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               CONGRESS MANDATES PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT
            CONTRACTS IN OVER HALF THE NATION'S SCHOOLS

         Campaign Employs Pledge To Open Schools To Goals 2000

Increased parental involvement is essential to the improvement of America's
public schools, yet a recent report indicates the lack of parental
involvement. Child Trends, a Washington, D.C. based think tank, reported
nearly half of the parents of high school students don't attend
parent-teacher meetings or back-to-school nights, and fail to volunteer at
school.

The public school is a critically important American institution, since the
quality of education shapes not only a child's individual future, but also
the future of the community and our democracy as a whole.  Support of public
schools is important; involvement and action by several parents in a group
can influence school policy-makers and result in decisions and choices that
can benefit many children.

A recent poll, commissioned by the American Association of School
Administrators and conducted by the Mellman-Lazarus-Lake polling firm, shows
the concern of parents.  Of the 1000 parents surveyed, 46 percent strongly
favor a requirement that every parent volunteer at least one day each school
year.  In addition, 63 percent advocated major reform for the nation's
schools.  Though the concern is there, the information is not.  Very little
has been written on the lack of adequate resources to support and educate
parents on recognizing and seeking quality at the local level.

Like Johnny Appleseed of folklore, Project Appleseed  is the name for the
non-profit campaign which spreads the seeds of school improvement  across
America. To improve education in our public schools, a coalition of parents,
parent groups, educators, business leaders, and teacher's union leaders have
come together under the banner of Project Appleseed. Our purpose is to
organize parents at the grassroots level to increase community support for
Goals 2000; the Educate America Act.

Project Appleseed is challenging one million parents to take the learning
compact known as the Parental  Involvement  Pledge.  The pledge is the seed
of Project Appleseed.  It is a written agreement between the student and
parent.  The pledge states that the parent will volunteer a minimum of 5
hours each semester in the public schools. The Pledge also requires parents
to spend at least 15 minutes each night reviewing their children's schoolwork
or working together on enrichment activities.

In the last days of the 103rd Congress, new reform legislation was passed
which will require written pledges between parents and schools to improve
education.  The legislation, Title I of the Improving America's Schools Act
of 1994, requires written compacts that will articulate "...ways in which
each parent will be responsible for supporting their children's learning,
such as monitoring attendance, homework completion, television watching,
volunteering in their child's classroom, and participating in decisions
relating to the education of their children..."  The legislation is expected
to be signed into law by President Bill Clinton.

The pledge is meant to be the tool by which parents are organized to become
involved in their schools.  Organizers want to bring parents into the schools
so that  communities can push for a major change in the dynamics of public
education.  By dramatically increasing parental involvement, Appleseed hopes
to move school districts towards a new system of accountability.  Parents,
teachers, school administrators, and school boards are encouraged to work
together to create a public consensus about priorities and performance
standards.

                                     NATIONAL SUPPORT
Since its beginning one year ago, Project Appleseed is rapidly building a
broad base of national support.  The campaign has been endorsed by the White
House and by a wide variety of national organizations such as the National
Head Start Association and Parents as Teachers. The campaign is receiving
support from state groups like the Iowa State Education Association which is
distributing the pledge to Iowa school districts.  Local members and
affiliates of the PTA and the NEA are spreading the pledge to parents and
teachers across the country.  Individual school principals send the pledge to
parents somewhere in America everyday.

The pledge is the most widely used learning compact in the nation.  Since the
introduction of the pledge last November, it has spread through an average of
20 new school districts per week.  Judging by the number of requests  for the
Pledge in the 1994-95 school year, the campaign expects to exceed 75 new
school districts per week by the end of December.  Project Appleseed is
organizing parental responsibility by designating November 17, 1994, as
National Parental Involvement Day. November 14 -18 is American Education
Week.

To obtain a legal sized MASTER COPY of the Pledge for distribution in your
community's schools, send a donation of $15.00 to Project Appleseed, National
Campaign Headquarters, 7511 Delmar Blvd. Suite A, St. Louis, MO, 63130-3930.
We will also send you our campaign newsletter, APPLESEED TODAY, at no cost.
(Allow two weeks for delivery.)

Project Appleseed, we love our children and we believe in America's public
schools.

*****************************************************

                       PROJECT APPLESEED FINANCIAL REPORT

A copy of the organization's financial statement will be filed on January 2,
1995 and may be obtained by contacting:  Project Appleseed, 7511 Delmar
Blvd/Suite A, St. Louis, Missouri, 63130-3930.  Residents of the following
states will be able to obtain a copy of our financial statement and
registration from:

CALIFORNIA, Attorney General, Registry of Charitable Trusts, PO Box 903447,
Sacramento, CA 94203-4476; CONNECTICUT, Public Charities Unit, Office of the
Attorney General, 55 Elm Street, Hartford, CTo6106; ILLINOIS, State of
Illinois Center, 100 W. Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60601; MARYLAND, (FOR
THE COST OF COPIES AND POSTAGE), Office of the Secretary of State,
Statehouse, Annapolis, MD 21401; MASSACHUSETTS, Division of Public Charities,
1 Ashburton Place, Room 1413, Boston, MA 02108; MICHIGAN, Department of
Attorney General, Charitable Trusts Section, PO Box 30214, Lansing, MI 48909;
MINNESOTA, Office of the Attorney General Charities Division, 340 Bremer
Tower, St. Paul, MN 55101; NEW JERSEY, Division of Consumer Affairs,
Charities Registration Section, 1207 Raymond Boulevard, 7th Floor, PO Box
45021, Newark, NJ 07102; NEW YORK, Office of Charities, 162 Washington
Street, Albany, NY 12231; NORTH CAROLINA, State North Carolina, Department of
Human Resources, 701 Barbour Drive, Raleigh, NC 27603; OHIO, Office of the
Attorney General, Charitable Foundations Section, 15th Floor, 30 East Broad
Street, Columbus, Ohio 43266-0410: PENNSYLVANIA, The official registration
and financial  information of Project Appleseed may be obtained from the
Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania,
1-800-732-0999.  Registration does not imply endorsement; SOUTH CAROLINA,
Sectetary of State, Division of Public Charities, PO Box 11350, Columbia, SC
29211; VIRGINIA, State Division of Consumer Affairs, Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services, PO Box 526, Richmond, VA 23204-0526;
WASHINGTON, Office of the Secretary of State, Charitable Solicitations
Division, 505 E. Union Avenue, MS:PM-21, Olympia, WA 98504-0419;  WASHINGTON,
DC, Department of Consumer and Regulation Affairs, Business Regulation
Administration, Corporation Division, PO Box 930201, Washington, DC 20090.
 Registration with any of these governmental agencies does not imply
endorsement.

Project Appleseed is a not-for-profit corporation operating in the state of
Missouri.  Contributions are not tax deductible.  Project Appleseed has no
affiliations with any religious order or denomination.

Make contributions payable to:
PROJECT APPLESEED
National Campaign Headquarters
7511 Delmar Blvd Suite A
St. Louis, MO      63130-3930