When is the first day of school in Minnesota? That depends.

The first day of school for most students in Minnesota, traditionally, was the Tuesday after Labor Day. In many districts, it's no longer that straightforward.

Sixth-graders in the Wayzata school district are headed back to school that day, but not for a business-as-usual block of classes. Dubbed "Day Zero," the day is reserved for welcoming the preteens to middle school, giving them time to walk through their schedule and practice their locker combination without having to jostle for hallway space among hundreds of seventh- and eighth-graders, who will log into classes from home that day.

"We talk about going slow to go fast," said Meagan Bennett, principal of East Middle School in Plymouth. They get to spend the day establishing routines and building relationships. "Kids know what to expect and they can go into their classrooms and engage in deep learning."

The majority of suburban districts now stagger start dates to allow for such orientation days. The idea isn't a new one: Schools have long invited students in to walk through their schedule and grow accustomed to new routines. But before the COVID-19 pandemic, many of those sessions occurred the week before the first day of school. Now, as school leaders look for ways to rebuild a sense of community and reduce anxiety among students who lost years of in-person learning, they are carving out more time for the transition from summer break.

South Washington County schools also reserve the day after Labor Day for just sixth- and ninth-graders adjusting to middle and high school. They made the switch for the 2021-2022 school year and it has proven popular among students, families and staff, said Shawn Hogendorf, the district's director of communications.

"We were seeing that transitional students had anxiety and they were stressed," he said. "This was one way to reduce anxiety and build connections. … The overall idea was to make a large place feel smaller."

Principals report that the onboarding days also seem to reduce anxiety for parents, Hogendorf said.

"Parents want to know that their kid knows how to find the bathroom, how to do their locker and who to go to if they are in trouble," he said. "When they can go through those routines to practice, it sets parents at ease."

For Minnetonka elementary schools, a staggered start is nothing new. The district starts classes for grades 1-12 on Tuesday, Sept. 3, and welcomes kindergarteners to school on Thursday of that week. However, kindergarteners and their families are invited to the school earlier in the week to meet teachers and visit classrooms. That's also when kindergarten teachers conduct initial assessments of their students.

The whole school benefits from the "soft start" for the youngest learners, said Curt Carpenter, the principal of Clear Springs Elementary in Minnetonka. "When the kindergarteners arrive, we're ready to give them our focus and ensure a great start, because grades 1-5 are already off and running."

Setting aside a day for transitioning can also provide a leadership opportunity for older students, school leaders said.

In Forest Lake, a group of eighth-grade mentors will spend Tuesday leading team-building activities and sharing tips with the incoming seventh-graders on how to adjust to middle school before all the other eighth-graders join them in the building Wednesday.

"That makes it fun and really positive," said Forest Lake Area Middle School Principal Jason Miller. "It really sets the stage for, I think, a positive school year."

A group of veteran student leaders also helped plan the events for Wayzata's inaugural "Day Zero" for its sixth-graders. The older students were adamant, said Bennett, that sixth-graders should go home from their first day feeling welcomed, excited and less overwhelmed.

At one point in the planning process, Bennett said, the student leaders asked if they could get Taylor Swift to perform for their peers. There was also a short-lived request for flame throwers.

There will be no Swift and no fire, Bennett said, but there will be a bubble machine. And, at the front door, a group of students and staff ready to welcome the newest class of middle-schoolers.