With the arrival of a new school year, there’s a palpable feeling of excitement that’s experienced by everyone associated with the Public Schools of Robeson County.

It stands to reason it should be felt most by the students who are returning for the education that will prepare them for life after a summer of relative relaxation. Parents, likewise, are affected since there is a substantial increase in their participation in making certain that their children are in school when they are supposed to be assuming that they don’t ride the school bus.

Beyond seeing to it that they get to school each day and on time, too, they usually find themselves having to drive the young people in their family to the various extracurricular activities that they get involved in. It means that, with the start of school, parents also have to make an adjustment to their schedules.

Teachers have not had as much time as people might think. They need several days after school has ended for the students to finish up before they can take their summer break. Then they report a week before students do for the new school year to prepare for the students’ arrival. Additionally, many dedicated teachers take a part of their summer attending workshops and taking courses to improve their teaching skills. That, you should know, is on their own time.

We mentioned bus drivers briefly at the beginning of this article. The fact is that bus drivers are an important part of our school system. These people have a heavy load by being responsible to seeing to it that their valuable cargo of young people gets to school safely and on time. I might point out that we have been fortunate in being able to employ a group of dedicated drivers who have done an outstanding job for us over the years. They have outstanding support from the well-trained maintenance people who see to it that the buses are in top notch shape for the important job that they do.

This might be a good time to express our gratitude to the many drivers who, in the course of being on the road at the same time as our buses, pay particular attention to that fact. They have to be particularly vigilant around these buses realizing that they may be stopping to load or unload students at any time. The law requires that you stop when you see buses picking up children at the roadside where they are waiting for their ride. Whether or not you have children in the school system, drivers cannot help but get caught up in the excitement that is the school year.

Parents approach the school year differently. Parents of younger children, probably having run out of ways to keep them occupied, may be glad to have them back in school.

Parents of older children may have used the summer months to impress on them the importance of returning to school to obtain the grades needed for college.

Parents should consider getting involved in their children’s school so that the children know that you’re behind them in their academic efforts. You could join the school’s PTO or be a volunteer. There is also the matter of staying in touch with your child’s progress by scheduling occasional meetings with your child’s teachers.

It’s easy to see how the start of a new school year affects virtually everyone in one way or another whether you have a child in school or not. With the proper attention paid to how you deal with your participation, everything will go smoothly with only minor problems.

— Hunt is superintendent of the Public Schools of Robeson County.