This blog format wasn't ideal for conveying the information I wanted to share with current and potential volunteers, so I have started a new website at http://www.successinthemiddle.wetpaint.com/. That site contains details regarding becoming a volunteer as well as updates for each school or site and articles and links for volunteers who are interested in "continuing education."
Please join us there. :)
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Monday, July 28, 2008
Welcome to SUCCESS in the Middle
Welcome to SUCCESS in the Middle.
Although this site focuses more on school-based volunteering, it is not an official USD259 blog, nor is it directed only to volunteers at a school. My hope is to provide an avenue for folks all over Wichita to get engaged in the life of a middle schooler (or two or three or a group), whether it's at a school or through an agency or a church.
The short videos to the right are a collection of some nice moments from the 2007-08 school year at Coleman Middle School. If the reader is contemplating volunteering, the videos might provide a sense of how delightful it can be to spend time with a middle schooler or two (or more). It will also give a sense of the variety of things a volunteer can do.
WHO
The volunteers are a variety of ages and genders and ethnicities. Most school-based volunteers are employed full-time in businesses within a few minutes drive of a school, but there are a number of parents, retired folks and college-age and high-school volunteers, as well.
Couples and families can mentor a child together, as well, through Big Brothers Big Sisters' community-based program.
WHERE
Schools: Just about all middle schools would welcome volunteer tutors and mentors. See the list and locations at right and click here for more information.
Other Sites:
Atwater Community Center at 19th & Volutsia has an after-school "Homework Huddle" on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:00-6:30. Contact Pat Houston for more information.
Big Brothers Big Sisters has school-based options for volunteers who want to meet with one student once a week for a school year or more. Bigs in Schools is available in nearly all middle schools but the focus is on Title I schools (where a high percentage of students are near or below the poverty line) and children of prisoners. Click here for more information or call 263-3300.
Boys and Girls Club has options for after-school and evening tutoring and mentoring at both Wichita sites (Oaklawn and 21st & Grove). Click here or call 201-1890.
Communities in Schools facilitates tutoring, mentoring and groups in several middle schools (including Derby). Click here or call 973-5110.
Dellrose United Methodist Church has an after-school program on Mondays through Thursdays from 3:30-6:00. Contact Dorothy Hillyard for more information.
GoZones has an after-school program serving middle schoolers at Orchard Park (4808 W. 9th). The Fairmount Church site, at 16th & Fairmount near WSU, has a Saturday option between 12:00-3:00. Click here for more information.
Tabernacle Baptist Church has an after-school tutoring program at the church (near 17th & Hillside) on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:00-7:00. E-mail Gladys Kee or call her at 744-2741. (A couple of Spanish-speaking volunteers are needed here).
Wichita State University's TRIO program runs a homework time from 3:30-6:30 Mondays through Thursdays at Brennan Hall. Contact Stephanie.Haynes@wichita.edu or call her at 978-6758.
Community-based Programs
Big Brothers Big Sisters has options for individuals, couples and families to be matched with a child from their waiting list. Call 263-3300 for more information or click here to be directed to their website.
Youth Horizons is a faith-based community-based mentoring program that matches volunteers with children whose parents have requested that church and faith be a central part of the mentor/mentee relationship. Click here or call 262-8293 for more information.
WHY
Volunteers tutor and mentor middle schoolers for a variety of reasons. Most remember the challenges of middle school/junior high and they know how nice it would be to have another caring person come alongside and provide encouragement and support during this critical time. They consider their time with middle schoolers, who relish the attention, to be a nice break in the week rather than one more thing on the schedule.
Volunteers from churches are often getting involved as a response to the teachings of their faith. High schoolers and college students sometimes volunteer for required service hours. Regardless of the reason they first jump in, many folks come out of the experience feeling unexpectedly blessed.
WHAT
At schools and other sites, volunteers can practice reading comprehension with a student or two or a small group, they can help with math or general homework or they can meet with a student or a small group before school, at lunch or after school to chat about school and life and/or play board games, shoot baskets, do arts and crafts, etc. Some schools and after-school programs need volunteers to "float" and help whoever needs it, as well.
If students are being tutored during class time, the focus usually must be the classwork or homework or building basic skills. During lunch or after school, the options for activities are more varied.
Volunteers in community-based programs, like Big Brothers Big Sisters and Youth Horizons, pick up their student and spend a couple of hours 3-4 times a month doing whatever sounds fun.
WHEN
School-based volunteers typically come for about 40 minutes during the school day (options exist between 7:10 and 5:00); each school has a different menu of options. After school they can usually stay for anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes.
