San Francisco Bay View. When third-grader Destiny comes running up to Barbara Thomas in the
playground at Malcolm X Academy, there is no doubt that something
special is going on. Thomas gets a big hug from the sweet-faced student
and when Destiny is asked about the hug, she says simply, "Mrs. Thomas
is my friend."

And indeed Barbara Thomas is a friend to scores of students. She's been
volunteering at Malcolm X atop Harbor Road for three years. She
initially heard about the school through her church, Bell Chapel CME,
whose members were joining a national effort called "One Church One
School." The program encourages church members and others in the
community to take on the important job, as their brochure states, of
"teaching the value of life and the value of learning," particularly to
African-American students.

Thomas did not just volunteer, however. She became a member of
Experience Corps, a national organization that recruits adults 55-plus
to work one-on-one with students struggling with reading or other basic
skills like math and writing. In San Francisco alone, there are over 80
Experience Corps members in schools throughout the city. Thomas not
only volunteers in the classroom herself, but coordinates the
activities of the other Experience Corps members.

So why has Thomas taken on this heady task? After all, she spent
over 30 years in the pressure cooker of San Francisco General Hospital
as a financial supervisor.

The answers are quite simple: She's not new to the world of children.
She and her husband Harold have raised three sons, and Thomas has been
a Sunday School teacher for years. But her reasons are more basic when
it comes to the youngsters at Malcolm X, where 80 percent of the
population are low income and where neighborhood violence can erupt. In
recent years, thanks to the efforts of staff, teachers and the
community, tests scores rose significantly, though solidifying these
gains has been challenging.

Thomas thinks she knows the secret of helping youngsters succeed.
"When we start at the beginning," she says, "we can try to shape [a
child]." Being the church-goer that she is, she paraphrases from
Proverbs, Chapter 22: "Train a [child] in the way he should go; even
when he is old, he will not swerve from it."

Make no mistake, however. Thomas doesn't usually quote scripture to her
students. Rather, she makes them comfortable by asking what they like
and don't like about a subject. She concentrates on the traditional
three Rs and works with them at the level they're comfortable with.

Also, she feels it's not too early either to plant the seed of thinking
about college. "You know Martin Luther King Jr. went to Morehouse," she
may say to a student. And she seems to exude a calm that third-grade
teacher Erica Fredrikson says transfers to the students. "She's
amazing," Fredrikson says. "After they've been with her, they behave
throughout the day."

The teacher adds that Thomas never speaks down to the children. She
explains why what they're doing together is important. She impresses
upon her students the importance of reading. She tells them, "Read 30
minutes every night - same time, same place, same station." She'll buy
books for students from time to time.

The need for volunteers is great at Malcolm X Academy, Barbara
Thomas emphasizes. The cornerstone of the school's philosophy is "Each
One Teach One," and there are 150 young people at the school who need
just that "one."

The qualifications for being an Experience Corps member are simple,
says Thomas: A love for children, of course. Patience, of course. And
commitment. "Youngsters need consistency," she says. While most of the
Experience Corps volunteers at Malcolm X are African-American, Thomas
has mixed feelings as to whether it's important to be tutored by
someone "who's the same color as you are." She is more inclined to feel
that "whatever color our volunteers want to be, we'll accept them."

Finally, through the "One Church One School" program Thomas has
established a $20 honorarium for graduating eighth-graders at Malcolm X
who excel in academics, leadership and cooperation. There are also
awards for the most improved student and the most respectful.

Thomas herself gets her reward through working with students. "You just
don't know how rewarding this job is." She paraphrases a note she
received from a graduating fifth grader: "Mrs. Thomas, you cared about
me and my education when I didn't care." Reward enough.

Experience Corps is a program that works. Nationwide, 90 percent of
principals with Experience Corps teams in their schools report
significant improvement in student academic performance and readiness
to learn. Principal Cheryl Thomas at Malcolm X calls her volunteers "an
invaluable part of our community." Three out of four teachers report
improvements in student behavior and classroom learning environments.

The organization is looking for volunteers 55 and over to help at
Malcolm X Academy and other schools throughout San Francisco. Training
is provided and a stipend is available for those who contribute over 15
hours a week. For more information, call Experience Corps Field Manager
Star Bressler at (415) 759-3690.

Email Arlene Silverman at asilverman@sbcglobal.net.

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