From Our Readers: Getting Working Parents Involved
Thanks to the readers who told us how your schools recruit volunteers who work outside the home. Some of you described the creative ways you find to volunteer and the efforts teachers and other parents make to involve you. Others say schools and parent organizations still have a lot to learn to make full use of your time and talents.
Ideas That Worked
Work with your parent group to get organized:
Mom Lynn Payne says her school divided jobs into three categories: "This year for the volunteer sign-up sheets we color-coded them:
- White: Volunteer work during school hours
- Yellow: Volunteer work after school, at home, nights, weekends
- Red: donate food or water for an event (for those really busy parents)
This worked wonderfully and the working parents really appreciated having jobs that they can do during non-school hours. It also helped the person running the event because they knew ahead of time when volunteers were available."
See if your employer will approve paid time off for volunteer work:
Jacki, an Ohio mother of a child with special needs, writes: "I am fortunate to have a great boss who allows me community service credit hours for time I spend helping with field trips, class projects, etc. Many companies, these days, encourage community service from staff. If not, suggest it."
Work with your employer to get more flexible work hours:
This won't work for everyone, but one Missouri mom of five sons reports that she's been successful: "I have a day of the week that's a late day, and on the morning of that day I go to both schools and give assistance where needed." This mom is lucky enough to have an employer who understands the importance of school involvement. On days when there are school programs during work hours, "I am allowed to take an extended lunch or leave early to attend those events. I will video, take pictures, set up or anything I can do to help. Most of my vacation time is used to go on field trips and go to different functions at my sons' schools."
Volunteer at special events:
Jane, an Iowa mom of two, says both she and her husband have jobs and volunteer at school. Her suggestion: "Either choose events that don't coincide with work (such as Family Fun Nights or other fundraisers) or events that occur on a more individual basis such as holiday class parties or field trips. Because those things are usually scheduled well ahead of time, we can make arrangements to take time off work to be there. Overall we do what we can, and we don't beat ourselves up when we can't volunteer as much as we'd like. And when a neighborhood mom mentions how she volunteers every Thursday afternoon at school reading with the kids, we just remind ourselves that we do our best to balance both work and school, knowing that it's a tough task many people just like us willingly tackle every day."
Share a job:
California mom Wendy McIlveen suggests: "I just thought I would share with you what I volunteer for on a yearly basis at the elementary school my son goes to. In the beginning of every school year, teachers always post what they need parents to volunteer for the class. Well since I work full time and also have two older children (middle school and now college), I always volunteer to be the room mom, on the condition that I share that duty with another mom. It really is great. I get to be involved in all the fun stuff, like planning parties etc. The best part is I can do it in the evening or use my lunchtime to send emails to other parents. Not to mention, my son loves saying his mom is the room mom. He does wish I could come in and work in the classroom, but I just explain the situation to him, and he's OK."
Getting involved may mean extra time for your child:
California mom Tanya Newsom says: "I am a working parent volunteer. My daughter struggles to get her classwork done, so I take my lunch hour and go into her classroom three days a week to help her catch up. She just needs a little more one-on-one, and with a class of 20 students the teacher can not really provide a lot of one-on-one. I feel this helps all of us. Once she starts working independently I will help out in other areas."
