National Academies Press: OpenBook

Volunteers in Public Schools (1990)

Chapter: Front Matter

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1990. Volunteers in Public Schools. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1458.
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VOLUNTEERS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS Bernard Michael, Editor Committee on the Use of Volunteers in Schools Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education National Research Council NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, D.C. 1990

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS · 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW · Washington, DC 20418 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to proce- dures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the fur- therance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the au- thority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is au- tonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the Na- tional Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achieve- ments of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineer- ing. The Institute of Medicine was established in lg70 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsi- bility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Samuel O. Thier is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's pur- poses of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accor- dance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the princi- pal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council. The work that provided the basis for this volume was supported by the U.S. Department of Education under contract LC 88061001. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on the Use of Volunteers in Schools. Volunteers in public schools / Bernard Michael, editor; Committee on the Use of Volunteers in Schools, Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Research Council. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ). ISBN 0-309-04149-X 1. Volunteer workers in education~United States. I. Michael, Bernard. II. Title. LB2844.1.V6N36 1990 371.2'02~dc20 Copyright ~ 1990 by the National Academy of Sciences Printed in the United States of America 89-49273 CIP

Committee on the Use of Volunteers in Schools LEONARD BICKMAN (ChairJ, Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University JOHN W. ALDEN, Alden Marketing Group, Inc., Alexandria, Va. STEPHEN DIAZ, School of Education, California State University, San Bernardino PAUL L. EVANS, IBM Educational Systems, Atlanta, Ga. MARVIN LAZERSON, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania FLORETTA DUKES MCKENZIE, The McKenzie Group, Washington, D.C. DANIEL MERENDA, National School Volunteer Program, Inc., Alexandria, Va. CAROL MOCK, Department of Political Science, University of Illinois PENELOPE PETERSON, Institute for Research on Teaching, Michigan State University JOYCE ROGERS, Portland, Maine GILBERT SEWALL, Teachers College, Columbia University MANYA UNGAR, The National PTA, Chicago, Ill. CAROL WEISS, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University BARBARA J. YENTZER, National Education Association, Washington, D.C. BERNARD MICHAEL, Study Director DANIEL LEVINE, Consultant VIRGINIA ROBINSON, Consultant EVELYN SIMEON, Administrative Secretary CAROLE ANN FOOTE, Administrative Secretary . · ~

Acknowledgments The committee wishes to thank the many people who contributed to the preparation of this report. First, I want to express appreciation to my colleagues on the committee for their generous contributions of time and expert knowledge. Many of them prepared materials that were included in the report, and virtually all members contributed to the various drafts. Our report and especially the recommendations are a synthesis of their efforts, ideas, and insights on the issues addressed. The mandate for this study was the result of legislation introduced by Senator Daniel J. Evans of Washington; Lisa Marchese, his legislative counsel, provided valuable insights to the committee and staff. Alan Ginsburg, director of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Planning and Evaluation Service, which funded the project, participated in the committee's early discussions, helping to provide background for the study; Arthur Kirschenbaum, the study's project monitor, provided helpful advice and assistance to the committee throughout the conduct of this study, and his efforts are deeply appreciated. Staff of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) were ex- tremely helpful in making available preliminary tabulations from the NCES School and Staffing Survey for use in this report. We are partic- ularly indebted to Emerson Elliott, director of the center, and Mary Papageorgiou and Charles Hammer, who generously provided unpublished data. Special thanks are also due the directors and staffs of volunteer pro- grams at the 13 sites visited by committee members, particularly the key people who organized the visits and patiently answered our questions: Carol Tice, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Betsy Nelson, Boston, Massachusetts; Frances Holliday, Chicago, Illinois; Maureen Hopkins, Contra Costa v

