A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

    FOR RELEASE                                      Contact:  Diane B. Jones     May 16, 1996                                               (202) 401-3725

Last December, at a ceremony at Marriott International Headquarters in Bethesda, Md., business leaders joined the secretary in launching this nationwide initiative, encouraging family and employee involvement in improving learning for all children.

Several members of the Employers for Learning steering committee attended President Clinton's Corporate Responsibility Breakfast today including Gerald Greenwald, CEO, United Airlines, Inc.; John Hendricks, CEO, Discovery Communications, Inc.; and Charles R. Lee, CEO and President, GTE Corporation.

Other steering committee members include American College Testing, Hemmings Motor News, Hewlett-Packard Corp., John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co., Marriott International, Mattel, Inc., Northeast Tarrant Chamber of Commerce, Pizza Hut, School Specialty, Southern California Edison, and the U.S. Army.

Riley applauded the employers' commitment to promoting family involvement in learning. "In this effort, good citizenship and good business sense converge," Riley said.

"These business leaders understand that being family friendly is not just the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do. It can help an employer recruit and keep top workers, improve productivity, and increase employee motivation and loyalty. It is one of the best investments an employer can make in the future."

Family-friendly employers who have signed the Promise actively promote family involvement in learning by allowing time for employees to get involved in schools; initiating, implementing and supporting specific programs that promote family involvement in education; and providing resources to employees about how to become more involved in their own children's education. Employers decide independently what policies and practices they will follow.

Some examples include:

• GTE Corporation's "College Planning Seminar for Employees and their Families," a day-long, interactive seminar transmitted via satellite linking college admissions and financial planning experts with GTE employee families to help them plan for their children's college education;

• United Airlines' "Believers' Program" partnership, which allows employees to tutor and mentor 6th grade students at a local elementary school during and after school hours. United pledges to provide up to four years tuition and fees for children in the program who graduate from high school;

• Discovery Communication's "Ready, Set, Learn!," alternative programming with the mission of offering parents educational programming that helps prepare youngsters to begin school;

• John Hancock's program allowing new mothers to take up to one year of unpaid pre- and post-natal leave, their management training seminars highlighting child care issues, and their sponsorship of educational activities for children during school vacations and holidays;

• Marriott International's Employee Resource Center and parenting information series, which provide employees with expert information on parenting, child care and work/family issues;

• Pizza Hut's "Kids Hall of Fame" program, which rewards children ages 8-14 who make a difference in their family and community, with post-secondary scholarships;

• The U.S. Army's partnership between Fort Hood's First Cavalry Division and the Killeen Independent School District which incorporates parent/teacher conferences as part of military duty for all soldiers with children;

• Hemmings Motor News "Education Participation Days," which allow all employees, not just parents, two days off with pay in half-day increments to attend classes with children in local schools;

• School Specialty's matching funds program, which matches up to $1,000 donated by an employee to any public or private K-12 school;

• Hewlett-Packard's flexible work hours that allow employees to stagger their start time to accommodate their children's schedules and volunteer at the corporation's on-site elementary school;

• American College Testing's "Realizing the Dream" program which provides a workshop and resources to involve parents in their teenagers' educational and career planning;

• The Northeast Tarrant Chamber of Commerce actively recruits small and medium size businesses to sign a family-friendly business pledge;

• Southern California Edison's sponsorship of school- based parenting programs, such as the Parent Institute for Quality Education, a series of nine week, two-hour courses on parenting.

A committee of employers developed the Employer Promise for Learning to formalize their commitment to family-friendly policies. They, in turn, will use the promise and additional recruitment materials to encourage other employers to incorporate family-friendly policies for learning into their corporate culture.

The promise is one way to help achieve the eighth National Education Goal -- by the year 2000 every school will promote partnerships that will increase parental involvement and participation in promoting the social, emotional and academic growth of children.

The Employers for Learning Promise is an initiative of the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education, an informal coalition of almost 300 family, education, business, religious and community organizations who promote children's learning through the development of family-school-community partnerships. For more information about the Employers for Learning Promise and other Partnership for Learning initiatives, call 1-800-USA-LEARN.