Volunteers in Public Schools (1990) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
5. Some Exemplary Volunteer Programs
5. Some Exemplary Volunteer Programs
Pages 44-91
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 44... ...
Interviews were also conducted when possible with the school superintendent and other top administrative or policy officials and at building sites with the principal, teachers, and the school volunteer coordinator. In many instances, interviews were also held with volunteers and students.
|
From page 45... ...
Selection of sites was based on programs suggested by state and local coordinators of volunteer services organizations, including the National School Volunteers Program (now the National Association of Partners in Education) , the National Education Association, the National PTA, the National School Boards Association, and others.
|
From page 46... ...
Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan, is a medium-sized university town, with traditionally high expectations of its public schools. The-community recently approved a $30 million bond issue for education, although 70 percent of the population has no children in school.
|
From page 47... ...
They also explained that Ann Arbor has volunteer facilitators or coordinators in other areas such as tutoring in the high schools and a Partners for Excellence Program with local businesses, separate from the T-LC program. The teachers' union supports volunteer programs, and teachers welcome the extra help, they said.
|
From page 48... ...
The grant specified that funding was for the purpose of establishing a national office, including field workers who would identify individuals or agencies in cities willing to design and find funds for a program suited to the particular city. The Council for Public Schools, which already sponsored educational projects in Boston, expressed interest in initiating a school volunteer program with the help of the newly''formed National School Volunteer Program and worked out a plan with the Boston School Department.
|
From page 49... ...
Another major source tapped was the large college population in the greater Boston area. By 1972 the organization sought independence from the Council for Public Schools and became the School Volunteers for Boston.
|
From page 50... ...
Still others participated as office interns, advisory group members, clerical and field-trip assistants, and helpers in the arts, sciences, social studies, and foreign languages. A small number of university students "adopted" elementary school pupils and shared after-school activi ties.
|
From page 51... ...
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS Chicago public schools have 400,000 students, a staff of 40,000, and an annual operating budget approaching $2 billion. Total enrollment in the city's 495 elementary schools and 65 high schools has declined by 15 percent since 1978.
|
From page 52... ...
Because volunteer programs are administered by one division of the Chicago school system, while Adopt-a-School and the career education program are administered by other divisions, it is hard to compare the numbers reported by the bureau with figures from school systems in which all programs involving volunteers are administered by one office. The committee spent one day in discussion with the director of the Bureau of Volunteer Programs and her assistant at Chicago public schools headquarters.
|
From page 53... ...
The Bureau of Volunteer Programs does not maintain a bank of potential volunteers, but refers callers to schools in their neighborhoods. Homework Hotline, a partnership between the Chicago Public Schools and the Sun-Times newspaper, is staffed by volunteers from 5 p.m.
|
From page 54... ...
She said the Bureau of Volunteer Programs lacks the resources to have the data organized and interpreted. The Chicago public schools are scheduled to be drastically restructured.
|
From page 55... ...
The committee visited two elementary schools in Chicago. In both schools, the principal was an active and enthusiastic guide to the volunteer program and clearly was in direct contact with volunteers.
|
From page 56... ...
In the 1987-1988 school year, a total of 188 organizations sponsored 407 programs In 233 Chicago public schools. The 6-year-old program has matched at least one adopter with each high school.
|
From page 57... ...
Activities of this PTA volunteer program include recruiting and placing volunteers and assisting with their orientation and training. Funds raised from a variety of sources are used for transporting volunteers to remote sites; paying for GED testing and certificates for youths who qualify; organizing dinners and other recognition efforts to honor volunteers and teachers; and paying for books, tapes, and other special materials needed but not provided for in the county budget.
|
From page 58... ...
Although prescribed in the "Volunteer Program Guide," little formal evaluation of this program has been conducted. Volunteer coordinators and the volunteer organizers do get informal feedback from teachers and from volunteers themselves.
|
From page 59... ...
CORSICANA, TEXAS Corsicana, Texas, is a town of 26,000 between Dallas and Houston; like its neighbors, Corsicana has economic problems as the result of declines in the oil industry. The Corsicana Independent School District enrolls 4,800 students in one high school, two middle schools, and six elementary schools.
|
From page 60... ...
Since all activities take place outside of school, no space in the school system has been required; the Corsicana school district has donated supplies and secretarial staff. Looking to the end of its NFIE funding next year, the project is putting contributions from the community into a fund to support continued operations and is seeking grant assistance from several sources.
|
From page 61... ...
