Posts Tagged ‘Volunteering in Schools’

10 Ideas for Volunteering in Schools

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

Yesterday’s post talked about the importance of bringing volunteering into the classroom, and how service learning can help to show students the importance of service.

It’s important for parents and other adults to get involved in schools by volunteering. Here are ten ways that you can get more involved in schools:

  • Join the club. The PTA, home and school club, or school site council are ways for parents to get involved in schools. Being a part of any of these groups will also help to connect you with other parents and community members.
  • Attend school board meetings. Attending school board meetings gives you an opportunity to know what direction stendts’ education is taking.
  • Give a boost to a school club. In the era of disappearing recess and music and arts programs, schools may need help providing these kinds of classes. If your child is involved with any clubs or activities at school, call the person in charge of the group and see if you can help with transportation, supplies, or planning.
  • Get technical. If you have strong computer skills, such as Web site creation or network administration, see if your school needs help setting up a computer system or maintaining or upgrading the equipment they already have.
  • Share your time and talents. Teachers often need parent volunteers to help with small-group activities, reading to children, or correcting papers. Are you a fabulous chef or a craft whiz? Volunteer to give students a classroom demonstration of how to make tasty snack or a special holiday gift.
  • Organize a workplace tour. Do you work for a company that would be an interesting place for a field trip? Suggest a class visit to your office. Make sure that the tour is age appropriate, and that the students will be safe during their visit.
  • Start a cleanup crew. Are crushed soda cans and scrap paper taking over the school grounds? Why not plan a school cleanup day? Include parents, students, teachers, and any community members who want to help. Participants will feel a sense of ownership and will be less likely to ignore litter in the future.
  • Nurture your green thumb. Have you noticed that the school grounds could use some work? Talk to the principal or PTA about gathering a group of parents to plant trees or flowers in a few spots around the school. Maybe even plan a garden that can help to supply fresh fruits and veggies for students!
  • Be in the driver’s seat. Teachers often need parents to drive or chaperon on school field trips. Plus, you get to go on a field trip!
  • Volunteer at the school library. A lot of schools are short on funds and look to parents to help keep the library open for students. Offer to check out or shelve books, assist students, or donate money to buy books for the library.
Of course, these aren’t the only ways to volunteer in a school. Maybe you have a skill that you can share with the school and the students. Maybe you can help in a music class, or coach a sports team after classes, or be a mentor for a student.
Try getting in touch with the school’s principal and sharing your ideas for how you can volunteer.
Do you volunteer in a school? Tell us about it in the comments!
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5 More Tips for Volunteering in Schools

Friday, July 29th, 2011

Yesterday we offered some tips for volunteering with schools. Today, we offer up some more tips for getting volunteer projects off of the ground. Have you ever planned a volunteer project in a school? Do you have any tips to share? Let us know in the comments!

Use Community Resources

Schools are often short of resources. If you are running a sports program, arts club, or any other project that requires materials, you will probably need to solicit donations. Local businesses and restaurants may be willing to contribute. Community centers may have supplies or meeting space to share. Large projects can have fundraisers and donation drives to support their needs. The Volunteer Spot blog has some great ideas for fundraising.

Follow Through on Commitment

Once you start a project, teachers, staff, parents, and students will become dependent on your work. It is important to carry through with your promises and commitment. Never bite off more than you can chew and be honest about your time commitment and availability. If you begin to feel overwhelmed, remain open and honest with those you are working with and work together to seek a solution.

Evaluate Outcomes and Measure Success

As a volunteer, it is beneficial to evaluate your work and consider areas for improvement. Speak to teachers and school administrators beforehand to discuss appropriate benchmarks. There may be tangible measures of success such as improved grades (although some school policies don’t allow grades to be shared), test scores, knowledge level, or attitudes toward learning.

Or you could simply observe that you engaged a group of students, completed a large product, brought children safely to and from school, or filed a large stack of papers.

Recognize All Involved

Throughout your involvement as a school volunteer, make sure to show appreciate to all those involved. This might include fellow volunteers, teachers, staff, or students. Below are tips:

  • Deliver recognition in a personal and honest manner. There’s no need to be disingenuous or to exaggerate someone’s contribution.
  • Tailor your recognition and reward to the unique needs of the people involved. Have a variety of recognition and reward options available.
  • Recognize contributions throughout the project – timing is crucial! Time delays weaken the impact.
  • Have a clear message. Be sure that students and volunteers understand the criteria used to determine awards.
  • Students can also be recognized through special certificates or small rewards such as erasers, pencils, journals, or rulers. (Note: toys and candy often become a distraction in the classroom.

