Rana Abu-Sbeih, a Palestinian-American mother of three, whose nine-year-old daughter attends PS 102, was in that audience. Abu-Sbeih, as a school volunteer, has led the student run Book Club named 4GR. "It's enriching for the students," said Rana, 33, "and for me, volunteering helps me understand the place where my children go six hours a day, five days a week."

The PS 102 Book Club is only one of many volunteer activities coordinated by Learning Leaders, a nonprofit organization that undertakes projects like the Book Club and places people in positions as tutors, mentors and translators citywide. According to Learning Leaders, from the 12,000 volunteers, 30 percent of them are non-English speaking and work in 800 out of the city's 1,499 schools.

Schools citywide are increasingly looking for support from immigrant volunteers like Abu-Sbeih, who understand the linguistic and cultural heritage of immigrant students, which schools are trying to address. From the volunteer's perspective, they say their work helps them be actively involved in their children's schools.

At PS 102, Abu-Sbeih's continuous presence helps other Arab-American parents understand and integrate themselves into the school system. 

"There is always someone in the schoolyard who approaches me and says, 'I have this problem, who do I talk to,'" Abu-Sbeih said. "They see I am involved in the school and that I speak English and Arabic, so they find it easy to turn to me."

PS 102 has hosted the Book Club for the past two years. Abu Sbeih has been a Learning Leaders volunteer for three years and used to work as a one-on-one tutor, but began volunteering with the Book Club after her youngest son was born last year and finding childcare became a challenge. She now brings her infant son with her to the weekly meetings.

"I think the Book Club is good for the students as it helps them to learn about other cultures," said Abu-Sbeih. "The books the students are reading are about young people from many different nationalities and their experiences. So the stories bring up a lot of sensitive issues which are important for the students to talk about," she said. 

According to spokeswoman Yalitza Vazquez, the immigrant volunteers at Learning Leaders have found plenty of ways to use their foreign-language skills in supporting those students classified as English Language Learners.

"Sometimes it helps to build a sense of comfort simply for students to know that this person speaks their language and is in the school building," Vazquez said. "In the process, the volunteers themselves learn English."

Elia Moghaady started volunteering with Learning Leaders in 2006, helping out in the office at PS 166 in Long Island City. She has a range of duties, including organizing extra curricular activities, making flyers announcing school events, and translating school documents for Arabic-speaking families.

"The work has helped me understand what is going on inside the schools," says Moghaady, 32, whose two sons attend PS 166 in 2nd grade and kindergarten. "I get close to my children, to the office and the principal. I learn more details about my children's education and their school exams." 

Moghaady, who moved to New York City from Egypt eight years ago, says the work has also improved her English. "I was shy when I first joined, but I soon learned how to converse more fluently and how to voice my opinions," she said. 

Learning Leaders has worked in engaging immigrant parents in the public school system since 1956.  It is one of a number of non-profit organizations working with the Department of Education to support schools. These organizations are increasingly engaging immigrant volunteers in the educational system because of their potential to address unique challenges and issues pertaining to immigrant students. 

Another organization is Pencil, which partners schools with volunteer businesses that support schools with managerial advice, equipment and any other skills and resources they may bring. At the request of the school's principal, Pencil works with the Department of Education to place businesses with schools. About 500 such partnerships are already on their way citywide.

Berena Cabarcas, principal of the International Community High School in the Bronx, said she was able to use her Pencil partnership to help engage Yemeni boys at her school. Pencil partner Luciana Fuser Bittar invited a Yemeni-American friend to the school, who met with Yemeni parents and students and then took the students out on several field trips over the year.

"He spoke to the students about his own experiences of how he came to this country with nothing and how he now has so many partnerships and friendships," Cabarcas said. "Attendance has gone up since, and the boys became much more invested in school."

Pencil Communications Manager Jenn Roberts says that other schools have requested partners from among the Arab-American community because of their ability to address unique challenges faced by students of that heritage.

At the all-girls' middle school K609 in Parkville, Brooklyn, Arab-American students spoke of how they had been engaged and inspired by their school's partnership with global law firm Bakers Hostetler, which organizes regular meetings between the students and professional women.

"I remember that the lawyer at my meeting said: 'If we work together, we can all succeed'," said Mana, 12.

"It was interesting to see how a fashion buyer introduces the company to the people and advertises the clothes," said Hanoun, 13.

Principal Mariela Graham said she hoped the partnership would spur her students to achieve greater academic success.

"We want students to remain focused on their studies and sometimes showing them where they could be in 15 years is a kind of motivation they don't often get," she said.

Small and big businesses can sign up with Pencil. Fatima Shama, senior education advisor to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said the partnerships are a way for the many small business owners in the Arab-American community to have an impact in city schools.

"Groups such as Pencil can help organize small-business owners to help them come back and work with our schools," she said.

"Pencil makes it easier for well-meaning and interested people not in the education system to be involved in schools, to find a way to have some influence and help schools in a manageable way," agreed Principal Graham. 

One small business in Bay Ridge, the Green Spa of New York, did just that. It signed up with Pencil and was partnered with PS 217, where Principal Franca Conti wanted to help her students relax.

"Our children are under a lot of pressure, they are uptight and they cannot relax," said Conti, during the 4th and 5th grade final exams in January 2009. "These children are very, very tense, so practicing yoga will help them tremendously."

She added, "We also consider how the children will apply this in their daily lives, and we would like to teach children how to deal with stress and be physically fit."

This story was written as part of an education reporting fellowship granted by New York Community Media Alliance.