Hollister
– Organizers fear the San Benito High School graduation could
face problems this year without enough volunteers to put on the
event.
Hollister – Organizers fear the San Benito High School graduation could face problems this year without enough volunteers to put on the event.
At San Benito High School, parent volunteers have organized graduation for more than a decade. But this year, the volunteer turnout has been decidedly low.
Dorian Gonzalez, a senior parent who is in charge of the graduation committee, said they had the lowest turnout of volunteers in many years.
“It’s sad that the school is growing and the number of volunteers is shrinking,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said the committee has about half the number of parent volunteers it has had in previous years. Generally, the graduation committee starts with about 100 volunteers, with around 80 actively helping throughout the process. Gonzalez said that already this year she is down to around 40 volunteers.
“I think some parents don’t realize this is parents putting this on; the school doesn’t put it on,” she said.
SBHS activities director Juan Robledo said he is confident that even with a small committee, the ceremony will go well for the class of 2007.
“I told them there’s nothing to worry about. A small committee can work as good as a big committee. Some people think numbers are important, but I think quality is important,” he said.
But Gonzalez fears that with fewer volunteers this year, the ceremony will be lacking.
Gonzalez said she thinks the biggest problem with the lack of involvement is poor communication. A lot of parents don’t realize that the numerous events organized for seniors need parent volunteers, and many of the handouts and fliers get lost in the shuffle.
In addition to poor communication, Gonzales said she thinks some parents don’t realize how valuable they could be as volunteers.
“Part of it is communication and part of it is parents think, ‘They don’t need me. There’s 600 kids; how can I help?'” she said.
Gonzalez said oftentimes parents are under the impression that volunteering is a full-time commitment. But volunteers are needed even for small tasks on graduation day. With only two months before graduation on June 7, time is of the essence.
She said volunteers are needed most for the decorations committee – which has only two members.
“It’s your kids. This could be their only graduation,” Gonzalez said. “This is the last thing; do what you can and get them out the door safely.”
Parents took over the organization of graduation in 1993. School administrators decided the event had gotten out of hand, Robledo said.
“The parents came up with the key solutions,” Robledo said. “Our graduation has been pretty nice for the past 14 years.”
Under the direction of parent volunteers, graduation has changed from a celebration to a ceremony, Robledo said.
“There used to be air horns, silly string, (students would) decorate their gowns, beach balls – anything they could think of to disrupt it,” he said.
He said that with numerous parent volunteers putting in their time and energy, graduation has become much more successful and well-organized.
Alice Joy covers education for the Free Lance. She can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 336 or [email protected].