Site-based volunteers
Most volunteers who are employed full time come over their lunch hour. College and high school students tend to come in the afternoons. Retirees and parents of the middle schoolers seem to choose mid-morning. Volunteers who aren't working outside the home sometimes come for two or three sessions back to back and stay for anywhere from 40 minutes to 2 hours or more.
Community-based volunteers (Big Brothers Big Sisters and Youth Horizons) schedule their meeting times to fit their interests and availability.
THE CHILDREN
School programs: Many of the students selected for participation in school-based programs are at risk of dropping out of school down the road because they're falling behind in academics but many are just choosing not to make the effort to do as well as they could. Some students are struggling socially. A list is usually created at the beginning of the year based on reading and math assessment scores, then students are then added throughout the year as teachers or administrators recommend them, or as parents ask for tutoring or mentoring. Students themselves often ask to join a group or they request tutoring.
Volunteers often wonder if the students want to be there. Surveys from the 07-08 school year indicated that the great majority of the students were glad to have a tutor or mentor or participate in a group. Surveys also indicated the middle schoolers preferred groups to individual tutoring or mentoring (which is not a surprise at this age when their peers are so important to them). Students meeting one-on-one with a Bigs in Schools volunteer, however, were very happy with their "Big".
Community-based programs: A parent or guardian signs a child up for Big Brother or Big Sister or Youth Horizons. Children in these programs are usually from single-parent homes.
THE RESULTS
The last several years, participating students have made significantly greater average gains on standardized tests than those who remained on the waiting list. Even better, those students' attitudes toward school and their relationships with other students improved. One 6th grade girl reported that “kids you didn’t think was cool end up your friends." An 8th grade girl wrote that her small group leader had helped the group tone down the “drama” and treat each other better. A 6th grade boy reported that he preferred meeting with his mentor to spending that time with his friends because "he does fun stuff with me."
Studies of Big Brothers Big Sisters have shown that children with Bigs tend to make significant gains in several important areas. For more information see the BBBS website.
NON-TUTORING/MENTORING OPTIONS
If tutoring or mentoring won't fit into your schedule or is not your "thing", the schools and organizations above can give you additional options for supporting their programs (helping with data entry, assembling materials, making phone calls, helping get the word out at your school, church or place of employment, providing food for a special event or even making a donation to support the program).
HOW TO GET STARTED
Click here to indicate interest in volunteering and you will receive a form to complete indicating your preferences regarding location, schedule, activities, etc. You may also click on any of the links above or call the numbers given and tell them you'd like to consider volunteering. They'll answer any questions and tell you next steps.
Although this site focuses more on school-based volunteering, it is not an official USD259 blog, nor is it directed only to volunteers at a school. My hope is to provide an avenue for folks all over Wichita to get engaged in the life of a middle schooler (or two or three or a group), whether it's at a school or through an agency or a church.
The short videos to the right are a collection of some nice moments from the 2007-08 school year at Coleman Middle School. If the reader is contemplating volunteering, the videos might provide a sense of how delightful it can be to spend time with a middle schooler or two (or more). It will also give a sense of the variety of things a volunteer can do.
WHO
The volunteers are a variety of ages and genders and ethnicities. Most school-based volunteers are employed full-time in businesses within a few minutes drive of a school, but there are a number of parents, retired folks and college-age and high-school volunteers, as well.
Couples and families can mentor a child together, as well, through Big Brothers Big Sisters' community-based program.
WHERE
Schools: Just about all middle schools would welcome volunteer tutors and mentors. See the list and locations at right and click here for more information.
Other Sites:
Atwater Community Center at 19th & Volutsia has an after-school "Homework Huddle" on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:00-6:30. Contact Pat Houston for more information.
Big Brothers Big Sisters has school-based options for volunteers who want to meet with one student once a week for a school year or more. Bigs in Schools is available in nearly all middle schools but the focus is on Title I schools (where a high percentage of students are near or below the poverty line) and children of prisoners. Click here for more information or call 263-3300.
Boys and Girls Club has options for after-school and evening tutoring and mentoring at both Wichita sites (Oaklawn and 21st & Grove). Click here or call 201-1890.
Communities in Schools facilitates tutoring, mentoring and groups in several middle schools (including Derby). Click here or call 973-5110.
Dellrose United Methodist Church has an after-school program on Mondays through Thursdays from 3:30-6:00. Contact Dorothy Hillyard for more information.
GoZones has an after-school program serving middle schoolers at Orchard Park (4808 W. 9th). The Fairmount Church site, at 16th & Fairmount near WSU, has a Saturday option between 12:00-3:00. Click here for more information.
