Facts about the Seniors & Students Program
Seniors & Students is a volunteer program designed to recruit, train and place senior citizen volunteers age 55 and older in the Hamilton School District. Volunteers work with teachers and other staff to support student learning.
Volunteers receive training at an initial orientation session and at an annual kick-off meeting at the beginning of the school year and are invited to attend other events in the winter and spring.
Program expands since inception
The Seniors & Students Program has successfully grown since it was originally implemented in the 1998-99 school year when 24 senior citizen volunteers served as reading tutors for elementary students. Today, over 200 senior citizens are involved in the Seniors & Students Program and volunteer in a variety of ways. The program has a direct and indirect impact on more than 1,000 students.
- More than 20 senior volunteers work as classroom volunteers.
- A number of volunteers eat and read with students in Time to Learn and Connect (TLC) Cafés at Lannon, Maple Avenue and Marcy elementary schools.
- The Pen Pal Project was created as a spin-off of the original program and involves senior citizens who correspond with nearly 400 Grade 4 students developing real-life writing skills.
- Senior citizen volunteers have provided numerous contributions to make the lives of students more comfortable including the donation of handknit hats and mittens and handsewn quilts.
Since its inception, the Seniors & Students Volunteer Program has contributed more than 141,834 hours of service in the Hamilton School District. This equates to more than $3 million worth of services for our students!
Resources
If you have any further questions, please contact Jeannette Choate, Seniors and Students coordinator, at (262) 246-1973 or choaje@hamilton.k12.wi.us.
