| This study examined how the senior community (55 and older) participated in education in public schools. The purpose of this research was to examine what impact the utilization of senior citizens as co-partners with the home and the school had on enhancing the learning skills and emotional and social development of kindergarten students. The goal of this study was to gather data through questionnaires from senior citizens (55 and older), audiotaped interviews of kindergarten students, and teacher questionnaires regarding the benefits of a Grandparents Alliance program on student learning and development. The results of these data were used to establish baseline data to determine the development of future school programs involving senior citizens. This research was conducted at a public elementary school located in Forest Park, Georgia.; The findings revealed in this study were that 100% of the senior citizens were females and over age 55. Only one senior citizen was bilingual and spoke Spanish. The majority of senior citizen volunteers were White. One hundred percent of the teachers agreed regarding the benefits of the Grandparents Alliance program (GAP) at their school. The majority of teachers and senior citizens were aware of the grandparents' program in the school, yet the majority of senior citizens are not involved in school activities. The majority were, however, willing to volunteer if there was a mentoring program implemented. It was not a high percentage of grandparents volunteering to support parental involvement. The majority of teachers and senior citizens stated that the GAP would benefit students and teachers and enhance parental involvement, although only a small percentage were volunteering. A majority of students expressed that they were happy to have senior citizens in their classrooms because they helped them with reading, mathematics, how to be more confident, and behave by being nice to others. A small percentage of students were somewhat apprehensive and timid about having a senior citizen in their class. Others stated that senior citizens slept in class and students did not appear to like the fact that they slept in class and either had to be awakened by the students or awakened themselves. A majority of teachers were aware that senior citizens were primary caregivers to children at the school due to parents' imprisonment, drug addiction, child abuse, or physical or mental illness. |
