Volunteer
"It has been my pleasure to work this Spring with Lynn Ross and her inspired Teacher Support Network at Sonoma Valley High School. The program provides needed assistance in the classroom on a weekly basis. The students frequently have the opportunity to work on a one-on-one basis with the volunteer.
Occasionally the volunteer can provide input to the subject matter and help the student to see it through 'other eyes', which can be beneficial to the students as well as to the teacher.
As a retired educator I find great satisfaction at being back in the classroom and am delighted by the warm reception given me by the students and staff. Sonoma Valley High School seems to be an ideal campus for this type of project. Congratulations to Lynn and to those community members who had the foresight to put together this undertaking. It is just what our schools need today because it brings the community and the educational world together, united in a common goal. When the school, the business community and interested community members work together toward improving student achievement and skill acquisition, great things will happen. It is the students who at the end of the day will be the real winners in this effort. Hopefully this program develops into a successful model which can easily be adopted by many other schools in Sonoma County. There is a need for volunteers from many backgrounds to join in this effort. It takes so little time but gives so much satisfaction."
Maridale Smith, TSN Volunteer
May 30, 2007
"I thoroughly enjoyed the AVID class today. I actually felt as if I made a difference. The same could be said for my experience in the history class on Monday. I've always enjoyed, as a teacher, when you could watch a child's facial expression change as the "lightbulb of learning turned on".
Michael George
April 3, 2007
Teacher
"Thank you so much for doing all this work and setting as teachers up with volunteers. Having a volunteer in my classroom has been a wonderful experience for my students and me. My students received the one to one interaction that they so much need in order to improve their German pronunciation and communication skills. I'm also lucky, that Maridale is a very experienced German teacher and she was able to share her experience. I truly hope that she can be my volunteer again next year.
I hope that you have a great summer and that we will connect again next school year.
With gratitude and best wishes."
Renate Kuprian
(German and Art teacher)
May 22, 2007