Volunteer 'grandmas' garner respect in local schools

The air is unusually quiet in Angela Rentz’s kindergarten classroom at Hungerford Elementary School.

Twenty kindergarteners sit upright at their desks, lips zipped, awaiting their teacher’s instructions. There are no orders, no stern warnings. The room is humming with excitement, but the silence remains unbroken.

Rentz directs most of her students to form a single file line, and they obediently exit the room, leaving behind four students to practice reading with Damita Bookman, the class’ “foster grandparent.”

It soon becomes evident why the 5-year-olds at this Title I, failing school are on their best behavior. They don’t want to disappoint Grandma.

“Even if she’s there for a minute, they’ll be acting like angels,” said Maria Vargas, secretary and bookkeeper at Hungerford. They know not to act up, because Grandma means business.

Bookman volunteers at Hungerford four days a week through the nationally known “Foster Grandparents” program, a part of Senior Corps, administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

With three grandchildren of her own, and a passion for helping others — especially the children in her neighborhood — Bookman considers the Hungerford kids to be family.

“In my mind, these are all my grandkids,” Bookman said.

And the kids love her back, Vargas says. At this high-needs school, Vargas says many of Hungerford’s students are being raised by grandparents, so they have a unique relationship with the foster grandparents at school.

“They have this respect towards grandmas, and it doesn’t matter if they’re kindergarteners or fifth graders — G-ma is G-ma,” Vargas said.

Volunteers for Community Impact (VFCI), a locally-based nonprofit, directs the Foster Grandparents programs in Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Volusia and Flagler counties, and coordinates additional volunteer opportunities for limited-income adults, ages 55 and older.

In addition to coordinating the volunteer opportunities, VFCI supplies a small stipend to defray the costs of volunteering, travel reimbursement, supplemental insurance, specialized training and annual recognition for the grandparents.

The foster grandparents may work to prepare 3- to 4-year-olds for kindergarten, mentor children in afterschool programs, support children in shelters or medical facilities or provide guidance in elementary school classrooms.

According to Richard Paul, VFCI’s director of development and marketing, the organization’s Foster Grandparents program has been the most successful in the country. Last year, VFCI's 317 Foster Grandparents volunteered 327,408 hours, helping 2,263 children in 110 centers.

“We have a waiting list with about 140 names on it right now,” said Charlotte Merritt, VFCI’s director of programs. That number continues to grow, but without sufficient funding, Merritt says they won’t be able to place all of the grandparents at this time.

Hungerford only has four Foster Grandparents, but there are 170 grandparents in Orange County schools, and additional grandparents in the four other counties VFCI serves.

With no additional volunteers and only one parent on the PTA, Courtney Dickerson, instructional dean at Hungerford, says the school needs additional foster grandparents.

“Our grandmas do so much around here, and we need them here,” Dickerson said, then repeating herself, “We need them here.”

The staff here is spread thin, and the students have high needs, but Vargas says the grandmas’ actions extend beyond helping the teachers manage their classrooms.

Vargas says that Bookman will bring food for the kids, clean them up and offer them deodorant, shower gel or anything else they might need.

Bookman just laughs. “If they hungry, you know I’m ‘a feed ‘em,” she said.

“At our school, we sometimes feel like we’re the forgotten ones, but I can say this program has been a blessing, and continues to be a blessing,” Vargas said.

“Thank you, Grandma. We love you.”