Edna Carr has a standing appointment on the second floor of the Adult Learning Center (ALC) every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon.
“Mrs. Carr is a dedicated and dependable volunteer,” said ALC volunteer coordinator Dianne Dollins. “She is always on time and prepared to tutor. She cares about her students and strives to help each one needing assistance with reading.”

Her adult students are punctual as well. They don’t want to miss a minute of their time with Carr.
“She’s teaching me something I’ve wanted to do my whole life – read,” said William, one of Carr’s students. He added that he was “too hard-headed in school” as a child.
Another adult learner, who said he was incarcerated at one point in his life, holds up a legal pad and flips through the pages of an essay he’s been working on with help from Carr. “She makes me excel in my learning,” he said. “I am going to ace the GED all because of Mrs. Carr.”
Reading is not all that Carr covers in the center’s Adult Basic Education (ABE) program. There are lessons in math, social studies and more. “Take her picture in front of the map,” said two students, and the rest agreed because of their recent discussions about geography.
Carr laughed and obliged, and two students proudly joined her.
Carr said later, “Helping them to improve their math and reading skills makes them become an individual, and they think, ‘I can do it!’ They have families – they need to be able to do these things to help them and have their independence.”
ALC director Paul Palombo appreciates Carr’s passion for adult learners and her determination to help each one be successful. “Her ability to demonstrate relevance for the students makes Mrs. Carr an asset as a volunteer,” he said.
Like Dollins, Palombo praised Carr’s dedication and dependability, noting that her husband’s death last year did not deter her from continuing her volunteer service to the center.
“I have three loves,” said Carr, “God, family and teaching.”
And Carr’s love of teaching and care for her students is evident to them. “Mrs. Carr is a very nice lady who has a lot of patience and takes her time to help you,” said William. “She is a beautiful soul.”
To find ways you can get involved, visit the division’s Get Connected page at vbschools.com/getconnected and find volunteer opportunities available in VBCPS schools. For more information about the Volunteers in Education program as a whole, visit the page to learn more about the service of VBCPS volunteers.