A ratio of 1 volunteer for every 2.4 students is considerably better than at many schools in the district. At Springfield Elementary, where the enrollment is 957 students, about 100 volunteers work weekly, but the number climbs to 500 when adding parents who assist during specific events. What makes the situation at Jane Edwards distinctive is that the volunteers are mostly white retirees who live on Edisto Beach in bordering Colleton County. The students are doing better in math and reading. We're expecting scores to increase when students take the PACT test next month.
Volunteers help with everything from tutoring students to decorating the teacher's lounge.
The kids enjoy the extra attention. The volunteers rotate their schedules and assignments, assisting in areas based on teachers' requests. A volunteer is on campus virtually every day. Students have been practicing for the test, and teachers have been giving instructions because it's different from the old standardized test. It has a lot of open-ended questions and tests critical thinking.