Parent volunteers make the difference!

At Monticello Academy, each family is asked to donate 40 hours of volunteer service to the school each year. This strong home-to-school connection is one of the reasons our students thrive.

How to log hours:

Parents log their own volunteer hours using Compass. Here’s how:

• Go to Compass by clicking on the button at the top of this webpage

• Log into your parent compass account with the parent or guardian email address

• On the left side of the screen select Volunteer Log

• Enter volunteer information and select “Save”

Ideas for volunteer hours

There are many ways you can strengthen our school, so we’ve decided to open more possibilities for what we consider “volunteer hours!”

For the 2020-21 school year we are also extending the window until the end of June and asking you to double-count your minutes!

• Parent Education videos – Learn more about our school and its curriculum. Watch any of the following videos:
  • What Is Core Knowledge? – 13 minutes – basics about the Core Knowledge approach
  • What is Singapore Math? – 50 minutes – learn about Singapore Math and experience some of its teaching techniques
  • How does our grading system work? – 16 minutes – the differences between traditional and mastery grading
  • Coming Soon! – Early Literacy: What works and how you can help your child. – About 15 minutes.
• Review the Core Knowledge Sequence, which you can download for free here.
• Do a deep dive into the Core Knowledge approach by reading any of E.D. Hirsch’s books:
  • New! – How to Educate a Citizen
  • Why Knowledge Matters: Rescuing Our Children From Failed Educational Theories
  • Books to Build On: A Grade-by-Grade Resource Guide for Parents and Teachers
  • What Your Preschooler Needs to Know: Get Ready for Kindergarten
  • What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know: Preparing Your Child for a Lifetime of Learning
  • What Your First Grader Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a Good First-Grade Education
  • What Your Second Grader Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a Good Second-Grade Education
  • What Your Third Grader Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a Good Third-Grade Education
  • What Your Fourth Grader Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a Good Fourth-Grade Education
  • What Your Fifth Grader Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a Good Fifth-Grade Education
  • What Your Sixth Grader Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a Good Sixth-Grade Education
• Provide a learning opportunity for your child related to anything on the Core Knowledge sequence! Examples:
  • Listen to some classical music from your child’s grade level (a list can be found on the Core Knowledge Sequence) or by looking on the music section of our school website (drop-down menu: Music Topics by Grade). YouTube has some good animations to accompany many of the classical works.
  • Read a book together that is related to a Core Knowledge topic.
  • Go on a field trip related to any Core Knowledge topic.
• Learn more about the fascinating topic of how kids learn to read (and why Monticello Academy has always had success by teaching phonics) by listening to the following podcasts or reading some good articles on the topic:
  • NPR story on Why Millions of Kids Can’t Read – 5 min
  • Deeper dive news coverage: Hard Words: Why aren’t kids being taught to read? – 53 min
  • Read A Brief History of Reading Instruction
• Talk to your friends and neighbors about Monticello Academy! If you have a friend or neighbor sign up for a tour, you can count it as one hour!
  • Have them sign up for a tour using our “Schedule a Tour” tab at the top of our website