Chandler kids gear up for 1st day of school

CHANDLER, Ariz. (KSAZ) - It's day one at CTA Humphrey in Chandler and there may be no one more excited than Principal Luke Hickey.

"This is the best day of school, you say, why best day of school? Well, schools were meant to have kids in them, it gets quiet over the summer," he said. "I guarantee there isn't a teacher that slept well last night because they've been up waiting for the kids to come back."

Although it seems like summer break just began, Chandler Unified schools do things a little bit differently. They're on a semi-year-round schedule with nine weeks on and two weeks off.

They have the same number of school days as other valley districts but have more consecutive days off, which makes an earlier day one not so bad.

As every parent knows, it's not just a big day for the kids and teachers.

"I think we're excited about it too," one parent said. "We might be more excited than the kids. We want to get back to our normal routines."

It's a routine put on hold for memories of summer that no amount of first-day excitement could ever erase.