The dog days of summer are in full swing, but the School District of Philadelphia wants families to begin thinking about the upcoming school year ahead of back-to-school season.
City public school students return to classrooms Aug. 25 – in about a month – and the district is kicking off its annual back-to-school bus tour Monday.
Parents and caregivers are encouraged to come to one of the seven events across Philadelphia to ask questions about the upcoming academic term. There will also be giveaways and a “giant block party-style” atmosphere, said Adam Northam, the district’s deputy chief of internal communications.
“The whole purpose of the bus tour is to take all of the information that students and families need to prepare to get back to school out into the communities and meet them where they are,” he said.
Families can enroll their children through the registration process and sign up for the online parent portal at the bus tour stops. Each event will feature free games, water ice or ice cream, food trucks, a DJ and other activities. Book bags filled with notebooks, rulers, pencils, folders, erasers and other supplies will be handed out.
“Life out there, it’s expensive, and we want to ease the burden as much as we can,” Northam added.
This is the bus tour’s fifth year, and the events have proven popular, with an average of between 2,500 and 3,000 attendees per stop, he said.
Each of the events will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dates and locations include:
- Monday, July 28: School of the Future, 4021 Parkside Ave.
- Friday, Aug. 1: Fashion District, 901 Market St.
- Monday, Aug. 4: Martin Luther King High School, 6100 Stenton Ave.
- Wednesday, Aug. 6: George Washington High School football field, 10175 Bustleton Ave.
- Saturday, Aug. 9: Citizen Bank Park, 1 Citizens Bank Way
- Tuesday, Aug. 12: Marcus Foster Memorial Stadium (Gratz Supersite), 1627 W. Hunting Park Ave.
- Friday, Aug. 15: Roosevelt Mall, 2329 Cottman Ave.
State-mandated vaccines and sports physicals will be offered at the School of the Future, Washington and MLK High stops. Pre-registration is recommended, and walk-in availability is not guaranteed, officials said. Go to https://bit.ly/sdpim.
The backpacks and supplies are funded through sponsorships with Independence Blue Cross, AmeriHealth Caritas and Comcast.
For more district back-to-school information, go to philasd.org/ringthebell.
