Edwardsville Elementary School Hosts Back-to-School Block Party to Promote Connection
EDWARDSVILLE - Woodland Elementary School families held a block party to kick off the 2026–2027 school year.
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For the past three years, Woodland Elementary School has hosted the block party to welcome families in the Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7. This year was another great experience with food, music, games and more for kids to enjoy. Principal Dr. Andrew Williams noted that the party is a lot of fun, but its deeper goal is to help students and caregivers connect with the school community.
“It’s kind of become a tradition with us to launch the new school year and to have our opening block party with our families,” Williams said. “Kids make friends. Parents make friends with other parents. It’s just a really nice community bonding event that has served us really well for the past few years.”
Williams and Woodland’s Parent-Teacher Organization conceptualized the block party in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic. They noticed that many families felt disconnected, and they wanted to bring kids and parents into the school building.
They decided to hold the block party as a way to introduce families to Woodland and each other. The goal, Williams explained, was to build connections between students, parents, teachers and administrators.
“[We wanted] to create that community environment where not only kids feel like they belong, but families feel like they belong here as well,” he said. “They can come in and have a good time at these events and really sort of put a face to the name, meet their teachers and their administrators on a less formal level. I think it’s very important to do these sorts of things just to keep our relations with our families relevant and positive.”
This year, families could enjoy free ice cream, play on the playground, and check out a variety of games and activities. They could also meet the teachers and administrators at Woodland and see the classrooms.
Williams was pleased to hear many families express their enthusiasm and appreciation for the party. He noted that a lot of folks referred to the block party as a Woodland “tradition,” and he hopes it can continue to grow. The school plans to host another party in the spring with food trucks and other activities.
Williams highlighted the PTO’s involvement and thanked co-president Cheryl Kavarik for her work to make the block party happen. He is excited to see how the event will continue to expand and include more families in the future, all with the goal of helping people connect.
“It’s the importance of the tradition to bring the school community together,” he added. “I think it’s one of the most important things we can do.”
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