CSFP Citywide K-8th Grade School Fair

On a cold and rainy October 22, nearly 1,000 children and parents came out to Girard College to participate in CSFP’s Citywide K-8th Grade School Fair. The free, open-to-the-public event was the first of its kind for CSFP (and the first any organization has held in the city), where over 70 diverse schools—district, charter, private, and parochial included—were present to meet families and discuss school options.

The event provided an opportunity for parents to speak one-on-one with admissions directors, principals, and other school representatives and gain valuable insight into what schools have to offer. The ability to network with school administrators, said Philadelphia parent Tamara, was invaluable: “Coming out here and seeing all the different schools I can apply to has given me information I wasn’t even aware of. With the help of [CSFP’s school fair], there is more than enough time for me to find [my daughter] an excellent school to get her the education she deserves.”

The school fair is one of CSFP’s many newly-designed activities to support our early decision initiative. This year, CSFP has revamped certain aspects of its program to better serve children and families, including conducting a lottery earlier in the year to better align with schools’ admissions processes. This timeline will give families who have won our scholarship lottery more time to enroll their children in schools. We hope that this will help families secure their children’s spots in schools that meet their needs. The successful turnout for the school fair indicates that this initiative is meeting a high need from families, and we are hopeful for this momentum to continue as we wrap up our $50 million Campaign for 10,000 Children.

CSFP would like to thank the hundreds of parents and children who attended the school fair, the schools and resource providers who shared their schools and organizations, and Girard College for hosting the event. Photos from the school fair are on our Facebook.