Get Involved

Throughout the course of the school year, King Arts hosts a variety of teacher and community celebrations. The VP of Membership & Community Engagement is responsible for helping to identify, plan and coordinate the procurement of Food & Beverage, entertainment, and activities (along with other volunteers) for these celebrations. The VP of Membership & Community Engagement also maintains and updates (using criteria articulated in the Event and Partner Vendor Opportunity Assessment) the Evanston/Skokie Partner Database of local vendors that the PTA partners with, to ensure we leverage these vendors as a resource for upcoming events and initiatives.

The VP of Membership & Community Engagement attends monthly PTA Executive Team meetings and is encouraged to also attend the monthly General PTA meetings—each lasting between 60 to 90 minutes. Note, there is no General PTA Meeting during the month of December.

The VP of Membership & Community Engagement often partners directly with the PTA President, VP of Guardian Engagement (Room Parents and Community Connectors) and the VP of Fundraising on the coordination of events and fundraisers.

Becoming a Room Parent is one of the best ways to get to know your student’s teacher and help create a community and sense of belonging for students and other caregivers.

Almost all the tasks required for this role can be done on your own time and coordinated with your student’s teacher. You'll have the opportunity to partner with the classroom teacher to disseminate school supplies, collate instructional materials, assist with planning class celebrations, and help support community building or SEL activities.

Room Parents act as liaison to PTA leadership for any questions, concerns and ideas coming from students, caregivers, and teachers. Room Parents act as a “knowledge resource” for classroom parents and teachers with regards to PTA sponsored events, committees, and programs, as well as other school-wide sponsored events, celebrations, and fine arts performances.

Estimated Time Commitment: 5 to 8 hours per trimester

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Becoming a Community Coordinator is one of the best ways to stay in contact other middle school families and help foster an enriching and fun middle school experience.

All of the tasks required for this role can be done on your own time and coordinated with your student’s grade level teachers.

Community Connectors partner with grade level homeroom teachers and the PTA to share information about school events, assist in planning middle school dances, and help support community building or SEL initiatives.

Community Connectors act as liaison to PTA leadership with any questions, concerns and ideas coming from middle school students, caregivers and teachers. Community Connectors act as a “knowledge resource” for classroom parents and teachers with regards to PTA sponsored events, committees, and programs, as well as other school-wide sponsored events, celebrations and fine arts performances.

Estimated Time Commitment: 3 to 5 hours per trimester

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Throughout the course of the school year, King Arts hosts a variety of cultural, ethnic and/or community events celebrating our diverse community. The Cultural & Community Events Coordinators are responsible helping to schedule, plan and execute (along with other volunteers) one or more celebratory events at King Arts.

The Cultural & Community Events Coordinators will partner with the VP of Programming and VP of Diversity, Inclusion and Equity (DEI) to:

• Schedule, plan and execute one or more culture and/or ethnic events
• Promote communications about the event(s) to the broader King Arts Community
• Recruit students, teachers, staff, and fellow caregivers to volunteer during the event(s)

Examples of cultural and ethnic events range from, but are not limited to

• American Indian Heritage Day (November)
• Ash Wednesday (March)
• Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (May)
• Autism Awareness Day (April)
• Black History Month (February)
• Earth Day (April)
• Human Rights Day (December)
• Irish American History Month (March)
• Jewish American Heritage (May)
• Kwanza (December - January)
• LGBTQA+ Pride Month (June)
• Lunar New Year (February)
• National Deaf History Month (March – April)
• National Hispanic – Latino Heritage Month (Sept-Oct)
• Ramadan (April - May)
• Random Acts of Kindness Day (February)
• Women’s History Month (March)

Estimated Time Commitment: 10 to 15 hours per event

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If there is a specific cultural, ethnic and/or community event(s) you would like to co-lead, please email kingartspta@gmail.com.

The purpose of the Capital Planning Committee (CPC) is to advocate for the capital planning needs that support the instructional, safety and security of King Arts.

The focus of CPC projects shift along with the capital needs of the school. Past projects include advocating for the Safe and Secure Entry Way at the Greenwood entrance; partnering with school administration to establish the Kiss & Drop, Grab & Go pick-up and drop-off procedures, as well as recommended walk, bike and scoot routes; exterior and interior building and structural audits to advocate for work identified in the state mandated 10-year Life & Safety Report.