Tabernacle Baptist Church has an after-school tutoring program at the church (near 17th & Hillside) on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:00-7:00. E-mail Gladys Kee or call her at 744-2741. (A couple of Spanish-speaking volunteers are needed here).
Wichita State University's TRIO program runs a homework time from 3:30-6:30 Mondays through Thursdays at Brennan Hall. Contact Stephanie.Haynes@wichita.edu or call her at 978-6758.
Community-based Programs
Big Brothers Big Sisters has options for individuals, couples and families to be matched with a child from their waiting list. Call 263-3300 for more information or click here to be directed to their website.
Youth Horizons is a faith-based community-based mentoring program that matches volunteers with children whose parents have requested that church and faith be a central part of the mentor/mentee relationship. Click here or call 262-8293 for more information.
WHY
Volunteers tutor and mentor middle schoolers for a variety of reasons. Most remember the challenges of middle school/junior high and they know how nice it would be to have another caring person come alongside and provide encouragement and support during this critical time. They consider their time with middle schoolers, who relish the attention, to be a nice break in the week rather than one more thing on the schedule.
Volunteers from churches are often getting involved as a response to the teachings of their faith. High schoolers and college students sometimes volunteer for required service hours. Regardless of the reason they first jump in, many folks come out of the experience feeling unexpectedly blessed.
WHAT
At schools and other sites, volunteers can practice reading comprehension with a student or two or a small group, they can help with math or general homework or they can meet with a student or a small group before school, at lunch or after school to chat about school and life and/or play board games, shoot baskets, do arts and crafts, etc. Some schools and after-school programs need volunteers to "float" and help whoever needs it, as well.
If students are being tutored during class time, the focus usually must be the classwork or homework or building basic skills. During lunch or after school, the options for activities are more varied.
Volunteers in community-based programs, like Big Brothers Big Sisters and Youth Horizons, pick up their student and spend a couple of hours 3-4 times a month doing whatever sounds fun.
WHEN
School-based volunteers typically come for about 40 minutes during the school day (options exist between 7:10 and 5:00); each school has a different menu of options. After school they can usually stay for anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes.
Site-based volunteers
Most volunteers who are employed full time come over their lunch hour. College and high school students tend to come in the afternoons. Retirees and parents of the middle schoolers seem to choose mid-morning. Volunteers who aren't working outside the home sometimes come for two or three sessions back to back and stay for anywhere from 40 minutes to 2 hours or more.
Community-based volunteers (Big Brothers Big Sisters and Youth Horizons) schedule their meeting times to fit their interests and availability.
THE CHILDREN
School programs: Many of the students selected for participation in school-based programs are at risk of dropping out of school down the road because they're falling behind in academics but many are just choosing not to make the effort to do as well as they could. Some students are struggling socially. A list is usually created at the beginning of the year based on reading and math assessment scores, then students are then added throughout the year as teachers or administrators recommend them, or as parents ask for tutoring or mentoring. Students themselves often ask to join a group or they request tutoring.
Volunteers often wonder if the students want to be there. Surveys from the 07-08 school year indicated that the great majority of the students were glad to have a tutor or mentor or participate in a group. Surveys also indicated the middle schoolers preferred groups to individual tutoring or mentoring (which is not a surprise at this age when their peers are so important to them). Students meeting one-on-one with a Bigs in Schools volunteer, however, were very happy with their "Big".
Community-based programs: A parent or guardian signs a child up for Big Brother or Big Sister or Youth Horizons. Children in these programs are usually from single-parent homes.
THE RESULTS
The last several years, participating students have made significantly greater average gains on standardized tests than those who remained on the waiting list. Even better, those students' attitudes toward school and their relationships with other students improved. One 6th grade girl reported that “kids you didn’t think was cool end up your friends." An 8th grade girl wrote that her small group leader had helped the group tone down the “drama” and treat each other better. A 6th grade boy reported that he preferred meeting with his mentor to spending that time with his friends because "he does fun stuff with me."
Studies of Big Brothers Big Sisters have shown that children with Bigs tend to make significant gains in several important areas. For more information see the BBBS website.
NON-TUTORING/MENTORING OPTIONS
If tutoring or mentoring won't fit into your schedule or is not your "thing", the schools and organizations above can give you additional options for supporting their programs (helping with data entry, assembling materials, making phone calls, helping get the word out at your school, church or place of employment, providing food for a special event or even making a donation to support the program).
HOW TO GET STARTED
Click here to indicate interest in volunteering and you will receive a form to complete indicating your preferences regarding location, schedule, activities, etc. You may also click on any of the links above or call the numbers given and tell them you'd like to consider volunteering. They'll answer any questions and tell you next steps.
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