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San Diego County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
Smart Voter

THE IMPORTANCE OF VOLUNTEERING

By Jay Petrek

Candidate for Board Member; San Marcos Unified School District

This information is provided by the candidate
This article encourages parents and community members to volunteer in their local schools, which was printed in the High School Parent Newsletter.
One way to positively impact students' educational experience is to increase volunteer involvement in our schools. Research shows that the most accurate predictor of a student's academic achievement is not income or social status, but the extent to which that student's family is able to stay involved in their child's education at school and in the community. Being an involved parent or community member is an important factor in ensuring the success of today's schools. Many parents dutifully volunteer in the classroom during their child's elementary school years. Whether volunteering entails helping a student learn to read, assisting with a classroom art project, or collecting homework, teachers and staff welcome the support.

Parent Clubs and Booster Organizations involved in the San Marcos Unified School District have been instrumental in enhancing the academic, athletic and artistic experience for students in our schools. Unfortunately, parental involvement in school declines significantly once students transition to upper grade levels. But is volunteering any less important once your child reaches high school? There may be several reasons why parents cut back their volunteer efforts at their student's secondary schools, among them include:

  • Parents may have a student who would cringe at the thought of his or her parent showing up to volunteer at school. Those students would have you convinced that none of the cool kids have parents who even KNOW the way to the school.

  • Parents may feel intimidated by the new surroundings. San Marcos has big high school campuses with full-size students and a large staff. It can be overwhelming to learn a whole new set of rules, find your way around campus, or meet a whole new set of parents and staff.

  • Parents may feel that they have done their share of volunteering, and that it is time for someone else to step forward because the volunteer work always got done in the past.

As a parent who has volunteered at the elementary, middle and high school grade levels I encourage you NOT to accept any of these arguments as a reason to not volunteer at your student's school. While you probably won't be asked to volunteer in the classroom at the high school level, there are many other ways to participate in your student's high school Parent or Booster Club. Research clearly shows the positive correlation between family involvement and student achievement.

Among the findings:

  • The more parents are involved during a student's high school years, the higher the student's achievement, with improved grades and test scores, as well as better attendance.
  • Alcohol and drug use decreases as parent involvement increases.
  • High school students whose parents remain involved make better decisions, maintain the quality of their work, and develop more realistic plans as they move through the four years of high school toward life as an adult.

When schools, families, and communities work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more. Whether you have 30 minutes or a couple of hours, your time, your ideas, and your talents are needed. Contact your student's school and they can match your time constraints and interests to needed tasks. It really does make a difference in the lives of our children!

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ca/sd Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 7, 2012 16:22
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