Students in Lake Washington School District (LWSD) are settling into the second semester of the school year. While some kids are achieving good grades, others may need additional academic support to reach their personal goals. For some students, that may mean getting 100 percent on his or her recent test. On the other hand, English language learners are simply trying to keep up with what is being expected of them in class. Although some staff has seen an increase in the number of students focused on improving their grades, some kids need additional support to reach their personal goals. That’s where LINKS volunteers come in.

LINKS volunteers work with students on a weekly basis. Academic mentors are assigned to work with a student struggling with a particular subject. In middle and high schools, LINKS has requests for tutors to work with students in need of additional study time to help them achieve personal success. For some kids, that means trying to improve their study habits in order to raise his or her grades. Subjects that students need help with include math, writing, science, English and organizational skills. The majority of students are very thankful to have LINKS volunteers supporting them on a regular basis.

Classroom volunteers help teachers by working with students who may have a hard time solving a math problem or who don’t understand what they are reading. Volunteers offer students support by helping them focus and by encouraging them to keep trying until they succeed. They are advocates for the students they work with. Volunteers are needed to help teachers in their classrooms throughout the district.

Additional volunteers are needed in Kirkland, Redmond and Sammamish to help meet the growing number of volunteer requests from schools. Currently, LINKS has 40 unmet requests for volunteers. As a volunteer, sharing just one hour of your time each week can have a lasting impact on a student’s overall experience at school.

LINKS is a volunteer program of LWSD with funding provided by Lake Washington Schools Foundation. LINKS is one of many programs the foundation supports.

To learn more about LINKS volunteer opportunities, visit www.lwsd.org/links. To register for an upcoming volunteer orientation or to learn more about volunteer opportunities, email Nanci Wehr at nwehr@lwsd.org or call (425) 936-1410.