The Benefit of Volunteering at Your Child’s School

Parents are always looking for a way to spend more time with their children and a great way to do that is by volunteering at your child’s school. Volunteering is a great way for parents to be more involved in their child’s academic life, which can be beneficial for many reasons. Here are just a few:

1. You get a better understanding of how your child is performing at school.

Keep in mind that your child spends most of their life at school, which means a lot of time away from their parents. In a recent interview with New York Family, Dr. Eileen Kennedy-Moore, a psychologist and author of the book, Growing Friendships: A Kid’s Guide to Making and Keeping Friends, said that parent volunteers get a chance to see how their child acts in a different social setting, which provides a new outlook on their social development. Christina Hibbert, founder of Motherhood Radio-TV, said, “Volunteering can help you better understand your child’s strengths and weaknesses, to see her at her best or at her not-so-best, and to get a feel for what she loves about school and where she might be struggling.”

2. It helps you form a better relationship with the school community.

Your child’s teacher is like a second parent because they play such a big role in your child’s development. Working with your child’s teachers and administrators helps you to have a clearer idea of their daily activities and curriculum. According to PTO Today, when a parent is involved in their child’s education, the parents are more likely to be held in higher self-esteem by teachers and have teachers expect more from their children.

3. It motivates children to do better academically.

According to Boosterthon, the more parents volunteer at school, the more successful their children will be. Studies have shown that children of parents who volunteer earn better grades and perform better on tests. When your child sees you invest in their school, they see you care about their success and they will want to succeed.

4. It benefits the school.

One of the main reasons why schools encourage parents to volunteer is because parents become more likely to contribute to the school. According to Boosterthon, although parents don’t completely know what goes on behind the scenes at school, once they understand the “why”, school decisions become easier to understand, support and appreciate. They also gain a better understanding of what is needed to improve the school, if necessary.

At Prep Academy:

At Prep Academy, we encourage parent involvement because it is a key component of our school’s success. We want our parents to volunteer and be more present in the classroom because it helps in building in a community and boosting the academics.