We request 40 volunteer hours per family, per year while in the Optional Program. Those hours can be spent in classrooms, on field trips, helping with optional events, or by doing many outside projects. No matter how they fulfill those hours, our amazing families support our teachers by providing additional opportunities for our students. In the classroom, parents provide academic support. Both in and out of the classroom, parents organize and offer experiences that teachers can then use to teach required curriculum. As families come and go through Optional, the program evolves and changes with the talents and skills each parent brings. Without the influence of the minds of teachers AND parents, Optional would not be able to offer kids new learning experiences that keep them excited.