Why did these dads show up to a Fort Worth high school before the bell rang?

The first bell came with smiles, handshakes and high-fives from dads who lined up Monday in front of the Fort Worth Dunbar campus to welcome students back to school.

For Dads of Dunbar, getting to school by 7 a.m. to welcome students is a monthly tradition. On Monday, the first day of classes, the group held the year’s first greeting.

Principal Oscar Adams said this greeting is important for students, explaining: “They start the day seeing the support of the community and fathers.”

Dads of Dunbar was formed several years ago to get more families involved in learning. Fathers and father figures help build a stronger school community by volunteering and supporting students.

Each month the group holds a morning meeting and then welcomes the students with a ceremony, Adams said.

There are similar programs across North Texas that promote parental involvement in schools. In Arlington schools, the Butler Dads Club greeted students at Butler Elementary for the first day of class.

Monday was the first day of class for students in the Fort Worth school district — the county’s largest. Superintendent Kent Scribner ushered a new school year with stops at the new I.M. Terrell Academy for STEM and the Visual Performing Arts and Polytechnic High School.

Other districts that started Monday included Arlington, Birdville, Burleson, Castleberry, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw, Grapevine-Colleyville, Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Joshua, Springtown, Southlake Carroll and Lake Worth.

At Arlington schools, Superintendent Marcelo Cavazos held a tweet-along for the first day of school. He started the day at 5:45 a.m. at Gunn Junior High, where a new track was installed.

Dunbar kicked off the school year with 1,003 students enrolled, including 150 who are part of the campus’ Early College High School program.

Adams, who was previously a principal at Fort Worth’s Rosemont Middle School, also marked his first day at Dunbar Monday.

“I’m extremely excited,” Adams said. “It is my first day as well.”

This story was originally published August 20, 2018 at 12:17 PM.