Welcome Back, Michigan: A New School Year Brings New Opportunities, Responsibilities and Rights

DETROIT, MI — The backpacks are packed, buses are rolling, classrooms are reopening and families across Michigan are once again adjusting to earlier alarm clocks.

For thousands of students, the 2026–27 school year is beginning.

From Grand Rapids, Battle Creek and Kalamazoo in West Michigan to Lansing in Mid-Michigan; from Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti to Detroit, Pontiac and Waterford in Southeast Michigan; and north toward Flint, Saginaw and Bay City, families are beginning another academic journey.

Some districts opened earlier this week, some are welcoming students back today, Thursday, Aug. 20, while others will begin during the days ahead.

La Prensa Latina News Wire wishes Michigan’s students, teachers, administrators, counselors, paraprofessionals, bus drivers, food-service employees, custodians, coaches, school board members and — especially — families a successful school year.

The first day provides an opportunity to celebrate. It also provides an opportunity to remind students and families about the responsibilities and rights that come with being part of a school community.

Students: Your School Year Belongs to You

Schools have a responsibility to provide students with a safe environment in which they can learn. Teachers have a responsibility to teach, encourage and challenge their students. Parents and guardians have an important role in making sure children arrive prepared and ready to learn.

But students have responsibilities, too.

Start by showing up.

Regular attendance matters. Arriving on time matters. Completing assignments matters. Paying attention matters.

So does the way students treat teachers, classmates, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians, secretaries, coaches and others they encounter during the school day.

A classroom belongs to everyone. One student’s behavior can affect the ability of 20 or 30 other students to learn.

Listen when someone else is speaking. Follow classroom expectations. Ask questions when you don’t understand something. Complete your work. Take care of school property. Respect differences. And when disagreements happen — because they will — look for ways to resolve them without making the situation worse.

Most importantly, don’t be afraid to ask for help.

A new school year is a fresh start. Last year’s grade doesn’t have to be this year’s grade. Last year’s attendance problem doesn’t have to continue. A student who struggled socially can make new friends. Someone who wasn’t involved can join a club, play a sport, try music, participate in student government or simply introduce themselves to someone new.

This Year, The Phone May Have to Wait

One change students throughout Michigan will encounter this year involves something many rarely leave home without — their cell phone.

Michigan’s new statewide requirements mean public and charter schools must restrict student use of wireless communication devices during instructional time, with limited exceptions.

Individual districts can establish even stricter policies.

Some Michigan schools and districts have moved toward policies that require phones to remain turned off, stored away or secured during significant portions of the school day.

For students, the message is pretty straightforward:

Know your school’s policy and follow it.

Parents should also familiarize themselves with the policy before assuming they can text or call their child during class. Schools should have procedures for parents to reach students in an emergency.

And students might discover something surprising after putting the phone away.

You may actually talk to the person sitting next to you.

From Grand Rapids to Detroit — This Is a Statewide Beginning

Michigan is a big and diverse state, and no two school districts are exactly alike.

A student beginning school in Grand Rapids may have a very different school experience from a student in Battle Creek or Kalamazoo.

Families in Lansing may face different transportation, enrollment or programming questions than families in Ann Arbor or Ypsilanti.

The same is true in Detroit, Pontiac and Waterford, or in Flint, Saginaw and Bay City.

Yet there are common threads.

Parents want their children to be safe. Teachers want students to learn. Students want to feel that they belong. Communities want their schools to succeed.

Our Latino families are an important part of that equation.

Latino students and families are represented in classrooms, parent organizations, athletic programs, community groups and, in a number of communities, on local boards of education and in other educational leadership roles.

La Prensa Latina News Wire encourages families to learn who represents them.

Know the names of your child’s teacher and principal. Learn who serves on your local board of education. Attend a school board meeting sometime this year. Read the district newsletter. Visit the district website. Attend parent-teacher conferences.

Don’t wait until something goes wrong to become involved.

When your school does something well, tell them that, too.

Teachers and administrators hear plenty when people are unhappy. A quick email saying that your child had a great first day, that a teacher made them feel welcome or that a bus driver went out of the way to help is equally worth sharing.

