On the first day of school for Vacaville Unified, perhaps the Markham Elementary roadside marquee was a harbinger, in some ways, of the continuing changing nature of local and state public schools. Its message in English and Spanish read Thursday, “School Starts Escuela Empiezo 8/16 8:45 AM.”
Even busy and predictably upbeat Principal Manolo Garcia, greeting an early morning assembly of some 800 students, spoke in English and Spanish, saying, at one point, “Welcome” and “Bienvenidos,” over the public address system.