On Saturday Oct, 10, SOAR held the second annual San Marcos Education Fair at the San Marcos Activity Center.

SOAR - which stands for “Seeking Opportunities, Achieving Results”, is a group of educational partners in San Marcos who are committed to achieving higher educational attainment.

The San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce, a proud partner of the SOAR initiative, recognizes the extreme importance of higher educational attainment levels to the economic future of our region.

Workforce and Talent Development is critical to the economic well being of our community. Without an educated and trained workforce, we cannot attract the quality jobs we desire. To make that happen, education must remain priority in our community and we must continue to encourage San Marcos businesses to support educational initiatives aimed at bringing up our attainment levels. It's not just a matter of community support. It simply makes good business sense.

An educated community is a more prosperous and engaged community. Higher educational attainment levels increase lifetime earnings significantly. This is the basis of SOAR's primary message to San Marcos – that education pays.

Step one is graduating from high school. Many students from economically disadvantaged homes are tempted to drop out for financial reasons. But doing so limits their future opportunities. Staying in school guarantees them an average income of over $1 million dollars more than a student who does not stay in school and graduate. Yes - you heard it right – choosing not to drop out pays off – over $1 million dollars over a lifetime of earnings. That is significant.

Step two is enrolling in a trade school, college or university. Graduating from college will bring in an additional $2.1 million dollars over a lifetime.

The San Marcos Educational Partners brought this message home to San Marcos students and families in a fun and informative way at the annual San Marcos Education Fair.

Fifty five community and education partners were present at the second annual fair, offering everything from information on social services, tutoring, college access, and educational support services to fingerprinting and mentoring.

As an added bonus – there were drawings for prize giveaways for families that attended the event.

Every family attending the Education Fair was presented with an Education Passport. After visiting a minimum of 6 booths, passports were turned in and attendees were then eligible to enter drawings to win laptops, i-Pods, gift cards, bicycles and other great prizes.

The first Education Fair, held in 2008, attracted an estimated 1,500 attendees. This year's attendance topped 2,100 as students and families came to participate in workshops, hands-on activities and learn more from the many exhibitors at the event.

SOAR is a collaborative effort and welcomes the help and support of any organization wishing to make a difference in San Marcos Education.

SOAR encourages partnerships and collaboration and looks for ways to create greater impact by combining resources and eliminating duplication of effort.

The San Marcos Education Committee, a volunteer committee of the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce, proudly partners with SOAR to make a real difference in education attainment in San Marcos.

For more information on how you can participate and make a difference - please call the Chamber at 393-5900.