It's Back To School For Kids In Broward

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FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - Ah, the first day back to school. The hustle and bustle of getting kids out the door and to their school before the bell rings for their first class.

In Broward, more than 12-hundred buses transported nearly 73-thousand students on the first day. Many of the drivers had been practicing their routes for the last couple of days.

"I've been learning all the stops, making sure I get to the stops on time and I know where I am going to," said driver Steven George.

Driver Pierre was almost as excited as his students as he got ready to start his route. While he gave his bus some finishing cleaning touches, he practiced his greeting.

"Good morning and welcome," said Pierre with a big boom laugh and smile.

All of the buses are equipped with GPS so the school district will know where they are at all times.

Some kids and parents were a bit anxious on the first day, others were already missing summer vacation.

"It feels like only for a weeks summer was here, but it was actually two months. It went by fast," said sixth grader Timin Saif.

And then there's Tatianna Rodriguez who could wait to get started.

"Today's very exciting because it's my first day of 4th grade here and I'm waiting to find out who's my new teacher and all," said Rodriguez.

Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie started his morning off with a ride in one of the district's buses to welcome the students. He then visited several schools including a special trip to Gulfstream Academy on Hallandale Beach. It's a new concept school that has K through 8th grade students.

"As I always say, this is where the journey starts for a lot of our families and students. This is where they pursue their hopes and dreams, it begins here at Broward County Public Schools," he said.

The superintendent added that he's excited this year about some new school programs, a celebrity chef who created the lunch menu and a new app.

"It allows parents to be able to get information on bus routes, student attendance, school lunches and other information that is available. The app was launched today and we're going to upgrade it as we go through the school year," said Runcie.

New this year in the school district is an expansion of the debate initiative to 32 more schools, the number of dual language programs is increasing to include 35 more elementary schools and there will be new opportunities for students to take part in "Linking Educational and Employment Outcomes," Advanced Placement Digital Edge and Virtual Enterprise International programs.

Graduation rates are also up and they are better prepared for the future, said Runcie.

"We were able to deploy 50 thousand computer devices. We've expanded on the digital classrooms and it's now in 100 schools," said Runcie.

Broward is the sixth largest school district with 337 schools and more than 270-thousand students.