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Published on 09/14/1998 All articles from this issue

Endless volunteer opportunities can be found in schools

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By Karen Willemsen

Special to the Town Crier

A little volunteer time can do much to enrich a child's school experience. Volunteering can put parents in closer communication with their children's teacher, help them develop informal relationships with other parents and support the work of the teacher.

Jenni Taylor, pre-kindergarten teacher at Loyola School, said when children see their parents at school stapling, writing, working, "it legitimizes school. It says to them school is a good place to be. It makes the children so proud, and it's so needed."

Here is an outline of volunteer strategies suited to parents with varying amounts of time:

The "on the go" volunteer: If you cannot get to the school during school hours, consider these at-home projects.

Prep art projects.

Type or translate newsletters and notes.

Make wood shop projects. You can help create memory boxes, planters, and other crafts for the kids to assemble and decorate at school.

Telephone other parents with important reminders.

*Make theme-snacks: Many teachers use theme-snacks to develop their curriculum and enable kids to see, taste and smell what they are learning about in class.

Grade student work.

Do book orders.

The "special occasion" volunteer: If you can leave work once a month, or even just once in a while, there are still wonderful ways to help out.

Special events: Walk-a-thons, science fairs, auctions and open houses are always occasions that need support. Be a field trip helper or a special classroom guest.

The "weekend" volunteer: You'd be amazed at what teachers can accomplish over the weekends with parents' help. Moms and dads have helped build gardens and play structures; painted flowers onto supply sheds; put shelving into classrooms, and have installed computer equipment.

The "once a week" volunteer: If you can make a once-weekly commitment to help a teacher in the class, you can make a tremendous difference in the quality of instruction for the class. Many employers have school volunteer programs, and still more are willing to give you flextime in order to volunteer at a school.

Small group instruction or whole class help. Opportunities include math labs, reading groups and helping with hands-on projects. Some kinds of teaching simply aren't possible unless the teacher can divide her class into small groups.

Tutor individual students in class.

Volunteer in a district docent program. Los Altos has a training program for art docents and one for environmental volunteers.

The room parent: The room parent is ready for anything. If you are considering being a room parent, try to get another parent to do it with you. You don't have to be an at-home parent, but having a flexible work schedule helps.

Some room parents I know have written grants to help their children's classes or have created special activities and programs.

Families can help make a difference: These three quick and easy tips will create a positive parent-teacher-child relationship that you will all enjoy:

Collect stuff. If you already recycle it's easy to start collecting stuff teachers love. Anything you can imagine will be useful in art/math/miscellaneous projects and can be put aside and taken to school.

Say "YES" to something, early in the year.

Network with non-parents who might like to help out, too.

Willemsen has taught on the Peninsula for five years. She studied education at Santa Clara and Harvard universities, and has fond memories of the volunteers she has worked with in Los Altos and Mountain View.