The OE/DA Norm

We had a great turnout for our Lego coaching meeting tonight.  Around 25 volunteers have stepped up to coach teams for this school year.  What an awesome commitment to our kids!  The reason I have chosen to blog about this tonight is that this doesn't happen at every school or in every community.  I have grown to expect it out of our OE/DA parents.  I assumed that we would have a ton of volunteers tonight, why?  Because we asked for them.  I feel very lucky to be part of a school community that responds like this and will work hard to remember how lucky I am.  The greatest thing you can ask from a person is their time.  The opportunity cost of time is very hard to replace.  This is not about just our Lego parents either.  Our PTO officers and the army of volunteers that it takes to run the events put in tremendous amounts of time and energy.  Our Academic Games coaches volunteer as much time as anybody taking kids to events on weekends and even out of state.  This mindset extends well beyond the school, including the various Scouting groups that serve our kids.  Don't forget about all of the athletic opportunities organized by Parks and Rec, but run by regular community members.  Girls on the Run didn't exist in Oxford 4 years ago.  A single teacher has helped spread that program into four Oxford buildings!  The scariest part of typing this is that I recognize that I have left out countless other volunteer groups that serve our kids.

Don't forget that our teachers.  They actually have something called a duty day.  It runs from something like 8:40 to 4:15.  How many of our children are helped outside those hours?  How many lights do you see on at school on Saturday or Sunday?  None of those extras are part of the job description, but they are part of the culture that makes up the OE/DA community.

Thank you volunteers for all that you do.  I feel lucky to play a small part in it.