ROANOKE, Va. – Early on Saturday morning, parents and students who attend Roanoke City Public Schools came to William Fleming High School as early as 7:00 a.m. to take part in the “Back-to-School-Extravaganza” held by RCPS.
Thanks to the success of the “Load the Bus” event, free school supplies were available for dozens of families who may not have been able to buy them otherwise.
“Everybody is not fortunate enough to have [supplies], I think it’s really important,” RCPS parent Shakhera Sanders said. “Everybody is, you know, you got single moms that aren’t working, people that aren’t working and there is a lot going on in the world right now. I think we need more of this, honestly.”
Immunizations were also available for students to get their required vaccinations.
Each RCPS school had their own booth where families could get information on school programs and connect with teachers and administrators.
“First and foremost, you want to know who is running the school,” Sanderson said. “Second of all, you want to know who their teacher is and you want to talk to them.”
With classes just around the corner on August 19th, the Back-to-School Extravaganza makes sure every student can start the year off on the right foot.
“My late mother - god rest her soul - used to say that you need to start the way you intend to finish. We intend to start strong so we can finish the year strong,” Roanoke City Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Veretta White said. “As a community, what I love about Roanoke is that we always come together to make sure that our kids get off to a really strong start.”