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THE VALUE OF VOLUNTEERS Washington Elementary School volunteer Karen Glockling shares a laugh with daughter Anna Sue Glockling, 7. Educators say volunteers confer a host of priceless academic, emotional, social and monetary benefits on both students and schools. (Mail Tribune / Jim Craven) Mail Tribune Jim Craven) Thursday Sep 14, 2006 at 2:00 AM Feb 16, 2011 at 10:48 AM Paris Achen,Mail Tribune Mentors contribute greatly to academic, emotional and social aspects of education — The mother of four adopted children and two foster kids, Karen Glockling is on the scene every school day at Washington Elementary to volunteer her time to help supervise children in classrooms, give new families tours of the campus and chaperone field trips. In her professional life, Glockling also recruits volunteers to read with at-risk students in kindergarten through third grades through the Start Making a Reader Today program, or SMART, at Washington. "Without its volunteers, this school would be very sad with all the budget cuts and everything else," Glockling said. "Volunteers keep the them from unraveling." The value of volunteerism in schools is almost impossible to capture, educators say. But they say volunteers confer a host of priceless academic, emotional, social and monetary benefits on students and schools. The most tangible results & 8212; cost savings and test scores & 8212; indicate volunteers help fill gaps in the educational system and pupils' outside social network. Nearly 3,100 volunteers in the Medford School District gave about 73,000 hours of their time in 2005-06 working in the district's 18 schools. That time equals about $1.3 million in value to the school district of about 12,500 students, according to the 2005 rate estimated by the Independent Sector, a Washington, D.C., leadership group for philanthropic organizations. Likewise, in the Central Point School District of about 4,500 pupils, volunteers logged about 11,500 hours in 2005-06, equaling about $207,500 in monetary value. A survey of local teachers in the spring by Rogue Valley Manor Community Services, administrator of two volunteer programs in local schools, suggested that 84.2 percent of at-risk pupils who spent time with a senior mentor through the volunteer Foster Grandparent program were academically at or above grade level. One hundred percent of the teachers surveyed indicated they felt foster grandparents contributed to the success of those students. Officials from schools and volunteer organizations in Jackson County said there is a hunger for more volunteers and often in specific areas. "Teachers are overwhelmed by class sizes and mounting state and federal requirements, so if anyone can go in and work with students, it helps," said Becky Snyder, executive director of RVMCS. For example, White City Elementary in the Eagle Point School District needs volunteers to help tutor students in writing, said Principal Jay Sparks. Officials with Kids Unlimited, an after-school program for at-risk youth, want more volunteer mentors and tutors in a variety of subjects. "Our after-school program may take the place of help with homework at home," said Tom Cole, executive director of Kids Unlimited. Some people are reluctant to volunteer at schools because of time constraints, Snyder said. However, there are plenty of one-time volunteer opportunities and weekly lunch-hour programs such as Lunch Buddy in which volunteers mentor an at-risk student during lunch. SMART also requires one hour a week during which volunteers read to two students who are struggling with literacy. Snyder said she usually invites prospective volunteers to visit a school where a volunteer is working with children. "When they see volunteers in action, people see volunteering isn't a huge time commitment, the kids adore having them there, which is an ego booster, and they can help children who are missing things in their life," Snyder said. For Glockling, the parent volunteer at Washington Elementary, giving time at her children's school is also a part of parenting. "You lose some of your self-centeredness when you help others, and that's a good principle to teach children," Glockling said. Reach reporter by calling 541-776-4459 or .