On Wednesday, October 16, the Lawrence Family Development Charter School (LFDCS) welcomed 26 private and parochial schools to its High School Fair. Of the private schools that were present, LFDCS had four schools that are ranked in the top ten private schools in the country. The purpose of the yearly High School Fair is to give 8th grade students and their parents a chance to explore high school options, have conversations with admissions officers and provide 8th graders with information about schools which they plan to possible pursue for their future high school studies.

In terms of number of accpetances and total high school scholarships awarded, the Lawrence Family Development Charter School students who will graduate in June 2014 hope to meet or exceed the outstanding achievements of the 8th graders who graduated in June, 2013. Ths will not be an easy task because, according to Superintendent Ralph Carrero, these 2013 graduates were awarded 1.5 million dollars in scholarships and financial aid for all four years of their high school education.

The following were the schools that participated in the Lawrence Family Development Charter School High School Fair: Academy of Notre Dame, Austin Prep School, Berkshire School, Bradford Christian Academy, Brooks School, Central Catholic High School, Choate Rosemary Hall, Concord Academy, Foxcroft Academy, Fryeburg Academy, Groton School, Holderness School, Lawrence Academy, Maine Central Institute, Milton Academy, Noble and Greenough School, Northfield Mount Hermon, Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School, Phillips Academy Andover, Phillips Exeter Academy, Pingree School, Pomfret School, Presentation of Mary Academy, St. John’s Prep, St. Mark’s School, Stoneleigh-Burnham School, Suffield Academy, The Governor’s Academy and Worcester Academy. The Phillips Exeter Academy admissions officer shared with LFDCS’ Placement Counselor, Carlos Cedeño: "The fair was well organized and well worth participating in.”

Prior to the High School Fair, which was held in the school’s gymnasium at 400 Haverhill Street, the admissions representatives from these high schools were treated to a delicious dinner. According to a representative of Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School, “The food was fantastic, very colorful and full of Latin flavors!” The meal was a way to welcome the representatives to LFDCS, expose many of them for the first time to Latin food and the students of an urban community, and allowed for conversations about the school's academic rigor and the community assets of Lawrence. In addition to the superb participation from the students and parents of Lawrence Family Development Charter School, and based on its mission: “strengthening families…building community,” the High School Fair also reached out to community organizations to bring additional prospective high school students and families to the fair. This was the first time that LFDCS invited other organizations from the Greater Lawrence area to participate, and it was a great turn out.  Invitations were extended and accepted by the Adelante Program of the YMCA, Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence as well as from students of Governors’ Plus and the Youth Development Organization.

Please click here to view the Rumbo news article on pages 11 & 21.

Click below to see more pictures from the fair.