Why should I be a AfterSchool Academies Volunteer?

The AfterSchool Academies is a new partnership in Transformation Waco, (TW) which adopts best practices from each of the after school programs at TW schools and helps to align their mission, volunteer recruitment, and sustainability.

Our schools have enjoyed activities like:

• Kayaking, biking, and rock wall climbing with Baylor Bear Adventures
• Cooking and utilizing our school garden to learn about nutrition with partners like Baylor Nutrition Outreach Waco, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, and the awesome Ms. April Strickland and Ms. Kay Bell
• Leadership groups such as Delta Academy through Delta Sigma Theta
• Sports including tennis (thanks to the Waco Tennis Association!), soccer, basketball, flag football, yoga, and Ultimate Frisbee
• Destination Imagination competition coached by Baylor Society for Black Engineers, Crazy 8s Bedtime Math with Live Oak Classical School, Pioneer Games lead by the Historic Waco Society, and Storytelling taught by the amazing Vivian Rutherford of Waco-McLennan County Libraries

Benefits to Volunteers

· It's fun!

· Volunteers gain personal and professional satisfaction in helping a student

· Volunteers gain interpersonal skills

· Volunteers gain a deeper understanding of student and societal perspectives

Benefits to the Students

· Students engage with a positive role model

· Students are encouraged to have a growth mindset

· Students are exposed to new experiences and people from diverse cultural, socio-economic, and professional backgrounds

· Students receive the one on one attention of a concerned friend

· Students gain emotional and social growth

· Students experience increased confidence and self-esteem

What are the different ways I can volunteer?

There are 2 volunteering options:

-Lead a course: Whether you like fashion or first aid or web design – chances are we have students who would like to learn about that too. If you can’t think of anything, ask us. We have lots of ideas!

-We also need plenty of 1 on 1 AfterSchool tutors and helpers for the people who are teaching classes. This would be a one-hour commitment one day a week. (Or as many days as you want!)

I'm interested! How do I start?

To start off, complete the AfterSchool Academies Application 2019 and the Waco ISD Volunteer Application (NOTE: old applications are cleared on August 1st and must be completed every school year)

We will review your submission and after we've confirmed whether you may be a good fit, you will need to complete campus specific requirements below.

Additional JH Hines Requirements

• Meet with Robin Newman, J H Hines Volunteer Coordinator, for campus orientation.
• Review J H Hines Volunteer Handbook
• Review J H Hines AfterSchool Academy Handbook
• Review Volunteering at Hines Dos and Don'ts
• Complete J H Hines Volunteer Agreement

Additional ISMS Requirements

• Download each of the documents listed below. Be sure to open the presentation in PowerPoint because some features will not work properly otherwise. Complete the worksheet and then submit to Juanys.Martinez@wacoisd.org
  • NOTE: the AS Training Manual should be viewed as a reference; don't worry about memorizing all of the details, the objective of this document is to serve a guide for general program questions, as well as, a source for sample activities etc.

Questions? Ask here

Contacts:

• For JH Hines Elementary School (JHH)- angela.ceccato@wacoisd.org - 254-753-1362 (office), 254-339-3097 (cell)
• For Indian Spring Middle School (ISMS)- Juanys.Martinez@wacoisd.org - 832-477-8176 (cell)

Past Projects at ISMS

Check out the following resources:

• Afterschool Program Videos
• Afterschool Program Pictures