Photos: First day of school at Lake Hood Elementary

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Lake Hood Elementary kindergartner Faalaa Iulio, 5, left, and 1st grader Queenyli Delacruz, 6, check out their classroom assignments before the first day of school on Wednesday, August 19, 2015.

Around 45,000 Anchorage students returned to school on Wednesday, with some parents dropping off their kids and others lingering in the classrooms to make the transition easier on the younger children.

At Lake Hood Elementary School, principal Michael Thomas donned an orange safety vest over his suit, directing students and parents from the playground. Lake Hood has about 385 students and is one of the most racially diverse elementary schools in the country.

Shortly before the bell rang at 8:45 to let students into the school, second-grade teachers Carissa Hodson and Melissa Tollefson made final preparations, making sure their adjoining classrooms were ready for the students who were about to arrive.

Not every student attends class on the first day of school, according to Anchorage School District spokeswoman Heidi Embley. The district, Alaska's largest, expects its enrollment to grow by a few thousand over the next few weeks.