Gepford Teaches, Fulfills Civic Responsibility

Gary Gepford has taught Spanish at Herndon (Virginia) High School for the past 22 years, following several years of teaching in his native Nebraska and two years in the Peace Corps, where he was responsible for inservice teacher training throughout Chile.

That experience, Gepford says, “was one of the highlights of my life.” Not surprising, considering the value he places on social responsibility.

“You can teach kids until you’re red in the face, but if you can get them actively doing something and participating in something and they feel that they’re part of the community—there’s just nothing like it.”

Getting kids involved in community service is something that Gepford does well. He’s the founding sponsor of Herndon High School’s 13-year-old environmental group, Students Against Global Abuse (SAGA). Each year, SAGA members recycle more than 100 tons of paper and other waste—raising nearly $175,000 over the years for scholarships in the process. The SAGA program has won numerous awards and has become a model for other schools that want to start their own recycling programs.


Give parents information to help their children all year long with the new four-color Parent Institute newsletter, The Learning Child, you’ll receive every month. Put it on your Web site or make endless copies for your parents for one low price. Details found at: www.parent-institute.com/tlc

Gepford’s students also participate in the EXCEL program (short for Extra Class), a program he helped found that matches high school students from the Spanish Honor Society, Spanish Club and Spanish III classes with local elementary school children who need extra help with English language skills.

The first year, there were about 25 high school tutors and an equivalent number of elementary school students in the Saturday morning program. EXCEL is now in its ninth year and the numbers on both sides have nearly tripled. While the majority of children are Hispanic— children from a variety of ethnic backgrounds are getting help.

“The biggest thing is that the interaction with the older kids creates confidence in the younger kids. They’re gaining language skills, but confidence is the big difference. We’re hearing that kids who were reluctant to do so are now participating actively in class,” Gepford explains.

Student tutors receive community service credit or extra credit in Gepford’s classes. “But it’s much more than extra credit for most of them,” he says. “They are learning to become better citizens and to accept civic responsibility.”

—Carol Bruce
Carol Bruce is a writer living in Herndon, Virginia and is a regular contributor to The Parent Institute publications.

Copyright © 2004 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc.
Permission is granted for noncommercial reproduction of this material if this credit message is included.

Featured Product

It’s easy to set up a Web site, but creating relevant, research-based parent involvement information that changes every day takes many hours to develop. Now the work is done for you for just pennies a day! The Parent Institute will deliver school success parenting ideas automatically to your Web site, 365 days a year. There’s no work for you after a one-time set up. See how the School Success Web Content Service works at www.parent-institute.com/wc