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More than 500 people volunteer at schools By Tim Bousquet Tidings Correspondent "We couldn't run the school without volunteers," says Michelle Zundel, principal of Walker Elementary School. "They allow us to give all sorts of opportunities to students that they wouldn't have otherwise." Educators across Ashland agree. From left, Ashland High School seniors Tucker Miller, 17, Emily Stone, 17, and Tony Laughlin, 18, call to students to inform them about upcoming school events. Ashland Daily Tidings/SATSUKI DOI "Volunteers help out at registration," says Sue Graham, the volunteer coordinator at Ashland High. "They work in offices and in the library, and in the classrooms, you name it." "Oh, the volunteers help at book fairs, at art night, at math night, they help in the reading program," says Amy Patton, a volunteer coordinator at Lincoln School. "We can't have enough of them." In all, more than 500 local people volunteer at schools in the Ashland School District, lending a hand at any number of chores. Volunteers read with students, assist in art projects, help out with landscaping, work in school offices and generally make themselves useful in any way possible. Volunteer programs in the schools are increasingly important in the wake of cuts in school budgets. One ambitious program, the Start Making a Reader Today program - SMART for short - makes use of 150 volunteers at Ashland elementary schools. SMART is a statewide program run by the Oregon Children's Foundation, explains Patton. "Reading is a life-long skill, and this program emphasizes reading." Students in qualifying schools are selected by teachers for pairing up with volunteer mentors. The volunteers devote half an hour twice a week to read with a student, with whom they work for the duration of the school year. "SMART Volunteers don't need any special skills," says Patton. "They just need to know how to read." Ashland High School is seeking about a dozen volunteers to help out with a new career counseling effort called Aspire. "Not enough scholarship money is being awarded to students," explains Steve Smith, a school counselor. "And especially for kids not at the top. We're not talking about the 4.0 kids, but the 3.0s and the 2.8s." Ashland High has just three counselors. "We're stretched thin," says Smith. "We need to service more kids. We do a good job with the top-end kids, because they come in looking for help. The kids down the line, though, don't get all the help they need. With three hundred kids graduating each year, the three of us can't get to them all. "Some of the kids may be the first in their family going to college, and nobody in the family knows to go through the scholarship process, and yet they're totally qualified." Aspire aims to match students with volunteers who will show them what career options are available and walk them through the testing and scholarship process. "Students are looking at their career options at a younger age," says Graham, the Ashland High Volunteer Coordinator. "It used to be that nobody worried about that until their junior or senior year, but now we have freshmen and sophomores wanting to have career counseling. "Aspire helps them figure out what they want and what they need to do to get there, whether to go to university or college, to tech school or directly into the workforce. A clear message that comes across is that you have to finish high school; it's hard to get a job without that basic requirement." Smith says that the Aspire program can make use of a variety of volunteers. "Some people will have lots of knowledge," he says. "There are a lot of retired people in our community who have been college professors or executives, and they'll be able to help us develop the program. But even if people don't have any special knowledge, we'll have people here that will train them to be mentors." Aspire is a program created by AmeriCorps, the federal volunteer program initiated by former President Clinton. As designed, AmeriCorps would make use of college students who would volunteer their time in exchange for educational credits and a small monthly stipend. "But," says Smith, "AmeriCorps pretty much got axed" by the Bush administration. "We had someone in mind to coordinate the program. She was going to work half time and get an educational grant and a monthly stipend, but when the stipend was cut, she couldn't afford to do it." Left without a coordinator, Smith and Graham are hoping to make the program a reality nonetheless. "It may take tiny baby steps to develop this program, but we'll move forward however we can," says Graham. "At first," adds Smith, "we'll meet the needs of the kids who come in and ask for it; we'll hook them up with a mentor. If this takes off, it will become a part of their educational requirements. We'll have a mentor with each student right from their freshman year, following them for four years." If, by chance, someone in the community would like to assume the AmeriCorps coordinator position, says Smith, "we need to know by Sept. 3. It should be someone who doesn't really need a stipend, and wouldn't mind the educational grant. They'd get $2362 in educational credits that can be used anytime in the next seven years to pay for tuition or school loans." But with or without the coordinator, Smith and Graham are in need of volunteer mentors. "It's especially good for people who've got kids in high school or if they have kids coming through the system," says Smith. "They'll learn the options available to their own kids." Volunteers role crucial, and growing: Volunteering at Ashland schools is easy People wanting to volunteer in Ashland Schools should stop by the district office, 885 Siskiyou Boulevard (immediately in front of the High School) and fill out a short form. The form asks potential volunteers which school they'd like to work in, subjects or sports they can help with and other ways they can pitch in, from answering phones to gardening to computer work. The district office then gives the information to the volunteer coordinators at each school, who in turn contact the volunteers. All potential volunteers are screened by the Ashland Police Department, and must be approved by the individual school administrators. Some pressing volunteer needs at Ashland schools include: o The SMART Program (Start Making a Reader Today) is a statewide program set up to help students at schools that fall below certain federal poverty levels, as judged by participation in the school lunch programs. Reading mentors are need for students in kindergarten through third grade; volunteers are asked to give a half-hour twice a week. SMART needs at least 50 volunteers at Lincoln, Walker and Helman schools. For more information contact the Rogue Valley Smart Reading Program at 734-5628 o Bellview School does not qualify for the SMART program, "but we have kids that need help too," says Principal Juanita Fagan. To meet that need, the Lithia Springs Rotary Club funds the Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) program. Volunteer readers and mentors are needed. For more information contact Bellview Office Manager Meg Wright at 482-1310. o Walker Elementary is the district's English Language Studies school, and so has many students who are learning English as a second language. The school has a big need for bilingual volunteers. Call Principal Michelle Zundel at 482-1516 for more information. ? Due to the closure of Briscoe School, Helman School has seen its enrollment jump from 210 to 340 students. "We are in need of volunteers across the board, especially to help in the 'easing in' and help make the new kids feel welcome," says Child Development Specialist Jennifer Doty. For more information contact volunteer coordinator Kathy Petersen at [email protected]. ? The newly created Aspire Program at Ashland High School needs up to a dozen volunteer mentors to work one-on-one with students. Volunteers will be trained in career counseling. A program coordinator is also needed, willing to work 20 hours a week in exchange for educational credit through the AmeriCorps program. For more information contact Sue Graham, the Volunteer Coordinator at Ashland High, at 482-8771 ext. 177. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -