“The Founding Fathers in their wisdom decided that children were an unnatural strain on parents. So, they provided jails called schools, equipped with tortures called an education.” — John Updike, The Centaur
For most kids and parents, “back to school” comes with a gazillion ups and downs. Everything from missed assignments to an A on a test, and from losing a starting position on the team to becoming captain, and *groan* from “TLA! ❤” to “I’m never speaking to him/her/them again!” *door slam*, this shit ain’t easy! So, for all your rollercoasting emotions, we’re here to offer a gentle look at ways to get excited about learning and growing and also helping — yourself and others. As it’s said, stepping outside your perhaps Champagne-y little bubble for your fellow man is the most effective way to salve whatever emotional pain you may be feeling today … this afternoon … this minute. It’s a rollercoaster, people! Buckle the hell up.
For far too many parents, the problems aren’t all emotional. For the Texas teens who can’t afford feminine hygiene products, a few nonprofits are stepping up (pg. 5), and while all Fort Worth ISD students will be forced to suffer through painful scripted class instruction, we’re confident that enough Fort Worth public-school educators will pick up the slack (pg. 7).
This is not to say there aren’t opportunities for joy. They are manifold. College football is back, for one thing (pg. 8), and for another, the Tarrant County chapter of the Texas Restaurant Association is hosting a loud and rowdy Casino Night fundraiser (pg. 16) in the Stockyards to help financially support scholarships for students interested in or entering the hospitality industry.
Plus, local college and university theatrical productions are on tap (pg. 15), DFW Restaurant Week/Month is around the corner (pg. 19), and at Broadway Baptist Church on the Near Southside, there’s an academy for aspiring young musicians interested in pretty much any fine instrument (pg. 12). Similarly, for the kids (or adults) who can’t sit still, multiple private companies throughout Tarrant County exist for the express purpose of getting the “Led” out (as in “Zeppelin and others”) (pg. 22).
All that and so much more await inside. We know that kiddom and parenthood aren’t easy — nothing worthwhile ever is — but maybe one or more of our stories will afford you a little bit of relief, like when the current rollercoaster you’re on finally stops, you unstrap yourself, and you step wobbly but gladly back onto terra firma (perhaps, understandably, dreading the next ride). The guy in the epigraph, John Updike, the man who famously never wrote a bad sentence and who is easily my favorite literary fictionalist (sorry, Pynchon; sorry, Rushdie; sorry, Toni), had parenthood wrong. For all his greatness, you can’t just call us “junk” or used “flower stalks” (from the Rabbit series) once our kids reach a certain, mature age. Parenthood is never finished. For good and for bad. But it’s a high calling, one that no reasonable, humane person should shirk at any point.
And that’s why we here at the Weekly will go “back to school” next year and hopefully for many years after that. Class dismissed. — Anthony Mariani, Editor
WHAT’S INSIDE BACK TO SCHOOL 2026?
Glad you asked! While the Weekly covers these sorts of topics every fall, in both ads and articles, we are proud to introduce the inaugural edition of this special issue in a cover-to-cover format. Enjoy! — Jennifer Bovee, Special Projects
BUCK U // Fall Actually — Football season is on the burning horizon — let’s gorge ourselves with three consecutive days of excellent games to begin the season. “I feel it in my fingers. I feel it in my toes. Football is all around us, and so the feeling grows. It didn’t take long walking around my local high school’s campus to be reminded that the best part of the year is coming. Bands are in the parking lots sweating, drill teams are stepping along to odd counts, and football teams are either braving heat that feels like we’re nestled in the Devil’s taint or grinding in indoor practice facilities with garage doors open. No matter the particular facet that appeals to you, Fall — the sports season, not the weather — is upon us…” Read more here.
METRO: News // Period Poverty — Due to cruel policy, one in three low-income Texas students regularly misses school for not having enough supplies for periods. “…The American Medical Women’s Association defines period poverty as the inadequate access to menstrual hygiene tools and education. In North Texas, one in four teenagers struggles to afford period products. Without access to proper supplies, students improvise with wadded-up toilet paper or wear pads and tampons for longer than recommended, exposing themselves to severe infections like toxic shock syndrome.In Texas, one in three low-income students regularly misses school for not having enough supplies for periods. During back-to-school shopping, tight household budgets force many families to choose between buying groceries and essential hygiene products…” Read more here.
METRO: News // Reverse Midas Touch — Good teachers remain, but will they be enough to make up for the 1,000+ who have left FWISD since the state takeover? “…Thousands of teachers, especially experienced ones, have left the district, and that was totally predictable. After the state’s takeover in Houston in 2021, a huge educator exodus followed, so déjà vu, the state’s tone-deaf, ham-handed management totally “succeeded” in doing it again, running off the best teachers. By Fort Worth ISD’s June resignation deadline, more than 1,000 teachers had gotten the hell out, a 58% increase over the previous year….” Read more here.
