Robert Sewell Elementary School’s incoming principal has some tips for parents as they prepare to send their children back to school Aug. 8.

First year principal Melinda Hoover has been on the job just four weeks, but she is no stranger to the academic world. She was part of a series of hires greenlit by Garland ISD to fill administrative vacancies within the district.

As a parent herself, Hoover says it is important for parents to start having children conform to a school week routine in the weeks leading up to the start of the new school year. That includes standardized bedtimes and wake up times in the morning after a summer with less strict hours.

“Starting to put that schedule back in place makes that first week of school go easier for both parents and kids,” Hoover said. 

Getting children adjusted to the regular routine is the biggest challenge Hoover expects this year. Unlike last year, the principal does not anticipate some of the learning or social challenges that came with virtual classes held in 2020. Most students have been in the classroom since last year, said Hoover.

However, the adjustment can sometimes be difficult for the district’s pre-K and kindergartners who may have gotten used to an afternoon nap over the summer.

“You’ll have some kids who you look over [at them] in the afternoon and they’re asleep,” Hoover said. “I remember my own kids during that first week and looking back and seeing them asleep in the car on the way home from school because they haven’t been in that structure and routine.”

For the full story, see the July 28 issue of The Sachse News.