They say you can learn a lot about a community by the kind of stories that appear on the front page of its newspaper. This is back-to-school week in Erie, Pa., as thousands of children return to the classroom after a long summer of leisure. It's a significant week in so many households, and families adjust their schedules: earlier dinners, a set time for homework and study, and early bedtimes.

Though most kids and some parents might deny it, I don't think it's a bad thing to return to a set schedule.

In selecting news stories for the Erie Times-News, editors try to determine the most significant events of the day. For today's editions, it was the return to school and its effects on many families. One Erie family, in particular, felt the effects of the first day of school.

Rob and Amy Meola sent all seven of their children off to Our Lady of Peace School, but the interesting thing about the Meola kids is they range in age from 5 to 7. That's right, all seven of the kids: 7-year-old Brandon, 6-year-old Xavier and the rest -- Jasmine, Joshua, Angelina and Desiree, of of whom are 5. They are Rob's and Amy's quadruplets, and Erie newspaper readers have watched then grow up.

Times-News reporter David Bruce, who first saw the quadruplets moments after their birth in 2002, has followed the children through every major milestone. Today, it was the first day of kindergarten. And photographer Jack Hanrahan joined Bruce as they started at breakfast and followed the kids through their first day of class.

An intimate portrait of a close-knit family is revealed in detail, as Amy Meola brushed away tears as her brood boarded the school bus. A reader called this morning to say that when she read that description, she cried along with Amy. "And my kids are full grown," the woman said.

"It's the kind of story that tells you what Erie's all about," said Times-News executive editor Rick Sayers.

Fortunately, because Tuesday was a fairly slow news day, the Meola family could be shown in pictures, an appealing story by Bruce and in a slide show on GoErie.com. (Go to GoErie.com/slideshow/meola).

For newspaper readers who beg for good news in their paper, today was a special day.

-- Kevin Cuneo

** Send me a comment about this blog, so we can have a dialogue **