A wise man once said, “Back to school. Back to school, to prove to Dad that I’m not a fool.” And on this week, most students around the metro will be doing the same thing.
Yes, even though the weather is as hot as it’s been all summer, students will be going back to school and sweating through those really cool fall clothes mom and dad just bought them. I’m sure you’re up to your eyeballs in back-to-school content, but here at TLO, we pride ourselves on creating the only first day of school guide that you actually need.
So, don't waste your time looking elsewhere. Here's everything you need to do for the first day of school.
Double check when school starts and ends.
A new state law requires elementary school students to get 40 minutes of recess each day. In OKCPS, the longer recess has lengthened the school day and changed start and end times — and middle and high school schedules are affected, too.
Because the district uses the same buses for students at every level, changing the elementary schedule required changes to middle and high school schedules, too. Check your particular school’s schedule, because it’s likely not what it used to be.
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Set recurring alarms to check your kid’s backpack.
If you have a child who is prone to bringing home papers with elaborate instructions for projects, permission slips for field trips, or fliers requesting you bring a treat for the class, you’re going to want to be aware of that information. Have a few phone alarms set throughout the week to check that kid’s bag so you don’t get blindsided the night before and find out you have to make a volcano science project as well as cupcakes for the whole class.
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Make your kid less kidnappable.
Look. It’s 2026. We know we shouldn’t be putting personal information online, and especially not the personal information of our kids. So don’t do the whole “first day of school” board post with information about which school and teacher your kid has. Creeps with that information don’t also need to know your kid's favorite food or favorite color or any other information that would make it easy for them to start a conversation with your kid.
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Talk about worries, but hold it together.
Take some time to sit with your kid and talk through all the things they’re worried about. Maybe it’s all the homework for the year ahead. Maybe they worry they won’t make friends. Maybe they just have your basic first day jitters.
And once you have them all calmed down, take some time to panic on your own. Don’t let your kid see you worry if Oklahoma Public Schools will give your kids the education they need to actually get a job someday. Though, feel free to let your kid hear you curse the Republicans who have been in control the whole time our school rankings have plummeted from 17th in the nation to 50th. If your kid has the capacity to root against a bad guy in a Marvel movie, they have the capacity to root against the bad guy in real life.
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Look at the pristine nature of those school supplies one last time.
Those backpacks, crayons, and notebooks are going to be absolutely trashed by November, and whatever makes it all the way to next May will look like a post-apocalyptic relic.
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Take free tutoring where you can.
Did you know that you can get free tutoring on Metropolitan Library’s website? Make sure your kid has a library card of their own, and show them Brainfuse HelpNow. That will definitely come in handy when it’s time to diagram sentences or work through quadratic equations, because you sure as hell don't remember how to do that.
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Download the Sonic App for the morning rush.
Ideally, we’d all eat a balanced breakfast every day. But we all know that what’s ideal rarely intersects with getting everyone out of the house on time in the morning. So, do yourself a favor and download the Sonic App. Be ready to put in an order on mornings when your kid can’t find their shoes, or when you oversleep because you didn’t want to miss the Thunder game that didn’t start until 9:30 PM the night before. The Ultimate Meat and Cheese Burrito is comfort food for those types of mornings.
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Get vaccinated.
Look. You’re already dodging cyclospora like a jewel thief wending their way through crisscrossing security lasers. Do you really want to deal with any other unnecessary infections? Do you have the PTO necessary to take care of a sick kid and then miss even more work when you get whatever they had?
It's so hot right now that cold and flu season seems so far away. But all the little germ factories are going to be congregating in classrooms now, and once the weather cools off, it’s only a matter of time until everyone has whooping cough. Maybe your family is healthy and everything will be fine. Or, maybe we enjoy the free preventative care that comes with our health insurance plans instead of getting sick and hitting our deductibles.
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Feel smug about not spending $40k in tuition for a scam AI school.
I’m sure there’s an Oklahoman out there who thinks that Alpha School is a good idea. But I am proud to say I don’t know who that person is. And speaking of not paying tuition…
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Don’t forget about free college tuition!
If your kid attends OKC or Western Heights Public Schools, they can go to OCCC for free through the OKCGo program. And who knows? Maybe someday your kid will be inducted into the OCCC Hall of Fame like Patrick was!
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Personally, I’ll be celebrating the start of school by purchasing a pack of Mr. Sketch Markers and a Charlotte Hornets Starter jacket.
