Inglewood Unified and Rams mascot welcome students back to school

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- All 18 schools in the Inglewood Unified School District opened Monday and students at Worthington Elementary School weren't only greeted by their teachers. The Los Angeles Rams mascot Rampage was also there to help welcome them back.

"My daughter is excited to be back," said Kalolina Mateaki, one of the parents at Worthington Elementary. "I was just happy that she's excited, so I'm here with her."

Overall, about 8,000 students in the district returned to in-person learning for the fall semester.

"I think it's great for the students to be back," said Norberto Perez, the chief operating officer for Inglewood Unified School District. "We saw the emotion, their excitement, and seeing their friends back, the social emotional support of just bringing them back, is super important for us."

The parents said the students are excited to be back at school. However, some expressed their concerns about safety.

School district representatives said they're taking as many precautions as possible including mandating masks inside and outside, not admitting anyone without a temperature check and still encouraging social distancing.

"We've upgraded our HVAC systems to ensure that they're at the best quality," Perez said. "And we're also ensuring that we have air purifiers in every single classroom."

"We've been here for weeks, preparing, getting our classrooms ready, making sure we have all the supplies that we need," said Irma Vasquez a teacher at Worthington Elementary School. "Making sure that we make time for cleaning and checking in with the students and before school and after school."

"I'm glad that my kids get to physically go back to school because they miss it," said Kwanii Russell, a parent a Worthington Elementary School. "They need to socialize. And I'm ready. They're ready."

Parents were also given the option to enroll their students into an independent study program and school officials say they have slightly more than 200 students doing that.

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