A Family Passion for Helping Children Learn

How a mother and son work together with Experience Corps to change young lives in Arizona.

AARP Foundation Experience Corps Volunteer tutor Barbara Sundust tutoring 3rd grader Gunnar Davis on Wednesday February 5th 2025 in Casa Grande, AZ
Barbara Sundust works with a young student named Gunnar.

For Barbara and Noah Sundust of Casa Grande, Arizona, AARP Foundation Experience Corps is not only a great example of a community coming together to help children succeed; it’s also a family affair.

Barbara, 76, a former schoolteacher, never truly retired. After 44 years in middle school classrooms teaching social studies and language arts, she found a new way to make a difference by volunteering with Experience Corps.

But this wasn't just any volunteer opportunity — it was a chance to work in the same school as her son, Noah. Together, they’re helping students from high-need communities read at grade level by the end of the third grade at Desert Willow Elementary School.

Noah, 34, came to the teaching profession after following in his father’s footsteps, first as a Marine and later as a construction worker. Barbara wasn’t at all surprised by the move.

“Noah was born with the heart of a teacher,” she notes, recalling how he had helped his karate teacher as a teenager. "When I saw that, I knew he had the discipline to be a teacher." When a teacher shortage opened up an opportunity, Noah took the big step. "I was roofing on a Thursday," he laughs, "and the next Monday I was at Desert Willow, ready to start teaching."

AARP Foundation Experience Corps Volunteer tutor Barbara Sundust with her son, Noah Sundust, who is a 3rd grade teacher at Desert Willow Elementary in Casa Grande, AZ
Barbara Sundust is an Experience Corps volunteer tutor and her son Noah is a third-grade teacher at Desert Willow Elementary School in Casa Grande, Arizona.

Barbara’s passion for teaching remains as strong as a volunteer as it ever was. "Teaching is my vocation, my calling," she explains. "When I had the opportunity to join Experience Corps, it was perfect for me to continue what I love."

Experience Corps, which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary, has a few different tutoring models, but in most cases volunteers work one-to-one with students, something Barbara finds incredibly rewarding. She loves watching the children grow not only in reading ability but also in confidence both academically and socially.

"I have one little boy who gets excited to sound out words on his own. He tells me, 'Don't tell me!' and tries to figure it out himself." The joy on Barbara’s face as she tells this story no doubt mirrors that student’s own joy of discovering the power of being able to read.

Noah treasures what the Experience Corps volunteers bring to the classroom, and not just because one of them is his mom. As a third-grade teacher, he understands how challenging it can be to give individual attention in a classroom of 20 to 30 students.

"There's nothing that will ever beat a one-to-one tutor," he said. "The volunteers are willing and able to help kids get that special attention."

Help Kids Become Great Readers

Helping someone learn to read is an amazing feeling. Experience Corps makes it easy to start giving back, with training and ongoing support when you’re in the classroom. 

Learn About Volunteering

Blaine Caron, the school's instructional coach, agrees. "We've seen an increase in not only students' fluency but also their confidence," she notes. “As an instructional coach, it’s what you want to see in your students.”

Test results back up the progress. While the majority of children being tutored at Desert Willow were below benchmarks in two key categories at the beginning of the year, all were above the benchmarks at midyear, with some already exceeding the end-of-year benchmarks.

Barbara, who is of European descent, has strong ties to the community. She taught at St. John's Indian School on the Gila River Reservation, where she met her husband, who is Pima and Maricopa. Throughout her career, she has worked with students from all backgrounds and now continues that mission through her volunteer work.

For Barbara, literacy is about more than just reading words on a page. "Without being able to read and think," she said, "what will our society be? We need people who are thinkers, and that only comes from reading and comprehending."

Noah echoes his mother, quoting a line from The Professor and the Madman, a movie about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, that for him crystallizes the importance of reading: "I can fly out of this place on the backs of books. I've been to the end of the world on the wings of words.” Says Noah, “You can make so much more of your life and of yourself if you’re a literate person.”

It's a philosophy both mother and son live by — that reading opens up endless possibilities. Through Experience Corps, through teaching, they hope to continue bringing those possibilities home to the children in their own backyard.

Learn more about AARP Foundation Experience Corps and how to become a volunteer.

Read more stories about how our programs have helped people find hope, and about the volunteers who give so much of themselves to help others.

Help Kids Become Great Readers

Helping someone learn to read is an amazing feeling. Experience Corps makes it easy to start giving back, with training and ongoing support when you’re in the classroom. 

Learn About Volunteering

Unlock Access to AARP Members Edition

Join AARP to Continue

Already a Member? Login