Dublin Students Begin Returning To School: PHOTO GALLERY

DUBLIN, CA — A year after Dublin classrooms closed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the district's youngest students returned for their first day of more traditional, in-person instruction.

To be sure, this first day at school was unlike those in years past. Students donned colorful masks and stood in socially distant lines. They sat at desks spaced far apart from one another.

But there was no shortage of school spirit. Students arrived to find colorful signs greeting them, welcoming them to school. Amador Elementary School students walked past the campus gates and along a walkway lined with green and yellow balloons.

Preschoolers, kindergarteners and developmental kindergarteners filed into classrooms Thursday as Dublin Unified School District began its phased reopening for families who wish to move forward with hybrid learning.

Those who wish to continue with distance learning may continue to do so. The majority of families have chosen to stay home for the rest of the year, said DUSD spokesperson Chip Dehnert in an email.

All students who chose the hybrid learning model could be back on campus by the end of the month.

"We hope this is the first step toward returning all students to full-time in-person instruction, but there is much that is out of our control," he said in the email.

Here's DUSD's current return-to-school timeline for other students:

• March 22: First through third grades
• March 25: Fourth through fifth grades
• March 29 (target date): Middle and high school students

DUSD is confident that March 29 will, in all likelihood, be the day that secondary students set foot on campus again, Dehnert said. The date remains a target date while school officials work to create a master schedule that can accommodate students moving between classrooms throughout the day.

Scroll through the photo gallery above to see more scenes from the first day back on campus Thursday.