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What will be the scope of companies' future support to employee and family involvement in education? What additional services and programs do employers plan to develop and implement?
Specific targeted areas for development appear to focus on child and elder care assistance; flexible scheduling; job-sharing; adoption benefits; after-school and vacation programs; employee "help" lines, etc. A 1991 report noted that future growth is likely to occur in Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP) plans (19 percent of employers surveyed were currently implementing them and 10 percent were considering doing so), on-site child care centers (17 percent were creating new centers and 14 percent were considering this), and resource and referral programs (16 percent were implementing them and 13 percent had such programs under consideration). "Overall, growth is most likely to occur in the provision of direct service and financial assistance and least likely to occur in time and leave policies and stress management."36
In a 1992 Conference Board survey, 47.6 percent of respondents stated that employer response to school-age issues had increased somewhat in the past two years; 10.2 percent stated that response had increased greatly; and 29.9 percent said that response had stayed the same. More than half (59.6 percent) predicted that employee attention to school-age issues will increase at a somewhat faster pace than in the past two years.37
In the 1997 Conference Board survey of education initiatives, most respondents intended to at least maintain the education initiatives they currently have in place. More than half (52 percent) said they plan to expand their educational programs, newsletters for parents, enhanced management training and competency-based curricula, increased flexible scheduling, and Saturday volunteer programs.38 Those companies that do not plan to expand their education initiatives cite the following reasons: cost constraints, satisfaction with current programs, and corporate reorganization.39
Hemmings Motor News will continue to develop relationships with schools that are asked to advise the company of their needs regarding parental involvement, and notify employees of volunteer opportunities. Hemmings will develop a column in the company's newsletter informing staff of these opportunities, alerting them of staff currently using this benefit, and sharing experiences from staff who spend time in schools. The company will also develop ways for staff to participate more easily in schools and will continue to provide "brown bag" lunches and workshops on parental issues regarding education. Hemmings is considering the possible sponsorship of area teachers during summer months to work at the company to allow them to gain insight into company expectations of staff, which can be directly relayed to the children. Curricula could then be modified with this additional information. Hemmings will also pursue expanding, developing, and marketing its First Day of School Holiday effort.
John Hancock Financial Services will share select programs at events such as the City CEO/Principal Summit, which targets bringing together the vital constituencies to work for positive citywide school reform.
Southern California Edison plans to continue its support of the Parent Institute for Quality Education, and lead and promote collaborations among business, education, and community organizations that support family involvement and provide information and support to employees.
RIDGEVIEW, INC. will continue to expand its support of education as opportunity and resources allow. Since employees look forward to meeting at the work site with school guidance counselors on a periodic basis, this program will be continued and expanded to align with school schedules. The local school system operates on a year-round basis, so the company's program will operate with no break.
DuPont will continue its basic strategy of supporting improvements in science and mathematics. However, increased emphasis will be placed on supporting implementation of standards through district or multi-district programs. In addition, corporate funding for education has shifted to support sustainable systemic change of science/math education.
Racine Area Manufacturers and Commerce (RAMAC) will make an effort to effect systemic change now that it has established a positive relationship between businesses and education. RAMAC's emphasis will be more on strategic issues and less on "feel good/public relations.";
IBM Corporation recently announced a $10 million expansion of its Reinventing Education grant program, which will bring the total of the initiative to $35 million. Through Reinventing Education 2, IBM will make additional grants to school districts and/or states that are interested in using cutting-edge technologies to support their school reform efforts, promote higher student achievement, and bridge the gap between home, school, and community.
AT&T will continue to broaden and shape the AT&T Learning Network program to help families, schools, and communities use technology effectively to improve teaching and learning. Reflecting the rapidly growing need for teacher professional development, the AT&T Learning Network has strengthened its online training and support services for teachers. AT&T's partnership with the Family Education Company will continue to expand the network of resources available to promote family involvement in education. AT&T Learning Network grants will continue to support collaborative efforts to encourage lifelong learning. With the addition of the AT&T Learning Points program, AT&T residential telephone service customers can help schools acquire computer hardware, software, and teacher support materials by making calls and directing their earned Learning Points to any accredited K-12 school of their choice.
Hewlett-Packard Company's Diversity in Education initiative is a current major expansion of HP's K-12 program. This effort is being expanded from elementary through middle and high school to promote student interest and access (because of achievement) to university engineering programs. A new literacy initiative has been launched through grants to support programs that are part of a school- or district-wide plan to improve reading literacy for all students. Current HP sites supporting this effort are in Palo Alto, California; Mountain View, California; Little Falls, Delaware; and Vancouver, Washington (includes Portland, Oregon project).
WFD, Inc., which administers funding from the American Business Collaboration for Quality Dependent Care Bridge Project, is assessing partners' needs to further target communities and examine funding priorities. WFD anticipates that the Bridge Project will be replicated in seven to eight new communities in fall 1997.
Mattel Foundation expanded efforts to focus on a Web site and newsletter to share information about various successful efforts, including names and contact information for specific schools, districts, and nonprofit organizations.
Discovery Communications continues to offer a public service and to serve educators' needs by making its programming available on videotape. The company is also developing digital plans to extend its video and Web services for future interactive platforms.
United Airlines will continue to focus its attention on employee tutor/mentor programs. United has targeted a goal of 2,000 mentors by 2000. It is establishing a formalized Mentor Network 2000 to support this goal and will have manpower assigned to the project. Training and ongoing regional and national steering committees to ensure quality will be included.
Family Education Company (FEC) expects to expand its Internet service that is dedicated to providing parents with unbiased, nonpartisan, practical information to help them participate more closely in their children's education and thereby enhance their children's learning and success. Using this technology tool, FEC will continue its work with a variety of organizations (including the American Association of School Administrators, Communities in Schools, the National PTA, and the National School Boards Association) to help school districts publish information relevant to parents and combine it with other valuable education-related information and services.
In the 1997-98 school year, 51 million children will be in school -- an all-time high. That figure will increase to 54.6 million by the end of this millennium. This surge in student population comes at a time when all indications clearly demonstrate that schools alone cannot meet the challenges of educating our nation's children. Whether at the local, state, or national level, all citizens have a stake in education to ensure that America's youth become qualified workers, educated consumers, and responsible citizens. Business is one of these stakeholders.
In order to build strong families and strong schools, connecting, cooperating, participating, and caring are key. This guide was designed as a tool to help business and its partners support employee and family involvement in education both within companies and with the community-at-large. Many companies have taken steps to become more substantively involved in efforts focused on helping families to balance their work and family lives and to support involvement in education of employees with and without children. More companies and organizations are expected to follow, thereby expanding local, state, and national investments in human capital and in America's future.
37 Work-Family Roundtable: School-Age Programs, p. 5.
38 Work Family Roundtable: Education Initiatives, p. 7.
39 Work Family Roundtable: Education Initiatives, p. 7.
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[Appendix: Resources]