SUMMARY
- According to the New York Times, schools across the United States are in constant need of parent volunteers, but the few who answer the call tend to get burned out quickly by overloading themselves with projects. In many schools, a small number of volunteers shoulder the majority of the workload.
- Economic necessity has cut down the number of available volunteers due to there being fewer stay-at-home parents than ever and by creating an inability or unwillingness for those who have the time to do the unpaid work associated with school volunteering.
- Pushback from volunteers occasionally comes from irritation over the way schools make requests for volunteers, which can include large numbers of desperate-sounding emails and letters brought home by children.
INSIGHT
In many districts, after school programs exist to give students safe places to enhance their education and to provide additional recreational opportunities, but these programs are entirely volunteer-organized. Organizing and running such a program is a full-time commitment that most parent volunteers have neither the time nor the training to effectively take on in a way that is sustainable or beneficial.
Partnering with an enrichment management team such as Flex Academies to design and oversee an afterschool program allows PTAs and districts to cut down the amount of work they ask of their volunteers and keep them focused on and energized in other tasks.
- “Combating Burnout With Flex Academies” – https://flexacademies.com/2018/02/07/combating-volunteer-burnout-flex-academies/
