Even a lot of adults get a little giddy at the sight of all the back-to-school supplies hitting the front of stores. New pens and notebooks, lunch bags and backpacks seem full of possibility.

But today’s students go into this school year after a summer of stressors. Mass shootings, inflation, mutating variants of COVID-19, and the hot impact of climate change combine into an anxiety-producing backdrop.

This week on “In Conversation,” we learned about the upcoming school year at Jefferson County Public Schools, national education and school trends, and how to help students deal with the psychological impact of so much negative news. We also heard from children about what they are looking forward to.