Municipal Leaders Welcome Students at First Day of School Events
by Lane Russell
Local officials in communities across the country celebrated the start of the new school year by participating in First Day of School events. These events brought together city officials, schools, families, business leaders, the media and other residents to bolster community engagement in public schools.
Launched in 1997 in 11 Vermont schools, First Day of School America campaign events have become an annual tradition nationwide. This year, thousands of schools sponsored First Day celebrations for families and students in grades K-12. By participating in First Day activities, municipal leaders encourage parent and business involvement in schools, and facilitate relationships among parents, students and teachers.
Boise, Idaho
As part of its back-to-school activities, the City of Boise celebrated the opening of new community centers that are part of two recently built schools. Mayor David Bieter, city council members, school board members and hundreds of residents attended the grand opening celebrations the week before school started.
Charleston, S.C.
Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr., an enthusiastic supporter of the First Day of School initiative, partnered with the Charleston County School District to host the city’s sixth annual First Day Festival. Nearly 9,000 children and their families attended the event to welcome the beginning of the new school year. The event involved exhibitors, food court vendors, mascots and entertainers, and volunteers provided students with free school supplies and educational information.
The 2008 First Day Festival Mayor’s Honor Roll included 106 businesses that encouraged employees to attend the event, gave employees time off to take their children to school, and committed to supporting education throughout the year by allowing employees time to volunteer at their child’s school. Mayor Riley and Superintendent Nancy McGinley also honored a student whose design was chosen as the new logo for Charleston’s First Day Festival.
Corpus Christi, Texas
Four days before the start of the school year, Mayor Henry Garrett, Tuloso-Midway Independent School District Superintendent Cornelio Gonzalez and City Education Director JoAnn Hooks joined 250 other municipal and school district officials and teachers in knocking on doors across the city, talking to parents and students about the upcoming school year and encouraging parents to be involved in their children’s education.
“As mayor of Corpus Christi, I enjoyed walking side-by-side with Dr. Gonzalez to personally reach out to all the [Tuloso-Midway] parents as we welcomed our students back to school,” said Mayor Garrett. “Tuloso-Midway [Independent School District] has a tradition of excellence in education and we can only continue that tradition as long as we are all committed to lifelong learning.”
Nashville, Tenn.
Nashville Mayor Karl Dean hosted the city’s ninth annual First Day Festival on August 3. The event offered a day of free family fun and school supplies as students prepared to return to school. Numerous area businesses participated in the festival and encouraged their employees to take their children to school on the first day.
Seattle
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson welcomed the start of a new school year during an assembly at Denny Middle School. The mayor and superintendent joined together to encourage students to start thinking about college and to take advantage of the opportunities available to support their academic success.
Details: To learn more about the First Day of School campaign, visit www.firstday.org. To learn about other strategies for supporting education, visit NLC’s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families at www.nlc.org/iyef or contact Lane Russell at (202) 626-3008 or russell@nlc.org.
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