FOR the RECORD
February 2017
Volunteer News: Highlighting SPS Volunteer Lisa Lynch
Lisa Lynch is an extraordinary person and a SPS volunteer who was recently interviewed as a nominee for the Jefferson Award for Public Service. The Jefferson Award Foundation was created in 1972 by the American Institute for Public Service. The Jefferson Awards are given at both the national and local levels. Local winners are ordinary people who do extraordinary things without expectation of recognition.
Lisa, pictured below, is a Navy veteran who served her country, and now as a volunteer, is serving Springfield Public Schools. She is a "one of a kind" people who has a love for children and a passion for giving to others. She has been a regular face at Boyd Elementary for the past 11 years assisting in a fifth grade classroom.
In addition, Lisa has been organizing, setting up, and volunteering daily at the BOOK FAIRS at four other schools (Pipkin Middle School, York Elementary, Mark Twain Elementary and Boyd). She has worked these book fairs for over 10 years. She gets no pay check for her work or time. At the time of this newsletter Lisa has logged over 813 volunteer hours since July 1, 2016.
Her joy in the involvement with various Book Fairs assisting and helping children having a book of their own. She is trying to make sure children who cannot afford a book of their own will get a book of their choice at the book fair.
Children and staff adore her and fondly refer to her as Ms Lisa, and some even call her Grandma Lisa. We are honored to have Lisa as part of the SPS Volunteer Program. Her gift of time and service to our schools is priceless. We are very proud of her and what she has accomplished as a SPS Volunteer.
Volunteers are Very Special to Us
The table below shows the number of total volunteer hours by buildings whose volunteers log their volunteer time.
McKinney-Vento and Students in Transition
If your student/family lives in any of the following situations:
- In a shelter
- In a motel or campground, park, abandoned building, bus or train station
- Doubled up with other people due to loss of housing or economic hardship
If yes to any of the above, eligible children have the right to:
- Receive a free, appropriate public education
- Enroll in school immediately, even if lacking documents normally required for enrollment
- Enroll in the local school; or continue attending their school of origin (the school they attended when permanently housed or the school in which they were last enrolled, if that is the family preference and it is feasible.
- Receive educational services comparable to those provided to other students according to the student's needs.
If you have questions or concerns, contact the SPS Homeless Liaison: Lynn Schirk through email at lschirk@spsmail.org or in-district phone 75827.
More information can be located at the National Center for Homeless Education at www.nche.ed.gov.
Spring 2017 Secretary Professional Development
An email with more details will be coming from Dr. Brady Quirk in the near future.
Immediate Transfers and Revocation During Third and Fourth Quarter
As we approach the end of third quarter, if a student transfer is revoked, please make a phone call to the parent notifying them the transfer is withdrawn and explain next steps to the parent for getting their child back in the home attendance area school. Nothing upsets a parent more than receiving a letter of revocation during Spring Break without notice. Transfer students revoked during third quarter should return to their home school for fourth quarter.
A student who receives their final letter that revokes their transfer during 4th quarter will remain at the transfer school, but will need to enroll in their home attendance school for the following school year.
New current years Immediate Transfer requests will not be accepted during the 4th quarter. The district prefers to have students remain where they are during 4th quarter. If a student moves within the district during the last quarter of the school year, they can stay in their current building for the remainder of that year. The subsequent year will require a transfer request and principal approval.
If you have questions or concerns about transfers, call 523-0230 or 75430. (Ann White)
Did You Know This?
- Typically, over 1 billion Valentine's Day cards are exchanged on February 14 in the United States.
- 73% of people who buy flowers for Valentine's Day are men, while only 27 percent are women.