CRESTVIEW — There are many ways volunteers could help the Okaloosa school system.
“You can choose to be involved in school-wide activities, such as helping with clubs, band parents, and so on,” Henry Kelley, Community Affairs executive director, said. “Many schools have after-school programs and reading programs where your knowledge and skills can be used to help educate our students.”
Here are some of the positions that volunteers fill at county schools.
MENTOR/READING TUTOR
“We always need mentors at all academic (K-12) levels throughout the county. The district screens, orients, trains and matches volunteer mentors with students, and maintains support of mentoring relationships between students and mentors,” Kelley said.
Mentoring students benefits them in various ways. According to the Okaloosa County School District mentoring handbook at http://www.okaloosaschools.com/district/sos-mentor, more than half the mentored students showed more positive attitudes toward school and had higher levels of self-confidence. Their relationships with adults and their peers improved, they could express their feelings better, and they achieved higher grades.
Mentors meet regularly with students for 30-45 minutes once a week at the school campus, with no off-campus contact.
A background check, confidentiality, strong ethics and values are required, and mentors must have good character, be respectful, and model appropriate behavior.
They must be good at goal setting and problem solving as well.
ART TEACHER
Okaloosa Volunteer Art Lessons are taught in kindergarten through fifth grades. People who volunteer in the program will help students develop their ability to view, create and enjoy art themselves for about a half-hour a few times a week.
Volunteers must enjoy art and working with elementary school age children.
For more information, see the OVAL handbook, http://bit.ly/2a8KnVt.
GENERAL VOLUNTEERING
OCSD volunteers can help students develop basic skills during the learning process.
Exercises could include planning a task and following it through; asking students questions that lead them to a correct answer instead of telling them the answer; and guiding them on out how to carry on a conversation with others.
Volunteers take their directions from teachers or other staff members. They must respect school, student, record and relationship confidentiality, be dependable and adaptable.
OKALOOSA COUNTY SCHOOL FOUNDATION
The nonprofit foundation blends volunteer and financial resources to affect education countywide.
“It functions as a direct support organization for the OCSD under Florida Statute 1001.43,” Kelley said.
Scholarship programs, tutoring students in how to apply for them, Coats for Kids and school supplies collections are some of the benefits the foundation supports for Okaloosa students.
“We always need mentors, funds for our Take Stock in Children Scholarships, and grant partners,” Kelley said. “The foundation is uniquely positioned to receive matching funds from the Florida Legislature, and we can really enhance donations to the district through the foundation.”
WHERE TO BEGIN
So, let’s say one of these volunteering opportunities caught your eye. What can you do next?
Assisting is as simple as contacting the Office of Community Affairs, 833-7614, for details.
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BY THE NUMBERS
●Number of volunteers for kindergarten through 12th grades: 1,700
●Hours they served: nearly 8,500
●Timing: 30 minutes to 1 hour a week
Source: Okaloosa County School District, for 2015-16 academic year
●Number of volunteers for kindergarten through 12th grades: 1,700
●Hours they served: nearly 8,500
●Timing: 30 minutes to 1 hour a week
Source: Okaloosa County School District, for 2015-16 academic year
BY THE NUMBERS
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Volunteer opportunities abound in Okaloosa schools