Feature article

Lexmark volunteers sub in classrooms

Article by Tammy Lane
February 11, 2008

In a win-win-win partnership, Lexmark International employees are volunteering as substitutes in Fayette County classrooms.
  The program, which launched in the fall:
• Gives the professionals a change of pace and a taste of teaching.
• Provides the students a different perspective from people actually working in industry.
• Saves the district some money since Fayette County Public Schools doesn’t have to pay for the substitutes.
  “We’re just terribly grateful,” said David Helm, the district’s middle and high school science coordinator, who matches the Lexmark volunteers with classroom needs in science, technology, engineering and math.
  The idea had fermented for a while at Lexmark, which allows its employees three paid days a year to volunteer in the community.
  “We have such a pool of talent with our engineers,” said Juli Gaworski, a communications specialist at Lexmark, which primarily produces printers and cartridges here. “This would be great to engage our employees and give them an outlet to volunteer. Also, it’s a really neat way for (those nearing retirement) to look at a second career option.”
  Initially, about 20 employees signed up for the teaching program; a handful more has since joined them.
  “One day is spent shadowing the teacher, and the next two days, they can work in the classroom,” Gaworski said. “They really enjoy that give and take.”
  Lexmark volunteers will cover classes for as many as 10 teachers expected to attend the company’s own Women in Engineering Day on Feb. 22. Typically, FCPS calls on the chemists and engineers to sub in everything from biology to physics to computer application classes – mostly when teachers are away for professional development events.
  David Lane, a computer programmer for 15 years at Lexmark, embraced the opportunity to return to school. “I wanted to go back and encourage the kids to continue with their education,” said Lane, a graduate of Bryan Station High School.
  In late January, he was assigned to Microsoft Office and Web design classes at his alma mater. “It went real well. Having some prior experience with classroom management helped,” said Lane, who had taken a break from Lexmark a few years ago to try teaching.
  A half-day’s orientation in the fall was critical for volunteers who had never taught, he said. “You have to be prepared for the kinds of things that go on in a high school classroom.”
  Paula Sevigny, who manages a team in laser scan unit development at Lexmark, certainly knew what to expect – in the mid-1970s, she taught math for eight years in Memphis.
  “I miss a lot about teaching,” she said. “I’ve always thought if I retire from electrical engineering and there’s an opportunity to teach, I’d like to do that.”
  In her first assignment for FCPS, Sevigny – who has worked at IBM and Lexmark for about 25 years – subbed in a biology class at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.
  She admitted it wasn’t an exact fit, but made the most of it. In a version of high school show-and-tell, Sevigny brought in a laser print head and talked about how she diagnoses problems at Lexmark.
  “What I brought to the kids was what it was like to be a real engineer in the real world,” she said.

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