Reframe the ask

“If I could come up with another word for volunteering, I would,” Amanda says. Instead, she lands on “experience” as a stand-in, emphasizing that the activity of the day is just a starting point that could lead to new skills, new friends, or other outcomes beyond completion of the task at hand. “There’s nothing more exciting than feeling part of something bigger.”

Connect the work you’re asking parents to do with larger stories about their child’s education and experience in your classroom. Reframe your quarterly clean-up as a showcase of students’ projects from the last few months and a preview of the learning to come. Chaperoning is an opportunity to connect with local community organizations and learn about their family programming.

Be open-minded

How many parents play a musical instrument, can teach a short language lesson, paint, sing, dance, are a photographer, wrote a book, or have some other skill set they bring to the table?

While the practical chores of a classroom always need doing, there is great benefit to offering space to tap into the unique abilities of the parents in your community. Not only does this create fun learning opportunities for your students, but you also show parents that you value and celebrate their contributions. This may also help parents with similar interests or backgrounds find and connect with one another.

Amanda shared her experience with the power of discovering opportunities to give back that align with your passions and interests:

“I really hope that [volunteering] moves in a direction where people aren’t ‘checking the box’ because it can be wildly impactful. I was very artistici when I was younger [so], every summer, I did face painting for the Rotary Club. I would buy some face paint and I would rope in a bunch of my friends. And it was fun, but it was volunteering and I ended up winning awards.”

Clear communication is key

From the initial request (“Help us clean our classroom!”) to the assigned tasks (“You’re on Windex duty!”), your relationship with your parent volunteers depends heavily on communication, and the more explicit and frequent, the better. As mentioned, the primary source of my aversion to volunteering at my son’s school is a fear that I will clear my schedule only to find that my time is essentially wasted because I lack any clear direction. A specific ask and thorough instructions on-site are two easy steps that go a long way in setting and managing expectations.

“It’s not rocket science, but you do need to think about it,” Amanda advises when working with organizations unsure of how to manage their volunteers. “You have to think about the experience that the volunteer is going to have. And that starts the moment they first interact with you.”

Share outcomes

An important part of building that connection mentioned above is including volunteers in the process. Ask for (and implement!) their feedback about the volunteering experience. And bring things full circle; let volunteers know how their efforts moved the needle. Did the auction prize basket they organized fund new art supplies? Were your students still sharing fun facts for weeks after the field trip the parent chaperoned?

As Amanda noted, “I think there’s nothing worse than feeling like you did something, and you just feel like you were plunking in your card: checking in, checking out.”