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       =09   THE NATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
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For immediate release
Monday, October 16, 1995
=09=09=09=09=09For further information contact
=09=09=09=09    Project Appleseed at (314) 644-7608
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  21st CENTURY JOHNNY APPLESEED PLANTS THE SEEDS OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
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   Carnegie Corporation Report Tracks Decline In Parental Involvement
        National Parental Involvement Day Set for November 16
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ST. LOUIS - In the early 1800's, a pioneer plant nurseryman and herb=20
doctor named John Chapman was becoming a familiar figure in the farming=20
areas of northern Ohio and Indiana. To the farmers who planted,=20
cultivated and harvested this rich productive soil, Chapman was better=20
known as Johnny Appleseed. Wherever he went throughout the farming area=20
of the Ohio Valley, Johnny carried with him a supply of apple seeds and=20
sprouts which, with almost religious fervor, he urged the farmers to plant.
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Their response was immediate and enthusiastic, and soon the fields and=20
farms of the area were thick with apple trees which produced bounteous=20
crops of the fruit, with a decided beneficial impact on the economy of=20
the region.
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Today, the seeds of school improvement are being planted by Project=20
Appleseed, the National Campaign for Public School Improvement.  Project=20
Appleseed is seeking to plant the seeds of school improvement in the=20
hearts and minds of the nation's parents.  Specifically, Project=20
Appleseed asks parents to take the learning compact known as the Parental=
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Involvement Pledge. The Pledge asks parents to volunteer a minimum of=20
five hours of their time each semester to the public schools of their=20
area and devote 15 minutes of each school night helping their children=20
with schoolwork, or working together on some enrichment activity.
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New federal legislation, Title I, of the Improving America's Schools Act=20
of 1994, requires pledges between parents and schools to improve=20
education in nearly half the nation's schools -- affecting an estimated=20
15 million public school children.  The U. S. Department of Education=20
says that pledges represent tangible agreements for parents to take=20
responsibility for their children's education. =20
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According to a new report, "Great Transitions", released on October 12 by=
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the Carnegie Corporation of New York, "American parents' involvement in=20
the education of their children declines by the time they reach middle=20
and high school.  While nearly three-quarters of American parents report=20
high or moderate involvement in schools when their children are in=20
elementary school, only 50 percent of parents report such involvement in=20
high school.  Without sustained parental involvement in their children's=20
education throughout the K-12 years, student achievement is impaired.'
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The Carnegie report recommends that schools and community organizations,=20
employers, and health care agencies need to embrace parents of=20
adolescents in "family friendly policies" -- as they are beginning to do=20
for parents of young children.  To make it easier for families to provide=
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the guidance and love adolescents say they really want, these=20
institutions should provide:
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=A5=09The forging of parent-school alliances
=A5=09Parent support groups and education
=A5=09Flexible work hours for parents
=A5=09After school programs; and
=A5=09Extension of the child-care tax credit
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Project Appleseed has designated November 16, 1995 as the second annual=20
National Parental Involvement Day.  Appleseed has targeted 2,000,000=20
parents to pledge personal responsibility to improve America's public=20
schools.  The Pledge is currently being distributed through several=20
thousand  schools, parent groups, and businesses and education=20
organizations.=20
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Often called the "PTA of the 21st Century", Project Appleseed is a new=20
and sophisticated force  in the parental involvement movement.  The=20
movement began in 1897 when the National PTA was created by Alice=20
McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst, mother of William Randolph=20
Hearst and a former Missouri school teacher. =20
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"The parent involvement movement of the 1990's promises to confront the=20
current cynicism, religious battles and the partisan squabbles that=20
dominate the debate over public schools.  This grass roots group of=20
parents  and educators is approaching the tangled issues of education=20
reform with a strong understanding of the workings and challenges of=20
local schools and the politics of reform.  These parents refuse to be=20
shut out of the education policy debate by those who normally do the=20
inviting," says Project Appleseed president Kevin Walker and the father=20
of four public school children. =20
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Mr. Walker says parental involvement is no longer about June Cleaver and=20
bake sales.   The group departs from the vital but traditional role of=20
the PTA.  Project Appleseed aggressively asserts parental leadership and=20
involvement in the battle for improved schools.  An example of Project=20
Appleseed's leadership can be found in the campaign's  bold step in=20
resolving the St. Louis desegregation case.  In one of the nation's=20
oldest and largest voluntary desegregation programs - which involves St.=20
Louis and two dozen of its surrounding suburbs - Project Appleseed has=20
gained the support of St. Louis' mayor, and the Missouri Attorney General=
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and has brought together state and local leadership to formulate a parent=
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centered alternative to the $1 billion voluntary busing plan.=20
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Project Appleseed, based in St. Louis, represents over one million=20
parents in America who have pledged to volunteer 10 hours annually in=20
their local public schools.  The campaign enjoys the endorsement of a=20
wide variety of educational organizations such as the National Head Start=
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Association, National Drop-Out Prevention Institute, Parents As Teachers,=
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the American Association of School Administrators and thousands of public=
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schools across the United States.
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To get a master copy of the Pledge, and the campaign newsletter, send a=20
$25 contribution to Project Appleseed, National Campaign Headquarters,=20
6017 Columbia Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63139-2739. The Pledge also raises=20
funds for local public schools with half of every donation going to the=20
particular school, and half going to Project Appleseed to support the=20
campaign in the nation's 15,000 local school districts.
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