Frequently Asked Questions
Donating FAQs
How do I make a donation to School on Wheels?
It’s easy to make a donation online. Simply CLICK HERE to go to the donation form. To donate by mail, please send check or money order to:
School on Wheels, Inc.
P.O.Box 23371
Ventura, CA 93002
To donate by phone, please call (310) 589-2642.
How do I make a donation in honor or memory of someone, and let them or their family know?
Please use our online donation form to make a donation in honor or memorial of someone special. You can access this form here. When you make a gift in someone’s honor, we will notify the person in whose honor the gift was made and notify you that your request has been fulfilled.
How can I donate backpacks, school supplies, books or other items? Will School on Wheels pick up my donation?
We really appreciate material donations but because of our small staff, we are grateful if a donor can drop off or mail supplies to one of our offices. If the donation is large you can coordinate with your local School on Wheels Coordinator to arrange pickup. For more information about your local School on Wheels Coordinator or our mailing addresses please CLICK HERE.
How can I get involved in helping to raise funds for School on Wheels in my community?
CLICK HERE to find out the name of the School on Wheels Coordinator in your area. They will discuss with you how you may participate in ongoing fundraising activities or explore new ideas with you.
How is my donation used? Where does my money go?
Your donation will support School on Wheels in Southern California. As a volunteer tutoring organization, School on Wheels requires resources to maintain a well trained staff to screen volunteers, train them, make matches with homeless students and to support relationships between School on Wheels students and their tutors. Every homeless student that we meet receives a backpack, school supplies and school uniform if needed.
More than 80% of every dollar you give goes directly to making and supporting matches with homeless students and volunteer tutors.
Donating will help to:
• Help recruit new School on Wheels' volunteer tutors
• Cover the costs of background checks and insurance, while ensuring trained professionals match homeless children to commited and responsible volunteer tutors
• Offer one-on-one, ongoing supervision and support for every tutor and student
• Provide and distribute backpacks, school supplies and learning resources as well as social activities for homeless children.
Your donation goes to your community. When you donate to School on Wheels, you directly support the children in your community.
Where does School on Wheels funding come from?
School on Wheels is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization supported by funds from generous donors including foundations, corporations and individuals. We do NOT receive any funding from federal, state or local government. CLICK HERE to review our financial charts)
General FAQs
Are your students with their families or homeless alone?
We meet our students at homeless shelters and usually they are with one or two parents. As staggering as it sounds, the average age of a homeless person is 9 years old! The fastest growing segment of the homeless population is single mothers.
Do you have a school bus?
No. Our name suggests that we do, but in fact our volunteers are our ‘wheels’. They go to where the children are: a homeless shelter, group foster home, a library or after-school program.
Do you have any success stories?
Yes we have hundreds. Every time we match a student and a tutor, we consider that a success. By being with a positive adult role model, we believe that our students have a chance to succeed. Please meet some of our students on the web site and read about their stories.
Do your students attend regular public school?
Yes, although one sad statistic is that in Los Angeles, over 30% of homeless children are not enrolled in school. One of our program services is to help families quickly enroll their children in school.
How many students do you tutor?
This week we are working with 800 children in over 100 different locations throughout Southern California. Last year we tutored approximately 2,000 children.
How old are your students?
We tutor children from Kindergarten through twelfth grade. The average age range of our students is 5 to 10 years old.
Where can I find out more information about homelessness?
CLICK HERE to find the latest statistics on homelessness, as well as resources and websites that will help you understand the problem of homelessness in America.
Where in California do you tutor?
School on Wheels tutors in regions throughout Southern California, from Orange County to Santa Barbara County. CLICK HERE to view our tutoring locations.
Who are your students?
School on Wheels works with children living in homeless shelters, motels, cars, on the streets and in group foster homes.
Why do homeless children need our help?
Every time a homeless child moves, they fall behind in their studies. Our tutors are there to help them fill in the gaps. We believe that education is the key to ending homelessness and by helping homeless children succeed at their number one job - doing well in school - we can help break the cycle of homelessness and poverty.
Volunteering FAQs
THE PROCESS OF BEING MATCHED
Who are the children in the program?
Children and parents may hear about School on Wheels from a teacher, counselor, the shelter where they are staying, from other homeless families or because of our outreach program. All children and their parents choose to be in our program.
How do the children sign up for your program?
School on Wheels works with children living in homeless shelters, group foster homes, motels, cars and on the street. We have a great relationship with shelters and families are told about School on Wheels upon entering the facility. If we have a tutor available we match the children with a tutor immediately. If we do not have a tutor, we put their names on our waiting list. Some families call our FREEPHONE number, some families hear about us from other homeless families. We also spend time doing outreach to kids in motels, cars and on the street.
How will I be matched with a child?
Once you have completed the application process (attended an orientation, completed a Livescan and we have received your references) we will match you with a student based on the information you have given us on your application form (location, preferred grade, preferred tutoring day/time).
WHAT'S IT LIKE TO BE A SCHOOL ON WHEELS TUTOR?
When do I see my student?
