Michigan: 
Email: headquarters@projectappleseed.org / Voice: (615) 686- 2195
Project Appleseed Things for parents to do from A to Z!
When
parents are involved in children's learning, at school and at
home, schools work better and students learn more. Project Appleseed
is working with schools, families, employers and community organizations
to develop local partnerships that support a safe school environment
where students learn to challenging standards.To get the best results from
your parental involvement efforts we want you and your schools
to join our movement to plant the seeds of school improvement
in your local schools with National Parental Involvement Day and
Public School Volunteer Week! Here are some activities your schools can get involved in from A-Z:
Ask your school board, mayor, city council, state representative or governor to issue a proclamation celebrating National Parental Involvement Day (Third Thursday in November) and Public School Volunteer Week (Third Week of April) to highlight the value of parental involvement your schools.
Proclamation
Carroll County Public Schools, Virginia
Public School Volunteer WeekWhereas, Parent and community involvement is a significant factor in the success of schools; and
Whereas, During the past decade, school systems throughout the country have accepted the services of dedicated volunteers to assist professional educators, and these volunteers have offered their time, encouragement, and meaningful contact with students; and
Whereas, By becoming a volunteer, parents and community members are providing an invaluable contribution to the education of our students; and
Whereas, Volunteers are called upon to assist teachers and staff with the day-to-day activities involved in providing a balanced education for our students and are an important part of a team that strives to ensure that each and every one of our students succeeds; and
Whereas, During the school year, approximately 12,000 volunteers are spending 180,000 hours serving Carroll County Public Schools as chaperones, mentors, after-school tutors, club leaders, booster club members, PTA/PTO members, guest speakers, classroom helpers, and in countless other ways;
Be It Therefore Resolved, That the Board of Education of Carroll County does hereby proclaim
Public School Volunteer Week in Carroll County Public Schools and sincerely appreciates our dedicated volunteers for sharing their time and talents with the children in our community.
Des Plaines, Illionois Mayor Tony Arredia recently signed a proclamation declaring the third week in April as National Public School Volunteer Week in Des Plaines. Several school volunteers visited the Mayor's Office along with officials from Des Plaines Elementary School District #62. Pictured left: Interim Superintendent/Cumberland School Principal Christine Schumacher; Volunteer Nancy O'Toole; Board Vice President Brenda Murphy; Volunteer Norine Murphy and Volunteer John Nowak pose for a photograph with Mayor Tony Arredia (seated)
Ysleta Independent School District Regular Board Meeting following the presentation of colors, the Pledges of Allegiance and Moment of Silence, the Board heard Recognitions and Introductions, and a Proclamation for National Parental Involvement Day
Begin with a breakfast for families, community members, school leaders, teachers, and students. Food is a big draw! Host a series of breakfast forums on volunteering opportunities, higher standards, the school's curriculum, conflict resolution, dealing with peer pressure, linking community art, museum and cultural resources with the schools and applying to college.
Brunch in the Plum Borough School District, Pennsylvainia -Volunteer Recognition Brunch - Pivik staff and students appreciate all of the hard work of our volunteers. During Public School Volunteer Week, we recognized almost 200 volunteers at a brunch in their honor. Each grade level and staff member contributed to this event and we are thrilled to give back to these very generous individuals!
Checklist For
An Effective Parent-School Partnership. One way to start improving your school's
parent-school partnerships is by assessing present practices,
says Joyce Epstein at Johns Hopkins University. Asking the right
questions can help you evaluate how well your school is reaching
out to parents. Which partnership practices are currently working
well at each grade level? Which partnership practices should
be improved or added in each grade? How do you want your school's
family involvement practices to look three years from now?
Duplicate and Distribute the Parental Involvement Pledge which ask parents to volunteer 10 hours each in their local school and spend 15 minutes each night reading with their children. Sending the Pledge home with students will get a response rate of about 25%--or less. Asking parents to take the Pledge during their parent teacher conference will get a response rate approaching 80%. Constantly ask parents to take the Pledge at every opportunity. Use Project Appleseed's web site as a place in which parents can take the Pledge or Report Card online. The web site will print a hard copy for the school and parent. Once parents take the Pledge--CALL THEM and get them involved!
Enlist young people to play an important leadership role in family and community involvement in education. They may be your best salespeople and invaluable leaders in the effort to keep public attention and increase public engagement.
Find ways to make reading a fun
part of everyday life. Community literacy might be a focus of
your National Parental Involvement Day and Public School Volunteer
Week activities. Hold storytelling nights, guest author and
poetry readings, read-aloud programs, dramatic readings, book
fairs and book drives, a read-a-thon or a book report festival,
family literacy nights, or other literacy activities for the
whole community. Work with local colleges and universities to
help get work-study students and other college students into
the schools as reading tutors. Older students, such as Girl Scouts,
can also work as reading tutors for younger students.
Get the Parental Involvement Tool Box. Project Appleseed can send your schools the tool that will dramtically increase parental involvement. This cost efficient tool is the learning compact called the Parental Involvement Pledge. With the Pledge the average school district can create thousands of hours of new volunteer time with a minimum wage value that is worth tens of thousands of dollars. A small investment that yields enormous dividends.
