I just answered a question about after school programs and reminded me of a situation.
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Parent Comments on "Volunteering"
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You are absolutely correct about that. If they do not volunteer the tuition they pay goes up. And the fact that you felt your hands were tied in speaking your mind is worse. It is hard enough on chidren when their parents have to work. They should feel safe in the after programs and be interacted with. This way their time there away from the parents does not seem to drag on.
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They are parents of students at the school, which is why it frustrates me.
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I used to work at an after school program for a very elite private school. A lot of private schools have a requirement that parents volunteer a certain number of hours per month. Well, the parent volunteers for the after school program used the time to chat with each other and kind of looked at me and the other after-school teachers as the hired help. There was no way for the two of us to be everywhere at once. In my opinion it wasn't an effective program for this reason. There are a lot of politics involved in schools and that made it hard to come out and say anything. Those same parents who did nothing to help out are the same ones making huge donations to the school.
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Sometimes there are organizations in the community that can help schools develop good after-school and volunteer programs. A little time spent researching these resources in your community - Rotary Clubs and other service organizations, local colleges, churches and your local school district - could be a great gift you could give your school and the many other parents who are probably feeling the same way you do.
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To be blunt, do you know where these volunteers came from? If they're young people (in high school or college), they may have a graduation requirement around community service...so they may be "volunteering" at your daughter's school just to get credit for it. Don't get me wrong, though -- there are PLENTY of young people who volunteer because they want to make a real impact on the community.
This may not work with your current situation, but, if there's a college or university near you, you may be able to hook up with the school's teacher education program to find volunteers/after-school programs that really do make a difference. Speaking from experience, college students who are studying to become teachers are generally very enthusiastic about their future professions while they're in school (the whole "burn-out" thing usually happens much later : ) ).
This may not work with your current situation, but, if there's a college or university near you, you may be able to hook up with the school's teacher education program to find volunteers/after-school programs that really do make a difference. Speaking from experience, college students who are studying to become teachers are generally very enthusiastic about their future professions while they're in school (the whole "burn-out" thing usually happens much later : ) ).
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