More Than a Backpack

What Mississippi Families Carry into a New School Year 

Across Mississippi, July and August carry its own rhythm. School parking lots fill before sunrise as teachers unlock classrooms for another year. Parents weave through crowded store aisles searching for the perfect backpack, the last box of crayons or the right sized notebook. Children lay out first day outfits across bedroom chairs, counting down the hours until they see old friends and meet new teachers. It’s a season marked by anticipation, possibility, and hope.

For many Mississippi families, back to school represents a fresh start and another chance for children to learn, grow, and discover who they are becoming. Over the past year, however, I have learned that not every family enters the school year with the same sense of anticipation. Through my work, I have traveled across Mississippi, meeting parents, educators, school leaders, and community members whose stories have broadened my understanding of what education means to the families we serve. While every conversation has been unique, one common thread consistently emerged: every parent wants the opportunity for their child to thrive.

For some families, that journey begins with difficult questions. They wonder whether their child will receive the support they need, whether they will feel accepted, whether their unique gifts will be recognized, or whether another school year will pass without reaching their full potential. Those concerns are not rooted in a lack of appreciation for the traditional method of education. They reflect the deep love parents have for their children and their determination to find the environment where their child can flourish.

That truth became especially clear during my conversation with Clinnesha Sibley, founder of the SMMEIIS Institute, an arts-based microschool in McComb. While all three of her own children attend public school because it is the right fit for her family, she created SMMEIIS for students whose artistic gifts and unique ways of learning left them feeling unseen in more traditional classrooms. Her story illustrates that educational opportunities aren’t about deciding which school is best. It’s about ensuring that every child has access to a learning environment where they can thrive.

Finding the right fit for every child doesn’t end with one family’s story. Julie Knox, founder of Knox Academy in Ellisville, has seen how communities benefit when schools work together to meet different student needs. She described how her specialized school and surrounding public schools have become partners in serving students with autism. Rather than competing with one another, they have found ways to complement each other, recognizing that no single school can meet every child’s needs alone.

When LaNita Hargett native of Byram, MS moved her family from Maryland back to Mississippi, she remembered classrooms that felt smaller, more personal, and deeply connected to students. She wanted that same kind of environment for her daughter, along with a faith-based education, so she chose a private school. Like every parent I met, her decision was not about proving one educational model was better than another. It was about placing her child in the environment she believed would give her the greatest opportunity to succeed.

Perhaps the most powerful conversation I had all year was with Dr. Kaysie Burton. She shared the story of her son, Camren, who entered the world weighing just one pound, eleven ounces. As doctors carefully explained what he might never do, she found herself praying for something much simpler: a chance for him to live, to learn, and to be seen. That prayer eventually became Level Up Learning, a Christian academy in the Mississippi Delta founded so children like Camren could learn in an environment that recognizes their God given potential rather than their perceived limitations.

As parents, those desires never really change. Long before we think about classrooms, report cards, or graduation ceremonies, we simply want our children to be seen for who they are and encouraged toward who they can become.

After a year of listening to families across Mississippi, I have become convinced that education is far bigger than any single school, program, or policy. At its heart, it is about creating opportunities for every child to learn, grow, and become the person they were created to be.

Welcome back to school, Mississippi. Here’s to another year of investing in our children, encouraging our educators, supporting our families, and believing in the limitless potential of every student who walks through a school door this fall. Because while backpacks may carry school supplies, they also represent the dreams, prayers, and potential that have the power to shape the future of our state.