Host an open house at the school for parents and community members. Hold it in the evening or on the weekend so that more people can attend. At open house, ask every family to bring a member of the community to the picnic who did not have kids in the school. It provides parents with an opportunity to see the school firsthand and feel more comfortable with the idea of getting involved.
Hugs, smiles and learning:
School volunteers get as much as they give
From Brad Hughes, spokesman for the Kentucky School Board Association: If it's an overstatement to claim that volunteering in schools has changed my life, it's not that much of a stretch. Ask my colleagues at the Kentucy School Board Association (KSBA) if they can't tell which day of the week I've been to Second Street School to read to "my kids." Ask my wife, Judy, if I don't come home with stories and smiles that lifted my day and eased any tensions.
An hour a week is a pitiful contribution to get so much of a boost to the human spirit. Yet the Kentuckians who volunteer in our schools give more than just time. They give children the sight of someone outside the school who comes in and cares. It may be mentoring a fatherless teen. It may be tutoring a student who is having a tough time in math. Or handing out ice cream in the cafeteria. Or cutting out diagrams so a teacher can spend more time working with her class. Or greeting children as their buses arrive each morning and urging them to get to the homerooms quickly.
In whatever form, for whatever length of time, school volunteerism is a message worth getting out.
Photo above: On a St. Patrick's Day visit, volunteer Brad Hughes reads a story about Irish immigrants to students in Vicki Yancey's second-grade class at Frankfort Independent's Second Street School. In the session, students also acted out an Irish children's song and learned about Irish craftsmen who came to America and constructed some of the stone fences found around central Kentucky.
Initiate a parent involvement policy. Start with Project Appleseed's learing compact, the Parental Involvement Pledge. The Pledge provides a great opportunity to convey a school's commitment to involving families and the community. Set up a parent resource center where families can come to get more information on topics of interest and where families can meet and talk with one another and with school staff.
Join Project Appleseed. As a member you are part of a network that shares and implements promising practices in family involvement and in improving our schools. You may be interested in participating in the exciting national activities of Project Appleseed -- such as National Parental Involvement Day and Public School Volunteer Week . On our web site, we will keep you informed of these and other Project Appleseed activities and we invite you to keep us informed of your achievements and initiatives as well.
Kick off National Parental Involvement
Day and Public School Volunteer Week with a special welcome
for new students and families in the community.
In Bennington, Vermont, local businessman Terry Ehrich worked with the local school district to hold a first-day-of-school celebration. Local businesses gave their employees time off, and hundreds of parents went back to school with their children. Everyone involved agreed that the day was a great success!
Launch a community mentoring program where parent volunteers and college students mentor high school and middle school students who, in turn, can mentor elementary school students. Mentoring can involve learning math and science - key gateopening courses for college - going to a museum, community service activities, recreational activities such as a mentor basketball league, tutoring and homework help.
Make sure you involve all members
of your community in your National Parental Involvement Day
and Public School Volunteer Week efforts, including families
and students who are limited English proficient and who have
disabilities.
Name your National Parental Involvement Day and Public School Volunteer Week after your school or community (In Topeka, name the event Topeka Parental Involvement Day and Topeka Public School Volunteer Week).
Organize a rally and/or a parade. Often, communities with large events have a steering committee of various interested community and school leaders, such as the school superintendent, the mayor, school board members, city council members, local business people, and representatives from organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, the YMCA/YWCA, the United Way, The Boys and Girls Club, Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs, and the Urban League.
Present an honorary award to a local government official or local leader in recognition of his or her contribution to education in your community. Awards could be based on the level of involvement community members have given to the school. Celebrate with recognition ceremonies for teachers, students, parents, and community and religious organization volunteers who have made a long-term commitment to children's learning to inspire more people to jump in and get involved.
Suffolk Public Schools, Virginia, National Public School Volunteer Week will be celebrated in Suffolk Public Schools from Monday, April 21 through Friday, April 25. The school division extends its appreciation to close to 1,300 volunteers from the community who work with students throughout the school year. Call Faye Sobel at the Title 1 Parent Resource Center at 925-5686 for more information. Individual schools are planning recognition events to thank their own volunteers as follows:
Booker T. Washington Elementary School "Bear Breakfast" at 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 23. Call assistant principal
Fran Barnes at 925-5535 for details.Driver Elementary School Reception at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, April 24. Call principal Nancy Harrell at 538-5405 for
details.Elephant's Fork Elementary School "Thank-You Breakfast" at 9 a.m. Thursday, April 24. Call assistant principal
Anne Fowler at 925-5555 for details.Kilby Shores Elementary School Reception at 12 noon Friday,
April 25. Call assistant principal Constance Jones at
925-5575 for details.Mount Zion Elementary School Reception at 2 p.m. Thursday, April 24. Call teacher Bonnie Maki at 925-5585 for
details.Northern Shores Elementary School Volunteer brunch at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 4. (School is in intersession
April 21-25). Call guidance counselor Rita Schellenberg at 925-5566 for more information.http://www.sps.k12.va.us/departments/pi/whatsnew/2002-03/WHUP4803.pdf.
