A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n
America Goes Back to School - August 1995
Back-to-School From A to Z
Here is a variety of ideas you can use to make your back-to-school effort effective and exciting.
A is for Awards
--During planned events, such as mall exhibits or banquets, present awards to outstanding employers or civic, cultural, and religious groups, or members of the armed forces for their outstanding support of schools and families. Present an award to an outstanding education, art, science, technology, or environmental reporter at your local newspaper who highlighted family-school-community partnerships. Consider awarding a cash contribution or gift to the individual school or education program making the most progress.
B is for Banquet
--Sponsor a special banquet with a prominent speaker. Invite local employers, artists, community leaders, religious leaders, military base commanders, and others who should know about your efforts to build a community partnership for learning. Use the banquet as an opportunity to showcase successful partnerships.
C is for Correspondence
--Purchase a postage slug saying Proud Supporter of America Goes Back to School for your office postage meter. Your correspondence will highlight your support. You can find out how to have a slug made at your local post office.
D is for Discover
--Participate in student outreach and enrichment programs. Assist local elementary, middle, and secondary schools with extracurricular activities such as science and math clubs, sports and cultural programs, and other community organizations to highlight your year-long back-to-school efforts. Offer internships to college and high school students in businesses and nonprofit institutions. Provide community service opportunities for college and high school students--an activity called "service learning." Link business, civic, and cultural institutions to schools and colleges through joint programs and training.
E is for Employee Communication
--Publicize your America Goes Back to School effort by working with the editors and producers of in-house publications and videos at local businesses. Tell them about interesting stories they can run in their publications about your volunteers. Provide logos and graphics to make the stories more appealing. And invite the businesses you work with to join your community partnership.
F is for Film Festival
--Sponsor a film festival at a local university or school. Show movies that touch on issues of family involvement in children's learning or helping families pay for college. Keep the event free or charge a nominal fee to help raise scholarship money or funds to pay for technology or any other services or materials your schools might need. Promote the event through local radio and newspapers.
G is for Government and Public Space
--Create special exhibits in public buildings showcasing on-going back-to-school activities. Leave handouts such as bookmarks and brochures that tell employees and their families how they can get involved.
H is for Health Fair
--Host a community health fair at a local hospital or university medical center. It's a good way to meet neighbors and chat with them about your back-to-school program. Offer free blood pressure readings, cholesterol screenings, nutritional advice, lectures, and demonstrations. Enlist health workers as mentors for local youth and college students.
I is for Industry Programs
--Take advantage of the advertising expertise of your business partners. Produce local public service announcements or video news releases about local corporate partners' family-friendly activities. Advertising can also provide clear information to students and families about the type of skills and knowledge needed to get good jobs in today's complex economy.
J is for Joining
--Enlist as many families and community members in America Goes Back to School as possible. Everyone has something to contribute to our schools. Don't overlook high school students and other young people who can serve as tutors and mentors for younger children; elementary school students often look up to older students. Offering service learning opportunities is one effective way to include youth in your efforts.
K is for Kin
--Bring all family members interested in helping their children and young people learn into your local partnerships. Mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, older brothers and sisters--even family friends--all can play a role in helping their special student learn. Fathers, especially, need to be brought into the learning process. Schools need to focus on the importance of fathers in children's lives.
-- Sponsor a demonstration or exhibit at your local library of the America Goes Back to School initiative. Work with the schools and community and corporate sponsors to maximize neighborhood and community-wide literacy efforts. Expand READ*WRITE*NOW! and other reading partnerships with families, community groups, and others. READ*WRITE*NOW!, sponsored by the U. S. Department of Education and the Family Involvement Partnership for Learning, is a program that connects children with reading partners such as librarians, parents, summer project coordinators, senior citizens, teachers, and students from Grades 7 and up. For free READ*WRITE*NOW! information and materials, call the U. S. Department of Education at 1-800-USA-LEARN.
M is for the Media
-- Work with newspapers to spotlight school activities or sponsor a special back-to-school supplement. Work with local television and radio stations to organize public affairs programs that can showcase examples of school-community partnerships. Include the media as corporate sponsors.
