Analyzes the successful volunteer program in the Spokane, Washington, Public School District #81. Identifies 22 individual components of sustainability in five operational categories: (1) district funding and support, (2) neighborhood ownerships, (3) consideration of school personnel, (4) balanced reward system, and (5) professional standards. (CH)

Although parent involvement is essential, state education agencies have provided little financial support for staff and programs needed to improve school-family connections. This article discusses elements of good parent involvement programs and describes several successful examples. Advice is given for creating and managing school volunteer…

Presents a model for developing effective parent involvement program. Principals should visualize people served by school, define what parent involvement means to school, gain faculty input, involve parents in planning process, and form a committee of teachers and parents to define common meanings and objectives. Open houses based on specific…

Describes how to plan and implement intergenerational programs that benefit both students and senior citizens. Seniors can be invited to discuss their hobbies or careers, provide firsthand accounts of historical events in social-studies classes, and work with students on biography or gardening projects. Senior volunteers can also serve as…

This guidebook has been compiled to help school staff and community volunteers implement one-to-one friendships with students needing special attention. High-need disadvantaged youth, talented and gifted students, and adolescents having a temporarily difficult time in their lives can all benefit from mentoring. The mentor program for which this…

A survey of 68 schools shows that half of all volunteers have college degrees; most support classroom and tutoring activities. Volunteers are beneficial, despite costs associated with program administration, recruitment, interviewing, screening, orientation, training, performance assessment, motivation, recognition, record keeping, reporting,…

This technical aid packet consists of four sections. The introduction, "Why Use Volunteers," concedes that volunteers are not the answer to the fact that schools have too few resources to do the big jobs they face, but it argues that volunteers can play an important role in helping schools do much more to address barriers to learning. The second…

Guidelines are provided for parents, teachers, and administrators interested in implementing a volunteer program in classrooms or in an entire school system. This guide is divided into seven sections that deal with: (1) benefits derived from participation in a parent involvement program; (2) 10 points to consider in beginning a volunteer program;…

The manual is designed to help special education administrators, teachers, and other interested people to develop an intergenerational school volunteer program. Background information on the program serving Alleghany County (Pennsylvania) is provided along with a review of benefits for students, teachers, volunteers, and the schools. Concerns of…

This manual provides background information about the Senior Citizen School Volunteer Program (SCSVP) and describes the program model that has been developed and implemented by the staff of Generations Together in more than 75 schools. The SCSVP develops intergenerational programs by involving older people as volunteers in elementary and secondary…

A survey of 1,017 principals in Ontario (Canada) indicates that Ontario elementary schools and secondary schools rely heavily on volunteers, especially in younger grades. Volunteers are mainly co-op students, community college students, and parents. Principals are key players in initiating volunteer programs because they believe volunteers improve…

This guide describes intergenerational programs and provides ideas for initiating and implementing informal and formal interaction between youth and senior adults. Intergenerational programs can help dispel negative stereotypes that youth and older adults may have about each other. Successful programs provide rewarding experiences for both…

Information on school/community partnerships in Virginia is provided in this resource guide, which is divided into five sections. The first section, "Building Community/Classroom Partnerships Through Coalitions," by Jane Asche, discusses recent findings that point to the need for coalitions to improve public education. Successful…

This document describes the intergenerational project conducted in the Cedar Falls Public School System (Iowa) that involved senior citizens and youths in a learning and sharing process. The county-based extension service supported by faculty at Iowa State University assisted in the recruitment and training of senior citizen volunteers.…

The major factors affecting successful recruitment and utilization of school volunteers are reviewed in this booklet. The possibilities opened by such programs and the control that can be exercised over them are stressed in the opening pages of the document to encourage program implementation and assuage unnecessary fears. A 17-step process for…