Schools looking for a few good men

BOLINGBROOK -- School can be a guy thing, too.

That's the message that schools in Bolingbrook are trying to send out to get more fathers involved in education at the elementary level.

Elementary schools can be female bastions, with male teachers and volunteers sometimes few and far between. In fact, even as a district as a whole, 80 percent of the employees are women.

To overcome that, Bolingbrook schools are doing a number of things to get men more involved. For instance, Salk Elementary School in Bolingbrook recently held a Donut for Dad event to celebrate students' fathers and other male relatives.

"It was a day to get all the important men in the students' lives" out to the school, said Salk Assistant Principal Jean Bruno.

Bruno said the school would "love to have more" male volunteers.

"I think it is important for students" to have male role models in the school, she said.

One Bolingbrook school that is going all out to get more guys involved is Liberty Elementary School. The school has stepped up its commitment to finding more male volunteers with an initiative geared toward dads.

This school year, October and March will feature DADS (Dedicated and Devoted to Students) days at Liberty. During those months, dads and other men in the community are encouraged to volunteer their time at the school.

The idea came from the Parent Diversity Group, according to Principal Christine Frederick. The group of parents meets monthly with the goal of finding ways to increase parental involvement at the school, especially among diverse populations.

Currently, most of the school's volunteers are women. According to Frederick, however, it's important for dads and other role models to participate as well so children can see that all of the adults in their lives take an active interest in their education.

"Male figures play an important role in a child's development," Frederick said.

When parents see firsthand how the classroom functions, they can help their children at home by reinforcing the principles they've seen their child's teacher use, Frederick said. This ultimately helps not only a student's grades but also scores on standardized tests.

"Anytime you get parents more involved, they become more aware of what's going on in the classroom," Frederick said. "When you have strong parental involvement, it makes a big difference."

Liberty's teachers shared information about specific volunteer opportunities for dads during the school's curriculum nights, and the response has been tremendous, Frederick said.

"Every classroom teacher said they've had no trouble getting dads to come in," she said.

This month, Liberty dads are acting as "mystery readers," Frederick said. Students don't know who will come for story time until he shows up. Additional volunteer tasks include assisting with activities or working on class projects.

Liberty parents may contact their child's teacher directly to learn about individual volunteer opportunities.