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Overview
Overview
Whether your program is providing classroom support or you are creating a tutoring program, investing time in your program design and implementation will make for a smoother semester for all stakeholders involved. Ideally you should connect to your community partner early in the process to allow you to better match the services your organization is providing to the needs of the community. Remaining flexible, communicating with staff, and being open to new ideas will help guide you to a successful semester.
Whether your program is providing classroom support or you are creating a tutoring program, investing time in your program design and implementation will make for a smoother semester for all stakeholders involved. Ideally you should connect to your community partner early in the process to allow you to better match the services your organization is providing to the needs of the community. Remaining flexible, communicating with staff, and being open to new ideas will help guide you to a successful semester.
Objectives
Objectives
As you design your community program and plan for its implementation, consider the following objectives and how your organization can best accomplish them. A SMARTIE goals worksheet is available to provide you with a document to identify goals for each objective and assist in maintaining accountability for accomplishing them.
Understand existing community based efforts and their impact
Engage in early conversations with a community partner about their needs and hopes
Identify what makes your program unique
Identify a consistent point of contact within your organization for your community partner
Commit to the requirements and expectations of your volunteer job description
Create a sustainable transition plan which includes members, advisors, and your community partner
Consider what your program will look like when it reaches its full potential
Key Concepts & Guiding Questions
Key Concepts & Guiding Questions
The following key concepts are intended to help you assess how your organization is addressing the guiding principles of K-12 partnerships and community engagement.
Relationships
Fostering Long Term Partnerships
Is continuous communication with the community partner worked into the program design?
Moving From Individual To Collective Action
Has your leadership consulted with others outside of the organization on program design or implementation?
Equity
Starting With Community
Has your organization had conversations with community leaders or members on the skills they can offer and needs they have?
Centering On Equity
Does your program benefit underserved communities? How can you tell?
Compliance
Does your program and organization meet U-M Center for Campus Involvement (CCI) and U-M Children on Campus (COC) requirements?
Awareness
Connecting Civic Learning Across Contexts
Does your program provide opportunities for organization and community members to contribute their educational, personal, and community knowledge before, during and after the program?
Power
Acknowledging Power
Do all members of your organization have the opportunity to contribute ideas and knowledge to the design process, and feel comfortable doing so?
Research
Research
Research on volunteer program design and implementation identifies some select practices which assist in developing prepared and engaged volunteers (Arendale, Lindo et al., Melzer, Robinson et al., National Student Support Accelerator).
The most successful programs operate with a community first, asset based perspective.
Consistency within the program develops stronger relationships between student and the volunteer, as well as between the community partner and the organization.
Offerings
Offerings
Below are a few extra resources to assist in designing and implementing your program.
Plan for logistics (scheduling, transportation, funding, etc.) prior to reaching out to a community partner
Search through the Do Good Well Resource Platform for transportation, funding, and other logistic resources
Review the AAPS volunteer / educator agreement for areas to consider when designing your program
Assess your organization with the Volunteer Program Planning Checklist to develop or expand a program
If your program will be virtual, look through these recommendations for developing an online tutoring program
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