Back to School Fair Brings Community Together for Successful Year

Hi, I'm Eric Eicher, employee-owner and president of Alpine Bank Durango. At Alpine Bank, we believe in the power of community and connecting you with the resources you need to work, live, and play in our community. I hope you enjoy this edition of "Community Insights."

School's officially back in session. On Tuesday, August 27th, Durango Education Foundation hosted the annual Back to School Fair at La Plata County Fairgrounds Exhibition Office. Sponsored by Central Bank, the free event offered students and families a one-stop shop to connect with resources for a successful school year, with interpretation services available to ensure all attendees can access information.

This is our fourth year of doing this, and we know that parents are so busy that it's hard to know what kind of resources are available for a great school year for their children and because they're busy, they're working, and they're doing the life thing. And so the purpose of this fair is to have a one-stop shop for busy parents and their kids to come in, get excited about the school year.

In addition to back to school resources for students and families, the fair allows attendees to speak directly with school representatives about registration, upcoming events, and school updates.

All of our 9-R public schools are represented here, and over 50 service providers. Everything from mental health services to afterschool activities, and all of those folks are here in one place. We feed everybody dinner. Kids can come by and pick up school supplies, play fun games to learn more about the services that are offered in our small town, and then they can walk away with all kinds of great ideas and connections for a good school year.

The fair is essential for helping families navigate the many resources available to them, providing a central location for school supplies and afterschool activities to simplify the process of finding and accessing essential services. Events like this provide immediate support and connect families with valuable opportunities in one convenient place.

Post COVID, everybody's back in person, right? And so there's this real need for, I think there's a little bit of overwhelm that you know that there are great things for your kids to do in our community, you know that there are things that they can be involved in in the schools, but it's really hard to know what's where and how to get connected. And I think that people are really busy. We know that our town is, you know, it takes some cash to live here and we know that people work a lot of hours. And so it's really important for folks to be able to come to one place and find out all that they can about these resources.

Despite the challenges of COVID and increased cost of living, Durango School District 9-R reports tremendous student success.

Our school district has had a ton of success lately. We are in the top 15 to 20% of the state, so we are dramatically increasing student proficiency in reading, and math, and writing, and science, social studies, and the arts, and world language. We also, Durango High School, actually is in the top 10% in the entire country in proficiency.

If you missed this year's fair, don't worry. It's an annual event. There's also a similar fair coming up in April focused on summer activities and clubs for kids. More information can be found on the Durango Education Foundation website. We're proud to present "Community Insights" powered by the Local News Network and sponsored by Alpine Bank. With "Community Insights," our mission is to foster a stronger and more connected community in La Plata County and beyond. For more information about this and other stories, visit durangolocal.news. Thank you for watching this edition of "Community Insights." I'm Sadie Smith.