METRO: Static // What Would Jesus Do? — He wouldn’t side with Christian Nationalists, and he would probably attend the democracy panel at Broadway Baptist Church. “…Even though Broadway Baptist’s Justice in July programming is finished, the church is continuing the fight with an informative upcoming event. At Faith, Freedom, and Democracy from 10am to noon on Sat, Aug 8, at Broadway Baptist, faith leaders, election experts, and free-speech advocates will discuss church and state, religious influence in our government, and the rise of religious nationalism, particularly Christian Nationalism’s influence in Tarrant County and across Texas. This important educational opportunity is free to attend…” Read more here.
FEATURE // After School Music Academy — At Broadway Baptist Church on the Near Southside, music education is available for every student. “Nate Krieger talks a lot with his hands, and when the subject is music education, he gets into it. Clearing off a space on his desk at Broadway Baptist Church, the executive director of Fort Worth After School Music Academy spreads a pair of big, freckled appendages out on the surface much like his music-teacher father must have done when sitting down at the organ keyboard…Music and music education have demonstrably been central to his life, first and most fundamentally as son of the late George Krieger, then with the Texas Boys’ Choir, Fort Worth’s Dorothy Shaw Bell Choir, scholarship student in TCU’s vocal performance program, and continuing today as a Fort Worth Opera chorus member and professional soloist for First Presbyterian Church…” Read more here.
CALENDAR // Night & Day — Aaaaand we’re back! “Beyond saving a few hard-earned tax dollars, there are also many free resources available this weekend for Back to School. Along with all the school-supply procurement happenings, you’ll also find some fun themed events for your entertainment in this column. That’s how we roll…” Read more here.
STAGE // School Plays — Our colleges gear up for the fall theater season. “When it comes to live theater, serious fans know that you can’t sleep on the universities. College theater productions might not have the same polish, prestige, or production values as plays put on by professional outfits, but they have provided a starting point for the likes of Moises Kaufman’s The Laramie Project, Jeremy O. Harris’ Slave Play, and Greg Kotis’ Urinetown. Maybe the next great theatrical sensation receives its start at one of North Texas’ universities. With that in mind, we hereby present our preview of what’s to come this fall at our local schools….” Read more here.
EATS & DRINKS // Casino Night — The local chapter of the Texas Restaurant Association has a fundraiser coming up for food-industry scholarships. “…Every year, the Tarrant County chapter of the TRA holds Casino Night to raise funds for scholarships for the young men and women who dream of being chefs, restaurant managers, and, maybe one day, owners themselves. The next Casino Night is at the end of this month…” Read more here.
EATS: Ate Days // Where Are Your Manners? — Take your well-behaved littles out to eat during (or after) DFW Restaurant Week.”…If you are currently in the middle of raising some well-mannered, compassionate children who care about other people and the world around them, the kind who can sit through a meal and not throw a tantrum, perhaps this is a teaching moment about helping other children in need and about showing off those newly acquired table manners. While you may want to get a babysitter and do #DateNight during Restaurant Week, here are some of the family-friendly places on the list for when you want to circle back and bring the whole fam. Hey, those kids gotta eat too…” Read more here.
MUSIC // Keep Duane Tyree Rockin’ — The owner of the popular Platinum Music Complex is battling Stage IV cancer. “Of all the arbitrary cruelties in the world, cancer is easily the most insidious. This May, Platinum Music Complex owner Duane Tyree learned that the colon cancer he’d been fighting for months had spread to his liver, and the 56-year-old now has a Stage IV diagnosis. Tyree, who loves the Lord at least as much as he loves Van Halen and is trusting in God to take him through this struggle, continues to devote as much energy as possible to the North Richland Hills rehearsal, education, and performance space and the hundreds of musicians and fans who have grown up around it…” Read more here.
MUSIC // Schools that Rawk! — Whether your kiddo is a savant or just wants to let off steam, or you’re in it for yourself, North Texas is full of music-education opportunities. Group settings only help. “Fun fact: I’ve been playing bass for nearly 30 years, and in all that time, I’ve taken only two lessons. The only way I really learned the instrument was by playing it in a band. I bring this up because private lessons are but one way to learn to play music, and in my experience, I only got better by playing with better musicians. Below are some local music schools that, in addition to private lessons, offer group practices, camps, and even opportunities to play concerts at local venues. It’s great to get good at guitar or piano via solo and/or private instruction, but it’s even better to get good by learning to play with others….” Read more here.
THE END — Did you miss your chance to pick up Back to School 2026 in the stands? No worries. We’ve got you covered. To see this special issue in a flipbook, cover-to-cover format, click here.
