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1
Introcluction
Americans have long prided themselves on an education system dedi-
cated to extending knowledge to the broadest possible spectrum of chil-
dren and youth. The participation of volunteers in furthering the educa-
tion process is both perceived and believed to be good and to contribute
to the welfare of America's students. Yet, given such widely held beliefs,
surprisingly little is known about school-based volunteerism. Bits and
pieces describing particular programs or activities abound, but not much
is known about the overall picture.
In part to meet the needs for such information and in part to promote
the concept of volunteerism, the U.S. Congress included a provision in the
Higher Education Amendments of 1986 for a study to be conducted by
the National Academy of Sciences on how volunteers can best be used in
the classroom (Section 1341, P.L. 99-498~. The study was carried out at the
request of the U.S. Department of Education by a committee established
under the Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
(CBASSE) of the National Research Council.
Despite increasing interest in using volunteers to enhance the educa-
tion of American youths, attempts to study their contributions to pupils
and teachers, to the schools, and to the community have been largely local
studies focusing on specific projects. These data from local school dis-
tricts and anecdotal information gathered by the committee suggested
considerable growth in the numbers of volunteers over the past several
decades. This was borne out to some extent by a 1985 study conducted by
the Gallup organization for the Independent Sector, which showed an
increase in volunteer participation in education of some 4 percent be
1
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2
VOLUNTEERS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
tween 1981 and 1985, at the same time that overall volunteer activity was
recording a decline of the same magnitude.
The pool from which school volunteers are drawn has changed accord-
ing to school officials and others knowledgeable in this area. Twenty to
30 years ago most school volunteers were mothers of school children, but
this source has been reduced as women have moved into paid employ-
ment. Increasingly, people from the business community, retired citizens,
and college students have been actively recruited by school systems, and
these groups now constitute a substantial portion of volunteers.
As the pool of school volunteers has become more diverse, so have the
kinds of activities in which they engage. Growing public concern with
the quality of education has resulted in greater emphasis on volunteering
to help with activities directly related to student learning.
The committee found a great variety of services provided by volun-
teers, including: tutoring students in need of special help with such skills
as reading, writing, and mathematics; listening attentively to children who
"need a special friend"; working to develop English-language skills in
children who are immigrants to the United States; acting as mentors and
role models, and providing career guidance for disadvantaged youths;
enhancing students' appreciation of arts and literature through lectures
and demonstrations and helping in hands-on application of arts and crafts;
organizing and operating computer labs; accompanying choral and other
musical events; helping students organize science fairs, school newspa-
pers, and dramatic events; and serving as guest lecturers on topics in
which volunteers have experience and expertise. The committee also ob-
served programs in which volunteers serve as surrogate grandparents in
intergenerational programs that try to overcome stereotypical separations
between young and old.
In addition to helping with instructional activities, large numbers of
volunteers assist in libraries and media centers; help to monitor school
lunch rooms and playgrounds; relieve teachers of paperwork and other
nonacademic chores; help with field trips; and advise and support stu-
dents in a wide range of clubs, competitions, arrd athletic events.
The literature reviewed as well as school officials and volunteer coordi-
nators interviewed emphasize that the role of volunteers in all of these
activities is to supplement rather than supplant professional school per-
sonnel. Their tasks are to augment and enrich the teaching and other
activities in schools and classrooms. The committee learned of instances
in which volunteers have become a bridge between schools and their
communities, helping the communities to understand the schools' mis-
sions and needs.
Early in its study the committee became aware of the generally positive
image attached to the concept of volunteerism. It was evident that the
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INTRODUCTION
3
body of research on volunteers consists largely of specific studies on proj-
ects, such as tutoring and serving as mentors, plus informal evaluation
studies based on teachers' or volunteers' perceptions as to the effective-
ness of volunteer efforts. In its analysis of the literature and information
from site visits and interviews, the committee was especially careful to
approach the review critically and to attempt to draw reasonable conclu-
sions as to the efficacy and value of volunteerism. Problem areas and
possible negative aspects, as well as the positive, were considered in this
review.
In conducting its study, the committee attempted to address questions
such as: How large is the school volunteer effort? What is the number of
schools, volunteers, teachers, and students involved? What is the nature
of volunteer activities and how are they distributed? What is known
about the contribution of school volunteers (for example, to increased
academic achievement, to improved student attitudes, to teacher effec-
tiveness, to community support for education)? What is known about
factors that are important to the success of volunteer programs? Are
there common elements among successful programs? What problems
should schools anticipate in implementing a program to use volunteers in
the classroom? What problems should volunteers expect?
