From grade school to high school, Ephrata back in the swing
Ephrata School District students returned to classes Thursday morning for the start of the school year.
Updated
EHS cheerleaders Raegan Homer (left) and Yaritza Rodriguez were among those greeting kids and families Thursday morning at Columbia Ridge Elementary in Ephrata. Photos by Randy Bracht and Casey Devine
EPHRATA – Backpacks were zipped, bike racks were full and the streets were overflowing Thursday morning as students across the Ephrata School District returned to classes for the start of the 2026-27 academic year.
At Columbia Ridge Elementary, staff greeted the youngest Tigers, and across town Ephrata High School students filled the commons before the first bell.
Columbia Ridge Elementary
School secretary Jill Boruff gathered with a group on the first day of the new school year.Out of the playground, classmates were getting reacquainted (above), then heading to their rooms (below).Inside the building, second-grade teacher Kristine Stewart (above) asked her students to raise their hands if they were excited to be there. The response was positive. Across the hallway, fellow teacher Lilia Stredwick shared introductions with some of her kids.The message (above) and the supplies (below) to accomplish it.
Ephrata High School
The Ephrata School District checked off the first Flag Day of the year, welcoming students along Basin Street.Morning rush hour, High School and Grant Elementary edition.First-day selfie or it didn't happen.The bike rack outside Ephrata High School filled up early Thursday morning, the first day of the 2026-27 school year. Richard Black of the district maintenance department said he couldn't recall seeing it that full before.Still a few minutes before the bell, students gather at the picnic tables outside Ephrata High School before classes start.Students walk past a chalk welcome message on their way into Ephrata High School on Thursday morning.Students crowd around secretary Jana Clarke with first day questions in the High School office.Students crowd the Ephrata High School commons before the first bell, under a "Sweep Selah" banner ready for Friday night's football home opener against the Vikings.
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From grade school to high school, Ephrata back in the swing
Ephrata School District students returned to classes Thursday morning for the start of the school year.
EPHRATA – Backpacks were zipped, bike racks were full and the streets were overflowing Thursday morning as students across the Ephrata School District returned to classes for the start of the 2026-27 academic year.
At Columbia Ridge Elementary, staff greeted the youngest Tigers, and across town Ephrata High School students filled the commons before the first bell.
Columbia Ridge Elementary
Ephrata High School