Beyond The Bell: Volunteering In OKC Public Schools

Doing more with less as enrollment numbers increase faster than funding increases, that is the new reality for Oklahoma City Public Schools.

Beyond the Bell takes a look at the vital help the district gets from local partnerships.

Meet Wanda Howard and Helen Turner. The two have a combined 160 years of life experience and more than 30 years of volunteering in OKC schools as part of the Foster Grandparents system.

The two women have seen countless children learn the basic skills to get through life, it happens in front of them every day. The duo has proven invaluable to teachers already stretched thin. Helen and Wanda work with small groups of children, supplementing classroom work with extra lessons.

And whether their students know it or not, they're giving back something huge to Wanda and Helen.

The Foster Grandparent Program is just one of the dozens of community partnerships in Oklahoma City aimed at providing the district's thousands of students with an improved education.