Student Volunteers Jumpstart Preschoolers
Getting a jumpstart on kindergarten – that's the opportunity neighborhood children have thanks to a new partnership between the USC Volunteer Center and Jumpstart, a national early childhood education program.
The USC Volunteer Center is seeking at least 30 undergraduate and graduate students interested in this program, which will focus on five preschools within easy walking or biking distance from the University Park campus.
"Our mission is to make sure every child is prepared for school and has the potential to succeed," explains Jumpstart Program Manager Punam Bhakta. "Jumpstart is new to USC, and I'm currently recruiting all types of college students. The college students, or corps members as we call them, get to see the impact they make on the community and on the children they are working with."
Jumpstart is a nonprofit organization working to equip preschool children with the social, emotional and intellectual readiness needed for kindergarten. College students and community volunteers provide individualized tutoring and mentoring to preschoolers. USC is one of more than 60 colleges and universities participating in this national program.
Each volunteer will serve eight to 10 hours per week for one school year working one-on-one with a child in his or her classroom, attending team planning meetings and assisting teachers in the classroom. Students with Federal Work-study awards may use them for the Jumpstart program, and volunteers who complete the year will receive $1,000 education awards from AmeriCorps, a Jumpstart sponsor.
How do you prepare preschool children for kindergarten? "Our focus is language, literacy and social development skills. We’ll be doing dramatic play, writing, reading and lots of art activities," says Bhakta.
Volunteers will attend a weekend training session in mid-September and begin working in the classroom the first week of October. Follow-up training sessions will be scheduled once a month. For more information or to apply for Jumpstart, visit www.jstart.org/apply, or contact Punam Bhakta in the USC Volunteer Center at (213) 740-8943.