Parent volunteers are an integral part of the culture at A.E. Bowers Elementary School, according to Rocky View Schools Superintendent of Schools Greg Lauterbach.
“It’s not just about laminating and cutting. It’s about way more than that. It’s about extending the reach – the school is into the community; the community is into the school,” he said.
Former volunteer co-ordinator Pam Thursfield told trustees at the Board of Trustees meeting Sept. 22 the school has “active volunteers who make a difference in our school community.”
Thursfield volunteered at A.E. Bowers for five years, acting as volunteer co-ordinator for the past two years, until her child moved on to middle school.
As volunteer co-ordinator, Thursfield acted as the single point of contact for parents and teachers and attended all school council meetings.
“I have made myself very prominent within the school and visible in the school…When parents support the school, it supports the classroom, which in turn supports the child,” she said. “Many of the teachers have expressed their gratitude on a daily basis for the many things our volunteers have contributed.”
According to Thursfield, a number of the ways parents volunteer at A.E. Bowers are being noticed by school councils at other schools. One of these is the Helping Hands program.
Parent volunteers help teachers with their preparation work – laminating, cutting, pasting, sorting are just a few of the tasks these volunteers complete for the teachers.
“We get together a couple of times a month. The teachers email me what they need us to do…and we get it done,” Helping Hands co-ordinator Heather Edsel said. “What we can accomplish in an hour may take a teacher multiple hours after their instructional time and may, therefore, not end up happening.”
Volunteering helps the school, teachers and students, but the parents also get something back as well.
“I’m an emergency room nurse…and my job gives me the privilege of having the hours to be in the school, and the school gives me the privilege of being allowed to being in there and to contribute,” Edsel said. “Our principal, Barb Holden, says Helping Hands builds community within our school and it connects the kids and families.”
Thursfield agreed.
“It’s not just laminating. It’s not just cutting and it’s not just gluing. When you assist the teachers with things that impact student learning, you contribute to the success of those children in a very concrete way,” Thursfield said.