The best way to recognize students and volunteers is to treat them with respect and give them support and praise throughout the project.

It’s vitally important to say thank you during the project and once the project is complete. Check out Eight Tips for Writing the Perfect Thank You Note

Reflect, Evaluate, and Move Forward

Reflection is strongly encouraged after every service experience. Reflecting as a group, with all the participating students and volunteers, can create a stronger sense of accomplishment and connection. This group conversation can often deepen student’s and volunteers’ understanding of the social issue your project addresses and increase their commitment to service and learning.

Here are some sample reflection questions to help facilitate a reflective discussion about the service project:

  • What? What issue(s) was being addressed? What did you notice happening around you during the project? What were the results/outcomes of the project?
  • So what? What did you think about during the project activity? How has it affected you?
  • Now what? What are the larger issues that caused the need for you to participate in this service activity? How did your efforts help? What else needs to be done to improve these problems? How will you apply what you learned in the future?

In addition to reflection, it is important to evaluate the project. This means reviewing the effectiveness of the project components: the planning, coordination, delivery, implementation, logistics and management.

At the end of a project, solicit feedback from students, volunteers, parents, and teachers. Feedback is a gift – use it as an opportunity to reflect on the overall management and implementation of the project. You can provide a feedback form (this is probably best if you are leading volunteers or students), or have less-formal conversations.

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Posted in Education, Volunteering | 3 Comments »

5 Tips for Volunteering in Schools

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Are you looking to volunteer at your local school, but don’t know where to get started? You can follow these steps to find a volunteer role that suits you. Use them to determine how to make an impact, measure your success, and continue to grow and learn.

Conduct an  Internal Assessment: What and How Can You Contribute?

Before approaching a school with your intentions to volunteer, assess yourself to see how you could put your skills, interests, and time to best use.

  • How much time (in hours) are you able to volunteer?
  • What time of the day are you able to volunteer?
  • What interests you the most?
  • What kind of work would you like to do?

Conduct School Assessment: Identify Issues and Needs

After doing an internal assessment, conduct an assessment of the school. Are there already pre-determined opportunities for volunteers to help? If not, where does the school need support? How might a volunteer serve these students?

  • Brainstorm Gather parents, community members, teachers, and/or staff to discuss school issues/ needs, and brainstorm possible solutions. Potentially, this could take place at a PTA or community meeting.
  • School Dreams Approach community members and parents and ask them to share their dreams for the school. What could a volunteer do to help make these dreams a reality?
  • School Visit Schedule a visit to the school and look for situations, in or out of the classroom, where a volunteer might help. What specific needs did you find? How could they be addressed?
  • Ask a Principal Hold a meeting with the school principal and ask in what ways you can volunteer. You may want to send an email introducing yourself, your background and how you would like to help. Be sure to share your interests and skills, but also your flexibility. Do not approach a principal without having an appointment.
  • Ask a Student Meet with a single student or a small group of students and ask about their dreams for the school. Ask what assignment they would give to a volunteer. Holding a discussion with a student can help spark ideas.

Outline a Volunteer Plan

After establishing the needs of the school, create a volunteer plan. Work with a classroom teacher, school principal, staff member, or club/sports leader to create your plan. Your plan should outline the expectations, time commitment, and knowledge needed for each volunteer position.

Outline Goals

After creating a volunteer plan, think of goals you want to reach through your work. A classroom teacher, school principal, staff member, or club/sports leader that you are working with can help establish these goals (he/she may already have goals in mind). What need are you addressing? What does a successful end result look like? When will your work be finished? What do you hope to achieve, both personally and for others?

Share Your Plan and Goals

Share your plan and goals with parents/guardians, friends, adults, and community members. By sharing these details, you may learn of specific tricks, tips, or further ideas on how to make an impact. You may also come across ways that others contribute. In sharing your plan, you may get other parents or guardians to volunteer with you!

 

Have you volunteered in a school? Was there a program in place or did you work with someone to build one? Let us know in the comments!

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Posted in Education, Volunteering | 1 Comment »

Teaching Kids by Doing Good

Friday, October 1st, 2010

This week NBC is hosted Education Nation, a nationally broadcast, in-depth conversation about improving education in America. We’ve participated by sharing resources for volunteering in schools. Here’s the last post in this week’s series.