School districts receive an annual allocation from the state for volunteer activities; in Dade County, this allocation is approximately $80 per school and helps to pay for a district staff of nine professionals and four clerical employees who are responsible for assisting schools with their volunteer programs. The superintendent of schools in Dade County is very committed to the volunteer program, and volunteer coordinators report directly to a director of community participation.
|
From page 62... ...
The staff of the Department of Community Participation provides training for volunteers in more than 12 curriculum areas on request, at individual schools or regionally. The Dade County volunteer program includes a wide array of activities from the standard math and reading tutoring, prekindergarten and kindergarten assistants, and computer assistants to more targeted efforts.
|
From page 63... ...
All expressed enthusiastic support for Dade County volunteer activities and were absolutely convinced that their involvement makes an appreciable difference to students and schools. Existence of an evaluation department in the Dade County public schools has made possible analysis and evaluation of several of the volunteer programs.
|
From page 64... ...
A November 1988 listing showed 183 elementary schools, 48 Cursor highs, and 41 senior highs and special centers with at least one partner each and some with multiple partners. The total number of partners in Dade County is now reported to be 1,000.
|
From page 65... ...
The Dallas school volunteer programs are administered by two paid coordinators who share a position; they are part of the school district's Community Relations Department, which has an annual budget of $5 million. The volunteer office is responsible for training all volunteers who serve in the system, including individuals from the community, parents, and volunteers from adopt-a-school programs and business partnerships.
|
From page 66... ...
An effort is made to see that all schools in need receive some form of support. In counting volunteer service hours from both adopt-a-school and the basic volunteer programs, the Dallas volunteer office takes into account a very long list of activities: · tutoring; · a listener program; · assisting teachers (preparing materials, typing, mimeographing, duplicating, monitoring tests, preparing bulletin boards)
|
From page 67... ...
One of the founders of the Dallas school volunteer program 20 years ago is now a regular member of the Pupil Assistance Support Service team at the school. At a Dallas elementary school, committee members were introduced to "Off Our Rockers" senior citizen volunteers, who tutor 1st graders in reading and help children cut and paste, each with his or her own volun
|
From page 68... ...
Top administrators of the Dallas school system, including a new superintendent who concedes he does not yet have a handle on the multiplicity of volunteer activities going on in his district, are highly supportive of the adopt-a-school and volunteer programs. The district has adopted a policy statement that instructs teachers, principals, and all other staff members to "seek to strengthen and support community groups, cooperating in any way possible to provide assistance, materials, facilities, or other aid to assist them in helping the schools." Each school is to make a systematic effort to identify businesses' industries, other educational institutions, community groups, and organizations that are interested in schools and have resources that would enhance the learning program.
|
From page 69... ...
This small rural district also has a part-time paid volunteer coordinator. Now more than 10 years old, the district's volunteer program began when a concerned parent saw a need for student enrichment activities and organized volunteer help for the schools with the blessing and support of the school administration.
|
From page 70... ...
PIA activities, including fund raising, are not directly part of the school volunteer program, although there is cooperation and many of the same parents participate in both. During the site visit by the committee (late October 1988)
|
From page 71... ...
Needs assessments are conducted informally early in the school year when the volunteer coordinator meets with teachers who request volunteer services, reviews last year's efforts, and discusses volunteer needs for the year ahead. The volunteer coordinator then meets with teachers individually (usually during planning periods)
|
From page 72... ...
Impediments to carrying out successful programs are chiefly insufficient funds for training and for materials and transportation. MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND The Montgomery County School Volunteer Program has been in operation since August 1978.
|
From page 73... ...
The tight money situation in 1975-1976 resulted in cutbacks on these positions, and the volunteer program, with no one to continue to organize and keep it going, began to fade. Recognizing the contributions possible from volunteer help, one county school board member pushed for and succeeded in establishing a fulltime position in 1978 for a coordinator of volunteer services to serve the courtly.
|
From page 74... ...
These criteria specify a staff orientation program in which a minimum of 80 percent of the staff has participated; an individual (either staff or volunteer) designated to provide training, leadership, and coordination to the school volunteer program; and a corps of volunteers who provide an average of not less than 100 hours per year of volunteer services in the school instructional program per each 50 students in the school.
|
From page 75... ...
