School Will Require Students to Volunteer

Students at Montclair College Preparatory School will soon have first-hand experience in giving back to the community as the school begins a mandatory volunteer program for its high school students.

The community volunteer program, launched at a school assembly Thursday, is an attempt to help the students understand the importance of being involved in activities beyond sports and school clubs.

“I think this experience will help them learn something more about themselves as they help others,” said Carol Zaslow, president of Montclair’s parent association that thought of the volunteer program.

Students have the choice of volunteering for one of 93 nonprofit organizations around the city, including nursing homes, children’s hospitals, environmental groups and homeless organizations.

Ninth-, 10th- and 11th-grade students will be required to volunteer five hours a week at an organization of their choice, either after school or on weekends. Beginning in September, 12th-graders will also be required to volunteer.

To ensure that the students are following up on their commitment, the parents association will monitor the progress from forms completed by an organization once the student has volunteered.

“A lot of kids at this school are economically secure and they take a lot of things for granted,” Zaslow said. “Hopefully, they’ll learn from volunteering that there are lots of things they should be grateful for.”