VCU SVEA chapter volunteers at inner city school

Members of the Students Virginia Education Association from 12 universities gathered at J.L. Francis Elementary School Saturday for their annual outreach project. The outreach project is a yearly contribution by the SVEA of donated goods or services to Virginia state public schools.

VCU student Meghan Williams, an early elementary education major and vice president for SVEA, suggested the inner city Richmond school for the project.

“Some children don’t think anyone cares. It’s just another way to show we care about them,” Williams said.

J.L. Francis was chosen by the SVEA board to undergo beautification alterations including adding plants, flower boxes and birdhouses to campus grounds. SVEA also painted murals on walls inside the school and painted green and yellow stripes on the hallway walls.

Williams contacted Principal Daisy Greene, who has been the principal for eight years. Greene said she has seen the changes in J.L. Francis over the years.

“Expectations and standards were raised . the diversity of students has increased tremendously, parental participation is (great), whenever we need them they are here embracing the school as a community school,” Greene said.

J.L. Francis recently met “adequate yearly progress” (AYP) according to standards issued by the U.S. Department of Education as a part of the No Child Left Behind Act, which allowed them to introduce colored paint into the school’s structure in recent years.

One of the main objectives for SVEA’s project was to add more color to the school’s environment.

It was after J.L. Francis met AYP that Williams suggested the school for SVEA’s volunteer project.

The SVEA planned to increase safety at J.L. Francis by adding a fence or more trees to separate students from traffic and provide a storage shed for gym equipment. The lack of funding forced SVEA to cut back on their original plans for the project.

After being denied two grants for $2,000, the majority of funding came from donations and one grant from the National Education Association. The $2,300 was the final amount used to make changes to J.L. Francis’ campus.

There were approximately 120 volunteers at the outreach project including college students from 12 chapters of SVEA, retired and active members of the Virginia Education Association and community members. Volunteers turned out at 8 a.m. and worked until sundown.

The hands-on project is a fairly new approach for the SVEA. In past years students have asked for donations including money, books and school supplies for Virginia public schools.

The SVEA board recently decided to alter the level of involvement with the annual project, which brings SVEA members from the region’s chapters to one location. Vice President Williams worked with current SVEA President Sarah Danielsen to reach a consensus.

“We knew that we wanted it to be a Richmond city school, and next year we hope to do it at another part of the state so chapters who couldn’t make it to Richmond . can get involved,” Danielsen said.

The idea to work with a single school is based on the work done by the National Education Association, which chooses one school every year to spruce up.

The annual project, according to Danielsen, is the highlight of the year and future projects will require members to continue the active volunteering to better public schools in the region.