ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Tuesday marks the first day of school for thousands of children across the region. You can see when your child’s district will begin its first day here.

News10NBC TODAY was live at the Rush-Henrietta and Brockport schools as teachers and staff prepared to welcome back students after months of summer vacation.

Dr. Barbara Mullen, superintendent of the Rush-Henrietta Central School District, said she’s excited to meet the kindergarteners – class of 2037 – for the first time. She’s also excited about the opening of the district’s new stadium on Sept. 13, dedicated to Rush-Henrietta grad Werner Kleemann.

The theme of this year at Rush-Henrietta is “you belong here”, celebrating the district’s diversity with over 50 languages spoken.

Rush-Henrietta Senior High principal Arkeen Allen said he’s excited to see new and returning students. He said the school’s mission is to be better together.

“You have teachers that know what they’re doing, want to be successful, and want best for our kids. That was our mission this whole summer, to talk about that,” he said.

Joe Jackson, director of wellness and equity at Rush-Henrietta, said the district has a team of counselors to support students’ mental health. There’s also a partnership with the University of Rochester to create site-based clinics.

As school is returning, many districts across the country are facing a bus driver shortage. Rachel Kluth, executive director of operations at the Brockport Central School District, said Brockport has been recruiting drivers and offering signing bonuses.

“We’ve grown our fleet and we’ve grown our folks here. So we’re really excited to start the year,” she said.

To help parents and children to track their bus, the district started using an app last year called MyRide K-12. It tells families when the bus is coming and gives them a bus number to look out for. In addition, to attract more teachers and staff to Brockport, the district has adjusted its salaries over the last few years.

At Brockport, there will be free school supplies for a second year and free breakfast and lunch for all students.

“That takes away the challenge for the parents and the students and believe it or not, the teachers too. The supplies really preserve instructional time,” Brockport Superintendent Sean Bruno said.

Stacey Snyder, Brockport’s director of food service, the free breakfast and lunch adds to student learning by eliminating hunger. For the first day, some of the items on the menu include breakfast sandwiches, cereal, muffins, pop tarts, juice, milk, and fresh fruit. For lunch, there’s also a deli bar, salads, and yogurt parfait.

“They can go into the classroom and be ready to learn because you can’t learn hungry,” she said.