One of the things that make Bonneville Academy special is that the school was conceived and brought to life by a group of devoted parents. Countless hours and years of preparation went into what has become a robust and active learning community. Parent involvement and volunteerism is at the heart of supporting the long term success of our students.
“As positive role models and student motivators, volunteers are viewed as contributing to better school attendance, improved grades and test scores, matriculation, less misbehavior, better social skills, staying in school, graduating, and going on to college” (UCLA, n.d.).
The Bonneville community of families are hard working, but also representative of communities across the country who are being pressed to do more with less resources. With the added complexity of navigating the expectations of pandemic protocol, schools are seeing decreasing numbers of parent volunteers. “Fewer parents are volunteering at their children’s schools, just as new research reveals it yields broader benefits for students than previously believed. These range from higher student grades and test scores to more positive peer relationships in middle school and lower rates of depression in high school” (Shellenbarger, 2018).
The research is clear, schools with parents actively engaged in volunteering experience:
- Higher grades
- College completion
- Better behavior
- Increased attendance
- Better community reputation
- More effective teachers
- Students with a positive attitude about school
- Increased social skills
- Fewer incidents of bullying (Noblehour, 2017)
Even with school visitation restrictions, there are still a number of volunteer opportunities available at Bonneville. Scot Vorwaller, a faculty member and Bonneville parent, suggests that it’s easier to volunteer when parents use talents and interests. Are you a photographer? Do you work in a STEM field? Are you an avid reader? Can you make a great spreadsheet? Any of these talents and much more can be put to use.
Bonneville encourages all parents to volunteer at the school in some capacity. If you have a talent that you would like to share or if you are just interested in contributing you can contact the Executive Director LeeAnn Prince at [email protected] or reach out to the Parent Teacher Organization at [email protected].
Bonneville Academy is a K-8 STEM school in Stansbury Park, Utah. Bonneville Academy will foster critical thinking and problem solving skills in a challenging, student-centered environment; by encouraging exploration in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Preparing students for success in our ever changing dynamic world.