Other CPC priorities range from maintaining the physical safety and aesthetic appearance of the school grounds to participating in the monthly Build & Grounds Committee meetings to discuss plans and work that needs to be done or prioritized at each D65 school.

During the 2021-2022 school year, CPC volunteers will act as an advisory function to the teacher and staff task force responsible for overseeing the national magnetization process for King Arts; and recruit caregivers for added support and expertise. Committee volunteers will communicate and organize King Arts caregiver participation in required activities for the Magnet Schools of America’s national certification.

Estimated Time Commitment: 5 to 10 hours per trimester

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The Social Justice League is a new idea we are piloting and will be an eventual collective between scholars, teachers, and caregivers, all advocates interested in social justice initiatives from the local, state, and federal level.

The PTA Equity Project Representative is one of the King Arts PTA representatives to the PTA Equity Project, the organization that has moved us into a OneFund structure, where all of our PTA money gets shared across D65 in an equitable model.  This will be about 3 hour meetings online once a month, with some additional work every once in a while.

The King Arts PTA sponsors 3 key fundraising events that build our school community and raise funds for these critical school programs:

• Grocery and Resource Program
• Scholarship for enrichment and afterschool activities/clubs
• Fine arts programs—instrument rental & guest performances/speakers
• Teacher appreciation activities
• Contribution to the city-wide PTA Equity Program (PEP)

We need volunteers to help plan the events and/or to help on the day of the events.

We can use your help even if you just have an hour to spare! Fundraising volunteers will work closely with the VP of Fundraising. The key fundraising events are held in October, January, and May.

Estimated Time Commitment: Varies from 1 to 15 hours per fundraising event

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The King Arts Grocery & Resource Program (GRP) creates ongoing relationships with King Arts families to address food and resource insecurity.

Volunteers disseminate groceries and household goods to program participants monthly from September through May. All program participants receive equitable distribution of support and confidentiality.

GRP volunteers also coordinate an annual food drive in November, as well as a Holiday Gift Exchange in December.

Estimated Time Commitment: 1 to 3 hours per month

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The Hospitality Coordinator oversees PTA volunteers that:

• organize, order and serve first day coffee and last day celebration
• order and oversee the delivery of the staff and teacher meals the PTA provides throughout the school year
• assist with coordination of vendors for King Drive in January
• manage the school tours for potential incoming students

All of these responsibilities can be done from your home. You will work closely with the VP of Membership & Community Engagement. You also will coordinate the delivery and drop-off of teacher and staff meals with Ms. Council, the Head Secretary at King Arts.

Estimated Time Commitment: 1 to 3 hours per trimester

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The King Arts Green Team is an organized group of students, teachers and caregivers who work together to make King Arts and the Evanston/Skokie community more sustainable. The Green Team collaborates to find and implement solutions to reduce waste and increase recycling through advocacy and action.

The Green team is currently looking for volunteers to:

• Take a 2-4-week turn watering the trees through the fall on the grounds surrounding King Arts
• Use 3-to-5-gallon pails of water per tree, 1 to 2 times per week. This process takes about an hour
  
  

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Email Ethan (parent volunteer) with any questions at treethan@yahoo.com

The Evanston School Children's Clothing Association (ESCCA) was established to provide adequate school clothing for all District 65 children (K-8) who need it. ESSCA strives to perform this service efficiently and discreetly, always keeping in mind the dignity of the families. School/organization chairpersons are the backbone of ESCCA. To perform their duties, school and organization chairs need the cooperation of many volunteers.

The responsibilities of an ESCCA school/organization chair are as follows:

• Recruit volunteers for assigned King Arts three (3) “serve” dates
• Coordinate 1 to 2 clothing drives per school year. Collect and sort the donated clothing
• Publicize ESCCA activities and needs throughout the school year
• Attend ESCCA Board Meetings

Estimated Time Commitment: 6 to 8 hours per trimester

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The Evanston School Children's Clothing Association (ESCCA) was established to provide adequate school clothing for all District 65 children (K-8) who need it. ESSCA strives to perform this service efficiently and discreetly, always keeping in mind the dignity of the families. King Arts is assigned three (3) SERVE volunteer dates per school year. There is one (1) SERVE event per trimester.

During a SERVE, volunteers help students choose clothing from ESCCA's "store" at 1500 McDaniel, almost like a personal shopper. Volunteering during a SERVE is an especially fun and rewarding experience as you get to interact with a district 65 student and help him/her have a warm and positive experience choosing winter clothing for this school year.  There are also opportunities to volunteer for a SORT where volunteers help sort, organize and fold clothing donations so they are ready for our shoppers.

