Allendale-Fairfax High Hosts DEAP Event to Prep Seniors for Graduation

Allendale-Fairfax High School convened the Class of 2026 and their families this week for D.E.A.P., a concentrated prep session the district dubbed "Drop Everything and Prep," giving seniors direct, same-room access to counselors, post-secondary representatives, and employers to work through college applications, financial aid paperwork, and career planning as deadlines tighten.

The event, organized under the direction of Principal Darlene Hall and Assistant Principal Dr. Coby Brandyburg, took place at the school's campus at 3581 Allendale-Fairfax Highway in Fairfax. The format placed students in front of visiting admissions and employer representatives alongside school counseling staff, creating a single-session opportunity to complete tasks that frequently fall through the cracks: submitting financial aid forms, researching scholarship options, and connecting with technical and certificate programs.

For Allendale County seniors, that kind of concentrated access carries real stakes. Rural students often lack the steady pipeline of college guidance available to peers in larger districts, and a missed scholarship deadline or incomplete financial aid application can alter a student's trajectory well beyond graduation day. The district's decision to dedicate a structured, action-oriented session to these steps, with hands-on support on site, addresses that gap directly.

The announcement appeared on the school's live feed, maintained by ACSD Communications, during the week of March 23, and it opens a stretch of district-coordinated post-secondary programming. A College and Career Fair follows on April 2 at Allendale-Fairfax High, where additional representatives from colleges, technical programs, and area employers are scheduled to attend. The two events together form the most concentrated push the district has mounted this school year to connect its graduating class with concrete next steps after the diploma.