Hello-

How many children were left behind last school year? Who is responsible? When answering this question it is important to remember the 91% factor: that 91% of a child's time - from birth through age is spent outside the school and that the role a parent plays is critical in any systemic plan to improve education outcomes. When parents are involved, their children do better in school, and they go to better schools. It is important that we tell America's parents that the school improvement wagon train will not make it to the frontier if we leave uninvolved parents behind by the side of the trail. We must constantly reach out to extend and enlarge the family of involved parents. Lifting them up into the wagon train along the way - leaving no parent behind.

I invite you to join our award winning not-for-profit campaign and organize a local National Parental Involvement Day event on November 20, 2003 or Public School Volunteer Week during the third week of April 2004. You can join by ordering the Parental Involvement Toolbox. It will get your school(s) ready to participate in these annual nationwide events and increase parental involvement all year long. The Parental Involvement Toolbox features our learning compact the Parental Involvement Pledge and Parental Involvement Report Card. The Parental Involvement Toolbox is a research based program adapted from the Six Types of Parental Involvement (developed by Joyce Epstein, at Johns Hopkins University's Center on Families, Communities, Schools, and Children's Learning).

Project Appleseed is a public engagement opportunity and it focuses attention on improving parental involvement all across America during school events. Project Appleseed rallies parents to volunteer in their communities and be involved in learning throughout the year. Project Appleseed gives you an opportunity to build awareness and support to improve your schools at a time when interest in education may be waning. Take advantage of this opportunity to launch a new partnership or to encourage people to get involved in an existing partnership.

Don't hesitate to talk about what your school community can do to improve education. You can enlist your local leaders and the news media to help more people learn about Project Appleseed and what they can do to help children learn and how they can get involved.

This is an extraordinary time for our nation's schools. I am asking America's educators to reach out and enlarge the family of involved parents. Lift them up into your school improvement wagon train and leave no parent behind.

Very truly yours,

Kevin Walker
President & National Director
Project Appleseed
The National Campaign for 
Public School Improvement
www.projectappleseed.org
kevinwalker@projectappleseed.org