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SchoolFEST 2008

As the days get shorter, the leaves fall off the trees, and the sweltering August heat finally begins to burn off, it can mean only one thing: it’s time to go back to school. But Greenpoint/Williamsburg kids and their parents are luckier than most: Instead of mourning the loss of summer vacation, they will be celebrating the start of a brand new school year with the first ever neighborhood-wide back-to-school carnival, Town Square’s SCHOOLFEST.

SCHOOLFEST, scheduled for September 20 with a rain date one week later, is an exciting event that invites every public and private elementary, middle and high school in the Williamsburg-Greenpoint area to gather at the Grand Street Campus in Bushwick, Brooklyn, to get the word out about their institutions, curriculum and programs. While there will certainly be a wealth of games, food and entertainment for children, its purpose is informational, and targeted towards parents.

“[The goal of SCHOOLFEST is] primarily to disseminate information to the community’s parents about what types of programming is offered at each school” according to SCHOOLFEST organizers. “Our community is faced with the problem of parents sending their children to schools outside the community, because they are not aware of the many excellent education options right here in Greenpoint/Williamsburg.”

While going back to school can be fun for kids, it can be a headache for parents who, in a city as enormous as this one, are often overwhelmed with options. The idea for SCHOOLFEST came out of a conversation between New York City Councilwoman Diana Reyna, Town Square Chairperson Susan Anderson, and Greenpoint Gazette Publisher, Jeff Mann, about this very issue.

“This is an idea that I’ve been thinking about for some time,” Anderson said. “I have a 3-year-old son, and as a parent, I realized that I don’t know what is available to him in terms of educational opportunities and programs in the neighborhood. We have choices, and with choices come responsibilities to know what’s out there. And I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be great if we had one event where as many schools and educational organizations as possible are represented in one concentrated place? You can go, learn as much as you can, then begin making decisions.”

In addition to promoting the variety of local educational options, SCHOOLFEST is also designed to provide neighborhood schools with an opportunity to promote their programs, hopefully resulting in increased enrollment and a stronger, more cohesive community.

When Anderson pitched the idea in late April, early May, it was met with enthusiasm by Councilwoman Diana Reyna, and the planning process began. Pulling off such a major event, however, takes a village. Community members, organizations, corporations and schools from all corners of the Williamsburg-Greenpoint area were actively involved in the process.

“The organizers came to us, and we thought it was a terrific idea,” said Jake Maguire, spokesperson for City Councilmember David Yassky. “It’s really about getting parents out there and giving them a chance to dig a little deeper. We’re talking about parents putting their children in the hands of people they don’t know, six hours a day for the better part of the year, and parents should have the most information possible about how they are going to do it. I think it’s terrific. And we have some great schools in the Williamsburg-Greenpoint area.”

Sponsors, organizers and participating schools alike are all anxiously awaiting SCHOOLFEST, and believe their hard work will pay off in spades.

“Susan Anderson had a wonderful idea,” Willie Jusino, the principal of Progress High School, whose campus will host the event, said. “It’s a new endeavor, and the organizers should be congratulated and applauded. I am just so happy to have met these people and to be involved, and I think we will all be happy with the result.”

This will be the first in what the organizers hope will become an annual series event. SCHOOLFEST is scheduled for Saturday, September 20, 11AM-4PM at the Grand Street Campus.