Did you know that you can teach kids about math, science, language arts and other academic subjects by giving them an opportunity to serve others?

Creating a community garden is a great way to teach children important principles of math and science, while at the same time sharing lessons about the environment and health.

Language arts skills like composition and writing can be learned by asking kids to visit a local senior center and take oral histories from the residents they meet.

This teaching and learning approach, integrating community service with academic study, enriches learning, teaches civic responsibility, and strengthens communities.

It’s commonly known as service learning.

Service-learning is distinct from traditional concepts of volunteerism and community service in that it is directly linked to curricular objectives, bringing the real-world into the classroom and the classroom into the real world.

Service-learning is not an add-on or extra component of classroom instruction. Instead, service-learning wraps community service and learning together to form one coherent goal.

Service-learning offers powerful lifelong benefits.

Participants learn responsibility, leadership, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.

They experience greater self-respect, character development and self discipline, increased motivation and engagement in studies, more tolerance, a broader perspective, and improved academic success.

Student reflection is a large component of service-learning because reflection allows students to comprehend changes they made through service and academic study.

You can integrate service-learning into your volunteer work with young people by leading lessons or tutoring sessions that combine community service with learning.

To learn more about service-learning, visit generationON and find lesson plans you can download and use.

To find a volunteer project working with young people, visit HandsOn Network.

For more ways to get involved in schools, visit NBC’s Education Nation site.

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Posted in Education, Equip, Get HandsOn, Inspire, News & Links, Service, Tools You Can Use, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 1 Comment »

How to Be A Mentor

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

This week NBC is hosting Education Nation, a nationally broadcast, in-depth conversation about improving education in America and we’re participating by sharing resources for volunteering in schools.

One significant way to help young people is to serve as a mentor.

A mentor acts as a guide to the larger world outside of school and home by helping students make positive life choices, opening their eyes to new ways of thinking about the world, setting good examples, and talking about all the possibilities life has to offer.

Mentors are a special type of volunteer, committed to helping students academically, socially, mentally, and physically.

Mentors are committed to spending the time and energy necessary to help young people by being a role model.

Becoming a mentor is a big commitment and requires more time than an ordinary school volunteer.

Mentors:

  • Listen effectively. In many cases, the mentor is the only person that the student has identified as one who will listen to his/her concerns and problems.
  • Help the mentee set short and long-term goals.
  • Help the mentee identify the positive things in his/her life.
  • Convey that there is always “hope” and that the student’s situation can be turned around.
  • Help the student develop personal interests outside of school.
  • Help the student become involved in all aspects of school.
  • Are sincere, committed, and punctual for scheduled meetings.
  • Develop a level of trust with the student.  The trust relationship established between the volunteer and the student is the foundation for a successful relationship.
  • Are a positive role model.  The student may not have any others in his/her life.

Mentors have many possibilities to positively affect a student’s life.

They may help guide or direct a young person toward thoughtful decisions, help the youth practice new skills, provide positive reinforcement, or listen to concerns and interests of the young person.

Here are a few ways to be a great mentor:

Help students to help themselves

There is a big difference between offering solutions and helping a student discover his/her own options.

Helping students develop positive decision-making skills will allow them to become independent and self-sufficient.

They will develop leadership skills and realize they are indeed in control of their future.

Help students with their problems

A mentor is there to assist with problems a student may be going through.

These may include: self-confidence, conflicts, attendance, peer to peer communication, or goal setting.

This doesn’t mean that the volunteer plays the role of counselor, social worker, or parent.

Volunteers are there to offer support, encouragement, and to give positive reinforcement.

This may require talking about a problem, asking lots of open–ended questions, listening, and giving the student some time and space to work it out for him/herself, while gently guiding them along.

Help students build self-confidence

Students are often unsure of themselves.

They do not know who they are or what they want to achieve.

Everyday students learn about the world around them.

They balance cultural issues between home and school while contemplating the past and future.

When volunteers care about their students and make them feel important, they can encourage students to take on new habits, ideas, and expectations.

Use statements to help build self-esteem:

  • I like how you handled that!
  • I see that you are making a real effort or trying very hard.
  • I know you can do this!
  • What are your thoughts or ideas about this?

Help students develop interpersonal skills

Mentors should model appropriate communication and behavioral skills to the mentee.

