Staunton City School families are invited to the Opportunity is Knocking fair 1 p.m.Saturday at Booker T. Washington Community Center.
Now in its third year, Opportunity is Knocking is the brainchild of siblings and Staunton City Schools alumni Carla VanDevander and Mark Rexrode. VanDevander serves as a differentiation specialist for Staunton City Schools, and Rexrode oversees the guidance department at Robert E. Lee High School.
The siblings created the program with hopes of strengthening the relationship between Staunton families and the local employers, colleges and branches of armed services that could help students create paths to success.
Together, Rexrode and VanDevander invited school board members, teachers, counselors, local business leaders and school volunteers to help create the Opportunity is Knocking fair. The group’s mission statement is to promote education and career opportunities for all Staunton City School families.
“We’re working to repair a disconnect from what was available in our area and what we are preparing kids for,” Rexrode said.
Whether the next stop is college or straight into the work force, VanDevander wants Staunton City School students to be able to map a clear path to success.
“We were thinking of ways to get information to families that we didn’t see otherwise to prepare them better for the future,” she said. “We wanted to fill in those gaps.”
Some of the highlights of the event include:
- Free daycare
- Free transportation
- Hourly door prize drawings such as a flat screen and many other cool prizes
- FASFA help
- Classes on resume writing and impressing employers
- Information on Valley Vo Tech, local colleges, local industry and apprenticeships
- Free lunch provided by area restaurants such as Chili’s, Kline’s, The Depot Grille, Kathy’s, Shenandoah Pizza, Country Cookin, Chick-fil-A, Fresco, Applebees, Beverley Street Convenience and many other establishments
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