Estimated Time Commitment: 3 hours per SERVE event

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This District 65 program pairs volunteers with students for individual tutoring in reading. The program trains volunteers in a specific tutoring technique so that they can best partner with teachers to support students' reading abilities. Children who read fluently are better able to understand and retain the information that they read which, in turn, supports their academic achievement.

How and When Can I Help? As a trained volunteer, you support one elementary school teacher (1st- 5th grade) working with 1 or more students throughout the school year, October through May (9am to 3:30pm). You can request to be placed at King Arts!

Feedback from the Teachers:

"All students improved in their fluency. They are all more confident in their reading. I'm sure the fluency with the tutor contributed to this improvement. "

"Observed changes during guided reading and improvement in test scores. "

"I saw reading growth in all my students as well as increased confidence. They are all quieter, more shy people, and I think the one-one-one attention and encouragement went a long way towards building up their sense of themselves as readers as well as their actual fluency and comprehension. They all got better at paying closer attention to reading accurately, noticing tricky words, and "solving them on the go."

Training Sessions

All training sessions will be held at the JEH Building, 1500 McDaniel Ave., Evanston, IL 60201.

New tutors: All new volunteers must attend a training session. Training sessions are usually no more than 90 minutes long and will occur online. At the training session, volunteers will gain an understanding of the method used by tutors to support each student's reading. New tutors are also required to complete a background check with the school district (see below).

2021-2022 Dates for Everybody Reads Training Sessions:

Tuesday, September 28, 1:00-2:30pm

Thursday, September 30, 10:00-11:30am

Wednesday, October 6, 1:00-2:30pm

Friday, October 8, 10:00-11:30am

Tuesday, October 19, 1:00-2:30pm

Wednesday, October 20, 7:00-8:30pm

Thursday, October 21, 10:00-11:30am

To RSVP for a training session, either click the highlighted text for that date or email fluencytutors@district65.net with your name and preferred session.

Returning tutors: Attendance at the fall training session is not required.

Background Checks

All volunteer tutors must pass a background check. This service is free when you bring the following form: Accurate Biometrics Fingerprinting Form

Please bring the above form along with a government-issued photo ID (driver’s license, state ID, or passport) to an Accurate Biometrics location to be fingerprinted. Locations can be found on the Accurate Biometrics website: www.accuratebiometrics.com. If you do not have access to the internet, please call Accurate Biometric's customer service number at 773-685-5699 for assistance in finding a location.

Questions: Email: fluencytutors@district65.net

This District 65 math tutoring program was created to support 1st grade students who might benefit from a little extra math skills practice. By playing simple math games with the students (all materials provided), tutors will help students practice fundamental, age-appropriate math facts that will help increase students’ growth in mathematical achievement.

How and When Can I Help? As a trained volunteer, you support one teacher by meeting with 1 to 2 students to play games (materials provided) 1-2 times per week for 20-30 minutes at a time. Tutors volunteer from October through May, during school hours (9am to 3:30pm).  You can request to be placed at King Arts!

Training Sessions

All training sessions will be at the JEH Center, 1500 McDaniel, Evanston, IL 60201.

New tutors: All new volunteers must attend one training session. Training sessions are usually no more than 90 minutes long and will be in person. At the training session, volunteers will gain an understanding of the method used by tutors to support each student's math skills. New tutors must also complete a background check with the school district. (see below).

2021/2022 Dates for Math is FUNdamental Training Sessions:

Tuesday, October 12, 1:00-2:30pm

Thursday, October 14, 10:00-11:30am

Wednesday, October 27, 1:00-2:30pm

Friday, October 29, 10:00 - 11:30am

To RSVP for a training session, pls click the highlighted text above or email fluencytutors@district65.net with name and session.

Returning tutors: Attendance at the training sessions is optional for returning tutors.

Background Checks

All volunteer tutors must pass a background check. Background checks are completed at the JEH building (1500 McDaniel). Volunteers will need to bring two forms of ID ( a picture ID plus either a social security card or passport) and a copy of the Volunteer Form filled out. To acquire a form, email us at fluencytutors@district65.net. Background checks can also be arranged at a separate time. Volunteers can contact Dennis Colon to set up an appointment and to ask questions. (e) colond@district65.net, (p) 847-859-8027.

Questions: Email: fluencytutors@district65.net