Backpack in tow, hand in hand with a parent, some students made their way to classes today for the first time ever. They filed out of school buses, posed for pictures in front of parents and lined up to enter classrooms. About 14,700 students, in addition to 120 new teachers, headed back to school in Renton Tuesday.

It is the first year that Honey Dew Elementary in the Highlands opened as a full kindergarten through fifth-grade school. Previously, the school was used to teach kindergarten students from three district elementary schools while those schools were rebuilt.The School Board has been preparing to open the school for four years and approved boundary changes in December 2010.

Honey Dew is populated with students who live in neighborhoods around the school and students walk to school. The creation of the neighborhood school triggered boundary changes to eight other elementary schools near Honey Dew.

The school district credits voter support for Honey Dew’s renovation and reopening. The opening of the school had been delayed over the four years because of budget cuts made by the state Legislature. It has not been a neighborhood school for at least 20 years.