September 2, 2020

Letter from the Editor

Despite the passage of time, I still remember the thrill I’d feel every fall in anticipation of my new school year. My mom would take me to get school supplies and I’d excitedly pick my bright matching folders and notebooks, and a colorful 3-ring binder that always seemed to hold extra special promise for the year. And with a September birthday, I was excited to get pretty new clothes and shoes to last me until spring. 

I felt that same excitement years later with my daughter when we prepared for her to start every new grade. We’d carefully write her name on everything and plan lunch box menus together for the first week. Every year she’d stand on the front porch and I’d snap her picture with a real camera. She enjoyed the picture taking until high school, when it became a clichéd chore for her.

But this year I’m scared for my daughter, not excited. 

She’s an elementary school teacher in a Jefferson Parish public school. The parish’s delayed school start and promises of smaller class sizes have not allayed my fears; as I write this, she is still preparing her classroom and the children inevitably will arrive, their COVID-status unknown.

And I look at the Facebook posts of my younger friends’ children, bravely smiling in their new uniforms or cute outfits, on their front steps, going off to their first day during this new normal, masks on or in their hands. I think how worried my friends, too, must feel about their kids going off to their respective classrooms, like my daughter will to hers. 

Still, being parents, we’re doing what we always do for our kids — regardless of life’s little and big setbacks — we’re all keeping a brave face for them and hoping for the best. 

So much continues to change on a daily basis with regard to education, health, and personal safety. To that end, in this issue we’ve brought together an educational and child development panel for an overview on what schooling looks like moving forward, and also a rundown on educational options. Interesting food for thought here for you parents.

And equally interesting, as we do every September, we’re providing you with our terrific Enrichment Guide here that lists diverse extra-curricular options for your child, both in person and remote. Too, for those of you exploring new schools in this coming year, we have the School Spirit highlights of exemplary schools, our comprehensive School Listings here, and annual School Open House Calendar to help you find the right fit. 

Wishing you and yours a safe September,

Trevor Wisdom