Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District
Families prepare for new year at Back to School Festival
Families take their place in line while waiting to get into Back to School Fest at RL Turner High School.
Kate Bergeron
Metrocrest Services volunteers Pam Hodges and Dale Boisso give out fruit and vegetables to families leaving the Back to School Fest.
Kate Bergeron
Santiago Ferrer, 8, and his mother Carla Ochoa (center) of Carrollton look over coloring sheets that Stacey Homan, president of CFBISD Council of Parent Teacher Associations shared at the Back to School Fest.
Kate Bergeron
Navy Radwal, 11, waited patiently to receive a backpack while school volunteers restocked their supply.
Kate Bergeron
After a pause while volunteers restocked, 8-year-old Anish Gupta chooses a new backpack for the coming school year.
Kate Bergeron
From left, Jake Jones, 13, Jonathan Lee, 19, and Jeffrey Rivera, 15, pause while resupplying backpacks to be handed out. The three volunteers sorted hundreds of backpacks to make it easier for others to hand them out to families.
Kate Bergeron
RL Turner High School junior varsity and varsity cheer members hold down a table.
Kate Bergeron
Premanand Avanthika, 7, and her mother Suganya of Farmers Branch add a butterfly balloon to the goodies they received at the festival.
Kate Bergeron
Alberto Gonzalez, center, waits while his mother Louisa Rosendo receives information from CFBISD officer Stephan Bell.
Kate Bergeron
Self-taught barber and RL Turner sophomore Andrew Mercado, 15, cuts and styles 8-year-old Jaylin Amaya's hair. Andrew was one of many volunteers providing students with back-to-school haircuts.
Kate Bergeron
Creekview High School cheer team members, from left, Sophie Caballero, Ruben Hathaway, Hailey Roman and Kali Fowler greet families as they enter RL Turner High School.
RL Turner High School 1600 S. Josey Lane Carrollton, TX 75006
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Kate Bergeron
More than 1,000 people stood in a line that snaked outside RL Turner High School and around the sidewalk for Back to School Fest. School administrators helped parents enroll their students and sign up for meal plans and transportation while keeping the children occupied with games, haircuts and even vaccinations. CFBISD estimates that more than 5,000 people attended the event. Fifteen hundred backpacks were given away, and more than 55 vendors came to the event, at which every campus within the school district was represented.
