Children whose parents take the time to be involved usually do better at school. They work harder because they sense it's important to their parents. Also Mom or Dad has a better idea how to help with studying and homework because they're familiar with the classroom, the teacher, and what's being taught. Being in the school also allows parents to have an influence on students other than their own children, instill values, and speak to school personnel about troubling issues.
Whether you are at home or work outside the home, there are many ways you can help.
1. Volunteer in the front office. They might have you Xerox tests and worksheets or stock the teacher's boxes with flyers to go home with their students.
2. Offer to decorate a hallway. You can put up seasonal displays, information about school events or sporting events. You could also ask teachers for student work to display.
3. Take photos of school events, field trips, and life around the school. Put together a bulletin board or help with the school yearbook.
4. Offer to help with the soup labels, box tops for education or monthly book orders. Cutting, counting and tallying all of these mini-fundraisers is an overwhelming job for an overly busy teacher or office staff member. If your school doesn't take part in these programs, get the information and present it at a PTO meeting.
5. Organize a school clean up day to pick up trash, repair or paint playground equipment, fix up the grounds.
6. Take your talents into the classroom. If you're a writer, hold an in-class seminar or talk about your work. If you're a computer whiz, take your computer into your child's classroom and teach them or offer to teach computer lab once a month. If you're a carpenter, offer to build something for your child's classroom.
7. At the middle school or high school level, offer to hold an enrichment class or sponsor a club in your area of expertise before or after school.
8. Host a simple teacher luncheon or breakfast once a grading period. Send home notices with students asking them to send in food on a certain day.
9. Help with lunchroom or playground duty. This is a good way to get to know the students, meet your children's friends and have an impact on many children at one time.
10. Organize a pen pal program. Do you have nieces or nephews in another town or state? Pair students in that classroom with students in your child's classroom. Letters could be written once a month and sent to the school to be distributed to each student.
11. Tutor a student who is struggling. This will help the student improve and free the teacher from trying to work with a child who can't stay up with the class.
12. Offer to read to the students. Dress up like a character in the book, give background information on the author, and make the book come alive for the students.
13. Offer to cut, staple or paste together projects for a teacher. Getting projects ready for the younger grades can be very time consuming.
14. Find out what special supplies teachers will need for projects during the year such as baby food jars or strawberry cartons. Make up a notice and send it home with students asking parents to save and send in those supplies. Organize them until they're needed.
15. Call the local paper about special events taking place so that they can send a photographer and represent your school in the newspaper.
16. Support the teachers and send them notes of encouragement. Everyone needs a boost once in a while!
These jobs may seem small but together they free up the teachers and office staff for more important jobs. They also help you improve a very important learning community!