RSVP VOLUNTEERS HELP STUDENTS, TEACHERS WITH SCHOOLWORK

At 84, Eloise Moore goes to school every day.

Utilizing her lifetime of experience, Moore makes a difference in Sue Duncan's first-grade classroom as a participant in the Retired Senior Volunteer Program.

"She's wonderful," Duncan said. "She's taken to the position like a duck to water. She's busy, doing whatever I ask her to do. She's so sweet with the students."

Moore is in her 15th year as a RSVP volunteer at Chaffee Elementary. She was one of the first Scott County RSVP volunteers, helping at the school from 1973-80. She's been helping in Duncan's classroom since 1987.

"I was alone and needed something to do," Moore said about her first stint as a volunteer at school. The last seven years as a volunteer came after her second husband died and she wanted something to fill her time.

Moore helps in the classroom from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. every school day. She grades papers, sorts and staples them, prepares them for students to take home, cuts out paper designs that the students later color, and often tends to decorations on the classroom walls.

"I try and do anything I can to take some of the work off Mrs. Duncan," Moore said. "I handle a lot of little things. I eat in the lunch room with the kids and help them with their meals when it's needed."

Moore said she often works one-on-one with students, helping them with their numbers or listening to them when they say the words they are learning.

"The students treat me like a grandma," Moore said. "I try to be a peacemaker at times. I handle some of their complaints and concerns when Mrs. Duncan is busy.

"I look forward to coming to school every day," Moore said. "I've often said that if I only help one child during my time here it will have been worthwhile.

"I think the kids help me to stay young. I usually have a good attitude," said Moore, who retired from the shoe factory here in 1971. The 1929 graduate of Chaffee High School said working with children is "very special" to her.

Moore said she usually tries to slip out of the classroom after lunch to keep from interrupting the class. She said it pleases her when the children see her around town after school hours. "They usually say hello and I get a hug," Moore said.