Our school doesn't use volunteers in the classroom as far as helping to teach the kids, but they do help in all grades in the classroom to help the teacher w/things they need. (copying, web research, cutting, things like that) We try to have 3 room parents per class and one head room parent per grade level who works closely w/the grade level team leader. The team room parenting seems to work out really well especially in 3-5 where the interest drops some.

we also have a pretty obvious change in volunteers at the 3rd/4th grade level.they do the fieldtrip, party thing but also The 4th grade teachers are pretty good about having parents volunteer to give guest talks which is really nice. i think the problem that occurs at our school is that our state (NY) has occured so many new standards and testing requirments, when you talk to the older teachers they will admit that they miss doing "fun" things to teach. They do spend so much time teaching to the tests that i believe that is one reason they stop having regular volunteers. this last fall we did survey our teachers on volunteer needs and it was surprising that the higher grades wanted people to help listen to kids read or write. Maybe that is a place to start...

It seems teachers do not use as many in the classroom as the curriculm gets more difficult. I have had teachers in 4/5 grades to speculate that parents wear themselves out by the time their child gets that age. LOL!

I am sure there are many things you can do at your school not in the classroom. We have endless opportunities. Our librarian is always begging for help. When your child hears you talking about what a great day you've had volunteering it does wonders.

We don't see the drop off in parent volunteer usage until 4th grade-but it's there. I had to personally offer my services to my daughter's 4th grade teacher last year and all I did was make copies and give an occasional make-up spelling test. It was disappointing after spending 4 years(k-3rd)being deeply involved in working with students on an individual and group basis. I think a lot of it is the teachers and some of it is the curriculum as the kids advance. It could be the teachers don't feel parents can offer the kind of assistance needed to work with struggling students or that the kids may not be comfortable(As kids get older they begin to not want parents around as much!!!). This year I am fortunate enough to be helping in the 5th grade class, but I'm doing things for the teachers. I've also been asked to join them on all the field trips. I always ask my daughter first if it is okay with her for me to be there. I've felt very welcome and very appreciated so it's been nice.

As for your dilemma... maybe you should survey the teachers. Ask them what kind of help they could use during the school day and tailor your volunteer program to fit those needs. If you find that the teachers don't feel the parents are "qualified" to help with curriculum areas, ask if the teachers would be willing to educate the parents on the subjects. I know a lot of the terminology and teaching techniques have changed since I've been in elementary school and sometimes I give the teachers a blank look. But I'm bold enough to ask what they mean and get myself up to date. Just explain to the teachers that there are lots of parents willing to help and you want to find out how best to use them to keep the parents happy and the teachers. Good luck!

Do your schools use parent volunteers in the classrooms for grades 3-5? If so, how? If not, what is the reasoning?

Our school as a whole is very welcoming to parents and uses parent volunteers in many capacities. In grades K-2, that includes parents in the classrooms doing things like working with particular groups of students in math or reading with students one-on-one.

However, there is a noticeable break between grades 2 and 3, from parents being scheduled as weekly classroom volunteers to parents only being used sporadically, as chaperones for field trips or for assistance on special projects. Each class does still have a "room mother" for planning parties, although those are used far less and the parties tend to scale back.

I'm concerned about this for several reasons. For one thing, I think 3rd-5th graders still benefit from seeing their parents involved in their classrooms, in ways that aren't replicated by the parents volunteering elsewhere in the school. I think the parents benefit from keeping up with the kids and the teachers and generally what's going on the classrooms. And as an active member of the PTO, I think it would be easier to find volunteers from the parents in those grades for the times when we DO need them if we kept them involved all along. We're finding a huge drop-off in parental participation starting at grade 3, and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that they are being subtly discouraged by that shift in the teachers' attitudes.

By the time their kids are in 5th grade, no one wants to be room parent or chaperone field trips, and they certainly don't want to be PTO president. I realize some of this may simply be burnout from having been involved for several years, and some comes from parents going back to work after staying home when their kids were younger. But I don't think that's the whole explanation.

I've brought this up with our principal, and she's very supportive of using parents in the classrooms at those levels, but the teachers are just nonresponsive. (Or perhaps passive-aggressive would be the better term.) Before I launch a full-scale push on this, I wanted to know what other schools do.