SUMMER 2008 ORIENTATION SCHEDULES ARE NOW AVAILABLE

Berkeley School Volunteers (BSV) offers a variety of opportunities at all 16 public schools, from preschool through high school. Volunteers are placed with teachers who have requested help in programs that suit their time availability, skills, and interests.

The first step to becoming a Berkeley School Volunteer is to attend our sixty-minute orientation. Please see orientation schedule below for dates and times. No reservation is required to attend.

Berkeley School Volunteers
Michelle Khazai
Director
510-644-8833

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteer Jobs

Classroom Assistant

• Assist students one-on-one and in small groups with projects and assignments
• Work with a credentialed teacher in a classroom to keep students on task
• Various special projects as needed
• Minimum requirement of two hours per week
• Available at select schools during the summer

Classroom Assistant (Special Education)

• Responsibilities include all above
• Placement in a special education classroom or assisting a special education student in a regular education classroom

Writer Coach

• Work with middle school or high school students individually to help them improve their writing.
• Edit essays, review assignments, and provide encouragement
• Minimum requirement of two hours per week
• In addition to the regular BSV orientation, writer coach training is mandatory
• For more information, check out the WriterCoach Connection website. BSV's Orientation is the first step in the training requirement.

Extended Day or After School Program Assistant

• Assist with after school recreational activities (i.e. sports, music, dance, art)
• Aid students with homework and provide additional academic support
• Minimum requirement of 2 hours per week between the hours of 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

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Literacy Pal (Pen Pal Program)

• Correspond by letter once a month with a student at M.L.King Middle School
• Discuss in the letters books they are reading and encourage them to express themselves in a written format
• No orientation required, no specific hour requirement, only prompt responses to the letters you recieve

Library Assistant

• Assist library staff with overall library operation and maintenance
• Provide assistance to students using the library
• At schools with computers in the library, help students to use them
• Minimum two hours per week commitment

Gardener/ Kitchen Assistant

• Help with classes in the garden and/or kitchen
• Assist teacher as needed with projects and lessons
• Occasional garden maintenance
• Assist in the classroom during classes on ecology, nutrition, and the connection between food and the Earth

Office Assistant

• Provide back-up administrative support for school secretaries or principals
• Help for filing, organization, or data-entry
• Minimum two-hour per week commitment

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Event Volunteering

DEAR Day (Drop Everything and Read)

• Once a year, in early March, read a book to a preschool or elementary school class
• Reading is done simultaneously all over Berkeley to reinforce the importance of literacy and a life-long love of learning
• Choose your own book to read (Berkeley Public Library will be on hand to help you choose age-appropriate material)
• No orientation required, please contact the Berkeley School Volunteers office to sign up for next year!

Information for UC Berkeley Students

Cal students are warmly welcomed to participate as volunteers in our schools. They can volunteer year-round as classroom tutors, in after-school programs, in gardens, with English language learners and special education students, as writing coaches and in all grades and subjects. Volunteer's placement and schedule is dependent on volunteer's availability and interests. UC Berkeley undergraduate volunteers can choose between serving as a Regular Volunteer or in Education 97/197 for units.

Regular Volunteering

To serve as a regular volunteer (not for units), first attend the New Volunteer Orientation (see Volunteer Training section), after which you will be assigned to a school. This orientation is not geared towards volunteers earning units (see Ed. 97/197 section).

Ed. 97/197
UC students can earn units doing field studies in Berkeley schools by enrolling in a BSV section (2-8) of Education 97/197. First register at the beginning of Fall or Spring semesters at Tolman Hall or at one of our orientations for students. A one-semester commitment requires: attendance at one Ed 97/197 workshop; three hours a week in a classroom; a daily journal; and a short final paper. Please check the requirements to learn more about the Ed. 97/197 program

No reservations are required, but please bring photo identification and the name and phone numbers of two references with you.

Location of Trainings: 1835 Allston Way, Berkeley
(Nearest cross street is M. L. King Jr. Way. Street parking only.)

Orientation Schedule

Click here for map & directions to BSV

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