KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Public Schools will hold a FAFSA event on Saturday, April 27, to help Spanish-speaking families complete the financial aid form on time.
It will be at the Mattie Rhodes Northeast Center located at 148 North Topping Avenue in Kansas City. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., families can access free help when it comes to the FAFSA. Bilingual staff will be available along with a lawyer for further questions.
Most KCPS high schools have College Access Specialists (CAS) available to help students seeking higher education. From college applications, scholarships and the FAFSA, Chris Fuentes helps more than 200 students at East High School. Fuentes said he deals with families who have undocumented parents, which can present a different hurdle for filling out the FAFSA. He wants families to know this is still an important step when it comes to deciding on a college and can be helpful.
“So for us, specifically, it's just to know, to let the community know that we're here available to support them at any capacity, whether it'd be doing the FAFSA,” Fuentes said. “For our students that are undocumented, also have them fill out applications for some schools that are a little bit more understanding of our students and they could get some scholarships and stuff like that. So, our goal is just to make sure that the community is aware of all the information.”
Fuentes encourages families who can’t attend on Saturday to utilize the CAS as their student’s high school. He said they will be working through the end of June to help families.
The FAFSA form for the 2024-2025 school year closes on June 30, 2025. However, colleges and universities present earlier deadlines, which is why Fuentes said it is important to fill out the form before selecting an institution.
To read this story in Spanish, click here.
