Change is in the late-summer air as about 70,000 students in the Mahoning Valley and 1.6 million young people in Ohio head back to school for the traditionally exciting start to a new academic year.

As detailed in The Vindicator’s back-to-school rundown in Sunday’s edition, changes in personnel, curriculum, grade configurations, security and more await students, staff and faculty in districts large and small.

The mission of all those changes, of course, is to improve the educational climate for preschoolers through high school seniors. As a result, optimism abounds.

Nowhere are those changes more evident than in enhanced safety and security upgrades most school systems in Mahoning and Trumbull counties have implemented for the start of this new school year.

At a time when parents naturally worry about the security and well-being of their children, given the uptick in school shootings and violence across the country, it is indeed encouraging to see a large swatch of local school systems work proactively to head off any and all dangers.

In Youngstown, the Valley’s largest school district with nearly 5,000 students, funds from Gov. Mike DeWine’s 2023 school safety grant program are financing installation of state-of-the-art cabling and camera security systems in buildings throughout the district.

In the suburban Boardman district, 10 new two-way radios, new ID fob systems to all common entrances and a new privacy film layer between windows have been installed, thanks to the generosity of the district’s Parent Teacher Association.

In the rural Jackson-Milton district, a majority of entrances to its elementary school have been upgraded with new and more secure doors, and in Western Reserve schools, state-of-the-art cameras and shatterproof film have been installed at all common entrances.

In many districts, those and other physical improvements and projects are complemented with new and innovative curricula for the 2023-24 school year. We’re pleased, for example, to see promising new programs in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) ranging from information technology, computer science and drones introduced to better meet the needs of a well-rounded 21st century education.

Amid all of this hubbub and renewed school pride, however, responsibility, caution and safety must remain watchwords for all to ensure a safe and secure cruise through the next nine months of active learning.

That means drivers must double down on rules of the road when thousands of yellow buses return to their million-mile routes in Ohio this month.

Law-enforcement officials rightly worry about inattentive or irresponsible drivers passing stopped school buses that are loading or unloading their precious cargo. Drivers approaching a school bus from either direction are required to stop at least 10 feet back from buses displaying the extended stop signs and red flashing lights.

The patrol also advises drivers to watch out for children walking to and from the bus stop when they are backing out of a garage or driveway.

Those safe-driving warnings cannot be overstated. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, between 2011 and 2020, a total of 218 school-age children (18 and younger) died in school-bus-related crashes in the U.S., either as occupants of school buses or other vehicles, or on foot or bike.

For their part, parents must instruct their offspring to stop and look both ways before crossing the street when exiting a bus and always be on guard for any sudden traffic.

Parental responsibility also goes beyond safety concerns. According to the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, which tests 15-year-olds in the world’s leading industrialized nations, there is a direct relationship between parental involvement and student success.

The Center for Public Education initiative of the National School Boards Association reinforces that connection. It advises parents to monitor homework, make sure children get to school on time and reward children’s efforts. These parental actions are linked to better attendance, grades, test scores and preparation for college or post high school education and training programs.

With such engaged and active parents, dedicated and creative teachers, safe and secure school buildings and motivated and safety-conscious students, there is little reason why the 2023-24 academic year cannot meet and beat the high expectations all should set today at its starting gate.