Talking with WCPSS Volunteer Coordinator Toni Cooper about Volunteers
November 30, 2009 – WCPSS Volunteer Coordinator Toni Cooper says that volunteers take something back from their visits into school. Cooper says volunteers tell her that they take good feelings about our schools and feel very comfortable with the work they see with children. Cooper answers questions about volunteering in the school system.
What do you do for the school system?
COOPER: I have worked with the volunteer program for about 26 years. We put in an electronic registration system to help process our volunteers and also to implement the criminal background check system. So our challenge each year, starting July 1 is to get as many volunteers in the classroom and ready to work as we possibly can.
How do we go about doing that?
COOPER: The volunteers can go to a school to register. Any school is ready and willing to help them do that. And they can also go to Central Services at the Wake Forest Road building in the Customer Service Office and register there.
A lot of people who volunteer are actually parents who have children in the schools?
COOPER: Yes. That’s correct. In fact, this month we are currently approaching 28,000 volunteers this year that have already registered and had a background check and are out there working in our classrooms.
When you look at the people who volunteer, tell me a little about who they may be.
COOPER: This year we have had a large number of calls from individuals in the community that want to volunteer. Maybe they are between jobs. They want to stay active and they’re very qualified to go in and work with teachers and help them as much as they possibly can. They also have a lot of hours that they can donate.
The schools and the school system also do some recruiting with business groups and faith groups in our area?
COOPER: Yes. We have a significant number of churches with large congregations that are coming in to do tutor/mentor work with the students. We have volunteers that also come from the colleges and universities in the area. A lot of them are in the teaching profession and they are coming in. this is a good way to take a look at what it’s like in the classroom and how they are going to approach their once they are working in education. So they volunteer first to get that experience.
How difficult is it to participate as a volunteer in the schools?
COOPER: It’s just as easy as walking through the front door. Our schools are all embracing volunteers today. They’re doing a lot of training in the school and we also offer training to volunteers. We will go to any school and conduct the training if they are working with children in a one on one capacity.
So there are different ways that you can participate. One of the ways we look at participation is how much you will be working in a classroom or how you will actually be working individually with a child.
COOPER: Yes. Volunteers when they register may register for their ideal level. It may be a Level I and II where they are coming in and they are working with a teacher in the classroom or they are working someplace in the building with another staff member, or they are doing grounds maintenance work, helping to clean up the yard around the school building. Volunteers that are working one on one with a child or maybe going on field trips - our kids go everywhere today – then they are doing a lot more unsupervised work with students and therefore they require a background check. That would place them in a Level III or higher
We were lucky enough to have you with us as we went around Swift Creek Elementary. You pointed out different things that you found significant. Tell me about what you saw.
COOPER: I was surprised. We implement a model. It’s a literacy based model and I saw that in action. We’ve been using the model for about 10 years now so it’s really to see some things that have had longevity and that much value in the classroom. Volunteers help learn how to read, read for frequency and literacy improvement of course.
What else did you see?
COOPER: In one of the classrooms, they showed us a loft that was built by a parent. It had all the soft pillows inside and the bean bags. Down below, there was another area that a child could go in and just take a book and relax. Make them feel right at home. It just made the classroom very homey and very natural for children. All of that was made by a volunteer. It was made with large pieces of wood and painted with hand prints on it. It was very attractive.
How important do you see volunteers working in our schools?
COOPER: You know I’m probably prejudiced. I started as a volunteer. My journey through the school system, I’m still at it today and loving every minute of it. I see such value because it individualizes instruction for children. And also I think the parents and community take something back. I think they take good feelings about our schools and feel very comfortable with the work that we are doing with children.
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