BY DENEEN SMITH
dsmith@kenoshanews.com

SALEM — When third-grade teacher Anne Woodward started this school year at Salem School, she had 29 students in her classroom and little time in the day to work on planning.

She also found an unexpected ally, a group of parent volunteers who organized over the summer in the wake of budget cuts, looking to provide support for students and teachers at the school.

The group, called Apple Core, has teams of volunteers at work in Salem this school year, the group doing everything from helping with photocopying study materials to reorganizing the science lab.

With her students now spending less time each week at classes like art and music, Woodward has less time during the day for parent phone calls or grading homework. She has come to rely on the Apple Core volunteers for things like putting together study packets.

“I’ve had things that I have put in for them to do in the morning, and they’ve been handed back to me within a few hours,” Woodward said. “It has been incredibly helpful.”

Response to cuts

Salem instituted budget cuts for this school year after residents rejected four referendums calling for increased funding through a property tax hike. The cuts eliminated school-funded sports and extra-curricular programs, reduced teaching staff and aides and cut back on students’ time in classes like art and music.

Volunteers stepped in to restore sports and extra-curricular programs through the Salem Booster Club.

During the school day, Apple Core has been working to minimize the impact of the other cuts.

Lisa Hinze and Jen Lynch, two leaders of the program, an offshoot of the PTO, said there are about 50 people committed to volunteering at least two hours a week in the school, and about 150 who have said they are willing to volunteer on special programs like book sales or fundraisers.

“I wanted to make things better. I wanted this to be about positive change, about how we improve the education of our kids given the budget cuts,” said Hinze, who had worked on the referendum campaigns and has since been appointed to the Salem Board of Education.

Lynch said the Apple Core volunteers’ work has helped overstretched teachers spend more time in the classroom. The volunteers oversee the lunchroom and the playground, help with organizational tasks, and proctor tests for students making up work after absences.

Administrator David Milz said the Salem Booster Club has received deserved recognition for its efforts to restore the sports and extra-curricular programs in time for the opening of school.

“But the volunteers in the school are doing equally remarkable things,” he said.

Lab rescue

One of the volunteers’ most ambitious projects was the reorganization of the middle school science laboratories. Salem does not have a middle school science teacher, instead splitting the science curriculum among several teachers who share time in the science labs. Over the years, the rooms became disorganized, with equipment and materials displaced.

Apple Core volunteers, led by parent Pam Kirsch, who is a professional organizer, spent 25 hours reorganizing the rooms, making an inventory of equipment and materials, and labeling the storage areas.

“This is our pride and joy,” Lynch said of the project.

Hinze, Lynch and fellow leader Stacey Adams hope to continue to build the program, reaching out to new volunteers in the community, including students at Central High School and retirees. They hope to create a corps of people who can help with tutoring or help monitor the libraries.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Hinze said, saying she believes the cuts have been tough on the students and teachers at the school. But she said she has been inspired by the outpouring of support and volunteerism from the community to help minimize the impact of those cuts.

“It has really brought us together,” she said.