Students cracked open their school books and got back to business in record numbers this year.

Kindergartners turned out in droves, especially at Rod Kelley Elementary School, district staff said. Nearly 140 kindergartners tipped the scales at Rod Kelley Thursday morning and district administrators estimated that about 50 more students than last year's 10,198 were in school the first day. More exact numbers will be available after the district finishes cataloguing students who had yet to register by the first day of classes.

By 9:30 a.m., beautiful voices were already pouring from the open doors of Choir Director Phil Robb's classroom. Dozens of Gilroy High School students lined up to receive their schedules. Students poured from the classrooms when the brunch bell tolled, decked out in skinny jeans, Converse shoes and oversized sunglasses. Upperclassmen wearing lime green T-shirts mingled through the crowd, acting as beacons of information for jittery freshman. As members of the Link Crew, the students led incoming students through orientation earlier this week. With 650 incoming freshman, Link Crew advisor Marah Kuwada said she sees a huge value in the program.

"We're trying to change the culture of campus so freshman aren't hazed," she said, adding that research shows a decrease in the dropout rate when students have a mentor.

"When we were freshman, we had no idea," said Link Crewmember Katie Elston, 16. "We've all been there. We're here to teach the freshman how to cope with all the duties of high school."

Principal James Maxwell said he expects about 2,500 students at GHS this year, an increase of about 50 students over last year, said Roger Cornia, enrollment director.

"There's no doubt there's a need for another high school," Maxwell said. "There's no more room at the inn."

With the opening of Christopher High School next year comes "the end of an era," he said. "It's the end of 130 plus years of having only one high school in town."

The high school won't be the only crowded campus this year. Ascencion Solorsano Middle School showed a significant jump in enrollment this year and boosted its enrollment by more than 100 students, administrative staff reported. Solorsano opened its doors to 957 students, Cornia said. The district added four new portables to the campus over the summer to accommodate the burgeoning student population that is largely due to transfers from other middle schools, Deputy Superintendent of Business Services Enrique Palacios said.

Solorsano also welcomed Maria Walker as the new assistant principal. Greg Kapaku is South Valley Middle School's new principal and Anisha Munshi is the new assistant principal. Greg Camacho-Light is Brownell Middle School's principal and Kristen Shouse is the new assistant principal.

"I'm a little bit nervous," said Shelby McClelland, 10. "It's going to be weird going to a new school."

The Solorsano student began her day bright and early at 7:40 a.m. for a zero period of band. The aspiring saxophonist has to fit her music class in before school now that sixth graders have to take a mandatory second period math in place of an elective period. By the time she reaches eighth grade, she'll have to meet a state mandated algebra I requirement as well.

Traffic packed the only entrance into Solorsano but there were no major issues with congestion, Student Resource Officer Cherie Somavia said.

"There's always traffic increases when school starts," Somavia said. "No doubt about that. It usually dies down after the first few weeks of school."

Drivers may have been frustrated with heavy traffic but some bus riders were stranded altogether at a bus stop that is no longer on the GUSD route, a parent said. An estimated 20 to 30 SVMS students waited at their familiar bus stop at Antonio Del Buono Elementary School for a bus that never came, said April Chacon, the mother of two SVMS students. The district removed the bus stop during a round of budget cuts last spring and will be sending sweeper buses around to old stops to notify students who didn't take a look at the new bus schedule posted on the GUSD home page, said Emil Frates, transportation director. Information about the bus schedules was also available at each school site, he said. Like many stops, the Del Buono stop was removed because it is right on the borderline of being two miles away from SVMS, the cutoff, Frates said. The only bus stop that serves SVMS is near Hirasaki Avenue and Ferragalli Court.

While students attending city schools had to fight traffic and sort out bus stops, parents taking their children to Rucker Elementary drove through a serene landscape of crops and barnyard animals.

Superintendent Deborah Flores started her day early at GHS but then dropped her son off for his first day of fifth grade at Rucker. Flores addressed district employees at a conference Tuesday morning, delivering an inspirational speech that was driven by the theme she chose to guide this school year: "Good to great."

"I do this every year," she said. "It's important for the district, or the CEO of any organization, to set the tone, set some goals and inspire everyone to come together for a common cause."

One of her goals is to see that every school earns a 800 on the Academic Performance Index, a task that will be difficult but realistic, she said.

"We can do it," she said. "It has to start with the superintendent saying that."

This year, Rucker added a second fourth grade to its Gifted and Talented Education Program and will add another fifth grade class next year to accommodate growth. About 150 of Rucker's students participate in the GATE Program, Principal Barbara Keesaw said. The school also bumped up several of its accelerated and intervention classes.

Parents and students filtered through the sturdy new fence that encloses the campus these days.

Austin Taylor, 6, swung on the monkey bars before the morning bell rang. Gap-toothed and freckled, the first grader wore a shirt that declared "Boys Rule." He learned to ride his bike without training wheels over the summer but was excited for the new school year. His father, Bobby Taylor planned to spend the day in his son's classroom as a volunteer.

Meanwhile, Jose Ponce and his son, Junior, sat quietly waiting for school to start. Junior leaned on his father's shoulder, shrugging his shoulders with a smile when his dad asked him what he was looking forward to.

"I'm a worrywart," the elder Ponce said. "I want to get the best education possible for my son. I never finished mine. I want to make sure he's on the right track."