12 Ways Busy Moms Can Volunteer at School

It’s that time of year, when the pressure to join the PTA and sign up as a field-trip supervisor can feel like a vice on parents, particularly those parents who work outside the home, juggle multiple kids’ schedules and schools or just don’t have it in them to say "yes" to typical volunteer opportunities. Here’s how you can make a difference in your child’s classroom without taking time off from your job or making yourself insane.

Teachers can spend long periods of time standing in front of the copy machine at the school. Volunteer to come in weekly to run off copies for the week. Even better, if you have access to a copy machine in your home office or get permission from work, offer to handle it all there.

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“I have parents who correct spelling tests, weekly math homework and language arts homework,” says Bay Area, Calif., primary teacher Lia Freitas. “It is much better for me to spend time assessing in-class work and what the kids are learning rather than homework, which is to reinforce those lessons.”

If you are crafty or even just adept with scissors, offer to help prep art projects. These “one-off” projects, as Freitas calls them, are perfect for parents who can’t volunteer regularly but can squeeze in a few hours in the week before an open house or holiday.

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Privacy laws prevent many schools from publishing contact information for students. However, in many of those areas, it is acceptable for parents to opt-in to create a list of names, phone numbers and email addresses. Gather information from willing families and create a Google doc or hard copy list so parents can be in touch for playdates, parties or after-school activities.

Offer to snap photos of each child (your phone camera will work fine) on the first day of school, then create a chart with each's picture and name to distribute to all families in the class. It will help kids get to know each other and provide a reference when your children come home talking about their new lunch buddy or asking to set up a playdate. Search “class photo chart” on Pinterest for printables and tips.

Budget cuts have rendered many schools with inadequate supply budgets and have left many teachers to fend for themselves if they need cleaning, office and art supplies. Check in with the principal and your child’s teacher to see what they need, and then go back two or three more times during the year. If you can’t afford to purchase a case of disinfecting wipes, check with local businesses to see if they are willing to make a donation.

If you can't commit to organizing the fall Fundrasier or joining the parent auction committee, you can set up and clean up for those evening events. Even if you can only eke out a few hours of volunteering a year, everyone's always grateful for the person who willingly breaks down folding chairs and cleans up the plastic cups.

Raise your hand to send in food for classroom parties, suggests parent volunteer Jeanne Eschenberg Sager of Calicoon Center, N.Y. “When the teacher sends home the form, I send the food in with [my daughter] and voilà!” she says. Whether you make the world’s best red velvet cake balls or have a knack for stocking up on juice boxes and granola bars at Costco, be the go-to parent for providing snacks when the kids celebrate.

Does your kid’s class obsess over box tops all year in hopes of earning a pizza party? Take the task of collecting, counting and submitting box tops (or any other collection drive) so that it’s one fewer thing the teacher is responsible for throughout the year.

A few weeks before the winter holidays, teacher appreciation day and the end of the year, contact parents to coordinate one significant gift for each educator in the class. Some parents will be relieved to hand over $10 or $20 and skip the shopping, and teachers will appreciate one sizable gift card (especially one by a major credit card that can be used anywhere).

As middle school kids prepare for their next academic steps, they may need extra after-school help tracking applications, writing essays, and getting to school tours and interviews. Work with upper-grade teachers and administrators to assist as your time, expertise and carpooling tolerance allows.

Homeroom teachers may be swamped with help from parents, but what about the arts instructors? Peek into the music, art and language classes, and offer your time and talents: Organize paints, clean up the kiln, publicize a band concert, host a student Scrabble tourney only in French, whip up traditional Greek dishes to accompany history lessons, or bring in gardening supplies for the science teacher’s school garden.

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