Given the strong interest in school-based mentoring programs, Public/Private Ventures visited two exemplary mentoring programs chosen by the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA). One program was in Green County, Oklahoma, and the other in Jacksonville, Florida. Researchers talked with parents, teachers, children, and mentors to learn more…

RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program) is one program of ACTION--The Agency for Volunteer Service. ACTION, created in 1971, is a Federal agency which administers a number of volunteer programs. Its purpose is to provide a recognized role in the community and a meaningful life in retirement for older adults through significant volunteer service.…

Describes KID-ABILITY, the sexual abuse prevention program of the Girls' Club of America, now being expanded to other youth-serving organizations nationwide, which aims to increase children's self-esteem and confidence, and help children learn how to assess and obtain help in problem situations. (Author/BB)

The Thomas J. Pappas Regional Education Center in Phoenix, Arizona, is a magnet school for homeless students from unorganized territories, military installations, Indian reservations, and national forest lands. This "accommodation" school, supported by federal grants, in-kind business donations, and committed volunteer mentors from the…

The SMILES (Senior Motivators in Learning and Educational Services) program was initiated in 1977 by Salt Lake City School Volunteers, Inc., a nonprofit organization working with the Salt Lake City School District, as an addition to an established, successful school volunteer program. The purpose of the SMILES program is to recruit and train older…

A fifth-grade teacher in Kansas City, Missouri, wanted volunteers in her classroom--to help her individualize instruction, work with students who have emotional problems, and allow her more time to plan her instruction. But when two adults volunteered to help, she couldn't think of anything specific for them to do. Here are suggestions for…

Discusses the benefits for both schools and senior citizens of programs that actively involve senior citizen volunteers in the schools and briefly outlines some of the beneficial effects of the experimental Teaching-Learning Communities program in the Ann Arbor (Michigan) schools. Available from Association for Supervision and Curriculum…

Using the concepts of normalization, mainstreaming, and individualized instruction, a big brother/big sister program was developed in which 16 severely handicapped autistic children (4 to 15 years old) were tutored by nonhandicapped and educable mentally retarded elementary students. (CL)

The Carl E. Gilbert School (Buena Park, California) was officially "adopted" by Kraft Foods, Incorporated, in November 1982, creating a community partnership between business and education. Fifty-two Kraft employees volunteered to donate their time for 1 hour a week to help teachers of the kindergarten through the sixth grade. They…

Over 1,000 colleges and universities have joined the America Reads initiative and have placed Federal Work-Study students in high-needs schools, the majority in urban settings. Few outside the reading field recognize the complexities associated with instruction for emergent readers, particularly for students who arrive at school with few literacy…

The Reading Excellence program seeks to provide a cadre of trained volunteers to deliver tutorial assistance in reading to at-risk students during non-instructional times that will result in significant improvement in student performance on reading and language arts as measured by their age-appropriate standardized tests. This paper describes the…

Describes Panther Paw Press, a school-based publishing program that is built on the efforts of teachers, parents, students, and a succession of supportive school principals. Discusses the details that make this publishing program work framed in the six goals articulated in the Panther Paw Press Handbook. (SR)

Presents an overview of the volunteer-taught "Omnibus" enrichment program implemented in Windsor, Colorado, to meet the needs of academically gifted elementary students. Outlines lesson plans and activities for a six-week, hour-long course on genetics for fifth graders. (NEC)

Both students and their mothers became motivated to participate in and react to an art program developed at Oklahoma State University. The program used the mothers as volunteers who were trained to stimulate students' interests in famous art prints. (RK)

Five principals and one vice-principal describe law-related education courses and student advisory councils in their schools and explain why they are valuable. (JM)