Saludos familias.
It has been an incredibly busy summer for our city and schools, and we are excited to welcome everyone back next week for another school year.
School begins for grades 1-12 this Monday, August 25! Students then have a four-day break with no school on Friday, August 29 through Monday, Sept. 1 (Labor Day). Prekindergarten and kindergarten start on Monday, Sept. 8.
As I have emphasized many times, there is a powerful connection between student success and attendance. Thank you for helping ensure students are in school starting on day one, so our amazing school teams can do what they love – support the learning, growth and success of your children.
This is also always a great time for important reminders about safety, and that is especially true this year. We are opening two beautiful new schools, which has enabled us to provide new and improved spaces for a number of other schools and programs as well. This means many students and families will be adjusting to new places and routines. Our staff and safety teams are ready to support these transitions, and we can all help by being extra mindful of arrival and dismissal procedures in the opening days and weeks of the new year. I also hope you’ll find time to watch the back-to-school safety video recently shared by our friends and partners at the Lawrence Police Department (posted in Back-to-School Safety Video English and in Back-to-School Safety Video Spanish).
Finally, schools and staff will be sharing invitations for many opportunities to visit school and meet them throughout the fall, and as always will reach out to you regularly throughout the year. But I want to encourage you to reach out to them as well – building a strong relationship with your child’s educators, support staff and school leaders is one of the best things you can do to support their education. So don’t be shy!
Please continue to stay up to date on everything happening throughout LPS this year by following us on Facebook and Instagram, visiting the LPS website, and checking out the regular stream of videos and photos on YouTube and flickr.
Thank you all for helping us get 2025-26 off to a great start, and we can’t wait to see everyone on Monday.
Respectfully,
Ralph Carrero
Superintendent
Lawrence Public Schools