Students often do not know how to properly interact with adults who may look, speak, or act different from their peers.

A volunteer can teach little things such as looking someone in the eyes when speaking to them, speaking clearly, practicing good manners, and appropriately addressing adults.

Remember, students will learn by watching and interacting positively with role models.

To get more information or to find a project, visit HandsOn Network’s Education Nation site.

For more ways to get involved in schools, visit NBC’s Education Nation site.

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Posted in Education, Equip, Service, Tools You Can Use, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 1 Comment »

Tips for Volunteers Working in Schools

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

This week NBC is hosting Education Nation, a nationally broadcast, in-depth conversation about improving education in America and we’re participating by sharing resources for volunteering in schools.

Whether you are a beginner or a pro at working with children, here are a few tips to help everyone feel more comfortable.

Before you volunteer in a school, you can benefit by observing a classroom teacher, club leader, or coach’s interaction with students.

How does the teacher organize material?

How does the teacher react to disruption and misbehavior?

What language and gestures does the teacher use to get points across?

Observation will help you learn successful strategies for connecting with the students.

When you begin working with students, remember these basic tips:

  • Have a set goal and routine from day one and stick to it. Students will recognize if you are not prepared or if you change your course.
  • Remain in charge. Do not let the students take control of a situation.
  • If appropriate, discourage and reprimand bad behavior.
  • If appropriate, reward achievements and good behavior.
  • Reflect and Revise. Consider how well your strategies work and how they can improve for next time.
  • Remain flexible. Sometimes something unexpected will happen; do not let it ruin your experience or your goals.
  • Be sure to always follow the school’s rules and procedures.

Boundaries

As a volunteer, you are an important part of a student’s life. Schools and districts often have rules and policies for appropriate interaction with students.

Some schools discourage personal interaction such as hugging or pats on the back.

While these actions may seem harmless, an outside observer may perceive them differently.

You should always check with the principal/teacher to make sure you fully understand the rules.

Discipline

Remain open with your students and let them know what is appropriate and what behavior you will not tolerate.

Classroom teachers often create a system for misbehavior.

Learn what school officials do with misbehaving students and follow the school’s procedures.

Safety

It is essential to know procedures for dealing with potentially harmful situations that affect safety and wellbeing of students.

Before you begin volunteering, know where you can access a first aid kit and where the nurse’s office is located.

Depending on your specific volunteer role, you may be asked to be CPR certified. Many community centers offer free or cheap trainings.

You should also understand school procedures for fire, severe weather, and other harmful situations.

Confidentiality

Schools have strict confidentiality rules when it comes to students.

Don’t discuss the student, his/her work, achievement record, or any other personal information with anyone but the student’s teacher or principal.

You can of course, talk to others about an interesting detail or an exciting moment you experienced while volunteering; just leave out the name of the student.

Physical, Mental, Sexual Abuse

If a student tells you of any harmful incident that happened to him/her or anyone around them, you must report this to a teacher or principal.

The teacher/principal will report the information to the correct person.

Confidentiality is extremely important.

If a student wishes to tell you something, let them know that he/she can trust you, but do not promise to keep everything a secret; you may need to retell the story to a proper authority.

Do not take matters into your own hands and do not approach the alleged abuser.

Diversity

Schools contain a collection of students from diverse backgrounds and circumstances.

As a volunteer, you should prepare yourself to work with students from different backgrounds and families.

Students often have set value and belief systems taught to them by their families and guardians.

(Types of values include ethical/moral values, doctrinal/ideological (religious, political) values, social values, and aesthetic values.)

Schools are a safe place to exchange ideas and concepts.

It is not a volunteer’s place to attempt to correct or change a student’s beliefs that are otherwise not harmful to him/her, you, or others.

If a student disrespects a classroom’s diversity, it is appropriate to teach him/her why their words and actions are harmful.

Remember that diversity challenges values, adds perspective, and supports growth and development.

You may find students eager to learn about those different from themselves.

It’s healthy to support curiosity, understanding, and compassion.

It is important to respect and learn from each other.

“We must work together, learn together, live together, serve together. On the forge of common enterprise, Americans of all backgrounds can hammer out a common identity. We see it today in the United States military, in the Peace Corps, in AmeriCorps. Wherever people of all races and backgrounds come together in a shared endeavor and get a fair chance, we do just fine. With shared values and meaningful opportunities and honest communications and citizen service, we can unite a diverse people in freedom and mutual respect.”

