Back to School, Back to Reality: Addressing the Hidden Barriers to Learning

As summer winds down, the familiar rituals of back-to-school season begin: new backpacks, sharpened pencils and photos on front porches. But behind the energy and excitement of a new school year lies a quieter truth, : many students are returning to classrooms already at a disadvantage, burdened by barriers that school supplies alone can’t fix.

For some students, the first day of school brings structure and opportunity. For others, it marks the return to an environment where underlying needs go unmet. While back-to-school messaging often focuses on external readiness, such as clothes, notebook and lunchboxes, the internal and systemic realities tell a different story. Returning to school doesn’t erase the challenges students face; in many cases, it intensifies them.

What We Don’t Always See

When we picture students heading back to class, we don’t always see the full picture. We may not see the child who skipped breakfast because their household’s food budget ran out. Or the teen navigating overcrowded housing, trying to finish homework in a shared bedroom with no quiet space. Or the student who lacks reliable internet, whose summer learning loss is compounded by limited digital access.

These aren’t isolated stories. They are common threads in communities across the country. And while schools are critical places of learning and growth, they can only do so much when larger structural barriers persist beyond the classroom walls.

Some of the most common but overlooked barriers include:

• Food insecurity: Millions of students rely on school meals as their most consistent source of nutrition. For many, summer is a time of hunger, and fall doesn’t always bring immediate relief.
• Housing instability: Unstable or overcrowded living conditions can impact a child’s ability to focus, rest and attend school regularly.
• Access to technology: The digital divide in education didn’t disappear after the pandemic. Students without laptops or internet access remain at a disadvantage when it comes to homework, research and participation in tech-integrated classrooms.
• Unaddressed trauma: Many students return to school carrying emotional or psychological stress that can affect behavior, concentration and academic performance, often without access to the mental health resources they need.

The Gap Between “Ready” and Supported

“Back to school readiness” shouldn’t just be measured by whether students have the right notebooks or uniforms. True readiness means students have their basic needs met, nutritionally, emotionally and structurally, so they can actually engage in learning.

When these foundational needs go unmet, teachers and schools are often left to fill in the gaps. And while educators do extraordinary work, they can’t solve systemic inequity alone. Community organizations, families, policy advocates and funders all play a role in creating the conditions where students can thrive.

That’s why the back-to-school season is not only a time for fresh starts, but also a time for honest reflection about what support really looks like and what it requires.

How We Can Rethink Support

If we want every student to have a fair chance at success, we need to shift the conversation from short-term readiness to long-term stability. This means asking deeper questions:

• Are students being taught in safe, adequately resourced environments?
• Do families have access to healthy food year-round?
• Are school-based support staff, like counselors and social workers, accessible to all students?
• Are community partners involved in providing wraparound support beyond the classroom?

This also means recognizing that support needs to be consistent, not seasonal. Students face these challenges all year, not just when returning to school. The back-to-school moment is simply a high-visibility reminder of work that must continue year-round.

We believe that addressing education inequity requires more than school supplies. It requires a commitment to care— care that’s practical, ongoing and rooted in justice.

The Start of the School Year Is a Call to Action

The beginning of a new school year should be a time of hope, not hardship. But for that to be true for every student, we have to be willing to confront the realities they face and work to change them.

It means supporting the local organizations doing the work every day. It means advocating for policies that fund schools fairly, expand social safety nets and make technology more accessible. It means thinking beyond backpacks and into what it takes to build a future where all children can learn without limits.

At the Elias & Sultana Foundation, we’re focused on removing the invisible barriers that stand between students and their full potential. We do this by supporting organizations that provide not just educational access, but holistic, wraparound support for students and their families.

When we focus on what students truly need to succeed, we begin to turn the start of the school year into a foundation for long-term opportunity for every student in every community.