When Something Isn’t Right, Speak Up

Students and parents should also remember that they have rights.

If your child is struggling academically, ask questions.

If your child has a disability and requires services or accommodations, learn about the processes available to families.

If a student believes he or she is being bullied, harassed or treated differently because of race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, sex or another protected characteristic, don’t simply assume nothing can be done.

Document what happened and begin communicating.

In most situations, that means starting closest to the problem — with the teacher, counselor or principal — and moving to district administration when necessary.

Michigan is a local-control state, so many concerns involving transportation, curriculum, employees or day-to-day school operations are handled by the local district.

Local boards of education are another important part of that system.

Board members — including Latino trustees serving in communities around Michigan — are elected or appointed to help oversee public education in their districts. Families should feel comfortable learning who those representatives are and how to communicate with them appropriately.

And communication shouldn’t only happen when there is a problem.

Tell your board members about successes, too. Tell them about the teacher who made your child’s first day special. Tell them when a school program is working. Let them know when you see something worth preserving.

Positive feedback can be just as valuable as criticism.

Safety Belongs to Everyone

School safety isn’t solely the responsibility of principals, teachers or police.

Students have a role.

If something doesn’t look right, tell someone.

That could be a teacher, counselor, principal, coach, school resource officer, parent or another trusted adult.

Students should never treat threats of violence as jokes, including threats made on social media.

Michigan also operates the statewide OK2SAY student-safety program, which allows students, parents, school employees and community members to confidentially report potential harm or criminal activity involving students, employees or schools.

Students should also remember that something posted from a bedroom at 10 p.m. can become a school problem at 8 a.m.

Think before you post.

Parents Have Homework, Too

Parents and guardians can make the beginning of school easier by checking a few basics.

Make sure your school has current telephone numbers, email addresses and emergency contacts. Double-check transportation information and bus stops. Understand attendance procedures. Know where to find information about weather closures.

Review your school’s cellphone, dress-code and behavioral policies with your child rather than waiting for a problem.

For younger students, reestablishing bedtime and morning routines can make the transition from summer easier.

And talk to your children.

Instead of asking only, “How was school?” try something different:

What was the best part of your day?

Who did you meet?

What did you learn?

What was difficult?

Is there anything you need from me tomorrow?

Those five questions may tell you considerably more than “How was school?”

Send Us Your First-Day Photos

And parents — before your children disappear through those school doors — take the picture.

Yes, even if they complain.

Whether your child is starting kindergarten, middle school, high school or their senior year, those first-day photographs become part of a family’s history.

La Prensa Latina News Wire would love to see them.

Readers from across Michigan are invited to submit their first-day-back-to-school photographs to La Prensa Latina News Wire.

Tell us the student’s first name, grade, school or district and community. With permission, selected photographs may be featured through La Prensa Latina News Wire’s digital and print platforms as we celebrate Michigan students beginning another year.

And there’s another reason to participate.

Some families submitting first-day photographs will have an opportunity to receive tickets to ¡Fiesta Tigres! at Comerica Park, September 12–13.

¡Fiesta Tigres! celebrates the contributions of the Latin American community to the Detroit Tigers’ history and tradition, making it an especially fitting opportunity to celebrate some of Michigan’s students and families as Hispanic Heritage Month approaches.

Make 2026–27 Count

To Michigan’s students walking into classrooms today — and those beginning during the days ahead — welcome back.

Meet your teacher.

Learn someone’s name.

Get to class on time.

Do the assignment.

Respect the people around you.

Put the phone away when you’re supposed to.

Ask questions.

Speak up when something isn’t right.

Help someone who needs it.

And remember that regardless of whether your school is in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Detroit, Pontiac, Waterford, Flint, Saginaw, Bay City, Battle Creek or somewhere in between, you are part of something much larger.

Michigan’s future is walking into classrooms this morning.

From all of us at La Prensa Latina News Wire, welcome back and congratulations on the beginning of the 2026–27 school year. Make it a great one.