Virginia Beach City Public Schools encourages and values volunteer involvement. One of the five strategic objectives of the school division's Compass to 2015 Strategic Plan is to "create opportunities for parents, community, and business leaders to fulfill their essential roles as actively engaged partners in supporting student achievement and outcomes for student success." To accomplish this, we partner with the Virginia Beach Council of PTAs to coordinate volunteer programs.
Our schools need your help at both the elementary and secondary school levels. Your special talents and skills can offer enrichment to the school curriculum, and your willingness to be involved benefits all students. Volunteering is your opportunity to take an active role in the education of the youth of Virginia Beach.
Our volunteers are parents and grandparents, retirees and students, business people and community members - who care about schools and want to be involved in education in our community. You may volunteer through the Parent Teacher Association's Volunteer in Education or Junior Volunteer in Education program (for students), through the Golden Circle program for seniors and retirees, or through your workplace in the Partners in Education program.
We match volunteer talents to school needs. There's important work to be done! Volunteers perform many different duties in and out of classrooms and schools, including:
Speaking about careers;
Making classroom presentations to enhance the curriculum;
Serving on task forces, school planning councils, and other decision making teams;
Serving as greeters at school entrances;
Duplicating papers;
Tutoring and mentoring students;
Making classroom materials;
Helping with events.
Our volunteers wear lots of hats. Some serve as:
Classroom assistants
Tutors
Lunchroom monitors
Clerical assistants
Nurse's helpers
Storytellers
Library aides
Transportation aides
Members of curriculum committees
Members of textbook adoption committees
Teacher's helpers at home - creating bulletin board materials, art project elements, etc.
Members of school planning councils and advisory boards
Mentors to students
Chaperones for special activities
Assistants for athletic events and sports teams
Coordinators for special events
Facilitators of enrichment classes/clubs
More than 20,000 Volunteers in Education participate in volunteer activities annually. Still more are needed.
Volunteers can commit to valuable service tailored to fit their schedules. They can volunteer for as little as an hour a week or a few times a year or as often as every day.
Attend a PTA meeting or visit your neighborhood school and ask how you can become involved
Complete a Request to Volunteer form and send it to the Office of Community Relations, 2512 George Mason Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23456
If you're interested in serving on advisory boards, task forces or other decision-making bodies, complete the Talent Bank form.
Volunteers need to get orientation training for the schools or departments where they'll work. They will need to know where to check in, operating procedures, basic skills to perform tasks assigned, and specific skills training for the tasks they'll complete. All
of this information will be provided when you volunteer.
Why is volunteering good for me?
Research indicates that volunteers feel healthier and better about themselves and are more committed to the success of their communities.
Why is volunteering good for the schools?
Volunteers provide an extra set of hands, help increase community support for schools, and give teachers more time to concentrate on instruction.
Why is volunteering good for students?
Volunteers in schools lower the adult to student ratio, show students that adults outside of school think education is important, and help students see that community service is worthwhile.
