Greetings, Private School Leaders!

The Orange County Private School Association (OCPSA) is pleased to invite your school to be part of one (or both) of our upcoming school fairs! This year, we will be introducing the OCPSA’s 1st Annual High School Fair, which will be held on Sunday, October 20th, 2013 from 1:00 – 4:00pm at the University of California, Irvine. We will also be hosting our renowned 4th Annual Preschool – 12th Grade Private School Fair on Sunday, January 5th, 2014 from 1:00 – 4:00pm at the Irvine Marriott Hotel. Please note that all exhibitors (schools, vendors, etc.) MUST purchase a booth or vendor badge to participate at these events. If you do not have a vendor badge, you will be asked to leave the premises. For complete rules and regulations, please click here.

As you may have heard, our first three Fairs were a resounding success! At our 3rd Annual Preschool – 12th Grade Fair, over 60 schools exhibited to roughly 1,500 attendees. Due to the overwhelming response of interested families and exhibitors, we decided to hold our 1st Annual High School Fair to showcase Orange County private schools and boarding schools enrolling 9th – 12th grade students. This allows us to specialize and tailor this particular event to the large niche market of high school-seeking families. We believe that UCI is a prime location for our first high school event, and it will also allow families to have a bonus college campus visit. Additionally, it will serve as a high-end, centralized fair that will provide a vast selection of high school education options together at one professionally polished event. In addition, we encourage our participating high school to attend both events for increased presence and awareness of your special school.

The Preschool – 12th Grade event will again take place in January, early enough in the school decision season to be relevant for students of all ages, from preschool to high school. We are launching our marketing efforts even earlier this year, with a broader outreach base to schools and families. Plus, we are taking advantage of our accommodating location once again, adding in even more entertainment value, with a revamped KidZone and other fun activities, encouraging parents to bring their children and make a family event out of the day.

The theme of both Fairs is to educate parents about their wide range of private school options when making decisions about where to school their children. There are so many qualities that make each school unique, and the OCPSA uses both Fairs as an opportunity to highlight these attributes. Along with having schools represented at their booths, we’ll have presentations on topics such as finding creative ways to afford a private school.

Because these are events marketed broadly and are open to the public, they are both great opportunities to introduce Orange County residents to your school. As a booth exhibitor at the OCPSA private school fairs, your organization will be able to:

• Market your programs and services
• Showcase scholastic achievements and any award-winning programs
• Gain exposure for your school
• Interact one-on-one with Orange County parents looking for a private school education for their child/children
• Network with other private schools and help raise general awareness of the value and viability of private education

There are only 30 booths available for the High School Fair and 60 booths available for the Preschool – 12th Grade Fair, and they are being offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. Vendor badges are also available for a reduced fee. For more information, and to sign up for the Fair click here!

In addition to having a booth at one (or both!) of the Fairs, all schools will also receive FREE membership to the bi-monthly OCPSA meetings. Nearly seven times per year, the OCPSA meets at one of our member campuses to collectively discuss ways to improve our schools and better serve our students, parents and teachers, prep and brainstorm for the upcoming Fairs and hear from a renowned guest speaker. Upon registration, you will also be added to our email list for updates and invitations to exclusive events.

If you are interested in becoming a booth exhibitor and joining OCPSA, please click here or contact OCPSA Coordinator, Alexandria Negron, [email protected], or via phone at (714) 234-2785.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Sincerely,
OCPSA Officers

Ray Girn, President
David Jackson, Advisor to the Board
Chad Jackson, Vice President
Gina Illes, Treasurer
Shawna Rhebergen, Secretary
Randy Einem, Board Member
Susan Kline, Events Officer

OCPSA Fair Testimonials from Participating Schools

“As a new middle and high school in the Orange County area, Fusion Academy enjoyed the opportunity to talk with parents face to face about our innovative one-to-one approach to education. We’re excited to participate in the upcoming fair, which is sure to be bigger and better.”
Maryam Pourmohsen, Head of School, Fusion Academy Huntington Beach

“We were hugely pleased with the turn-out at this first-ever Orange County Private School Fair. Thank you to the team who made this first-rate event happen and to the parents who came from all over the county to learn about the variety and the value of a private school education.”
Susan Kline, Founder & Director Kline School

“The OCPSA Fair has been a great opportunity for us to get in front of families who are actively looking for a school, but who may not have known about us otherwise, or who may not have taken the time to come directly to visit our schools. We were very pleased both with the number of families who spoke with us, and with the quality of the conversations we were able to have with them. From preschool to middle school, all of our campuses benefitted from the event. We’ll definitely be back next year!”
Heike Larson, Vice President Outreach, LePort Schools

“We are a small non-profit private school with little resources to put towards outreach and this event was affordable and opened up a whole new client base for us. It was wonderful to talk to the other private schools and even more wonderful to be able to talk about our unique curriculum to all the potential families that were there. We look forward to this being an annual event to spread the word about our school.”
Gina Illes, Waldorf School of Orange County

“We were pleased at the amount of students and families that attended the first annual Orange County Private School Association Fair. It was a great place to showcase your school, meet prospective parents and network amongst local Private School Administrators. The OCPSA Fair is a valuable afternoon for families to learn more about their choices in education.”
JP Presley, Director of Admissions, Orange Lutheran High School

“As an Admissions Director, one could not ask for a better venue to recruit new families since everyone who attends is a potential client. The fair provided an opportunity to promote upcoming events on our campus, and afterward, many of the families we spoke with did indeed visit our campus. I look forward to the next OCPSA fair.”
Christie DuVall, Mable Campus – Fairmont Private Schools

“The OCPSA Fair was such an innovative way to give parents the opportunity to find a school that is the best for their child! It was great to see the private school community come together to show off the uniqueness of their own programs.”
Heather Churney, Anaheim Hills Campus – Fairmont Private Schools