After a regular school day at Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) on Sept. 22, 2022, Back to School Night was revived after two years of online zoom meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The event began at 5 p.m. when students from Foothill Tech’s Associated Student Body (ASB) and faculty welcomed attendees as they entered. During the event, parents and guardians were able to step into the shoes of their child, going to every class their students attend on a day to day basis. Booths were set up to show the different non-academic opportunities students have, such as Yearbook, drama club, AVID, BioScience and DTech. 

During the beginning of the event, parents were able to look around campus as different buildings were open for exploration. Booths were also open where students from different programs sat and helped the adults understand what their specialized programs d0 during the year. 

BioScience President, Peter Soliman ‘23 said the booth was there “to convince their children if they want to join so that we can give them a breakdown of what BioScience is so that they are not coming in with misinformation, but coming in with all the right information so they hopefully have a great experience and decide to join.” 

Imashi Degambaba ‘23 added to the importance of Back to School Night mentioning, “I think it’s really fun to actually interact with the parents.” 

Lupita Gonzalez ‘24, an AVID representative, stated that, “Learning about AVID, parents, especially people who didn’t have the opportunity to seek higher education or go to a university, can come here and learn about the different pathways that their children can take to get those levels and to continue their educational future.” The booth was able to show how programs like AVID can truly help students further their academic future, one of the main goals of Foothill Tech as an institution. 

After an hour of campus and program exploration, the parents migrated into the classrooms of various excited, and nervous, teachers. Wayne Powers explains his nerves, saying, “I always panic and I’m nervous about it [back to school night] before it happens but once it goes down its alright and fun.” He also added that he hoped the parents would learn that he is “committed to the school and to their kids and that I’m a teacher that wants to be here teaching, not complaining that they’re not getting enough money and that I’m going to push their kids, not break them and try to make it as much fun as it can possibly be.”

The parents sat down in front of their child’s teachers and learned what more details about the current curriculum. Jeanette Brossia, a parent of a Foothill Tech student, elaborated by saying, “I liked being able to get the teachers’ philosophy and what specifically they do in the classroom.” 

After third period, parents had the opportunity to enjoy some light snacks and refreshments while mingling with other Foothill Tech parents. Many were seen sharing their child’s schedules and discussing how to navigate to their next class. The social lasted 25 minutes, to some parents’ dismay, and Brossia explained, “it doesn’t need to be as long as it is.”

In addition to the short class conferences, this event was also a time where parents were able to purchase Foothill Tech apparel to help represent their child’s school. In the quad, parents had the opportunity to register for the Parent Faculty Student Organization (PFSO) membership, pre-purchase a yearbook, talk with their child’s counselor and even learn more about the school’s special programs. 

After parents finished up their last classes, they left the school knowing more about their child’s different opportunities and academic experience. The evening settled, leaving Foothill Tech faculty proud of providing yet another successful community event for Dragon families.