The sun has finally set on summer vacation, with a new school year dawning Thursday for students across the Guam Department of Education.

“I’m feeling good, but a bit nervous,” said 7th grader at Benavente Middle School, Uerhie Bianeza. 

First day jitters in the air for this 7th grader at Vicente S.A. Benavente Middle School, one of several campuses visited by GDOE Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Swanson, made his rounds to welcome students back.

“It’s really exciting to see, first of all, kids back and on time, that was a big goal for us to have all schools open on time today,” said Dr. Swanson. 

At Benavente, Home of the Roadrunners, refurbishment work is in full swing. 

“Right now, they’re working on the restroom upgrades, and the exterior door replacements, and I believe after that or concurrent with that, they might be doing some electrical panel upgrades,” said Freda Arii, the school’s principal. 

As KUAM previously reported, renovations continue back up across 12 campuses following earlier interruptions due to federal policy changes.

Now, with a March 2026 deadline looming to complete work, submit billing, and finalize payments, the pressure is on.

KUAM asked, “Are you confident you will be able to meet that deadline?”

“If we don’t have one of two things: an interruption from the federal government. Or, a typhoon, those two things can cause us some real problems. But, I work closely with Coretech–they feel like they can get it done, that the only thing that will be going on as they come into March is final billing, physical work on sites will be done,” said Swanson. 

Meantime, Swanson says final enrollment numbers won’t be available until the end of September, as student counts continue to fluctuate.

And as students settle into their first week, education officials leaving these words of advice:

“Come in the morning with a positive mindset, take what you can from your teachers, your staff, and your friends–and go home and reflect and make the next day better than the day before,” said Arii. 

“It’s going to be a fun year, with a lot of stuff going on. Get in, do everything, get involved, take part,” added Swanson.