This column first appeared in CityView magazine’s “Back to School” August 2026 edition.
I get a little nostalgic thinking back to being a kid, growing up in public schools in Savannah, Georgia.
The picturesque—and long—ride on the snub nose bus along a two-lane U.S. 80 from my home on Wilmington Island to the small, three-building elementary school on Tybee Island. The long route took us through the marsh that separated the two islands before reaching the campus, which sat next to City Hall and just a few traffic lanes across from the Atlantic Ocean. Maybe that unwittingly sparked my interest in local government and politics.
A bus driver who sometimes allowed me to sit on the engine block next to her and wipe down the windshield when it was covered with fog. It was the ’80s, after all. She was the same person who didn’t hesitate to call my dad on the few occasions when I misbehaved.
I had the same teacher for grades 3, 4, and 5, a former telephone operator and history buff who spent as much time exploring Savannah’s rich history as she did teaching cursive writing and multiplication tables. The field trips she led downtown fueled my never-ending curiosity as we studied historic structures dating back to Georgia’s founding as the 13th colony in the 18th century. Elementary school is where I also discovered a love for music and learned how to play saxophone.
The cafeteria doubled as the band room, but it also was the place I learned to love pizza—the rectangle kind that at the time was a staple of many elementary school lunch menus.
In middle school, my language arts and social studies teachers loved what they did. It came through in the books we studied—of course, Gone with the Wind was among them—and the material they taught. My social studies teacher rewarded top performers with a subscription to a history magazine, the likes of which started my fascination with glossy print publications that carried through to the start of my career in the heyday of print journalism.
When I reached high school, the classes were more intense and the extracurricular activities were all consuming. Those four years are full of memories of passionate educators, from an Army veteran in his second career as a chemistry teacher, to an English teacher who gave me the foundation on which to build my journalism career, and a band teacher who developed my love of jazz. There was also the basketball coach who taught me the value of teamwork and the math teacher who helped me through the painful discovery that calculus was not for me.
What’s Inside CityView’s August Magazine
It’s those memories that came flooding back as I worked on this “Back to School Issue” of CityView magazine. Inside, you’ll find our interview with Superintendent Eric Bracy and a Back-to-School Guide for the 2026-27 school year. Our columnists also reflect on teachers, education funding, parenting with students, and books to help students navigate the school year.
Also in this issue: A story sponsored by Cape Fear Valley Health exploring the health system’s new dermatology practice, the To-Do List filled with outdoor events, and Seen @ the Scene from our inaugural Fayetteville Newsmakers event.
As we all prepare for the return of tens of thousands of students to classrooms on August 24, keep this in mind: Stay in the know about education in Cumberland County by subscribing to our newsletter. On Tuesdays, it’s focused on education. Add your email and click “Sign Up.” It’s that easy.
Thanks for reading!
