Every year, Great Schools Philly hosts the Philly High School Fair, an opportunity for students to find the schools that fit the futures they want to build. For the third year in a row, the Free Library got to attend! Nestled in a sea of community partnerships, we met many enthusiastic middle schoolers and high schoolers excitedly finding schools and potential community involvement opportunities that spoke to their interests.

To our left was a lively lion mascot keeping the crowd pumped, and to our right were community partners focused on nutrition, journalism, career development, and so much more. At our table you could find smiling faces, library card sign-ups, and information about our LEAP afterschool program. One of our partners, MightyWriters was also in attendance, whom we teamed up with for a recent comic book workshop at several of our neighborhood libraries.

Among the sea of excited patrons were educators and administrators, gathering information for their students. Many were interested in partnering with the Free Library to get their students acquainted with our facilities and programs. We were able to share our School Partnership resources, such as field trip opportunities, educator library cards, and the Teen Author Series. Our educator cards allow teachers to enjoy extended check out times and borrow up to 50 titles. This fits in well with enthusiastic classrooms, who want to expand their literacy capabilities and imaginations through reading.

The Teen Author Series also allows educators to receive selected books from visiting authors, before students get the opportunity to meet them, while becoming acquainted with their neighborhood library. A number of visiting students and educators were already tuned into their local libraries, and we can’t wait to see more familiar faces soon! Thank you to Great Schools Philly for inviting us to partner again next month, during the K-8 Fair.

Coming up on October 26, the K-8 Fair provides opportunities to meet with over 100 schools, including kindergartens, elementary schools, middle schools, and charter schools throughout Philadelphia. Young families will have the chance to speak with schools in their area that fit the needs and goals of their students. There will also be a wealth of community partnerships in attendance. Look for our smiling faces with our big, red table cloth! Thank you to Great Schools Philly for welcoming us for yet another great year—we’ll see you again soon!