Volunteering & Volunteer Students

I know, this is an advice column and I'm supposed to answer readers' letters. But every once in a while an issue comes up that I feel I HAVE to cover, even though no one's written me about it. This is one of those times. It's back to school time and that's prompted me to think about one of my pet issues: the obligation we all have to help out our local schools. They've got the most important job in society and almost always struggle with minimal resources with which to do it. The least we can do is offer our support.Fortunately, a book has just come out that makes this case far better than I can. "Victory in Our Schools" (Bantam, 1999) was written by Major General John Stanford, a thirty-year Army veteran who was also superintendent of the Seattle Public Schools. Stanford was so successful in Seattle that he was profiled extensively in the national media and his book has already sold out its first printing. He attributed much of his success to local businesses' involvement in the schools and here's what he says business people can do to get their schools marching in the right direction.

Offer expertise. Schools need help in areas where businesspeople are strong: budgeting, management, planning, marketing, community relations, managing volunteers, logistics . . . Call your local principal or superintendent, tell him your strengths, and ask where you can put them to work.

Offer resources. Schools need computers, wiring for the Internet, furniture, meeting rooms, vans . . . all sorts of things your business may be able to donate. Start a dialogue with your local principal or superintendent to find out where their gaps and your resources line up.

Create school-to-work opportunities. Schools need better job-training programs; your company needs better workers. What a match! Offer internship programs for high school students, job-shadow opportunities for middle schoolers, field trips and classroom visits for grade school children.

Lobby your legislators. School districts rarely represent their interests as well as they might. If your company has a lobbyist, donate some of that person's time. At the very least, write your own letters and emails to elected officials to argue for legislation that supports the schools.

Invest. Sure, schools are government funded-but those dollars often aren't enough. Give money to your district's general fund, or, if you prefer, to a special program of your choice.

Get into the classroom. One hour once a week of reading with a child can make an enormous difference. If you're a manager, give your employees an hour each week to volunteer in a classroom. If you're an employee, volunteer and invite your boss to come along.

A couple of personal disclosures, I briefly worked for Stanford and my wife co-wrote "Victory." But that's not why I'm recommending it. I'm recommending it because Stanford delivers a message we all need to hear if we want our schools, and our next generation of workers, to make the grade.

Working Wounded poll:

What should business do about our public schools?

• Play hooky, 11.8%
• Go to school, 88.1%

Working Wounded strategy:

Our winning strategy for getting involved with your schools comes from Rick B. in Los Altos, CA. "As a former high school trustee, I'd suggest the following. 1. Listen. Before you offer your expertise, time or money, meet with the superintendent, principal, teachers, etc. to find out what initiatives are already in the hopper. Learn what other companies and volunteers are doing and try to find the gaps. 2. Leave your preconceptions behind. Politicians and business leaders have, of late, been quite ready to slam teachers as ineffective, school boards as wasteful and students as lazy. Most haven't seen the inside of a classroom for years. 3. Stay with it. You will not solve all problems in a week or two. Stay with it for the long haul and the results will be there."

Bob Rosner is a best-selling author, speaker and internationally syndicated columnist. Sherrie Campbell is a relationship and business professional, having applied her counseling background in a variety of challenging organizational settings. They'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic, especially if you have better ideas than they do. Also check out their complete column archive at workmash.org, "The Boss's Survival Guide" and "Gray Matters: The workplace survival guide." Send your questions or comments to bob@workmash.org.