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.