OKC school district streamlines this year’s Super Saturdays events
Oklahoma City Public Schools will resume Super Saturdays — community fairs with free workshops, free resources, free food and free child care for families and others who support district students.
The first of four family engagement events is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Northwest Classen High School, 2801 NW 27.
Other events are scheduled for Sept. 30 (Star Spencer High School); Oct. 7 (Douglass MidHigh); and Nov. 11 (U.S. Grant High School).
Session topics include family wellness, family leadership, college and career readiness and learning at home. Workshops address family disaster preparedness, family communication, weight loss, immigrant rights, and money management.
Several community partners and agencies, including the YMCA of Central Oklahoma, Cox Communications, the United Way of Central Oklahoma and All Access Arts, are donating their services.
Child care for ages 3-12 will be provided by the Boys & Girls Club of Oklahoma County, while teenagers are invited to attend the college and career readiness workshops.
Super Saturdays are tailored to the specific needs of families, with the district’s primary objective being to empower parents to take an active role in the child’s education.
More than 400 families were served last year, officials said.
“It is a family event, so parents, aunts, uncles, even caregivers, can come and get good information,” said Katawna Stephens, the district’s family engagement specialist.
“It is about school, but it’s also about other things that go into being a caregiver to help your child, from total wellness to the financial education piece, a little bit of everything.”
Hawthorne Elementary School parent Carolyn Patrick likes the format so much she attended all six Super Saturday events in 2016. She plans to attend all four of this year’s events and bring some friends and neighbors with her.
“The benefit to gain by going to all of them is there are different workshops to meet different needs,” said Patrick, 28, a selfdescribed parent advocate who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in child and family psychology. “That was what really pushed me to go, because there was something different to learn each time.”
This year’s revised Super Saturday format features fewer dates — four instead of six — and shorter hours — four instead of seven. Streamlining the process will allow the district to focus more on marketing and promotion and improving the product, Stephens said.
Students who attend the following schools and their families are invited to attend the first event Saturday at Northwest Classen High: Buchanan, Cleveland, Eugene Field, Gatewood, Hawthorne, Kaiser, Linwood, Mark Twain, Monroe, Putnam Heights, Sequoyah, and Wilson elementary schools; Classen School of Advanced Studies; Taft Middle School; and John Marshall Mid-High.
Also invited are students and families from Greystone, Johnson, Nichols Hills, Quail Creek, Ridgeview, West Nichols Hills, Britton, Horace Mann, and North Highland elementary schools, and Centennial Mid-High School.
To register for one or all four community fairs visit www.okcps.org/supersaturdays or call family engagement at 587-0449 or 587-0098 for Spanish.