Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Volunteers Programs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Cumberland School Volunteers report surge in sign-ups, plans wider book program and classroom visits
Summary
Director Cindy Thorsen told the Cumberland School Committee volunteers have signed up online, BCI clearance is driving participation, and the group plans expanded Reading Is Fundamental distributions and classroom Just Friends units this fall.
Cumberland School Volunteers Director Cindy Thorsen briefed the Cumberland School Committee on Sept. 11, saying the group has streamlined volunteer sign-ups and seen a jump in participation after the district required BCI clearances from volunteers.
Thorsen said the volunteer group introduced an online application and QR-code sign-up linked from school PTO Facebook pages and that “hundreds” of BCI pages have been received. She said 40 people have signed up online so far to help in classrooms or with programs including Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) and Just Friends.
The announcement matters because the volunteer programs provide classroom support and student-facing events across the district. Thorsen told the committee she expects the RIF program to expand so that each elementary school will receive three book distributions this school year; she estimated the program will put about 6,800 books into students’ hands and said 1,900 books are already in inventory.
Thorsen described plans to bring the Just Friends disability-awareness program to fourth-grade classrooms in four continuous weeks beginning in early October. The units listed in her presentation include a “blindness and deafness” unit, a unit on physical and intellectual disability, a learning-differences unit and an autism unit. Thorsen said volunteers are trained to present a scripted program and that veteran volunteers will help lead classroom activities.
Board members praised the work and recalled longtime community impact from Just Friends. Superintendent Dr. Thornton thanked Thorsen and school staff for coordinating sign-ups and the PTOs for assisting parents with ID copies and small fees for BCI processing.
Thorsen credited donations, grants and school-department support for sustaining and expanding the volunteer-run programs and said the Cumberland School Volunteers will continue recruiting and training community members for classroom roles.
The committee had no formal vote on the presentation; Thorsen’s update was presented as an information item.
