Facts about the Seniors & Students Program
Seniors & Students is a volunteer program designed to recruit, train and place senior citizen volunteers age 55 and older in the Hamilton School District. Volunteers work with teachers and other staff to support student learning.
Program expands since inception
The Seniors & Students Program has successfully grown since it was originally implemented in the 1998-99 school year when 24 senior citizen volunteers served as reading tutors for elementary students. Today, over 200 senior citizens are involved in the Seniors & Students Program and volunteer in a variety of ways. The program has a direct and indirect impact on more than 1,000 students.
- More than 20 senior volunteers work as tutors – some providing direct assistance in elementary and middle school classrooms and others at the high school where they monitor computer labs, tutor and help with homework in Club Success.
- A number of volunteers eat and read with students in Time to Learn and Connect (TLC) Cafés at Lannon, Maple Avenue and Marcy elementary schools.
- The Pen Pal Project was created as a spin-off of the original program and involves senior citizens who correspond with nearly 400 Grade 4 students developing real-life writing skills.
- Middle school students capture living history by interviewing senior citizens for class projects. The experiences of one generation are passed along to another, providing a great point of connection among different age groups.
- Volunteers provide clerical assistance throughout the district and for many special projects.
- Senior citizen volunteers have provided numerous contributions to make the lives of students more comfortable including the donation of handknit hats and mittens and handsewn quilts.
自成立以来,老年人和学生意志eer Program has contributed more than 141,834 hours of service in the Hamilton School District.This equates to more than $3 million worth of services for our students!
Volunteer training & responsibilities
Volunteers receive training at an initial orientation session and at an annual kick-off meeting at the beginning of the school year. They help students practice and reinforce strategies learned in the classroom and assist teachers with a variety of tasks including: supervising students in a computer lab; helping kindergarten students with pre-emergent reading checklists; helping students with homework during recess and after school; assisting students in the library; providing support to students who need monitoring; reading to students; listening to students read; providing clerical and organizational support for classroom teachers; assisting teachers gather instructional resources; and critiquing writing drafts.
Resources
If you have any further questions, please contact Jeannette Choate, Seniors and Students coordinator, at (262) 246-1973 orchoaje@hamilton.k12.wi.us.