My daughter Kate started kindergarten this year at a public school in Gainesville. Walking her to school each day has been an enlightening experience.

It is wonderful to watch children from across the racial, ethnic and socioeconomic spectrum come together to learn. It shows the great promise of public schools in teaching all kinds of kids, but also the huge responsibility that schools have in ensuring children from a variety of backgrounds get equal educational opportunities.

As Alachua County marks Public School Awareness Month this September, it is worth reminding ourselves of the immense job that public schools are asked to accomplish. With nearly 1 million children living in poverty in Florida, too many kids in our state come to school with challenges such as hunger and trauma that make learning harder and the work of teachers all the more complicated.

Our local public school system is trying to address these challenges through efforts such as a System of Care program connecting at-risk students and their families with needed services. Another effort, underway at Howard Bishop Middle School, is a community partnership school that works to address problems related to poverty in house.

As reported in a recent Sun story, students there have access to such things as a food bank, a clothing closet and additional tutoring and mental health counseling. Jennifer Anchors of the Children’s Home Society of Florida, a partner in the effort, said the community school model is meant to “allow teachers to teach.”

The effort is part of a shift in the Children’s Home Society’s mission from helping families in the foster care system to working on preventing children from entering the system. The Children’s Home Society works with 12 other community schools in Florida, but this is Alachua County’s first.

We ask a lot of schools but rightfully expect even more. Our district must follow through with implementing an equity plan to close a racial achievement gap that has persisted here at a higher rate than most of the state for too long. But as James Lawrence of The Sun-sponsored Gainesville For All initiative said in his column last Sunday, parents and other residents need to contribute.

The partnership at Howard Bishop includes the University of Florida and the local Health Department as well as a support from county government and private donors. Companies such as Bosshardt Realty and Cox Communications have provided funding, while others have provided services as Gainesville Family Eye Care giving free eye exams.

With Kate each morning I see people of all stripes walking children to school — working class and white collar, grandparents and other guardians, some speaking different languages. It gives me hope that despite all the divisions our country faces, public schools remain committed to ensuring everyone has an opportunity at educational advancement.

Nathan Crabbe is The Sun’s opinion and engagement editor.

Originally posted by: The Gainesville sun