As the school year cranks up, some Tellico Village residents are working to help students in Loudon County succeed.
The Adopt-a-Class program, started by Karen Hamerslag, is entering its third year and provides classroom volunteers as well as school supplies for Loudon and Steekee elementary schools.
“The first year, my husband and I started volunteering in the fall and liked it a lot, so that’s when I devised the program and worked on the specifics with the (former) vice principal at Loudon, which is Donna Stapleton,” Hamerslag said. “Now she is currently the principal at Steekee. Then that spring we had a pilot program of I think 17. Last year was our first full year in operation and we had close to 50 people involved in various capacities. So that was really good and we’ll match that amount this year.”
Volunteers are matched with a classroom at one of the two schools and will donate time once or twice a week, assisting teachers in any way they can.
“We are there not so much for busy work, but to interact very specifically with the children so we can tutor them either individually or in small groups,” Hamerslag said. “I spent a lot of time in first grade helping with reading, early math skills and much more advanced work when they go on.”
Jason Graening volunteered last year with pre-k and third grade.
“It’s just so rewarding to see the smiles on their faces and be able to help them with their academics,” he said.
Graening called the volunteers “advocates” for the children in the classroom.
“I think it’s very important ... to be a helper with the kids directly instead of just helping the teacher,” he said.
Volunteer Peggy Dupont found lots of positives in being a part of the program. She gets the chance to be around young children and help them grow academically. Many Villagers are separated from their own grandchildren for much of the year.
“The volunteers from Tellico Village are happy to be there and help the children,” she said. “… A lot of them are retired teachers or have other backgrounds where they can help the students. The students seem to really appreciate it. You’re helping them and you see the progress over the year.”
Bonnie Pierce volunteered last year and is now overseeing school supply donations for the program.
“It’s just another adult in the room that maybe has another point of view or another story,” Pierce said. “… You never know how what you do or how you say something is going to effect a child in the future in a positive way.”
Hamerslag hopes Villagers volunteering in the classroom will help open the eyes of students to the big world around them.
“A lot of the local children have a very insulated environment,” she said. “Their parents, their extended family, the parents friends are all fairly local people. The children don’t, in their normal lives, have very much exposure to adults from other backgrounds. So we are such a diverse community … and we bring that with us as part of our personality and let the children learn about the great big world out there and open their minds.
“… I like to think that we are opening their eyes to other possibilities in their lives where they may develop an interest from something we say that may lead to a career or travel or other experiences, hopefully continued education,” she added. “That’s something very special this Village can offer when we participate in this program.”
There are still openings for volunteers. The biggest need is for volunteers to help in computer labs — with older students on more complex programs and younger students who are learning the basics.
For information on volunteering, contact Hamerslag at 352-219-1046 or adopt.a.class.tn@gmail.com.
Supplies needed
While classroom volunteers are the foundation of the Adopt-a-Class program, those who don’t have as much time to give can still help by donating school supplies throughout the year.
“The children that are served by these schools come from families that aren’t always able to go to the school and buy what is very expensive — many of the supplies and if you get all of the supplies,” Hamerslag said. “We felt that was a new need to ask the community to help with back to school supplies and so we started a drive before school started so we would be able to accommodate those children their first day of school. We have had a remarkable response from the community.”
Pierce has already delivered numerous car loads of supplies to each school, but anticipates what has been donated will run out quickly.
“Honestly, you think about it at the beginning of school. People go into stores — and it doesn’t matter where you go — and there are just these giant displays of back to school items,” Pierce said. “Well, school’s started now and now Halloween stuff is out in the stores. I tend to think that people maybe are reminded at the beginning of school of the need but not all through the year. … They run out of paper. They run out of crayons.”
Donations can be dropped off at The Public Library at Tellico Village or the Tellico Village Welcome Center.
“Everybody knows that teachers end up spending money out of their own pocket and teachers are not well paid,” Hamerslag said. “We should be supporting these excellent, warm, very effective teachers. We are an island of affluence in a county that has greater needs. Loudon County, 75 percent of the children qualify for aid. We are able — even just very small donations from the majority of Villagers could support these schools for years, frankly.”
Villagers can also help through DonorsChoose.org, where they can make tax deductible donations, or through Pampered Chef, which allows for fundraising house parties.
Supplies requested include sharpened pencils, erasers, glue sticks, crayons, notebook paper, two-pocket folders, spiral notebooks and construction paper for students, and classroom supplies such as dry erase markers and cleaner, tissue, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and Band-Aids.
Cash donations are also accepted and can allow for more specialized products to be purchased.
For more information, call Hamerslag at 352-219-1046 or Pierce at 516-413-0177, or email adopt.a.class.tn@gmail.com.
