G.I.V.E. Get Involved, Volunteer in Education

Communities Getting Involved and Making A Difference

"America Goes Back to School"

Parents' Source, January 20, 2000

Students today face a future of expanded opportunities and broadened horizons. They also face the pressures of a job market characterized by ever-changing technology and growing international competition. We can prepare our students for the future by acting now on what we know. Thirty years of research show that when children can count on family and community involvement in their education, it makes a significant difference in their learning. America Goes Back to School is a great opportunity to build awareness and support for family and community involvement in education, and to work with others to improve education in your community.

Started by U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley in 1995, and sponsored by the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education, America Goes Back to School encourages families and communities to make the most of the back-to-school time by launching or expanding family-school-community partnerships.

America Goes Back to School is based on some key facts:

• Students who have one or both parents involved in their education are more likely to get As and less likely to be suspended or expelled or to repeat a grade.
• Teachers say the single most important thing public schools need to help students learn is involved parents.
• Almost half of all Americans say they would be very comfortable volunteering to help in some way at a local school. Yet only one-third of Americans say they regularly participate in volunteer groups.
• Over 60 percent of Americans believe that most parents face times when they need help raising their kids, often because they are so stretched for time.

Take advantage of this volunteer spirit to encourage people to get involved in an existing partnership or launch a new one that focuses on improving children's learning. As partners, you can help stage a public event to build greater public awareness of and support for the benefits of family involvement in educating children. Focus your event around the coming century or millennium, or get your entire community to rally around a key school issue such as:

• Making schools safe and drug free
• Expanding after-school and summer programs
• Recruiting and preparing quality teachers
• Developing pathways to college and careers
• Getting high standards into every classroom

No matter how big or small your local effort is, in order for it to be a successful venture, you will need to involve community partners. Start by gathering a team of partners and together organize your America Goes Back to School event as a kick-off for your long-term educational improve-ment effort.

Steps to Building Local Partnerships:

Work Together. Consult a wide variety of groups and citizens who are active in the community. Let local groups and citizens buy in and feel ownership by determining their own needs, choosing the educational issues that affect them, and recognizing their capacity to help.

Think about the different perspectives and interests in your community: what cultures, languages, faith groups, ages, business sectors, education institutions, cultural organizations, and so forth are represented. One network may be the school system or a community leader who occupies several positions (for example, a business leader who is also a member of a faith community or a Scout leader).

Survey Resources. Find out how people in your community would be willing to help. Talk to schools about their volunteer opportunities and needs. Speak with employers about providing time off for employees to improve schools, and to senior citizen groups, colleges, and universities about tutoring and mentoring. Contact local arts organizations and museums about providing cultural activities for children both inside and outside of the schools.

Share information. Ask community representatives from national associations and organizations about available activities and resources for local members to use in planning and building partnerships, and share this information with your teachers, parents, and principals.

Whatever you do - whether you organize a tutoring program in reading, a citywide parade, a class celebration for students and parents, or a yearlong mentoring program in math - remember to focus on children's learning. Emphasize the importance of family and community involvement in education, and the need for high standards in every classroom in our schools. Prepare your children for the future. Challenge young minds and they will achieve - they will soar! Come on, America - let's go back to school and help! After all, better education is everybody's business.

Excerpts from "America Goes Back to School", have been reprinted with permission from the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education.

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