5 Westside public schools to join All-School Fair event Jan. 22

       In its third year, the All-School Fair is expanding to include more schools as well as educational businesses. The free event this year will be Saturday, Jan. 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Southern Colorado Expo Hall, 1801 N. Union Blvd.
       The fair, which allows schools to set up booths to explain their offerings to the public, will include several District 11 Westside schools - Holmes and West middle schools and Buena Vista, Pike and Whittier elementaries.
       Whittier Principal Marlys Berg said she is looking forward to being there. “Last year, it was a really nice thing,” she said. “People came up to ask questions.”
       The All-School Fair is being organized through the School Fair Foundation in Denver, according to Pam Staley, a Westside school-reform leader who is helping lead the local fair's planning. “This is a once-a-year event that allows the community to go to one facility and look at the schools in their community,” she said. “So our best schools put their best foot forward.”
       Organizers expect to have representatives of more than 100 schools in all, including public, private, charter, independent and alternative. In addition, Staley is working to bring in groups whose activities tie in with education, including daycare businesses, Junior Achievement and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America.
       “We want to get information to parents on how to improve the education and lives of their children,” Staley said. “This is a real community resource and every year it gets bigger and bigger.”
       For more information, call 227-6617.

Westside Pioneer article