Educational volunteers are needed at Cedar Hill Elementary School to participate in school programs. Cedar Hill Elementary is beginning its second year as an ARI (Alabama Reading Initiative) school. An organizational meeting for this year's volunteers will be held Monday, August 21, at 5 p.m.

Volunteers can be any member of the community, parent or non-parent, young, middle-aged or senior citizen, who wishes to participate in a school program. Volunteers do not need to possess special skills or talents.

The major attributes of a volunteer are liking children and a willingness to become involved in their education. The volunteer is not a replacement for, but an extension of, the teacher. The primary objective of the schools is to encourage student growth-emotionally, socially, physically and intellectually. In thinking about that goal, the teacher's role involves the evaluation, diagnosis, prescription and initial instruction.

Volunteers will work either on a one-on-one or small group basis. They can provide emotional reassurance with the reinforcement of both skills (through successful practice) and positive attitudes (through honest praise), as well as the care and concern that enables the student to see him/herself as a person worthy of the time and effort in his/her behalf.

To gauge your interest in becoming an educational volunteer, ask yourself: Would I like to tutor a student in reading? Would I like to work one-on-one with individual students in reading? Would I like to work with small groups of students in reading? Do I like to listen to students read? Can I volunteer a minimum of 4 hours per week to help our students? (anticipated hours of participation 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.) Am I willing to attend training sessions during the summer to learn techniques to help our students?

If you answered yes to these questions and are interested, you're invited to attend the 2006 organizational meeting Monday, August 21, at 5 p.m.