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Volunteer declines award; embrances helping students
By MICHELE MILLER © St. Petersburg Times, published March 14, 2001 NEW PORT RICHEY -- Debbie Perez tried to convince William Smith that he should go and pick up his Senior Volunteer of the Year award at a recent ceremony held at the Pasco County School District Office. But the 67-year-old Smith, who spends at least a couple of hours a day volunteering with Perez's students at Cotee River Elementary School, wouldn't hear of it. "He just said, "No, I have work to do here,' at school," Perez said. There is little doubt that Perez hit pay dirt when Smith showed up in her first-grade classroom last year as part of America Reads, a national program that matches volunteers with students needing assistance with reading skills. His presence is an "incredible boon," Perez said. "It's great; it's wonderful," she said, "He's like our guardian angel. He helps with their reading, writing and with the computers." Last year, Smith, who is retired, started by helping out for a few hours per day a couple of days a week. He usually worked one-on-one with Perez's students. When he was done, he would often help out in another classroom and also volunteered his time during the summer-school session. When the 2000 school year rolled around, Smith was there again and had increased his work load. He worked with students for a couple of hours five days a week. It is that kind of dedication that prompted Perez to nominate Smith for the Senior Volunteer Award for Pasco County. "I've never met anybody that went above and beyond the call of duty like he does," said Perez. On a typical day, Smith comes in at 9:30 a.m., a half-hour before school starts, to work individually with students learning to read. After that, he is in the classroom, helping to monitor students working in different work centers -- writing, spelling, penmanship, computers. That frees up time for Perez to work with a small group of students who need extra help. "It makes it possible for me to work without interruptions while he keeps the other students on task," Perez said. Smith is characteristically humble about his own input. "If you ask me what I do around here, I'd have to tell you, mostly I let her do her job," Smith said. "She's the real hero in here." Still, Smith has a way with the children. "Kids, you know, they like to read to you. They like to tell the story to you," he said. "So you let them. You don't read to them; you listen." Said Perez: "He knows the kids' abilities. He knows when the struggling students are doing their best and when the good students are slacking." And Smith does more than help students with their academics. He also serves as a fine role model, Perez said. "A lot of children don't always have a dad at the home or even grandparents," Perez said. "These kids really like spending time with him." "Unfortunately, there's not a lot of men who can afford to be a school teacher," Smith said. "You don't meet many men that volunteer in the schools. I don't consider myself a role model, but I guess I'm it for some of them (students)." Still, Smith wants others to know of the rewards he reaps from working with youngsters. When his own four children were growing up, Smith, who was an installation supervisor for Western Electric, spent much of his time traveling around the country. "When my kids were this age, I missed a lot with them," he said, "Now I get to do things with these kids." '"People should know that there's not only problems in the schools, which is often what you hear about," Smith said. "When you work with a kid that's behind and the teacher says, "Johnny's moving up, and can you work with this other kid now?' You hate to see them go, but you're happy to see them doing so well." How to helpAmerica Reads volunteers are needed in many Pasco County schools. To help, call the volunteer coordinator or America Reads/VISTA contact at the school of your choice.
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