N is for Networks
--Take an inventory of the partnerships, networks, and services already under way in your community. Build on these existing efforts and structures, find ways to join them together, and link schools and colleges.
O is for Open House
--Offer open-house programs that provide information about your America Goes Back to School efforts. Invite everyone in the community to attend and recruit new volunteers. Regular back-to-school activities are a good time to do this, too. To make the program interesting, include hands-on learning activities for visitors and have students showcase what they are learning, especially if it involves computers. Advertise open-house programs on radio, TV, and in the newspapers, and invite reporters to cover the event.
P is for Partnership Pledges
--Build local partnerships among families and schools, community groups, religious organizations, employers, members of the military, andlocal law enforcement officials. Ask each group to sign on to the Family Involvement Partnership for Learning by endorsing the Strong Families, Strong Schools Compact , the Statement of Common Purpose, or the Employer's Promise. Be sure to display the Pledge at each of your partner facilities and reproduce it in newsletters and programs.
Q is for Quality Education
--Enrich school activities with partnership efforts that build a quality education. The purpose of America Goes Back to School is to offer every child a richer curriculum and school experience. By involving families, community members, religious groups, and business leaders, children are afforded a wide variety of caring adults who can guide them, not only in areas of learning, but in character and citizenship as well.
R is for the 3 R's
--Teaching the basics--reading, writing, and arithmetic--at home and at school is the foundation of academic success. READ*WRITE*NOW! and other new reading and writing activities offered on the Internet as part of the Family Involvement Partnership for Learning can be cornerstone activities of your back-to-school effort. (See "L is for Libraries" above for information about the READ*WRITE*NOW! program and a number to call for free materials.)
S is for Speakers Bureau
--Coordinate a local back-to-school speakers bureau and contact local civic, cultural, and religious organizations to offer speakers throughout the year. Tap the expertise of your school and/or college faculty, the business skills of parents, or the experience of grandparents. Law enforcement officials, local military base commanders, and other members of the armed services make excellent speakers, too. Find people who are comfortable with public speaking and who have the time to make appearances. Develop a list of speech topics appropriate for each audience.
T is for Tour
--Organize tours of successful back-to-school partnership activities that enhance students' learning. Ask your tour participants for new ideas that can improve next year's efforts. Also, organize tours of local college campuses for middle and high school students and their families to continually reinforce the benefits of postsecondary learning.
U is for University Programs
--Work with the local university newspaper and/or radio station to highlight stories about on-going research, notable alumni, and other topics that deal with one of the six critical America Goes Back to School issues, as well as other issues that are identified. Work with the campus video department to film events.
V is for Valuing Partners
--Respect and value the efforts of all caring adults and young people who have the desire, motivation, and time to participate in your community partnership for learning. Provide your partners with the recognition they deserve through certificates, pins, luncheons, award ceremonies, and special interest stories in the local press.
W is for Winning
--Publicize all your success stories. Not only can you contact the media, but you can deliver your message in a variety of different places--on billboards, cable television, radio, supermarket parking lots, and sporting events. Encourage local sportscasters to mention partnership activities during their broadcasts.
X is for X Marks the Spot
--Sign up for the Family Involvement Partnership for Learning!
Y is for Year Long
--Plan to make your America Goes Back to School program an all-year-round effort. This is not a one-day or temporary activity. Improvement in education doesn't happen overnight; it takes a sustained effort. By focusing on one of the critical six issues--or more--you can change your school for the better and positively affect children's learning.
Z is for Zoos
--Zoos, cultural institutions, museums, and parks are not only popular places, but they're great teaching and learning institutions, too. Link your local cultural and scientific institutions with schools and families to enhance learning. Celebrate the successful close of your America Goes Back to School efforts in one of these exciting locations.
Now you have many ideas you can use. We're sure you can think of many more! In the following pages, we'll discuss the six critical issues we're suggesting that you focus on, and show you how your America Goes Back to School effort can have a real impact in all these areas.
-###-
[How to Build Your Community Partnership for Learning] 
![[Table of Contents]](/icons/up.gif)
[Helping Children to Learn the Basics]