Abstract

Buy-in from teachers is often crucial in making school partnerships work. Stacy Hanf, a teacher at Sacramento Elementary School in Portland, Oregon, shared the effective practices that worked at her school to engage teachers in a Seniors for Schools program. These practices were shared during a problem-solving clinic on school partnerships at the 2001 National Conference on Community Volunteering and National Service in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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Issue

The first year Sacramento Elementary School partnered with Experience Corps to involve seniors as volunteers, the evaluations of the program were low. The project director made a concerted effort to involve teachers in solving the problems addressed in the evaluation. The effective practices shared are a result of the problem-solving process.

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Action

The principal approached the teachers for feedback on the idea of welcoming seniors as volunteer tutors in the school. The volunteers were framed as people with a lifetime of experience to share with the students.

The program shared information about the volunteers with the teachers. Teachers needed to understand that the volunteers were not trained educators and the teachers would need to model and train the volunteers in education styles.

The Seniors for Schools program worked with the school to meet its needs rather than bring in a pre-determined program that did not allow for adjustments.

The training of the volunteers involved the project, the school, and the teachers. The Seniors for Schools program provided training in child development, the state benchmarks for reading, and how to work with schools. The schools provided training on literacy, the school, and the students. The teachers provided modeling of teaching strategies.

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Context

Experience Corps in Portland, Oregon, is a Seniors for Schools program that places teams of older adult volunteers in youth-serving sites such as schools. Volunteers serve 15 or more hours per week to help children meet education goals, address the social and emotional needs of students, and strengthen family and community support. Service activities include tutoring, mentoring, adult literacy support, and a variety of special projects.

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Evidence

After the program director involved teachers in improving the program, evaluations of the program improved in subsequent years.

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For More Information

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Related Practices

• Developing partnerships with schools
• Creating partnerships between schools and communities to support youth development

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