More parents should volunteer at schools

Editor,

I would suggest a New Year’s resolution for Utah’s parents and grandparents who entrust their children to local schools. Help these schools and the teachers within.

Day in and day out, teachers work to meet the highly individualized needs of each student. Whether it is devising a remedial math lesson, modifying a presentation for ESL students, implementing structured behavior management plans for troubled class members, or adapting to the ever-changing requirements of core standards, teachers face daunting challenges. As was horribly demonstrated last week, we even know that our educators are prepared to die protecting students – our children. Help them.

For 10 years I have volunteered in an elementary school that my grandson once attended. This year, in addition to enrichment presentations, I am reading weekly with fifth and sixth grade students who are working on fluency and comprehension goals. In a class of 32 learners, the family of only one student has stepped forward to help in that fifth grade class. Where are the other parents and grandparents?

If Utahns expect responsive, accountable educators, then the public must put itself put back into public education. Volunteer to laminate materials, copy and collate supplements, walk the halls at lunch, shelve books, read with a child, or review math facts. Be there in the New Year, please.