- Additional eyes and ears in the school and in the community – Parents, business owners and other community members are the eyes and ears of the school community and when something is not what it should be; rest assured someone in the community knows the story.

- Training is the process of instructing volunteers in the specific job-related skills and behavior that they will need to perform their particular volunteer job. This is particularly important in a school setting because staff and students will focus on the task and behavior exhibited by the volunteer in the school setting.

- Volunteer training at the school level should be practical, and tailored to the individual needs of the volunteer. If a parent is not a good reader, do not have her read to a group of 2nd graders while the teacher is administering a make-up standardized test.

Contact your principal or a school district administrator to see how to start a parent volunteer initiative at your school. If you do not have a volunteer initiative plan, contact the Red Cross. They wrote the book on volunteer initiatives and will be able to create a skeleton plan for your school. Remember to include parents and community members on your school volunteer initiative planning committee.