GrandInvolve school volunteer program to expand in Mason District

GrandInvolve volunteers help classroom teachers.

GrandInvolve, a volunteer program that arranges for older adults to provide individual help to students in local elementary schools, is gearing up to expand to all schools in Mason District.

The volunteers help students with reading and math in the classroom and provide whatever other assistance the teacher needs. The program focuses on Title I schools, which serve a high proportion of lower-income or minority students or students who are learning the English language.

The program currently operates in two Mason District schools – Parklawn and Weyanoke.

To facilitate the expansion, GrandInvolve is seeking a core group of volunteers to serve on a committee for Mason District. The committee will establish goals and objectives, develop timelines, network in the community, market the program, and develop community partnerships for recruiting school volunteers.

People who want to serve on the regional team should be familiar with civic groups, business groups, and contacts in community. Anyone interested in serving on the regional team for Mason – or volunteering in a local school – should contact Dorothy Keenan at [email protected].

There will be an information session about GrandInvolve in Mason District in February at a date and location to be determined.

Keenan founded GrandInvolve six years ago at Crestwood Elementary School in Springfield. It eventually expanded to Parklawn ES in Lincolnia, Herndon ES, and Mount Vernon Woods ES.

A GrandInvolve volunteer.

Keenan’s original idea was to have GrandInvolve in the four corners of the county, and accessible to anyone within a half-hour drive.

In more recent years, the program has become available to all Title I elementary schools in the Mount Vernon and Lee districts. A total of 23 schools have GrandInvolve now, encompassing more than 160 classroom volunteers and 30 leadership volunteers.

Keenan expects it will take two years to get GrandInvolve into all Title I schools in Mason District. It’s currently in Weyanoke Elementary School, as well as Parklawn. The ultimate goal is to have GrandInvolve in all Title I schools in Fairfax County within 10 years.

GrandInvolve volunteers provide individual attention to students in the classroom. “We don’t read to children; they read to us,” Keenan says. “We help them with reading comprehension by helping them understand words and asking them questions about the story.”

Volunteers sometimes work with a small group of three to five children, helping them with a math or rhyming game, for example, or helping students with a project. Volunteers don’t need any experience in education.

GrandInvolve volunteers must commit to at least one hour a week, but most of them do more. Each participating school has a staff person – usually a vice principal or guidance counselor – who matches volunteers with teachers.

Although the program targets older people, and Keenan started it after volunteering in her grandchildren’s classroom, the name “GrandInvolve” doesn’t mean it’s focused on grandparents. It’s about giving retirees a “grand purpose in life,” she says. “Most boomers are looking for a purposeful retirement.”