Project 012
Brainstorm
Public education is part of our cultural heritage, and it’s something we need to preserve. But it’s up against some seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Fortunately, there are people like Dave Eggers. The Once Upon a School (OUAS) initiative is a project that grew out of his 2008 TED Prize—awarded by the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference—and his subsequent “wish” to collect 1,000 stories of people doing their part to involve themselves in helping public education. The program attempts to mobilize companies and individuals with creative plans to help public schools—like funding a prom or building a playground. You might not have the means to fund construction, but you can probably think up a way to help a kid or two in your neighborhood. So we’ve partnered with OUAS to hold an open call for ideas that answer the question How can you help local public-school children? Post ideas on our website and you might see your plan put to use. See you next school year.
THE ASSIGNMENT
Send us an idea to help your local public school.
THE REQUIREMENTS
Post an entry on our website.
THE DETAILS
Send your entry to projects(at)goodmagazine(dot)com or post it in the comments below. See the submissions here.
ONCE UPON A SCHOOL
See Dave Eggers's TEDPrize acceptance speech below. It's really worth a look.
Like this article? Tell the world It's Good!
not yet rated
Pre Funding
Grants grants everywhere and not a dime to search.
If any rural school district could lure the power of the professional local minds without tapping into their 'in-kind' side ... projects would be abound. In this coming school year we will face challenges of everyones limiting professional in-kind time due to cut backs and the current financial situation ... if projects are to continue we need be able to provide a carrot. I say this in response to our trying to rally help for projects in a small community with limited resources and minimal professional resources that are always tapped out.
Suggestion. Fund pre feasibility and design charettes to take local boards to a higher level and we will see projects like 'safe routes to school' get more than just flashing lights and cross walks.
Posted on August 20, 2008 — by 0707070707
0 comments
not yet rated
Corporate support of parental volunteerism
To address both the lack of parent volunteers/involvement and the overwhelming duties that teacher's have, below is my idea.
Approach and gain agreement with medium-to-large corporations (>500) to allow parents (and non-parents if interested) to volunteer at their local school 1 day a quarter without using accrued (personal) time. This does not exclusively mean volunteering in your child's class, but utilizing an available resource anywhere in the school or other classrooms for tasks that might need extra hands. Some larger corporations (ex. Wachovia) already allow employees to volunteer a certain amount of time at a non-profit organization...why not extend that premise to schools?
Why:
1. It will allow parents the ability to get more involved without repercussions.
2. It could provide an “almost daily” extra set of hands to help out in the school. For example, in my current children’s school of 561 students, assume 33% of parents have more than one kid in the school. That leaves 376 families, if only 1 parent volunteered, in 180 school days. That’s approx 2 extra people per day to help with grading papers, special event setup, field trips, cleanup, painting, etc.
3. By approaching only larger corporations of >500 employees, the company workflow doesn’t suffer by afford up to 10-15% of their work population volunteering in a given day.
How:
1. A simple, universal ‘school volunteering’ sheet provided to schools which will be signed and returned to corporate HR/personnel.
2. Teachers submit requests to the school office and are assigned their resources based on a first come, first served basis. The assignments, too, are allotted to teachers on a first come, first served basis.
Posted on September 5, 2008 — by jtaul
0 comments