Back To School: Excited 4th grader, Kevin, chats with FOX 7

Tano Rodriguez and his son Kevin were walking into Rodriguez Elementary Monday morning when FOX 7's Tania Ortega stopped to chat with them. For Kevin..."excited" was an understatement.

"Because I'm going to 4th grade and after that I'm going to 5th grade and I'm going to college...or high school I don't know," Kevin said.

We asked him what subjects are his favorite.

"Math is fun because I want to be a creator like inventing stuff and I need to learn a lot of math to do it and also a lot of science," Kevin said.

"Over the summer you know I tried to do interactive things.  We do little science experiments, take apart an old TV you know.  Things that are fun to do," Tano said.

Tano says his son may walk to school this year.  That opened up a can of worms with Kevin.

"Also my mom thinks I'm a baby so I can't walk to school sometimes and also she thinks I need protective gear when I need to ride a bike," Kevin said.  "I know how to ride a bike already even without protective gear!"

AISD Superintendent Dr. Paul Cruz stopped by Rodriguez Elementary Monday morning to sing their praises.

"This year I'm happy to announce that Rodriguez Elementary School made all-state performance standards, really proud for Rodriguez," Cruz said.

He says this year the district is expanding the Breakfast in the Classroom program as well as putting more emphasis on recess at elementary schools.

"By the way, we've this year had our highest graduation rate ever in the history of the district so we're really proud of our academic performance," Cruz said.

And there's the new smartphone app called "Where's the Bus?" Austin ISD parents can track the bus their children are on.  It taps into signals sent out by GPS devices installed in the buses.   

Don't worry, only parents and guardians can sign up and it just tracks the one bus your child is on.
   
Austin ISD Police Chief Eric Mendez says about 22,000 students ride the buses.  Remember drivers...abide by that stop arm.

"What you also have to remember is that Austin ISD does have stop arm cameras on all 300 school buses and so if you pass a school bus you may not see an officer but our videos will capture it and you'll still receive a citation via mail," Mendez said.

By the way, a ticket for passing a stopped school bus is around $300. Using a cell phone in a school zone is also illegal. It could land you a $200 fine.

You can FOX 7's full interview with Kevin on our YouTube page here or below.