HOUSTON – July 29, 2019 – With the Aug. 14 start of school just a few weeks away, hundreds of Spring ISD families turned out Saturday for the district’s 2019 Back to School Expo for free immunizations, school supplies and the opportunity to meet with school staff and more than 60 community partners. 

“Our mission is to collect our school supplies,” said mom Annlyn Diamond, who had her three young sons in tow – twins Jayren and Jaylice, both 7, and her older son Jayden, 10.  “We heard they were going to have a lot of free supplies and vendors, so we decided to come out.”

Diamond and her family had plenty of company as parents and students from across Spring ISD took advantage of everything the event had to offer, including information on after-school programs, health-and-wellness providers in the area, as well as details on how to register for school.

With the district moving to an online registration system this year, a major focus of the event was to assist parents with questions and to provide computer access to complete the process. The district is asking all families – both new and returning – to complete the required online forms ahead of the first day of school.

“We know it’s never easy to change the way things are done but we’re pleased with the response we’ve been getting so far from our families,” said Assistant Superintendent of Federal and State Compliance Kelly Cline. “It was great to see so many families on Saturday completing the online process and turning in their supporting documents. The goal is to make the process easier for our families and school registrars by doing away with all of those paper forms.”

Arnitra Landry had already completed the online prekindergarten enrollment for her 4-year-old daughter before coming out to Saturday’s event. She said she was excited about having her daughter attend a Spring ISD school after doing some research on the district and her daughter’s new school, Booker Elementary. 

“I know Booker is a great little elementary school,” Landry said. “I want my daughter to go to a good school with a good principal.”

Throughout the day, principals from all of the district’s 40 schools greeted new students and, in many cases, reassured anxious parents. “Don’t worry, Mom, he’ll be fine,” Springwoods Village Middle School Principal Kimberly Culley told Erica Montano, who was at the event to register her son, who will be a new 6th-grader this year.

With Springwoods Village opening in a brand-new school this August, Culley reminded both Montano and her son that everyone at the school will be new. “We’re all going to be learning together,” Culley said. 

Spring ISD Trustee Justine Durant said the event really helped showcase the Spring ISD community and the many partners working together on behalf of students and their families.

“It takes a village, and this represents our village,” Durant said. “There is no better way to kick off the school year.”