Service valued in Bay District

PANAMA CITY — In honor of National Volunteer Week, Bay District Schools asked staff members across the district to nominate some of their most generous and supportive school volunteers.

For Sheila Wojnowski, principal of Cedar Grove Elementary, that choice was simple.

Following Hurricane Michael, the Chautauqua Learn and Serve Charter School, a transitional school for students with disabilities, reached out to Cedar Grove to see if their students could begin a service project to help regularly maintain the school.

“I love having them,” Wojnowski said. “They’ve been just an all around help to our school.”

Each day, the students show up around 11:30 a.m. and traverse the entire campus, visiting each classroom, the library and the administration building to empty garbage and replace garbage bags. The students also help out in the cafeteria to clean up after meals. Wojnowski said assistance from the students takes hours off of her staff.

Best of all, the students have reported loving the work.

“They need help taking the garbage out and all of that,” said volunteer Colby Redd. “Some kids are very funny. They hang out with (us). At one autism classroom we go to, this one kid says ‘hello big friends!’”

Students at Chautauqua are taught to apply life skills into the world by regularly attending lessons and volunteering throughout the county. The school emphasizes that through service, students are being prepared for the world as the world prepares for them.

“I want them to have a chance and I want them to feel like they are valued. I want them to have self worth and I want them to feel they can accomplish whatever they want to accomplish,” said Wojnowski, who began her education career in Exceptional Student Education (ESE). “It’s sweet to give these kids an opportunity to contribute to society and feel they are a help — because they are.”

For Dezihya Anderson, also known as Zi, volunteering at the school has inspired him to want a job after graduation, especially if it's in maintaining a school.

“I just want to work here as a maintenance. Like, I know some teachers at some classes that we missed. If we missed a classroom, we’ll go back and do it just like we did yesterday,” Anderson said. “I just like it here because it’s just very awesome just working here. I feel like I want to work here every day.”

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