The 2026-27 school year is fast approaching.
With August 12 the first day for kindergarten, sixth grade and ninth grade, and August 13 the first day with all students, staff will be busy in the coming weeks getting schools ready to welcome you and your students.
Preparing for a successful school year also means a lot of planning at home.
To get ready for the upcoming school year, we put together a list of tips that may help your family prepare for starting school strong.
4 tips for starting the school year strong
1. Establish consistent sleep and morning routines
Whether heading to preschool, senior year or any grade in between, a good night’s rest is vital for students.
Now is a great time to start establishing what your nighttime and morning routines will be as a family.
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Once August arrives, implement a consistent bedtime, morning wake-up calls and breakfast routines that you will practice during the school year. This will help establish a routine and provide your student, young or teen, with time for their bodies and brains to adjust to the new schedule.
A healthy morning routine will also help ensure your student may arrive at school on time and ready to learn.
2. Map out your school drop-off and pick-up plans
Attendance is crucial to student success.
A big part of attendance is setting up students to arrive at school on time and knowing they have a plan for returning home when school is out.
Start working on school drop-off and pick-up plans as soon as possible. We encourage families to work together to ride or walk together to school. Also, please consider leaving a little earlier in the morning this year as there will be increased traffic at our schools.
Due to the need for budget reductions, the district will no longer be offering many of the bus routes it has run in the past. You may find the 2026-27 bus routes here.
Be sure to check out the district calendars as well so you’re up to speed on all school days for the year.
And don’t forget, school meals are free this year. You may find information on breakfast and lunch at school on our district website here.
School is important and children look forward to seeing their friends and teachers every day in district buildings. Setting them up for success also means prioritizing regular attendance.
3. Update information in ParentVUE
Have you updated your contact information in ParentVUE for the school year?
If your phone number, mailing address or student emergency contact information has changed since the last school year, now is a great time to make those changes in ParentVUE.
You may find ParentVUE information on the district website here.
Updating your information in ParentVUE will help ensure you receive communication from your school and Grand Island Public Schools in the ways you need to.
You may expect to hear from both your school and the district regularly throughout the school year. Grand Island Public Schools utilizes email, text message, phone calls and direct mail to help you receive important school information and invitations to events and activities.
Speaking of which, you will be hearing from schools soon for “Back to School” events. Be sure to mark those on your calendar when details arrive.
4. Partner with your school for a strong start
The district is looking forward to launching another school year.
Teachers, principals, custodians, nutrition staff, counselors, social workers, paraeducators—everyone is excited to welcome you and your student to school. Your student is our “why”; we mean that.
We would love for you to pass that message along to your student as well.
We want all of our students and families to feel like they belong in our schools. The goal is to work together with you to help make sure your student is prepared to start the school year with positive momentum.
If you have any questions about preparing for the new school year, please reach out to your school directly, send an email to communications@gips.org or call Grand Island Public Schools Student Services at 308.385.5900.
Let’s make the 2026-27 school year a great one.
