SF School Volunteers says targeted outreach lifted volunteer numbers in 36 schools

Lisa Spinelli, executive director of SF School Volunteers, told the board that the nonprofit has reoriented its work toward deeper engagement at 36 priority schools and that the strategy produced a 160% increase in volunteer activity at those sites.

Spinelli said the organization counted about 1,600 ongoing volunteers across the district and described several initiatives: a trained volunteer interpreter core (46 volunteers) to support parent-teacher conferences and community convenings; a volunteer "principal for a day" program that engaged CEOs and community leaders; and a new volunteer-management rubric tied to school-site scorecards. "We relaunched principal for a day... We launched the trained volunteer core of interpreters... we have successfully increased the volunteers in those schools by a 160%," Spinelli said.

The group is implementing a Salesforce-based platform to manage volunteer placements and hopes to scale the model to other urban districts. Spinelli outlined upcoming events and pilot efforts, including a mural/garden project planned for Sept. 6 at El Dorado and a back-to-school lunch honoring partner schools on Oct. 13. The organization also said it would continue to expand interpreter services to support family engagement in languages other than English.

Commissioners praised the targeted approach and the interpreter pilot, asking for follow-up on measures of engagement and program outcomes. Board members suggested sharing the volunteer-management rubric with other district programs that track family and community engagement.