ATLANTIC CITY — Atlantic City Public Schools welcomed students back on Thursday, September 3, 2026, with festivities designed to help them get off to a strong start for the 2026–2027 school year.
From canopy tents in schoolyards to welcome assemblies with principals, each school prepared activities to greet students and build excitement for the year ahead.
One highlight took place at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School Complex, where prominent men from the community, including Atlantic City Council Vice President Kaleem Shabazz and Atlantic County Commissioner, the Rev. Collins A. Days, along with several businessmen and community leaders, gathered to greet students as they arrived, offering a welcoming show of support on their first day.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. La' Quetta S. Small, who visited most of the district's schools and plans to visit the others tomorrow, began her day at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School Complex.
"We want every student to begin this school year feeling welcomed, supported and ready to learn," said Dr. Small. "Seeing our staff, families and community members come together to greet our students sets a positive tone for the year ahead. Together, we can help our students build confidence, embrace new opportunities and achieve success."
Students followed an early dismissal schedule, with Atlantic City High School dismissing at 12:15 p.m. and elementary schools dismissing at 12:45 p.m.
Enjoy our photo gallery capturing the welcomes, community connections and first-day celebrations across Atlantic City Public Schools. To view the gallery, click the link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/J3xUVwe48JR2kGHX8
This content is sourced from
Atlantic City Public Schools
. It reflects the author's views and has not been edited by our newsroom. It may have been generated using AI assistance.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Soon we will no longer integrate with Facebook for story comments. The commenting option is not going away, however, readers will need to register for a FREE site account to continue sharing their thoughts and feedback on stories. If you already have an account (i.e. current subscribers, posting in obituary guestbooks, for submitting community events), you may use that login, otherwise, you will be prompted to create a new account.
Welcome to the discussion.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.