Al ACKNO WLEDGMENTS County, California; Sue Guinn, Corsicana, Texas; Carol Renick and Linda Brown, Dade County, Florida; Rosemary Morice and Sharlene Block, Dallas, Texas; Sally Jackson, Montgomery County, Maryland; Sandy Schniepp, Kingfield, Maine; Heidi McGinley, Augusta, Maine; Sandra Treacy, San Francisco, California; Artis Slipsager, Studio City, Califor- nia; Nancy McDonald, Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Connie Spinner, Washing- ton, D.C. We also thank the many school superintendents, principals, teachers, volunteers, and students who helped us to gain a better understanding of what makes school volunteer programs successful. Ramsey Sheldon of the Council of Chief State School Officers was most helpful in assisting and advising the staff on gathering informa- tion from states on their volunteer activities. Similarly, Jane Asche, Virginia Cooperative Extension Services, contributed her time and ef- forts in reviewing the annotated bibliography. Of course, major thanks are due the Committee on the Use of Volun- teers in Schools, consisting of distinguished individuals appointed by the chairman of the National Research Council (NRC). Members repre- sent the relevant scientific disciplines (for example, evaluation research, sociology, political science, education); the practitioner community (school administration, teaching, volunteer programs); and other fields such as business. Members of NRC committees are volunteers themselves. They receive no compensation other than travel expenses for their efforts. Finally, both for the committee and myself, I would like to express thanks to the staff for their commitment, dedication, and efforts. Ber- nard Michael, who served as study director, and Daniel Levine and Vir- ginia Robinson, consultants, worked long and hard to provide a cohe- sive synthesis of our discussions, debates, and conclusions and rewrote patiently to accommodate us. The efforts of Eugenia Grohman, associ- ate director of reports of the Commission on Behavioral and Social Sci- ences and Education, in editing the manuscript were especially valuable in preparing the report for publication. To Evelyn Simeon and Carole Foote, who served as administrative secretaries to the study, we also owe a well-deserved thanks. We and the volunteer community are in- debted to them. LEONARD BICKMAN, Chair Committee on the Use of Volunteers in Schools

Contents 1 INTRODUCTION 2 DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANIZED SCHOOL VOLUNTEERISM IN THE UNITED STATES 3 SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS: A STATISTICAL PROFILE 4 REVIEW OF RESEARCH AND EVALUATION LITERATURE ON SCHOOL VOLUNTEERISM 5 SOME EXEMPLARY VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS Ann Arbor, Michigan, 46 Boston, Massachusetts, 47 Chicago, Illinois, 51 Contra Costa County, California, 56 Corsicana, Texas, 59 Dade County, Florida, 61 Dallas, Texas, 65 Kingfield, Maine, 68 Montgomery County, Maryland, 72 San Fernando Valley, California, 75 San Francisco, California, 78 Tulsa, Oklahoma, 82 Washington, D.C., 86 6 FACTORS IN SCHOOL VOLUNTEERISM 7 A CALL TO ACTION APPENDIXES A Data from NCES Schools and Staffing Survey, 1987-1988 B Annotated Bibliography C Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff Vt1 6 12 31 44 92 103 107 121 144

VOLUNTEERS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

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Among the most prominent of President Bush's "thousand points of light" are volunteers who work with our nation's students. The last several decades show considerable growth in the numbers of school volunteers, with increasing participation by people from the business community, retired citizens, and college students, in addition to the traditionally active mothers of school children.

Yet, we must do more to ensure the success of volunteer programs in schools. It is not enough to assume that any volunteer effort will produce results, nor is it wise to use volunteers simply because they are "free."

This new volume from the National Research Council provides the first overview ever compiled of volunteer activity in U.S. public schools—reporting on how volunteers are being used in schools, what factors make programs successful, what further research will enhance our ability to create good programs, and what directions our national policy should take.

Included in this study of volunteers in public schools are the reports of the committee's site visits to 13 volunteer programs identified as "exemplary" from Boston Partners in Education to "Project Rescue" for dropout prevention in Corsicana, Texas. Each site report describes local economic conditions and their effects on education, the organization and size of the school system, and the volunteer program—with details on how each program functions and what results have been achieved.

This book will be immediately useful to federal, state, and local policymakers, school boards and administrators, principals and teachers, PTA members, business firms involved with schools, and, of course, managers or coordinators of volunteer activities and concerned volunteers.

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