S�p������ September 2018
www.MoonValleyTattler.com
VOL 38 No. 9
More Classroom Volunteers Needed; Training Dates Set - Volunteers Help Improve Student Learning BY MICHAEL BEARDSLEE Classroom volunteers trained and placed by Your Experience Counts contribute significantly to student learning and motivation according to both principals and teachers in an end-of-year survey. One principal commented, “The YEC volunteers not only provide extra support for the students, but become coaches and encouragers for the teachers. They become an integral part of the classroom.” More than 100 teachers and principals completed the survey at the end of the 2017-2018 school year. According to Mike Beardslee, YEC Program Manager, 92% of principals and 90% of teachers said that volunteers made a significant impact or contribution to student learning. 93% of teachers said that their volunteers helped improve student Margee Beardslee, a volunteer in the Washington Elementary School District, has supported students at Orangewood (pictured) and Moon Mountain Elementary during her 4 years with YEC. motivation to learn. Your Experience Counts serves schools in the West Valley (Dysart Unified and Imagine Desert West), East Valley (Mesa Public Schools), and Phoenix (Osborn, Balsz, and Washington Elementary School District). “We placed 92 volunteers in 25 schools last year,” Beardslee stated. “Based on requests for support from teachers, we will need 40 new classroom helpers to join us this school year.” While many volunteers are retired from professional fields, the military and education, others are stay-at-home moms, part-time workers or college students. Several husband-wife teams serve as volunteers. Most volunteers spend two-to-five hours per week in grades three through six working as a partner with a mentor-teacher supporting small groups of students in math, reading and other subjects, including STEM. Dealing with large class sizes and the need to provide small group interventions, teachers particularly value having a trained and caring adult volunteer to support them. Elena Dowers, a teacher at Moon Mountain Elementary, says of her volunteer Margee Beardslee, “I loved having the support for my English Language Learners. My volunteer could adjust to the needs of the student. I have some great ideas for next year and would love to have a volunteer again.” Margee, a retired teacher and seasonal resident, plans to return to the classroom in November. Mae Nevarez, who taught a second-third grade combo class last year at Solano Elementary in the Osborn District, said of her volunteer, Maria Salvucci: “She has helped many struggling students in math. The kids love having her in the room and the extra attention she gives them. I hope she can stay with me for a long time!” YEC, a program of HandsOn Greater Phoenix, provides extensive training for volunteers in reading and math strategies and small group management. Two-day training sessions for new and returning volunteers are scheduled for: Aug. 22-23 in central Phoenix; Sept. 24-25 in Mesa; and Oct. 3-4 in Surprise. Training dates for volunteers in north Phoenix are being planned in conjunction with WESD for early November. For more information, or to volunteer for the 2018-2019 school year, contact Beardslee, mike@handsonphoenix.org; 623-223-9248; or visit http://handsonphoenix.org/YEC
Tattler goes to Austria! This past July, the Moon Valley Tattler traveled to Graz, the second-largest city in Austria and the capital of the province of Styria. Moon Valley next-door neighbors, Mrs. Hara Evenson-Sanders and Mrs. Natalie Walker posed for pictures with the Tattler at the top of the Schlossberg, the city’s castle mount, under the Clock Tower, the famed landmark of Graz built in the year 1560. Natalie, an Austrian native, greatly enjoyed pointing out the historical sights and culinary delights of her hometown to Hara and her family. The visitors from Moon Valley especially loved the famous dark-green pumpkin seed oil of the region, also referred to as the “green gold” of Styria.