Partners in Education
October 2023
Volunteer and Partnership Liaisons welcome you back.
Welcome to the 2023-24 school year! We are so excited to see our returning volunteers and welcome new volunteers. Presently we have over 15,000 approved volunteers and the number keeps growing. To ensure the safety of our students, staff, and visitors, there are a few steps to complete before beginning your service as a volunteer. Please click here to see our process.
With heartfelt thanks to all who support APS students and programs
Thanks to the generous donations of school supplies from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the American Public Power Association (APPA), and the American Legion, Dorie Miller Post, students at Hoffman-Boston Elementary School can have the supplies they need at the beginning of the school year and throughout the year as supplies need to be replenished. DIA and the American Legion, Dorie Miller Post have been long-time partners and have supported Hoffman-Boston with annual school supply drives and support for other school events for many years. APPA reached out to us last Spring to offer a partnership to support our school needs. We are thrilled to have them as a partner and friend to our school this year. The continued support from our many partnership organizations not only helps provide our students with the tools they need to learn and be successful, but also benefits our families, teachers, and the entire Hoffman-Boston school community.
Carlin Springs Elementary School would like the thank the community for its enormous support to our students and teachers. We were prepared and stocked with supplies and tools for learning! Our network of supporters has helped ensure our students and staff are ready to transition back to school this fall. Every gift has helped us start the school year stronger and has brought great positivity. Thank you to our amazing partners from St. Ann Catholic Church; the Arlington Jaycees; St. John’s Episcopal Church; Kids GIve Back; and dozens of other groups and individual donors who purchased items from our school Amazon Wish List.
The Barrett Community would like to thank our friends at AHC Inc. and Bu-Gata for helping us distribute over 250 book bags and supplies to our families. Attached is a photo of representatives from each organization that often work closely with many of our families, and still make time to volunteer their time and services for other activities within our building.
Thank you to the Arlington County Police Department for delivering backpacks containing school supplies to the Arlington Career Center. These backpacks were donated by the Community Engagement Division of ACPD and have provided students with the necessary tools to have a successful school year!
Volunteer Spotlight
Montessori Public School of Arlington
After a long summer of being allowed to grow wild, as nature intends when the grounds are unattended, our garden and outdoor spaces we seriously in need of some TLC. Enter the Montessori Outdoor Spaces committee! Lead by parent Sara Upchurch, this group of volunteers came in for several hours on the Saturday morning before school began to weed, cut and trim garden and plant bed areas, as well as our decorative planters at the entrance of the building, leaving us with beautifully aesthetic spaces for our students and staff to work, study and enjoy! This group comes to do this work every other month, typically on weekends. Our PTA, also made up of volunteers, supports this effort by providing drinks and other refreshments.
This summer Tyler Chamberlain, big brother to former Long Branch Elementary School student Thomas Chamberlain, worked hard to complete his Eagle Scout Project with help from members of BSA Troop 164. The main body of his Eagle Project was completed on June 17th and included installing and building two new planter boxes and a mulch bed in front of the school. During that time Tyler had the help of about 20 youth and adult volunteers. Over the remaining weeks, with help from his family, the Lion was completed.
Long Branch is grateful to be the recipient of the volunteer project that beautifully preserved our Long Branch Lion.
Opening the 2023-2024 school year off right was on the minds of our Wakefield High School Admin team. A few days before school started, Ms. Jeri Glaze answered a late evening request by Principal Balas looking for a volunteer to help decorate the front town hall bulletin cases for the first day of school. Ms. Glaze, an active APS parent and artist, rose to the occasion! She took supplies home to work on the project on Saturday and returned to school the next day with her student to complete and display the banner in time for the first day of school. Ms. Glaze’s hard work and amazing talent was well appreciated by Dr. Duran, Principal Balas, and the WHS staff & students. THANK YOU for your support!
Whoever said that volunteering isn’t rocket science, hasn’t been to Taylor Elementary School to have lunch with Dr. Morris L. Aizenman, or as he is more affectionately known, Dr. A.
For the past 12 years, Dr. A has been a common fixture at Taylor, as a regular volunteer and occasional substitute teacher. He leads the “Q&A with Dr. A” lunch bunch three days a week, gathering three different groups of students, grades K through 5 each day. Teachers from each class and grade level decide which students will be a part of the week’s lunch bunch – and he meets up with as many as 50 students per week at these informal Q & A sessions.
While questions are mostly about space and dinosaurs, students can ask him any question they want about science. Aizenman says topics have ranged over all fields of science, from astronomy, biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics. And depending on the question, it may result in discussions amongst all of the session’s participants.
APS Volunteer turned Employee
A former volunteer at Langston High School Continuation Program, Amy Sebes, recently signed on as a part-time APS employee as an EL support teacher. Amy spent the last year helping students with their standardized testing with great success. Amy brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her new EL position at Langston. Amy has taught for 30 years in six countries and has volunteered at Langston at different times in the last 5 years in between teaching positions. Her positivity and dedication are what has helped so many of our students complete their standardized testing in English, reading and writing. “I love working with all students, especially ones who might struggle with some of the basics due to missed early education or fundamentals in English. It’s a joy to see them reach their potential and graduate, and I love the important work we do at Langston!” says Sebes.