Jammin': Flagler parents, students get head start on school year at Back to School Jam

The event featured free school supplies and books; fun and games in the Celebration Zone; pertinent information about schools, transportation and activities; and Costumers With A Cause.

  • Palm Coast Observer
  • Schools
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Hundreds of families stopped by Flagler Schools’ Back to School Jam on Aug. 1 at Flagler Palm Coast High School’s Andy Anderson Athletic Center.

Children selected free books from The Reading Tree table; enjoyed fun and games in the second-floor’s ‘A’ District Celebration Zone; and greeted Spider-Man, Ariel, Zoey from K-Pop Demon Hunters, Foxy the Pirate from Five Nights at Freddy’s and other favorite movie, book and game characters presented by Costumers With A Cause.

Parents got information about transportation and food service, spoke to administrators from their children’s schools and visited the vendor tables to learn about extracurricular activities offered by the district and community organizations.

Families lined up at the Flagler County Education Foundation table along the back wall of the gym, manned by an army of volunteers, to pick up free backpacks filled with school supplies. After 1,000 packs were dispersed, the volunteers continued to hand out supplies from the Ed Foundation’s STUFF Bus, parked outside.

One of the first tables families saw as they walked in from the lobby was Kristin Frank’s The Reading Tree table piled with children’s books, free for the taking. Frank brought 2,000 books to the Back to School Jam with children able to take home as many as they wanted. Parent and students rushed to the table, Frank said.

“There are so many families that don’t have books at home,” she said.

Frank, a Teaching and Learning specialist with the district, has been supplying free books for the past three years at community events, to the county’s Little Free Libraries, to Grace Community Food Pantry and recently to new teachers to support their classroom libraries.

To donate, email Frank at [email protected].

John Winston, who co-founded Flagler Schools’ Afrian American Mentoring Program 20 years ago with Dr. Jim Guines, greeted people at the organization’s table with current AAMP president Carl Jones, mentor Calvin McNeil and 2025 Flagler Palm Coast graduate Gabriel Vigo.

Teachers return to school on Monday, Aug. 3, with the first day of school for students on Aug. 10. For more information on getting ready for the school year, go to flaglerschools.com.

 

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