Do you hear it? The school bell is ringing in the new year!
Ironically, Mississippi students are heading back to their individual schools at the absolute hottest time of summer. Now, even if these few days have presented our state with unprecedented heat indexes, perhaps someone, somewhere needs a little more schooling on the average state temperatures for the months of July and August.
Regardless of our bewilderment over the wisdom of loading kids onto sweltering school buses in the middle of a heat wave, the bell is ringing. And our kiddos are heading back to meet new teachers and enter beautifully decorated classrooms where lots of interesting lessons are slated to take place.
I know! I know! We never had to go back to school until the week after Labor Day. And yes, again, I remember that it was often too hot back then to truly enjoy back-to-school adventures, especially since many of our rural schools had little or not air conditioning and only gigantic fans to cool us off.
Don’t forget in all that reminiscing that we survived the heat (and the dangerous fans), and today’s Mississippi students will survive as well. Our kids will thrive.
In fact, their national test scores are currently leading the way for all the other students throughout the country, and they will continue to be national leaders in academics and in life. Just wait and watch!
But if you want to help ensure that all Mississippi students continue to thrive, now is the perfect time to step up and give them a leg up on this year’s academic ladder.
How? Well, it’s simple: Donate some basic learning supplies to your local schools.
Yes, all kids are provided with a free education in Mississippi; those provisions include the necessities of facilities, desks, school bus rides, books, teachers, paraprofessionals, and even a set monetary fund for classroom supplies. And that is awesome, because some students come to school with little to no daily supplies.
Our amazing Mississippi teachers pick up that slack throughout the year. They quietly provide students with minor supplies (and quite a few major ones, if the truth be told) without ever mentioning those needs or expenses to others outside of school.
As a family filled with four generations of teachers, we see those needs met sacrificially each and every school year – by educators throughout our state.
But…today is the perfect opportunity for Mississippians to undergird our teachers and students in a practical way. It’s also easy. Simply go to your local Walmart (or any variety store) and check out the class lists of items needed for local schools.
Or go online to your local school district’s website and find out what supplies are needed for the upcoming school year. You can even make an online donation to various teachers’ classroom wish lists by browsing their Facebook posts.
Then, purchase what you can afford to share and take those purchases by your local school office. They will thank you profusely and put those items to great use.
If these options are not possible, then simply help a young family in your neighborhood, community, or church by surprising them with a gift bag of school supplies or an envelope with a little cash for school shopping.
And if monetary donations are not possible this year, then stop and say a prayer for our students. Then, continue to pray for them throughout the year because Mississippi’s best treasures will be sitting in desks in schools throughout our state for the next 10 months – until the school bell rings again in May of 2027.
So, let’s come together and make this school year the best one possible for ALL of Mississippi’s students.
