EDITORIAL: Welcome back to school, students and families

The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·2 min read

Aug. 19—School resumes on Monday in Joplin and most neighboring school districts.

This time of year is always the most exciting. Students, you have the opportunity to learn so many cool things over the next nine months, from how to write the letters of the alphabet to how to solve calculus equations. We hope you focus and take your studies seriously to reach your fullest potential.

To the teachers and school staff, we welcome you back as well. You have perhaps the most important job in this community, which is to educate the young minds of tomorrow. Here's hoping for a good academic year for you.

The community also can help during this time to make sure that students and teachers have the best back-to-school experience possible.

Consider donating to Bright Futures Joplin, which coordinates the weekend snack pack program for food-insecure students. Kids learn better when they're not hungry, and ensuring that this group of students can return to the classroom on Mondays without a growling stomach will give them the best chance for academic success.

Or head over to DonorsChoose.org, a website where teachers can crowdfund for educational materials and supplies. As of Friday, crowdfunding projects in the Joplin area included sensory bins and floor tiles for a teacher at the Joplin Early Childhood Center, plant seeds and light bulbs for a classroom garden and a gecko for a teacher at South Middle School, calculators for an ACT prep course for a Joplin High School teacher and hands-on manipulatives for a kindergarten teacher at Irving Elementary School.

If you're the parent of a child in school, make plans now to attend all the school activities you can. It matters to kids when their parents show up at parent-teacher conferences, schoolwide read-ins, book fairs, school assemblies and holiday parties.

And remember that starting Monday, students of all ages will be walking and biking to school, waiting at school bus stops and trying to cross busy streets. Slow down, especially in school zones, and stay alert.