By Lori EhdeLuverne Elementary School students and parents will have a new start to the school year next week with parent-teacher conferences on the first day.School starts Tuesday, Sept. 5, but it won’t be a regular school day for students. Instead, students and their parents will meet with elementary teachers at scheduled times during the First Day Program implemented for the first time this year in Luverne. They also have scheduled times set to meet with specialty teachers, such as music, art and physical education."We’ll still have our open house on Sept. 14, but that’s more of a social event, and they don’t actually sit down with teachers until conferences in November," said second-grade teacher Jane Cote."It gives parents and students the opportunity to hear the same information at the same time from teachers, and hopefully that will get communication off on the right foot for the school year."Information will include schedules, setting up communication and expectations of the students for the year."We’re looking at this as another way to enhance and increase school-to-home communication," Cote said."It gives teachers, paretns and students the opportunity to start developing those releationships that will be in place for the rest of the year — starting at Day 1."Cote has been working with a team on Luverne Elementary School’s First Day Committee since last year. She said other districts such as Pipestone have seen advantages to the First Day Program."They have been doing it for a number of years in Pipestone, and they have seen an increase in getting in contact with more families and parents," Cote said."We decided to try it and see how it works here."Letters about the First Day Program were mailed to families earlier this month, and the district has accommodated families in rescheduling slots, if need be.Letters were also mailed to employers in the area about the First Day Program, asking them to allow parents the time off to participate in the conferences. Parents need to set aside about 1 1/2 hours out of their day for each elementary student in their family. Activities are planned in the elementary library throughout the day for school-age children to participate in while their parents are seeing teachers with their siblings.Families must make other arrangements for sibling care of preschool-age children.The first regular school day for Luverne Elementary will be Wednesday, Sept. 6.