First day of school stress?

Please.

The way Janet Cosaro sees it, returning is the easy part.

“We’re always excited to get back to school,” said Cosaro, assistant superintendent of instructional services for Conejo Valley Unified School District. “We’ve been working on things in this office all summer long.”

A projected 21,500 students returned to CVUSD’s 27 campuses Wednesday, the exact number still to be determined as enrollment figures shake out during the first few weeks of the new school year.

While student numbers may be uncertain, there’s no disputing that numerous changes are in place in the district—adjustments to the curriculum and to the people in charge of overseeing the instruction.

Asked to highlight the changes in her department, Cosaro raced through a long list of items. Headlining the list are the first full year of the Wonder Preschool at the district’s University Center, the opening of a fourth Junior Kindergarten class—the new class at Acacia Elementary School joining those at Aspen, Maple and Westlake Hills, and the unveiling of the sixth-grade curriculum for the Discover Academy of Engineering and Applied Sciences, a new magnet school inside Sequoia Middle School.

Also fresh on the scene is Century Academy, the district’s new independent study high school on the Conejo Valley Adult School campus.

“We’ve had a lot going on,” Cosaro said. “We’re looking forward to a year of real strong curriculum.”

Big changes have also taken place at the administrative level.

Jeff Baarstad, formerly the deputy superintendent of business services, is now in charge of the district, having officially taken the reins from the retired Mario Contini on July 1. Linda Bekeny moved in from the Pleasant Valley School District in Camarillo on Aug. 1 to become the new assistant superintendent of business services.

Meanwhile, 14 administrative changes have been made at school site levels, including new principals at Los Cerritos Middle School and Walnut Elementary School and new athletic directors at Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks high schools.

All but one of the school site changes is a promotion of a CVUSD employee.

“I think it speaks to the high quality of people we have working for us, and it speaks to their excellence,” said Tim Carpenter, assistant superintendent of personnel services. “Because, at the same time, if we were to go outside, we would have numerous qualified individuals who would apply and who would want to work for the Conejo.”

Bekeny, who falls into that category, has witnessed a smooth transition in her month on the job. While her fellow assistant superintendents have stayed busy with big changes, it’s primarily been a matter of fine-tuning and touchups when it comes to preparing CVUSD facilities for the new school year.

Some of the more substantial projects include updates to the theater and photo lab at Westlake High School, a new child care portal at the Sycamore Canyon K-8 campus and the remodeling of facilities to house Century Academy.

“Nothing too fancy,” Bekeny said. “Our main concern is just doing our regular preventative maintenance, working on the parking lots and playgrounds.”