Quiz potential volunteers about the talents, skills, and time they are willing to share using the Inventory of Volunteer Interests in Step 3 of the Parental Involvement Pledge. Potential volunteers can be individual community members or local businesses and organizations with specialized services, such as technology know-how. Set up a Pledge skills bank to help match volunteers to school needs. Showcase volunteers in your National Parental Involvement Day and Public School Volunteer Week event.
Read and learn why PARENTING MAGAZINE & TEACHER
MAGAZINE chose the founder of Project Appleseed as a parenting
leader and one of the most influential people of the decade.
It is important to create awareness of the importance of parent,
family and community involvement and the opportunities to get
involved in education through a communitywide public relations
campaign.
Submit an article or guest column or write a letter to your local newspaper describing your event and explaining why building good parental involvement, mastering the basics, revitalizing the schools are so essential to improving education. Give a speech, or enlist local celebrities to speak, about parent involvement.
Train volunteers and teachers. Whether a 2nd-grade reading tutor or an 9th grade "algebra mentor", volunteers need training in their specific assignments. Teachers, in turn, need training in how to get families and community members involved and how to use volunteers in the classroom. Make family and community involvement a focus for professional and personal development for schools, community groups and businesses throughout National Parental Involvement Day and Public School Volunteer Week.
Use Project Appleseed's web site as a place in which parents and citizens can take the Pledge or Report Card online. The web site will print a hard copy for the school and parent. If your community has a lot of retired persons, start a senior school volunteer corps. Get your students to tutor the seniors on how to use computers. If your community has a lot of high-tech businesses, invite them to help your schools with their technology plans. If your community has businesses, organizations, faith communities and individuals interested in supporting schools financially, offer special community-sponsored grants to provide innovative programs and services that meet your school community's needs.
Virginia - Celebration in Roanoke, A
Message from the Superintendent, Dr. Carrol A. Thomas. The Superintendent
stated Public School Volunteer Week would be celebrated
and a number of recognition items were developed around this
year's theme, "Roanoke City School Volunteers Are Out of
this World." Board members were invited to participate in
formally recognizing the District's volunteers at the Volunteer
Gala on May 23 at The Jefferson Center's Fitzpatrick Hall.
Work local businesses to encourage them to allow their employees to take the Parental Involvement Pledge and time off to come to school - to volunteer, to attend a parent-teacher conference, to find out what's going on in the schools.
X-ray your efforts to see how they're going. It's important to evaluate what you're doing to find out if you are achieving your aims, and how you can improve your efforts. An evaluation can be as simple as asking people what they think or conducting a short survey. Don't let problems go unattended. If something is not working, get a group together to problem-solve and figure out a better way. Taking the time to reflect on what's happening will be worth it in the long run when you see sustained success and true collaboration in place!
Yell it from the rooftops! Make sure your entire community knows about your National Parental Involvement Day and Public School Volunteer Week event(s). Contact your local news media outlets (newspapers, radio and television stations) to ask for their assistance in promoting your event and your partnership. Often they will write editorials, air public service announcements, or give coverage to your event.
Finding mentors for teens focus of S. Side town hall
Get connected. It's the key to your future.
That will be the message as the Tucson Citizen and Sunnyside Unified School District host the fourth annual Town Hall, which this year focuses on how parents and students can find mentors in their quest for success.
Thursday's event is in the auditorium of Desert View High School, 4101 E. Valencia Road. A free dinner and school resource fair will precede the town hall, from 4:30 to 6 p.m., in the school cafeteria.
The town hall is being held in conjunction with National Parental Involvement Day.
Zero in on children. As everyone gets busy planning, meeting and working hard, don't lose sight to your ultimate goal - helping all children learn to high academic standards!
Get the Parental Involvement Toolbox for Your Schools!
The Parental Involvement
Toolbox is Project Appleseed's tool to recruit parent volunteers
in public schools.
Parent Volunteer Recruitment Tools
Each Toolbox has school branded master copies and a year long authorization to reproduce unlimited copies of:
-
The Parental Involvement Pledge
-
The Parental Involvement Report Card
-
Certificates of Parental Involvement for families and schools
-
Parental Involvement Pledge Online
Staff Support Tools
Live staff support from Project Appleseed's national office. Click here for NPR audio interview with Project Appleseed's president and founder Kevin Walker.
- Suggestions on How To Run A Successful Pledge Campaign.
- Parental Involvement Pledge Volunteer Request.
Twenty-Six Ways to
Reach Out to Parents. - Project Appleseed's Newsletter Appleseed Today.
- Title I, Parental Involvement Certification
- Regular e-mail updates on Project Appleseed and parental involvement best practices.
Parent
Organizing Database 1.0 Software
- A complete data base for all Pledged volunteers-- parents, grandparents, families
and community members!
- Track volunteer hours each time an activity is accomplished
- Monitor Pledge fulfillment activity of each volunteer
- Keep detailed information on fund raising, unique volunteer preferences and abilities...and more!
Questions: Email: headquarters@projectappleseed.org / Voice: (615) 686- 2195