Once you have completed your application process and been approved as a School on Wheels tutor, your Coordinator will be in touch with you to set up your first tutoring session. Working with your schedule and age preference, we will match you with a student in your community.
What kind of support can I expect from School on Wheels once I get matched?
Once you are matched with your student. Your School on Wheels Coordinator will be in regular contact with you to provide assistance and give feedback. Anytime you are unsure about what do or how to handle a situation you will have a School on Wheels Coordinator there to help and feedback on how you are making a difference just by showing up. You will be joining over 600 other volunteers in the School on Wheels family.
What if I need to take a vacation and cannot meet my student?
If you know you will be gone for more than two weeks in a row, please inform your student directly, as well as your School on Wheels Coordinator.
What happens if my student leaves?
When your student leaves, please contact your School on Wheels Coordinator to discuss the situation. Depending on the circumstances of the child, it may be necessary to match you with a new student.
Am I able to tutor more that one hour per week?
Yes! While we only require one hour per week commitment you are more than welcome to tutor as often as you and your student’s schedule allows. Please double check with the student’s parents regarding extra hours
My student is doing exceptionally well and I would like to reward them with a gift. Is this allowed?
Yes, but we ask you to restrict any gifts to special occasions such as birthdays, holidays, graduation. Expensive gifts are discouraged and please check with the shelter and parent for any restrictions regarding gift giving.
Am I allowed to take my student on a field trip?
Yes, field trips are allowed. However before a student can leave a shelter, a permission form must be signed by the parent and your School on Wheels' Coordinator. A child is not allowed to leave the shelter until this paperwork has been completed.
Can my son or daughter become a School on Wheels tutor?
We encourage children twelve years and older to join their parent(s) to tutor. A parent or guardian must accompany the child to each tutoring session and he/she must sign in at the time of the tutoring session. Your Coordinator will arrange the student match. Please note that the child does not need to be fingerprinted.
Why do I need to be fingerprinted for School on Wheels when I completed the process for another organization?
Contrary to popular belief, the government does not keep a file of everyone’s fingerprints. Only fingerprints of people who have been arrested, or persons working in highly sensitive employment positions are on file in FBI and state computers. Once a person is fingerprinted for a background check, the fingerprint data is not stored. Therefore, if you apply to tutor, the Live Scan process must be completed again. Please note that School on Wheels does not share your results with any other agency.
LOGGING TUTORING HOURS ONLINE
How do I log my volunteer hours as a School on Wheels tutor?
Please click the link here (SOW Admin) and type in your username and password that your coordinator will have emailed to you.
What is my username and password?
Your username is your email address. The password is sent to the volunteer tutor after their first tutoring session. The password can be changed under “My Profile” when a tutor is logged into the School on Wheels' online database. If you forget your username or password, contact your Regional Coordinator
I cannot find my student on the database to link them to our tutoring session?
There are several reasons why you might not find your student's name on the database 1. Your student has not been attached to your name in our primary database. 2. The student's name has not yet been entered by Regional Coordinator or Volunteer Tutor Coordinator. 3. Name has been entered incorrectly. To determine if your student's name is in the database and/or to add your student to a session, simply click on the desired date on the calendar, then click on ‘add student’. A pull down menu will appear with a list of all students currently in the system. If you do not see your student’s name or if you continue to have trouble, please contact your Regional Coordinator or Volunteer Tutor Coordinator.
Do I still log on if I did not meet my student this week?
Yes, you should still log on so that we know you’re still active. You can just log in the usual hours you tutor, then put in the general comments section: “Tutor was on vacation, tutor was unable to make session due to car trouble, etc.” If the student does not show, you should mark the “no show” box, unless the student has let you know in advance that he/she won’t be there. If this is the case, you can put “Student at summer camp, student called to cancel due to ______,” etc. in the general comments box.
If I go on vacation or my student is away, how do I note this ?
See above.
How do I recur a tutoring session if I know I am going to be tutoring at the same time every week?
To recur tutoring sessions, go the last date that was successfully logged. Click “Edit Session” and you will be brought to the Session Information screen that allows you the option to recur tutoring from that date. There are three options: Interval (Do Not Recur / Daily / Weekly / Monthly), Recur End Date (enter an end date up to one month in advance), Include Students (Yes if working with the same student / No if tutoring different students regularly). After this information has been entered click “Save Session Changes”
What do I add in the comments box?
There are ‘subject comments’ and ‘session comments’. In the subject comments, enter any comments about the student’s progress in the subject in which you’ve worked. Make your comments brief but clear. For example, if the student is having difficulty with multiplication, you should enter something like ‘needs review of multiplication tables’. For session comments enter any general comments that are not covered by the subject comments e.g., “did not seem interested in math” or comments that might pertain to the session as a whole, i.e. “shelter staff are very helpful”.
Why do I have to add subjects tutored?
It is important to add subjects tutored because we can see what you are working on with your student and therefore can provide you with the necessary resources.
Who reads what I write?
Everybody who has access to our online database can see what you have written. It is great when your coordinator can quickly read what you have written and respond accordingly
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