FARMINGTON — Volunteer Hailey Jarvis chased first-grader Ruby Alexis in a game of tag Thursday during recess at the Mallett School.
In Emily Schanck’s kindergarten class, volunteer Allicia Hilton worked with students Isaac Reynolds, Bowen Lawless and Irelynn Kangas.
Jarvis and Hilton are sophomores at the University of Maine at Farmington who participate in the Regional School Unit 9 Volunteer Program coordinated by Erica Emery. It is Emery’s first year in the position, which was reduced to 20 hours a week last year because of budget constraints.
However, that doesn’t mean the volunteer requests go down.
Emery is working on a number of projects. She has implemented an online volunteer registration site on the district’s website at www.mtbluersd.org/district-information/volunteers.
Email is much faster than phone calls, she said.
She continues to work on volunteer recruitment opportunities and strengthening what is in place.
Emery has a list of volunteer opportunities ready for the spring, including Winter Fun Days, Mt. Blue Middle School Career Day and field days at the district’s elementary schools.
If a teacher requests a volunteer, Emery draws on a pool. If someone from the community comes to her and asks to be a volunteer, she tries to match them to a need. She screens and trains the volunteers.
Another resource is parents who volunteer to help in classrooms.
“It’s really great to see so many people who are excited about being in a school,” Emery said. “I think schools are happy places. There is a lot going on. People tend to gravitate to schools. They are full of young, happy people.”
One big challenge is finding the people who meet the teachers’ needs, she said. “We have so many parents who are willing to go on field trips, do baking and provide class supplies.”
But there is a gap because they are losing the consistency of volunteers coming in daily or weekly.
Another challenge is getting more volunteers into the schools on the outskirts of the district.
“Mallett School is pretty well-positioned because of the proximity to UMF,” Emery said. It is difficult for UMF students to get to Cape Cod Hill School in New Sharon or Academy Hill and Cushing schools in Wilton, she said.
There are great volunteers there, but they could use more, she said.
“I have a retired teacher come in every day,” first-grade teacher Rhonda Hartford said. “She reads with the kids, does sight words with them and brings in treats. The kids feel she is part of the class. When she is not there, they get upset.”
Jarvis, who is studying psychology, is a “lunch buddy” for Alexis. The two hang out at recess and have lunch together. They play games, including tag and duck, duck, goose. Alexis’ classmates usually join in the fun.
“I really see that I have an impact on the kids,” Jarvis said. “She tells me often that she has more friends because I am there. It builds her confidence.”
Hilton, who is studying elementary education with a concentration in mathematics, did her practicum in the classroom this past semester and was a lunch buddy last year.
“I like working with children,” Hilton said. “I like being here because I want to be here. I get to harness my skills as a future educator and I get smiles 24 hours a day.”
When she was a buddy to a kindergartner last year, she saw him blossom.
“It was nice because he was shy and I was able to get him to open a little bit,” Hilton said. “He talked and smiled more.”
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