During any given year, the first day of school is likely a blend of excitement and nerves for many children and youths at all grade levels.

For students starting school for the first time amid the COVID-19 pandemic and for those who will be facing the first completely in-person school year in about two years, anxiety might be higher than it normally would be.

The Butler Area School District has a lovely idea it will be carrying out in August to welcome students from Emily Brittain and Broad Street elementary schools back to school for the fall semester.

On Aug. 26, the first day of school, the district will hold a community event known as the Downtown Elementary Schools Welcome Back.

Residents will be asked to cheer and applaud from their homes as students walk by on their way to school, and signs of encouragement will be displayed on some lawns.

The walk will be coupled with a program titled Jump Start Kindergarten, which on Aug. 24 will give parents the opportunity to meet kindergarten teachers and, later that day, Back to School Night open houses will enable parents of elementary school students to meet their children’s teachers.

Vanessa Boyd, Broad Street’s principal, said she will soon be visiting residents to ask them to participate in the walk by showing support.

“This is the idea of a village coming together to benefit students and the community,” Boyd said.

We hope residents in the area who are able to do so turn out to provide cheers of encouragement to the students.

For a young person, being bunched together for the first time with strangers in a school setting can be intimidating, especially after having been cooped up during a year of COVID-19. For returning students, educators hope the fall semester will be back to business as usual after a year of switching back and forth between in-person and remote classes.

Cheering the students on as they make their way to school might help to give them some confidence as they start — or take the next step in — their educational career.

The Butler Area School District’s concept is a good one, and we hope it gets the turnout it deserves.

— NCD