.

The school also has 10 new teachers, meaning that nearly half its staff

is new.

“That’s a little hard,” Coughlin said, adding that experienced teachers

would act as mentors to help acquaint them with the school. “But it’s

also a little exciting.”

The school also added a row of brightly planted flower boxes--a garden in

memoriam to Datler.

There will be a dedication later this year, Coughlin said.

Kindergarten teacher Katie Coughlin said the garden is a small

consolation for the loss the kindergarten program suffered.

“It was just strange, starting the year without her,” the teacher said.

But she said that thanks to the state-mandated limit of 20 students,

kindergarten classes are smaller this year.

“It just makes the room seem calm,” teacher Cheryl Roberts said. “We’re

going to be able to teach so much more.”

For fifth-graders Anna Elizarrars and Nayali Para, the return of school

means the end of the summer blues.

“In the house, we’re so bored,” Nayali said.

“Here, we play and have fun.”

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