Another #protip for Ed Fest-- Start in the BACK. Most people start in the front and make their way as a giant HRCS chasing herd. Tthe schools are usually in alphabetical order, elementary on left, middle/high/DC agencies on right.

Also, if you aren't in bounds, there's a very big list of schools you shouldn't even waste your time on, particularly for ECE.

Anonymous wrote:For these types of things its always better to arrive right when it opens and there are no lines and the crowds are just building.

But at EdFest, many parents will be there when it starts. So either get there way before it starts so you can be at the front of the line when it opens, or come like an hour into it. If you show up right at the start time, you will be a couple hundred places back in line and you'll get in not much sooner than you would have if you'd come a little ways into it.

For these types of things its always better to arrive right when it opens and there are no lines and the crowds are just building.

Depends on how many schools you are interested in. Budget between 2 minutes and 20 minutes per school, depending on whether there's a line and how long you want to talk. Last year I was interested in only one school, for which there was about a 2 minute wait, and for which I just chatted with the principal for 4 or 5 minutes.

Anonymous wrote:Could someone please describe EdFest to me? Is it a fair with tables and you can show up whenever? Are there speakers and we should be there at the beginning? I'm booking a sitter and need to know the basics of how it works.

Fair with tables, show up whenever. It's hectic, noisy, irritating and exhausting.

Could someone please describe EdFest to me? Is it a fair with tables and you can show up whenever? Are there speakers and we should be there at the beginning? I'm booking a sitter and need to know the basics of how it works.