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Santa Fe Public Schools: 322 volunteers logged 14,121 hours; pilot “volunteer circles” aim to expand support
Summary
In a podcast for Volunteer Appreciation Week, Santa Fe Public Schools volunteer coordinator Sabra Romero said the district has 322 volunteers who logged 14,121 hours in the 25-26 school year (valued at about $500,000). A pilot "volunteer circle" at Mandela is being used as a model for expansion to other schools.
Santa Fe Public Schools volunteer coordinator Sabra Romero said the district currently has 322 volunteers who logged 14,121 hours in the 25-26 school year, a contribution she estimated saved the district about $500,000 using a national volunteer value of $34.79 per hour.
The comments came on the Inside Santa Fe Public Schools podcast as hosts and guests marked National Volunteer Appreciation Week (April 19–25). Romero described volunteers’ roles across the district — classroom support, tutoring, morning/lunch/after-school duty, cafeteria assistance, administrative support and work with the Adelante program — and said most volunteers take the summer off while some support summer programming.
Diane Atwell, a longtime volunteer who began tutoring online during the COVID-19 pandemic, said she now tutors eighth-grade math at Mandela and serves as a volunteer liaison. Atwell described coordinating with the principal, teachers and families to identify tutoring and classroom needs, scheduling volunteers and keeping teachers and parents informed.
Romero said the district developed a volunteer strategic plan beginning in 2024 with five major goals and has stood up three committees to carry it out: an education committee focused on volunteer training and resources, a communications committee tasked with streamlining information about vetting and requirements, and a fundraising committee to underwrite training, incentives and appreciation efforts.
One practice the district has piloted at Mandela is a "volunteer circle": a small team of volunteers at a school site who work together, receive centralized communication, and provide peer support and redundancy so volunteers do not operate in isolation. Romero and Atwell described the Mandela circle as a pilot that completed its second year; they said the principal and staff there are strongly supportive and that lessons learned will inform gradual expansion to additional schools. Romero said the plan is to launch circles in six more schools in the fall after postponing a spring rollout.
To become a volunteer, Romero said applicants must complete an online application, a federal fingerprinted background check, and provide verification of previous employment and references; approved volunteers must then complete an online introductory training. Romero directed listeners to the district volunteer page at sfps.info (Community > Volunteering) for full instructions.
Host Joe Abeyta encouraged listeners to acknowledge volunteers during Volunteer Appreciation Week and to consider signing up through the Santa Fe Public Schools volunteer portal. The episode closed with a reminder that volunteering supports student outcomes, teacher retention and community connection, and with a call to visit the district website to start the application process.
The podcast did not report any formal board actions, votes or policy changes during the episode; discussion focused on program operations, recruitment and expansion plans.
