Volunteer Spotlight | Jeri, Ada Vista Elementary School, Ada, MI
Ada Vista Elementary is a Spanish Immersion School; a magnet program available to Forest Hills elementary students. Here, students are involved in experiences that prepare them for life in a global community. Beginning in kindergarten (or in the district’s tuition-based preschool), students are immersed the Spanish language.
Students learn the same curriculum as other students in the district, only they are taught in Spanish. Students learn to read in Spanish in first grade. English reading instruction begins in second grade and increases as the student progresses through subsequent grade levels. Expectations for communicating in Spanish also increase. Most children who attend this program can be expected to attain developmentally appropriate bilingualism.
Today, our Volunteer Spotlight shines on Jeri, PTO Vice President at Ada Vista school. Jeri uses VolunteerSpot's online signup sheets to manage volunteer parents who help at the Spanish Book fair and the Lunch Bunch group, who both in the lunchroom and at the book fair.
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Tell us about your role as a parent volunteer leader.
For the past two years, I have been the Vice President of the PTO at our school. In addition, I have developed and organized the Spanish Book Fair at our school. Ada Vista is a Spanish-Immersion Elementary K-4 school.
How do you use VolunteerSpot to coordinate your parent volunteers?
Volunteer Spot was of great use to me in organizing the 80+ volunteers during the Spanish Book Fair. It was easy to plan the event/activities/times etc. for my book fair. I simply input the emails and sent out the requests. After the dates/times were set, it was so fun to check and see who signed up and what times were still open. I loved the fact that I did not have to personally answer each email about dates/times, etc. for signups!
Spanish Book Fair Activities included:
-contact volunteers
-set up calendar/volunteer opportunities for Set-up, Working Book Fair Preview and Sale hours, and Tear Down
-send email reminders of volunteer dates
-print our daily schedules for event
-send out corrections/changes to schedule
-send out Thank you notes to all volunteers
-scanned list of volunteers to remind those who had not 'visited' the site to sign up!
We're using VolunteerSpot for our 'Lunch Bunch' group who work the lunch room & the Scholastic Book Fair. We are encouraging more of our parent leaders to use Volunteer Spot so all of our activities/schedule will be with one website for ease of volunteering!
What other activities are you involved in as a volunteer or volunteer leader?
At Ada Vista I help run the Lunchtime Arts PTO program, and serve on the PAC (Parent Advisory Council), as well as many other volunteer requests throughout the year. I also consult part-time as an interior designer.
What’s one piece of advice you have for parent volunteers out there?
Get Involved! Take volunteering seriously! If you decide to volunteer, 'be there' and do not treat it with any less responsibility than you do any other 'appointments' in your daily schedule. Get to know those parents around you (especially at elementary level), because you will keep on seeing them at the many events that take place throughout your school/district.
Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?
Another PTO member mentioned it to me and it sounded easier than what I was doing last year.
Anything else you’d like our readers to know about your school, event, or volunteering?
Ada Vista Elementary is a Spanish Immersion School with a magnet program. Our students are involved in experiences that prepare them for a life in a global community. Beginning in Kindergarten students are immersed in the Spanish Language.
The teachers and staff are very dedicated, and parents are very involved. When parents select to send their children to Ada Vista, they know that they are expected to have more parent involvement than a traditional school. This parent-involvement results in fun activities, great learning opportunities, and many wonderful programs for both the staff and the children.
To learn more about Ada Vist, visit http://www.fhps.net/adavista/
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We salute Jeri and all the other parent volunteers out there making a difference in our schools. If you're using VolunteerSpot, write and tell us about what you're doing and give us a chance to shine our Volunteer Spotlight on you!! Just email us at [email protected].