Volunteers Back In Class At Minneapolis Schools
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Now that students are back in class, so are a whole other group of folks: school volunteers.
Schools across the state rely on help from members of the community, to support the work of teachers and staff.
In Minneapolis, the district says they're seeing people of many different walks of life make time to help out, in a variety of ways. But they still need more volunteers.
You remember what it was like in school -- the kids far outnumber the adults in the building.
What's cool about volunteering in schools today is that the opportunities are far more diverse than they've been in the past.
And everyone from working professionals to retired folks to college students are discovering they have something to offer.
She's retired, but every Tuesday for a couple of hours, Charlotte Davnie hangs out with 5-year-olds at Webster Elementary.
She knows how much her volunteer work is valued.
"Particularly with young children, an extra set of hands, so that the teacher can actually concentrate on teaching, is helpful," Davnie said.
She finds her time at Webster rewarding.
"To see the growth in the kids, to see the kid who struggled with knowing their alphabet at the beginning of the year, and then thinking back with them reading in the spring -- it's wonderful," she said.
Reading with a student is not the only thing you can do as a school volunteer. There's work to be done outside the classroom.
Kaylie Burns Gahagan is the volunteer coordinator for the Minneapolis School District.
"Pillsbury Elementary in Northeast Minneapolis has a biking class," she said. "All the fourth graders go bicycling with their teacher. They need volunteers. That's just a silly, off-the-wall, awesome opportunity for students that we really, really need volunteers for."
If you'd prefer to not have direct contact with kids, you can help out in other ways.
"I do get requests from schools every once and a while that say, 'Hey, I really need someone to help me out in the library. I need to re-level my books in the library,'" Gahagan said.
School social workers say the presence of volunteers can often help improve student attendance and behavior.
"Volunteers are somebody extra special that these kids are looking forward to seeing, and it helps motivate, helps bring them to school sometimes," Jessica Harrington, a social worker at Webster Elementary, said.
Here's how the volunteer application process works with Minneapolis Public Schools. You go online, share some information about yourself and your interests and then they match you up with a school. You have to attend an orientation session once you're signed up, and some volunteer opportunities require background checks.
Go to the district's volunteer website to see details.
