I support a group of five bilingual fourth graders at Loma Verde Elementary School in Novato with reading, writing, and language arts learning, which is simply a pleasure and one of the highlights of my week. Though the kids are a number of years away from college, my hope is that helping them build solid reading, writing, and thinking skills; enthusiasm for school and learning; and an expectation that they will go to college sets them on a successful path towards a college degree.
What has delighted me about volunteering this year is that I have begun to feel more and more a part of the classroom community. I have learned so much from the talented, experienced, and genuinely caring teacher who provides me with assignments and exercises for the kids and always checks in with me at the end of my session. And the kids are bright, happy to meet as a group, and respectful. They are also very social, funny, and sometimes rambunctious (but happily so!), which presents a fun challenge for me to keep them on task! I’ve recently had some success using the incentive of books I bring from home to read aloud together at the end of our session – one recent picture book involved each of them taking turns “singing” rhyming prose which got all of them smiling, clapping, and even beat-boxing to the beat!
Last year, the teacher told me that she had seen real academic improvement in some of the students in my group, which was so gratifying to hear. I hope that we continue to see improvement in all of our kids this year. In addition to providing more individualized academic assistance, I honestly think that just being another caring adult at school as a 10,000 Degrees volunteer is what can help steer the kids towards academic success. I feel fortunate that I can be one of those adults who can ask them if they’re feeling ok when they may not appear to be; talk with them about what it means to be a good student; and encourage them to see college in their future.
Academic Success Volunteer since 2024
4th Grade Language Arts Support, Loma Verde Elementary
College Essay Support, Novato High School
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