The first task of the committee was to agree on a definition of a "school
volunteer" in order to establish the scope and limits of the study. Volun-
teers interact with schools in many ways. Initially, the committee in-
tended to focus on volunteer activities related only to students in the
classroom. However, we discovered that these are difficult to isolate from
clerical and other support activities in a school. Accordingly, we decided
to consider the broader picture of the use of volunteers in public schools,
from kindergarten through high school (grades K-12. Thus, the term
"school (or classroom) volunteer" as used in this report generally refers to
persons who work without pay, usually under the direction of an author-
ized teacher or other school employee, in support of school objectives to
enhance the education of students. It includes people who participate in
some aspect of instruction as well as those who help with clerical or other
support activities. This definition with minor modifications in wording is
used by the National Association of Partners in Education, the major pro-
fessional organization with which directors of school volunteer services,
volunteer coordinators, and volunteers are affiliated. Most state agencies
that define the term also restrict it to unpaid service, as do most school
districts.
Business-education partnerships, a rapidly growing area of community
involvement in education, often provide financial or material gifts to
schools, employment opportunities for teachers and students, and other
forms of collaboration with schools. For this study' however, the commit
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4
VOLUNTEERS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
tee considered only those business efforts that involve placement of vol-
unteers in schools. Similarly, members of the Parent-Teacher Associations
(PrAs), citizen activist organizations, advisory councils, or other parent
or community groups connected with schools were not included unless
they actually serve as school volunteers. It is recognized, however, that
PTAs and other groups frequently are the major vehicle through which
volunteers are recruited and that parent volunteers are often members of
PIAs or other groups.
The term "unpaid" in every case refers to payment by the school sys-
tem. Persons who are released by their employers on paid company time
to work with schools are generally considered volunteers. Likewise, sen-
ior citizens or others who receive a small stipend when serving in the
foster grandparents or similar programs are also included as volunteers.
In analyzing available data and research findings, however, the commit-
tee could not always hold strictly to this definition. For example, we
found that persons on advisory groups, high school or other K-12 stu-
dents who serve as tutors or aides, and persons who volunteer in after-
school and Saturday programs are considered volunteers by some school
districts but not by others.
Some of the bills under debate in the U.S. Congress during the course
of this study would provide modest stipends for volunteers. For ex-
ample, several of the national service bills under consideration in early
1989 would pay volunteers a minimum stipend and entitle them to an
additional sum for schooling at the completion of their service. Although
such legislation, if enacted, could make a big difference in the numbers
and types of volunteers available to the schools, it would not affect our
definition. Such volunteers would still provide unpaid services to schools,
even though they would receive stipends from federal, state, or local gov
ernments.
In carrying out the study, the committee undertook four major tasks:
1. To create a profile or portrait of the use of volunteers in schools by
assembling, organizing, and assessing available data and descriptions of
volunteer programs in schools.
2. To assemble and analyze the research literature with respect to the
contribution of volunteers. The main focus was on educational effects
(student achievement, student attendance, student motivation and atti-
tudes, and assistance to teachers), but economic contributions' effects on
the volunteers themselves, and effects on the community were also re-
viewed. Negative effects (for example, administrative or teacher opposi-
tion) and their possible consequences were examined to the extent permit-
ted by existing evidence.
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INTRODUCTION
5
3. To provide detailed descriptions of a small number of exemplary
programs, based on site visits.
4. To examine and provide conclusions on the factors that foster or
inhibit successful volunteer programs.
This report is the result of the committee's efforts. Chapter 2 presents a
brief history of the organized volunteer movement. A profile or portrait,
largely based on statistical data, of the use of volunteers comprises Chap-
ter 3. Chapter 4 is an analysis of the literature on research and evaluation
with respect to the use of volunteers in schools. In Chapter 5, we analyze
the committee's 13 site visits to exemplary volunteer programs, including
a description of the criteria by which the sites were chosen, the protocols
followed, a discussion of each of the programs observed, and a summary
of findings. The factors that the committee believes foster or inhibit suc-
cessful programs are reviewed in Chapter 6, including a brief discussion
of the findings from this study that might be helpful to the Congress as it
considers possible legislation with respect to a national voluntary youth
service program. Recommendations are included at the end of the chap-
ters as appropriate. The report concludes with "A Call to Action," which
presents the committee's conclusions and concerns, highlights elements of
broad national interest, and proposes actions by the President, the Secre-
tary of Education, and the Congress to support the use of volunteers in
schools.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
volunteer programs
