Letter of the day: During tough budgetary times, volunteers make schools work

It's National Volunteer Week, so it's an important time for us to publicly say thank you for the priceless work that is given by all school volunteers. Our thanks also go out to their families and businesses that support their efforts. Personal and family hardships due to our troubled economy have not deterred volunteers. They continue to assist in the classroom, the workrooms and on the athletic fields. They continue to chaperone field trips, sporting events and proms. They still help students learning English as a second language, collect data from kindergartners on their pre-reading skills, shelve books in the media centers, monitor hallways during tests and complete marathons of clerical work. The contributions of our volunteers -- whether they are parents, grandparents, community members or staff volunteering outside their paid work -- help our students in so many ways. A heartfelt thanks to all of our volunteers. SUE ARCHBOLD, VOLUNTEER SERVICES SUPERVISOR, ANOKA-HENNEPIN SCHOOL DISTRICT