On Saturday, August 15, 2026, the town of Stratford hosted its yearly back to school event in Stratford High School, with this year having new changes. At 9:30 PM that morning, the doors of Stratford High School opened up to community partners to enter and begin to set up their stand. Meanwhile, a few families were beginning to line up around this time, some bringing their own chairs as they awaited for the doors to open.
The many community partners that attended this event ranged from different areas, such as mental health, Stratford support services, and after school programs. A few of these communities were Stratford Fire Marshal’s Office, Stratford Recreation Department, Sunshine Garden Childcare, Catalyst CT, and even the Stratford Crier. There were 2 food trucks present, Heffer’s Hot To Go, a burger and fries food truck, and Betzy’s Latin Flavors, a Puerto Rican-American owned food truck that sells empanadas with unique fillings. A photo booth was also set up, the table filled with different types of props for families to take pictures and was run by high school students. There was an opportunity for parents to get their children free haircuts, run by the Evolution Barbershop, whose business is located in Bridgeport, CT.
By 10:00 AM, when the school doors opened to the public, all community partners were present and ready to share their information with Stratford families.
Families were able to move around Stratford high school’s gymnasium to interact with community partners with ease, thanks to the helpful planning of Midga Carrero, a Family Engagement Specialist in Stratford public Schools and one of the event organizers. With her experience of running this event for three years, she planned the layout to ensure families come in and see the community partners individually by creating the ‘Back to School Adventure.’ In a pamphlet handed to parents at the entrance, families would have to receive 20 stamps from different community partners they meet in order to get the free backpack and school supplies the event offered.
Inside these backpacks were notebooks, subject composition notebooks, pencils, folders, markers, gluesticks, crayons, and colored pencils.
This idea worked efficiently and effectively as families could be observed walking around to different tables, engaging with local community partners and learning what Stratford has to offer, whether that be mental health services or after school programs for their children to participate in.
A mother of four children, who wished to remain anonymous, commented that “the best part of attending this event was just seeing everyone get together and help each other out. Like just getting everyone together and making connections with others they have never met.” She further explained that she was able to connect and learn about the services that Stratford has to offer, such as after school programs that go on in town, and the Boy Scouts, that offer an opportunity for children to be more engaged with each other.
Midga Carrero shared that this event helps bridge the educational equity gap for Stratford families by providing them with school supplies and giving them resources they may need, ensuring there is more stability at home. She adds that when “there are more choices that the parents have, and having the parent just get a free haircut for their kids, that’s money that they don’t have to spend now, and they are able to provide to the child, giving them a backpack full of supplies and support … makes a child feel comfortable.” It also benefits a child’s self confidence, making them feel proud and ready to be able to learn with these resources that have been provided just by attending an event like this.
Not only did Stratford families benefit from this event, but also students who volunteered to run this event, noticeably the National Honor Society of Stratford High School who helped direct parents where to go, handled the backpack distribution line, welcomed families with bright smiles, and answered any questions families had about the event. There were also other students present as well who helped their community partners by promoting the services they can provide to the public and interacting with students from different grades to inform them of how they can participate in these events or programs they offer.
When interviewing Stella Yi, one of the student volunteers for the Stratford Library who is a rising senior at Stratford High School, I asked why she wanted to help run this event and she responded that “this is an opportunity to talk about volunteer opportunities the Stratford library has to offer to others, be able to share my experience volunteering to potential students who may be interested in volunteering at the library, and promote the resources the library has to offer to families who recently moved here.”
It was observable throughout the event and as it came to an end at 1:00 PM how much impact it had on families. Many of them left the school with smiles on their faces as their children cheered, carrying one or multiple backpacks, and with many papers in the hands of parents that promoted the community partners present. It can be said that the back to school event was a success, as not only did it inform parents of services and programs that are in Stratford, but also the knowledge that the town has the parents’ back.
