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'I'm So Happy Because I Don't Like Being On Zoom': LAUSD Students, Parents Excited For First Day Of School

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Fourth-grader Nailah Hines' mask couldn't hide the excitement in her eyes as she walked into Normont Elementary for the first day of the school year.

first day of school lausd happy
(credit: CBS)

"I'm so happy because I don't like being on Zoom," she said.

Her mom, Tanisha, may have been even more happy that Monday was the first day of school for LAUSD students.

"Excited! Thank you! Appreciate it!" Hines declared. "We all need to get out."

Her older daughter, Hasanai, was more understated, but was as happy as a teenager can be for the first day of school.

"I can't really focus if I'm at home, because you know, I'm just used to being at home," she said. "I prefer to just get up in the morning, do my routine, and walk outside, and just go to school and interact with other kids my age."

The first day of school wasn't without its problems – several schools saw long lines due to the district's new COVID check-in protocols. Long lines that wrapped around the block were spotted by Sky 2 at both John Marshall High School in Los Feliz and LA High School in the Mid-Wilshire District.

But interim Superintendent Megan Reilly took reports of the long lines in stride.

"That all pays off when you see that line. I'm sorry there's a line, but there's a part of me that's gratified," she said. "Like, look at all these students coming back to school."

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