AUSTIN, Texas — On Saturday, Pflugerville ISD helped ease the back-to-school burden for hundreds of families with its first-ever Hope Pfest.
Hundreds of families packed the giveaway at Connolly High School to get backpacks, school supplies, clothes, shoes, free haircuts, vaccines and more. Each school in the district set up meet-and-greet tables with staff and mascots.
“We got a whole backpack full of stuff,” said parent Katie Prentice, who brought her son and his cousins. “It was nice. A little crazy getting in, but then we went through several lines and got lots of good stuff. They did a good job of getting to lots of different organizations and getting it organized.”
Organizers said the district has seen a nearly 50% jump in students who qualify for free or reduced lunch.
“We are seeing that increase every year,” Tamra Spence, chief communications officer with Pflugerville ISD, said. “We’ve seen an increase in our unhoused population, our students who don’t have a home.”
Spence said finding those students and getting them needed services is always difficult.
“So, we put this out in the community,” Spence said. “We put it on social media. We tried to make sure everybody knows it’s happening so they can come up here and get whatever they need to be ready for school.”
Spence said the district will offer help beyond Hope Pfest.
“We encourage any families, if any circumstances change, if they need help with lunches, if they need help with transportation, whatever it may be, we ask them to reach out to us and see if we can help them or we can put them in touch with someone who can provide that service,” Spence said.
Pflugerville ISD starts classes Aug. 13.