Principals are encouraged to organize volunteer programs in their schools. To aid in monitoring the volunteer programs, a survey of volunteer services is conducted each year.
|
From page 76... ...
It is administered by a 16-member volunteer corporate board of directors elected by delegates from its membership of 76,000. Its mission is to benefit all children; its focus is on the students attending the Los Angeles public schools in its area; and it is recognized under board rules of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
|
From page 77... ...
; there were more than 5,000 visits for dental care in 1988-1989. Of the PTA health clinics, two are operated in conjunction with the Los Angeles Unified School District, for which the 31st District PTSA employs optometrists and ophthalmologists, who dispensed over 1,000 new glasses to students in 1988-1989.
|
From page 78... ...
Los Angeles Unified School District personnel, from the area superintendent to the president of the Board of Education to the site principals, consider the PTA Latchkey Project and PIA dental and health clinics a critical support system for educators and suggest that it may be necessary to redefine the role of schools in urban areas to include such services. Despite the complexities of operating what is in effect a social service agency, the PTSA is expanding its services.
|
From page 79... ...
During this period the agency also began to build teacher training into the program. The independent organization changed its name to the San Francisco School Volunteers in the early 1980s.
|
From page 80... ...
Working relationships with the school district are described as very close, with the volunteer organization helping the schools to determine their needs and then attempting to recruit volunteers to fill them. Suppor from the superintendent is enthusiastic, there is written policy support for volunteer activities, and part of the evaluation of school principals depends on how well they have used volunteers.
|
From page 81... ...
Special programs designed with the aid of educational experts and usually funded by foundations or corporations are also in operation to help implement school district goals. These include experimental programs in math, reading and language arts, special education, and critical thinking and writing.
|
From page 82... ...
Contributions of volunteers toward reading improvement score measurements made before and after volunteer programs are implied. The extent to which improvements are due to better teaching or to help from the volunteers could not be measured, but the improvements were clearly there, and teachers attested to the contributions of the volunteers.
|
From page 83... ...
The director was active as a parent in the magnet school desegregation plan, became the first director of school volunteers in Tulsa in the early 1970s, and now administers an Adopt-aSchool business partnership program, as well as an array of specialized volunteer programs developed to meet specific needs of the schools and students. During the committee's Tulsa visit, we met with the superintendent and with the associate superintendent for instruction.
|
From page 84... ...
At Houston Elementary School, there is an active Take Reading to Heart program in which community volunteers (at Houston the volunteers were Junior Leaguers) work one on one with kindergarteners and 1st graders who are having reading difficulties.
|
From page 85... ...
At the time of the committee's visit, students were clearly absorbed and engaged in learning under competent volunteer supervision. Disney Elementary School also has other volunteer programs, including a volunteer workroom, where teachers can leave requests for copying, laminating, or other small services; volunteers pick up the requests when they arrive at school and fill them.
|
From page 86... ...
Washington was one of the cities that received seed money from the National School Volunteer Program of the Public Education Association of New York City in the mid-1970s to establish a school volunteer program. Under an energetic superintendent, the city continued to expand its community involvement and now operates comprehensive school volunteer, Adopt-a-School, and partnership programs, all administered by a
|
From page 87... ...
Fifty-one percent of volunteers serve in elementary schools, 20 percent in middle and junior high schools, 10 percent in high schools, 13 percent in adult education, 12 percent in special education, and 4 percent in community schools. Volunteer efforts fall into four major categories: support to instruction, which includes tutoring and classroom assistance (53 percent)
|
From page 88... ...
" The board member stressed the importance of parent and community involvement in schools in her ward. We visited three schools, one elementary, one junior high, and one senior high, all with active volunteer programs.
|
From page 89... ...
The D.C. public schools hosted a volunteer experiment in 1986-1988, in which a local civic group recruited mathematicians, scientists, and engineers from the entire metropolitan area to supplement and enhance the teaching of math and science in junior high schools.
|
From page 90... ...
For the most part, therefore, the committee had to rely on the available perception studies, informal evaluations, anecdotal information obtained in interviews, and their own observations and experience in assessing the value of the volunteer programs that were visited. In general, the committee notes that although all of the volunteer coordinators were proud of their accomplishments, none pretended that these were any panacea for education or indeed anything more than some help
|
From page 91... ...
The volunteers we talked with said they feel good about their volunteer service. The programs seen all had policy-level support and considerable citizen participation, and there was excitement about what the volunteer programs have accomplished and their potential.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.