A First Day to Remember at Great Hearts Lincoln

Today was the first day of school for many of our academies in Arizona, including our scholars down in the Southeast Valley at Great Hearts Lincoln, home of Archway Lincoln and Lincoln Prep. Headmaster Yvette Cooper welcomed brand new kindergarteners and their nervous parents, while Headmaster Eric Tope celebrated the last – first day of the Class of 2026.

Tope said he cleared his schedule while prepping for the first day to make sure he’s available to help anyone in need. “There’s just lots of loose ends,” he explained. “Even though we’ve done this so many times, it’s just someone’s going to forget a locker, someone’s not going to remember what their schedule is. So, the whole admin team, we’re really just trying to be available to help anybody and everybody justget comfortable their first day.”

Cooper met with parents who had just dropped off their kindergarteners for the first time. The academy sets out coffee and donuts in the multi-purpose room for these “first timers” that they call the “Boohoo Breakfast.” This is a special group of kindergarteners starting this year. These are the children that were born during the pandemic, when the world went into lockdown. And now, somehow, these “COVID babies” are dressed up in school uniforms with their little backpacks and walking into a classroom like they weren’t just learning to crawl during a global event, making it an even more difficult separation for some of the parents.

The gathering serves as a great way for these parents to decompress from the perfect storm of emotions they felt after this milestone in their child’s educational career. “I commend you all for preparing them for today’s journey,” she said, addressing the group. “I know today there were some tears, and I know today, some of them just walked in and they were like, ‘I’m ready, show me what I’m supposed to do.’ And that’s all wonderful. Because right there, I hope that you remember that you’re not leaving behind your scholars. But what you’re doing is forging them forward to a future that is going to develop the strong child, and the virtuous child, the child that has a good heart, and the child that thinks for themselves. So, don’t worry. They’re in good hands.”

The gathering also lends itself to the beginning of crucial friendships that will form over the course of the next 13 years. “I want you all to just look around this room. Look to the left and look to the right,” instructed Cooper. “This is your new family. These are your best friends you’ve never had. These are the ones that you’re going to go to birthday parties, play soccer with, pool parties, join the teams, the ones that are going to do the art projects with your child. These are your new best friends. Because one thing that I know is that we do better together. And so, I encourage you to form those friendships before you leave today. Get a number, shake a hand, and as the young people say, get an Instagram, but whatever you need to do, find one person to do life with because this journey is incredible and it’s better when you can share it with someone.”

And for the parents who might be having a difficult day, worried about their child on their first day of school, no matter what grade they are in, Cooper offered this promise. “When you see them today at the end of the day, they will come with smiles on their faces and big backpacks heavy with stuff for you to sign. But all in all, they are going to have a wonderful first day experience.”

Great Hearts seeks to partner with parents, because we know that the formation of the human soul starts at home. We don’t take for granted the incredible trust you put in us at the start of every school year to join you in shaping their minds and their hearts. We look forward to another amazing school year at Great Hearts.

In Plato’s work, The Republic, he expressed a great belief in the formative power of early education, stating, “The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life.”

Click her to view first day photos from across Great Hearts academies.

Do you have a story or know of one that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts? Please contact jmoore@greatheartsamerica.org.

Submit a student application to a Great Hearts Academy by visiting: https://www.greatheartsamerica.org/enroll/.