–President Bill Clinton, State of the Union Address, January 27, 1998

For more information, visit HandsOn Network’s Education Nation site.

For more ways to get involved in schools, visit NBC’s Education Nation site.

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Posted in Education, Equip, Get HandsOn, Mobilize, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 2 Comments »

How to Get Started As A School Volunteer

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

This week NBC is hosting Education Nation, a nationally broadcast, in-depth conversation about improving education in America and we’re participating by sharing resources for volunteering in schools.

Even after you know you want to volunteer in a school, getting started can be intimidating.

Many people don’t know who to contact or where to begin.

Keep in mind that schools don’t always have a single person designated to manage volunteers, so you may have to be determined, persistent and patient.

(But it’s worth it!)

Here are a few ways to approach your local school about volunteering:"volunteering in schools"

Attend a Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meeting

By attending a PTA meeting, you will meet parents, guardians, teachers, and school leaders and learn about opportunities to get involved.

Approach a teacher, principal, or other staff member

Teachers and principals can often get you plugged in right away doing things like helping in a classroom or preparing projects and organizing curricula.

Principals may also know of a specific teacher, school secretary, librarian, special area teacher, or club/sport leader who could use your assistance.

If you have your own ideas about how you’d like to contribute, be sure to inform the teacher or principal.

Approach an existing club leader or coach

If you have a specific skill or talent that you would like to share, approach a club leader or sports coach.

There may be opportunities for you to lead projects, supervise activities, serve as trip coordinators or provide resources.

Attend a school board meeting

School districts often seek input and ideas from parents and community members.

By attending a school board meeting, you will meet school leaders and fellow community members and learn of new ways you can work with schools.

To find a school-based volunteer project, contact your local HandsOn Network Action Center.

For more ways to get involved, visit NBC’s Education Nation site.


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Posted in Education, Equip, Mobilize, Service, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 2 Comments »

33 Ways to Make A Difference in Schools

Monday, September 27th, 2010

From September 26-30, NBC will host Education Nation, a nationally broadcast, in-depth conversation about improving education in America.

Event highlights include a summit with top leaders in education, multi-media coverage on all NBC stations and online outlets, Teacher Town Hall with Brian Williams and interactive exhibits in Rockefeller Plaza.

Two of our national partners, University of Phoenix and American Express, are sponsors of this effort and will showcase opportunities for volunteers to make a difference in schools.

We hope this incredible conversation will inspire you to become part of the solution.

Here are 33 ways you can make a difference in schools:

  1. Assist a classroom (support a teacher)
  2. Coach a sports team
  3. Tutor
  4. Mentor a student
  5. Teach job and/ or professional skills
  6. Start a School Club: Books; Music; Drama; Art; Writing; Homework; Cooking… (What are you good at?)
  7. Volunteer as a Crossing guard
  8. Donate time as a Hallway monitor
  9. Become a playground monitor
  10. Support Service-Learning activities (see section: Practicing Service-Learning)
  11. Support the school Computer Lab
  12. Support the school Library
  13. Read a book to a classroom
  14. Start a school garden
  15. Support other parents/guardians by: carpooling, walking children home from school, waiting with children at the bus stop.
  16. Coordinate donation drives to support teachers and students
  17. Organize an annual school supply drive
  18. Organize a Fundraiser
  19. Supervise or judge the science fair
  20. Supervise evening or weekend activities
  21. Write grant proposals
  22. Attend School board meetings
  23. Chaperone events on and off school grounds (field trips, sports games)
  24. Read a book to a classroom
  25. Participate in PTA or school board meetings that take place once a week or once a month
  26. Create a classroom website for parents from home
  27. Organize a phone or email tree for parents
  28. Create classroom curriculum or materials from home
  29. Organize files for teachers from home
  30. Provide homework help to your child at home
  31. Encourage recreational reading and writing over television and video games to your child at home
  32. Supervise evening and weekend activities
  33. Organize a one-time project such as painting classrooms, school ground beautification, or a school-cleanup day

To learn more or to find a volunteer project near you, visit HandsOn Network’s Education Nation project search page.

Also, did you know that October 23rd is Make A Difference Day,the largest, annual day of service?

Make A Difference for kids in your community.

  • Spread the Word
  • Create a Project
  • Find a Project
  • Get Resources
  • Share Your Story


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Posted in Education, Inspire, Service, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 1 Comment »