When is the first day of school in Minnesota? That depends.

For Minnetonka elementary schools, staggered starts are nothing new. The district starts classes for grades 1-12 on Tuesday, Sept. 3, and welcomes kindergarteners back to school on Thursday of that week. However, kindergarteners and their families are invited to school early in the week to meet teachers and visit classrooms. That is also the time when kindergarten teachers conduct initial assessments of their students.

The entire school benefits from the “soft start” for the youngest students, said Curt Carpenter, principal of Clear Springs Elementary School in Minnetonka. “When the kindergartners arrive, we are ready to focus on them and ensure a great start because grades 1 through 5 are already underway.”

Setting aside a day for transitioning students can also provide a leadership opportunity for older students, school leaders said.

At Forest Lake, a group of eighth-grade mentors will spend Tuesday leading team-building activities and sharing advice with new seventh-graders on adjusting to high school before all other eighth-graders join them in the building on Wednesday.

“That makes it fun and really positive,” said Jason Miller, principal of Forest Lake Area Middle School. “I think it really sets the stage for a positive school year.”

A group of veteran student leaders also helped plan Wayzata’s inaugural “Day Zero” events for its sixth-graders. The older students were adamant, Bennett said, that sixth-graders should return home after their first day feeling welcomed, excited and less overwhelmed.