Fall, 1998 No. 5 National Network of Partnership Schools
School Report
Middle and High Schools in Williamston, MI
Organize Volunteers to Tap Parents’ Talents Williamston Middle School and High School wanted to improve their Type 3 - Volunteering activities by making better use of parents’ talents and interests. The Action Team created a worksheet to survey parents about their careers, hobbies, interests, availability, and about volunteer opportunities.The Action Team presented the worksheet at the fall 1997 Open House, and the principal asked parents to complete the worksheet before the end of the evening. Completing the survey provided information for future volunteer opportunities, but was not a commitment to volunteer. 125 worksheets were collected at the middle school, and 230 worksheets were collected at the high school.
A simple database was created to generate lists of parents who might be willing to help with staff appreciation, make phone calls, conduct classroom presentations on interests or careers, provide snacks, assist in classrooms or the office, and so on. The lists were bound together into the Parent Resource Directory.
Next, a parent was recruited at each grade level to serve as volunteer coordinator. All teachers and volunteer coordinators were trained to use the Parent Resource Directory.
The front of the directory includes a Parent Volunteer Request Form. A teacher or other staff person makes a copy of the form, indicates the number of parents needed, date, time, and any instructions, and gives it to a volunteer coordinator. The coordinator finds parents who are suited to the teacher’s request, records the parents’ names and phone numbers on the request form, and returns it to the teacher.
Since the directory was produced and distributed in December 1997, parent help and involvement has increased. In the middle school, over 70 parents have chaperoned parties and field trips, helped in classrooms and the computer lab, graded papers at home, made phone calls to other parents, and presented information to students about their careers, cultural backgrounds, and travels.
At the high school, over 80 parents participated in a career fair and conducted mock interviews for eleventh graders, served bagels and juice to students during exam week, evaluated student presentations in physics classes, organized a committee for an all-night after-prom party, and evaluated book talks presented by tenth graders.
Staff now refer to the directory to find helpful parents, and parents appreciate participating in their teen’s education in meaningful ways. According to Ann Cody, Action Team Co-Chair, "The Parent Resource Directory has been a great success!"
For more information and other good examples see: Promising Partnership Practices 1998, National Network of Partnership Schools at Johns Hopkins University. The full report of the Parent Resource Directory includes the parent volunteer worksheet.
