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The days are starting to get shorter, and the nights are getting longer. Football season has kicked off, and Halloween candy already is on store shelves.

These are the very familiar signs that the summer is quickly winding down and a new school year is beginning.

For most kids, the start of a new school year is a time filled with excitement and, perhaps, some understandable anxiousness. There are new teachers to meet, more challenging assignments to complete, new routines to be created, and friendships to be made. Each new school year is part of the process and an opportunity to grow.

On behalf of all school-age kids throughout the Wyoming Valley, let’s make this school year a great one!

If you are a parent, grandparent or guardian, please do your best to be invested in your child’s education. Be present to them and engaged in their interests. Talk to them every day about their school day, and be a good listener. Ensure they get the medical care they need, the sleep they require, and the healthy foods that fuel their bodies, and that they stay safe.

Students have responsibilities, too. Your future is solidly built on your education. Make it a priority and embrace it with a good attitude. Be organized, communicate with the adults in your lives (especially parents and teachers), get homework and other assignments done, and, as important as anything else, show up! Success starts with good attendance!

Attendance and truancy are very significant issues in schools throughout the Wyoming Valley. Absences add up! Starting in kindergarten, too many absences can cause children to fall behind. Over time, this will hurt a child’s ability to learn and will most certainly impact academic performance. Chronic absenteeism eventually can lead to higher dropout rates and, ultimately, limit the human potential.

The United Way of Wyoming Valley recognizes that our community will be stronger when children and families do better. We will continue to be advocates for children and education. Children will do better when they enter school ready to learn, progress through school with confidence, and graduate on time.

It’s obvious, but still worth stating: Kids are more successful when families value and support the education of their children.

As the familiar signs of a turning calendar are evident and a new school year is upon us, it is also time for the United Way’s annual campaign to start. Our kickoff speaker this year, Sonia Manzano, knows all about poverty and the value of education. Her life embodies our United Way’s mission.

Sonia is from the South Bronx, and she grew up very poor in a dysfunctional, stressful environment marred by incidences of domestic violence. Her commitment to her education, however, changed her life and opened the doors to opportunity. She spent 40 years as the iconic character who educated many of us as “Maria” on “Sesame Street.”

Sonia Manzano’s story is powerful. She is authentically aware of the importance of education; she spent a groundbreaking career as an advocate for children and their learning opportunities. All are welcome to attend the campaign kickoff event on Sept. 8 at Mohegan Sun Pocono, in Plains Township. (For event information, visit unitedwaywb.org.)

Even more important, we all can participate in helping to advance the mission of the United Way of Wyoming Valley by helping kids. Let’s support them as best we can and help them have a great school year.

Then, when you have a chance, enjoy some of the best parts of fall … like snacking on a bowl of candy corn and cheering, “WE ARE …” or “GO, IRISH!”

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Bill Jones

Guest columnist

Bill Jones is president and CEO of United Way of Wyoming Valley. He can be reached at 570-829-6711, extension 1230.